I'm not quite so daft as I look

September 23, 2015 10:08 PM

SLYTP: two hundred and twenty three pre-1925 'music hall records' YT user Robert Godridge has made a long playlist of digital captures taken from 'some of the british music hall records in my collection, 78rpm gramophone records and cylinders.' This is one of a number of playlists centered on very old popular music recordings by various users. Most of the recordings are quite innocuous by today's standards, but it is far from uncommon to encounter double entendres, racism and stereotypes, and well, I'm not sure what to call this genre.
posted by mwhybark (11 comments total)

What a great resource! I've put together several shows based on Music Hall material, and one of my favorite sources has been monologues.co.uk
I'll definitely be looking through this playlist for fodder for next time.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:18 PM on September 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

You could call it music hall rag.

Also, thanks supermuch for posting this. It will provide many hours of enjoyment.
posted by key_of_z at 11:42 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

See also the splendid collection of digitised cylinders here.
posted by Segundus at 12:02 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

The lyrics to With My Little Wigger Wagger In My Hand from The Underpants Monster link. There are a few extra verses and a different order but it is interesting to read some of the phrases.
Not the brand new cady like a pimple on my nut
I did a bit of Blondin understand?
posted by unliteral at 12:07 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Fascinating! I had no idea that George Formby’s father (George Formby Snr. - listed incorrectly as George Fornby Snr on the relevant YouTube clips) had been a famous comedian & singer like his son.
posted by misteraitch at 4:08 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

We digitised my great grandma's 78s after she passed away a few years back. She and her sister actually were an act back in the day and we had a number of them with one singing and the other accompanying on piano. We even managed to find some reviews in microfiche copies of newspapers from the early 1920s. I wish for the life of me I could remember the name of the act.
posted by longbaugh at 4:15 AM on September 24, 2015 [6 favorites]

What does SLYTP mean?
posted by ardgedee at 5:52 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Single link youtube playlist?
posted by merelyglib at 6:07 AM on September 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

[quietly sheds a tear for the passing of the Players' Theatre in London]
posted by alasdair at 6:51 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yes, very good archive, but does it have anything from the Monsters of Megaphone tour
posted by saturday_morning at 2:54 PM on September 24, 2015

The title of this post was taken from a George Formby song, whom only today I find to be a banjolele superstar. Or perhaps the banjolele star is the son of the gent to whom I refer, as the music hall record is credited to GF Sr.
posted by mwhybark at 10:46 PM on September 27, 2015