Tag: nostalgia

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It’s the third Music Hall and Variety Day!

Today is the third Music Hall and Variety Day, where the British Music Hall Society invites people around the UK and beyond to celebrate by posting on social media photographs, postcards, bill posters, programmes, costumes, stories, memories about music hall, the buildings, performers, songs and shows that you may recall or have a link with. And don’t forget the hashtags so others can find your contributions!

For my contribution, below you can enjoy Michael Grade’s excellent History of Music Hall from 2011

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Wilson, Keppel and Betty dance again!

The best-loved music hall act of all time? Wilson, Keppel and Betty. Image uncredited

Music Hall legends Wilson, Keppel and Betty were given a much-welcomed extra exposure on Sunday 30th January on Talking Pictures TV’s THE FOOTAGE DETECTIVES, where newly-discovered film is restored and aired.

For those unaware of these legendary figures, they graced music hall and variety stages from the 1930s until 1962, with their most-repeated signature piece being an eccentric sand dance in a sequence known as Cleopatra’s Nightmare which has become legendary in music hall history.

THE FOOTAGE DETECTIVES’ highlight was the airing of film discovered by Wilson, Keppel and Betty biographer Alan Stafford (His book is entitled TOO NAKED FOR THE NAZIS) with the famous trio in 1949, in rehearsal for a pantomime at no other venue than the illustrious Dudley Hippodrome. Aside from giving us the only known colour footage of the famous trio, the film was a fascinating overview of preparation and rehearsals for a major regional pantomine, quite probably unique as a film record of a time sadly long-gone.

You can catch up with the programme by watching it on the channel’s on-demand service, Talking Pictures TV Encore, which you can find at http://tptvencore.co.uk Episode 11 is the one you’ll need to select.

You can see a trailer in the Twitter link below