2024-01 Comedy Song in the 20th century
Peter Gill entertained us well with his favourite songs of 20th century, with humorous anecdotes, telling of his passion for songs of the WWI era, such as Pack up your Troubles in your Old Kit Bag. He told how troops modified songs in a risqué manner, such as changing It’s a Long Way to Tiperary to That’s the Way to Tickle Mary!
Noël Coward and Cole Porter were leading artists of the 1930’s; they brought just the right amount of sarcasm and irony with songs such as Mad Dogs & Englishmen and Mrs. Worthington.
In the 1950s, A Drop of a Hat with Flanders and Swann opened; the song The Gas Man Cometh from that review is still relevant, based on the notion that a tradesperson will leave you with more work to do!
Tom Leher who was unknown in the UK until Princess Margaret remarked that she liked him, but the BBC banned 8 of 10 songs from his LP!
Peter performed several songs, including Cole Porter’s Miss Otis Regrets and When I’m Cleaning Windows, and Lonnie Donegan’s My Old Man’s a Dustman, ending with Billy Connelly’s D.I.V.O.R.C.E., Victoria Wood’s Let’s Do It, and Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.