My Old Man: A Personal History of Music Hall

(Paperback)

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Description

The former Prime Minister takes a remarkable journey into his family past to tell the richly colourful story of the British music hall in this Theatre Book Prize-shotlisted history.
Music hall was one of the glories of Victorian England. Sentimental, vulgar, class-conscious, but always patriotic and on the side of the underdog, it held a mirror to the audiences hopes and fears, and sometimes the general absurdity of life.

Vast, smoke-filled auditoriums were packed night after night in nearly every town and city in Britain. The most popular performers, such as Marie Lloyd, Vesta Tilley and George Robey, were among the highest paid and most celebrated figures in the land.

This was the world that John Majors father Tom entered at the age of twenty-one as a comedian and singer. In My Old Man, the former prime minister uses his fathers story as a springboard for telling the entertaining history of the music hall, from its origins in Elizabethan times through to its heyday in the nineteenth century and eventual decline with the rise of radio and cinema in the twentieth century.

Packed with colourful anecdotes about the great performers of the day, this warm-hearted history conjures up a lost age.

Reviews

An uncommon book about one of the most extraordinary, vital and creative chapters in British theatrical history admiration Major also nobly honours his parents and the life they lived. The affection is palpable and anything but pious. In short, he gets it Simon Callow, Guardian

Affectionate, charming and unexpectedly lively Major paints a vivid picture to read this richly enjoyable book is to be given a glimpse into a lost world Mail on Sunday

Entertaining and well-paced My Old Man is a powerful and affecting tribute Daily Express

His deep affection for his parents inspires his finest writingfascinating My Old Man is an entertaining and intriguing potted history, full of quirky details about this quintessentially English phenomenon Independent

Entertaining, fascinating and written with love.the admiration that John feels for his father is palpable on every page Sunday Express

Author Bio

John Major was leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997. He is a former President of Surrey County Cricket Club.