Whit Cunliffe

Whittaker Cunliffe (15 December 1875 – 1 May 1966) was an English comic singer. The historian and critic W. J. MacQueen-Pope described Cunliffe as a "great singer of great songs and the epitome of what made Music Hall."[1]

Whit Cunliffe
Born
Whittaker Cunliffe

(1875-12-15)15 December 1875
Waterfoot, Lancashire, England
Died1 May 1966(1966-05-01) (aged 90)
Battle, East Sussex
OccupationComic singer

Biography

Whit Cunliffe was born in Waterfoot, Lancashire. By 1900 he was performing in music halls. He was described as being "a bit of a dandy",[1] strolling around the stage dressed in a frock coat, top hat and spats,[2][3] and was referred to as the last surviving Lion comique.[4]

Among his most successful songs was "There Are Nice Girls Everywhere" (1909). Several of his songs - most of which were written for him by writers such as R. P. Weston and Fred Godfrey - took a highly conservative view of women's roles, and particularly of the women's suffrage movement. They included "If the World Were Ruled by Girls" (1905), "It's a Different Girl Again" (1906), "Tight Skirts Have Got to Go", "Let's Have Free Trade Among the Girls", "They Can Do Without Us", and "Do You Believe in Women's Rights".[2][5][6] He recorded other topical songs; his 1914 song "Tow the Row Row" laughs at the forced feeding in prison of suffragettes a couple of years earlier, and denounced the Social Insurance laws put in place by Lloyd George's government. Cunliffe was an enthusiastic supporter of the allied cause in the First World War and was involved in many concerts raising money to help the war drive. His 1914 song "Hock Hock Der Kaiser" made fun of German pretensions.

He recorded many of his songs between 1910 and 1915, including "There Are Nice Girls Everywhere", "There's Something in the Seaside Air", and "Who Were You With Last Night?", which had first been performed by Mark Sheridan.[7] A selection of his songs was released on CD in 2003, as Tight Skirts Have Got To Go.[8]

Cunliffe retired after the end of the First World War. He died in Battle, East Sussex, in 1966, aged 90.[9]

Other songs
  • "I will! I won't! As Soon as the Girl Gets you Home" (wrote)[10]
  • "Women get the Best of it; Poor Old Father" (composer)[10]
  • "Hallo Hallo Hallo, It's a Different Girl Again!"[11]

References
  1. W. J. MacQueen-Pope. The Melodies Linger On: the Story of Music Hall, Allen, 1950
  2. Busby, Roy (1976). British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day. London: Paul Elek. p. 42. ISBN 0-236-40053-3.
  3. Bailey, Paul (2001). Three Queer Lives: An Alternative Biography of Fred Barnes, Naomi Jacob and Arthur Marshall Hamish Hamilton; ISBN 0-241-13455-2, ISBN 978-0-241-13455-9. p. 47
  4. Pulling, Christopher. They Were Singing G. G. Harrap (1952). p. 60
  5. Russell, Dave. Popular Music in England, 1840-1914, p. 88
  6. "Whit Cunliffe", Monologues.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2022
  7. "Whit Cunliffe", Fred Godfrey Songs. Retrieved 28 December 2022
  8. Whit Cunliffe - Tight Skirts have Got to Go, Windyridge Music Hall CDs. Retrieved 28 December 2022
  9. "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," Whitaker Cunliffe, 1966
  10. Catalog of Copyright Jan. 1908 Library of Congress
  11. The Bystander (An Illustrated Sixpenny Weekly)April 3, 1907 to June 26, 1907 The Graphic Office London page 446
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