Nelly Power
Nelly Power | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 10 April 1854 |
| Died | 19 January 1887 (aged 32) |
| Occupation(s) | Singer and actress |
Nelly Power[1] (10 April 1854 – 19 January 1887), was an English singer, actress and performer in music hall, burlesque and pantomime.[2] Her funeral attracted three to four thousand spectators at Abney Park Cemetery and a further great crowd at the start of the procession from her home.[3]
Career
Power appeared in the music halls from the age of 8,[4] and developed a comic style mimicking that of George Leybourne, which brought her fame by the age of 15[5] and the offer of principal parts in pantomimes. She made her first appearance on the London stage in 1868 in the pantomime Robinson Crusoe.[6] She then moved to the Vaudeville Theatre performing in a number of burlesque plays. After a further spell in pantomime, (where, for example in 1881 she had the title role in Sindbad the Sailor, with Vesta Tilley as Captain Tralala at Drury Lane[7]) she achieved national fame in the music halls with an act in which she caricatured dandies with comic songs such as "La-di-la".[2] She was the original singer of "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery" which was written for her by songwriter/composer George Ware.[8][9]
Power died from pleurisy on 19 January 1887, aged 32, and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery in London. A commemorative blue plaque was erected in 2017 for her at 97 Southgate Road, Islington, by the theatre charity The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.[10]
References
- ^ Spelled Nellie on a few publications, but mainly Nelly, and this is on her gravestone.
- ^ a b The Era, 22 January 1887 "Death of Miss Nelly Power"
- ^ The Era, 29 January 1887 "Funeral of Miss Nelly Power"
- ^ London Music Hall Database
- ^ Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 24 January 1887 Death of Miss Nelly Power
- ^ Birmingham Daily Post, 25 January 1887 "Gleanings"
- ^ Pantomimes at Drury Lane
- ^ Simon Sladen (2010). "The Boy I Love Is Up In the Gallery". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Alexander Baron. "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery by Marie Lloyd". Songfacts. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ "Nelly Power is Commemorated", The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America, accessed 14 August 2017
External links
- Profile, FootlightNotes (includes picture and obituaries)