George Leybourne
| George Leybourne | |
|---|---|
 Lounging in the Aq (Royal Aquarium), sheet music cover |
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| Born | Joe Sanders 1842 Gateshead |
| Died | 15 September 1884 (aged 42) Islington |
| Other names | Champagne Charlie |
| Occupation | music hall vocalist |
Joe Sanders (1842 – 15 September 1884), better known as George Leybourne, was an English music hall performer. Often nicknamed "Champagne Charlie", Leybourne is best-remembered as the lyricist for The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.
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[edit] Career
Leybourne was born in Gateshead, and became a factory worker in Birmingham. He began a career in the northern music halls, with the song Villikins and His Dinah. His first professional appearance in London was at the Whitechapel Music Hall in 1864.
Champagne Charlie was first performed at the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge in 1867. He entered in top hat and tails, dressed as a swell in immaculate evening dress, with gloves, cane, and scarf, waving a bottle of vintage Moet & Chandon. Leybourne's rival Alfred Vance introduced a number called Cliquot, starting a fierce competition between the two which culminated with Vance's rendition of Beautiful Beer. Their style introduced a new genre to the music hall, lion comique.
Leybourne wrote the lyrics for many popular hits of the time, including The Flying Trapeze (now known as The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze), which was published in 1867 with music by Gaston Lyle, arranged by Alfred Lee.
Leybourne also wrote the lyrics to the 1871 song If Ever I Cease To Love that is remembered today because of its association with Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It became the signature song for the Rex Krewe. The song was sung in England by Lydia Thompson, who included it in her burlesque show Bluebeard, which she then toured in the United States. Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff saw it and was fascinated by the song, the songstress, or both. He visited New Orleans in 1872, and the king of Carnival directed that all bands in the Rex parade would play "the Royal Anthem", If Ever I Cease To Love. It remains permanently associated with Rex, and is a New Orleans carnival standard.
In 1866, Leybourne began his career of making celebrity endorsements for Champagne. The Champagne maker Moet commissioned him to write and perform songs extolling the virtues of Champagne, especially as a reflection of taste, affluence, and the good life. He also agreed to drink nothing but Champagne in public. His efforts did much to establish Champagne as an important element in conspicuous consumption.
George Leybourne's daughter Florrie married Music-Hall performer Albert Chevalier and was the inspiration for Chevalier's hit My Old Dutch.
Leybourne died penniless in Islington and is buried at Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington, London with his grandson, daughter Florence and her husband, the music hall star Albert Chevalier. His headstone, with the epitaph, God's finger touched him and he slept was erected by Dan Leno, and the Grand Order of Water Rats.
George Leybourne's grave is cared for by The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.
[edit] See also
The actor appeared at Wilton's Music Hall in London's East End, the world's oldest and last surviving grand music hall, and an adjoining modern residential apartment block has appropriately been named after him (Leybourne House).
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Derek B Scott sings “Champagne Charlie” (1867)
- "George Leybourne". Theatre and Performance. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/features/history_of_music_halls/music_hall_stars/george_leybourne/index.html. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
- Definitive biography of George Leybourne by Christopher Beeching, published DCG Media Group 2011 http://www.heaviestofswells.com
