Algy, or the Piccadilly Johnny with the Little Glass Eye

First Published1895

Writer/composerHarry B NorrisRoudRN29892

Music Hall PerformersVesta Tilley
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Jones, Frank; England : West Midlands; 1984
The set of boys I chum with are the best-known set down town
And in that set a noted chap is young Algernon Brown
He's just come into heaps of coin, he doesn't know what he's worth
And all the ladies say that he is the nicest boy on earth.

He's very well known is Algy, to the ladies on the stage
Such a jolly good chap is Algy, just now he's all the rage
And a jolly good favourite Algy, with the barmaids at the 'Cri'
He's very well known is Algy,
As the Piccadilly Johnny with the little glass eye.

He'll drive a girl to Richmond as some other Johnnies do
He buys perhaps a diamond ring, a watch and bracelet too
Girls say they'll never leave him, and they keep their word and don't
And while his cash holds out, you bet your Sunday hat they won't.

He goes to all the Theatres, where he knows the Coryphées
He takes them out to supper, also buys them large bouquets
They call him “Algy Darling” to his face, the usual way
But when they chat behind the scenes poor Algy's called a 'Jay.'

A big hit for the great male impersonator  Vesta Tilley in the 1890s – she sang it at the Royal Command Performance of 1912, where it is said she scandalised the Queen by wearing trousers … She purchased the song from Harry Norris for the paltry sum of one guinea (just over £1, allowing for inflation around £180 today). Norris later died in poverty after being committed to a lunatic asylum in Cheadle, Greater Manchester

In 1984 the song was collected by Roy Palmer from the singing of Frank Jones, under the title A well known chap is Algy to the Ladies of the stage. The recording is held at the British Library but is not available online at the time of writing.

Vesta sings a fragment of it:

Sources:

Last Updated on April 17, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: April 17, 2023

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