Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam were an Anglo-Australian musical comedy duo of the 1920s and 1930s. Mr. Flotsam's real name was

Bentley Collingwood Hilliam Bentley Collingwood Hilliam ( Smailes; 6 November 1890 – 19 December 1968), usually credited as B. C. Hilliam, was an English singer, songwriter and musician, and the first-named member of the comedy duo Mr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam (Mr. Jetsam wa ...

(1890–1968) and Mr. Jetsam's real name was

Malcolm McEachern Walter Malcolm Neil McEachern (1 April 1883 – 17 January 1945) was an Australian bass singer who enjoyed a successful career in the United Kingdom, both as a concert soloist and as one half of the comic musical duo Flotsam and Jetsam. Pers ...

(1883–1945). Hilliam wrote most of their songs, played the piano and sang in a light, high tenor voice. By contrast, McEachern had one of the deepest bass voices on record. Their material consisted of

comic songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of Comedy music, humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with Comedy music, comedy songs, which are more explic ...

with rapid-fire delivery and songs with mild social commentary, as well as sentimental songs. They are sometimes considered a precursor of

Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor, and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comedy music, comic ...

Songs in their repertoire

Simon the Bootlegger Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

" * "

The Alsatian and the Pekinese ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

" * "The Changing of the Guard" * " Is 'E an Aussie" * "

I Want to be a Military Man I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plur ...

" * "

King Canute Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

" * "

Little Betty Bouncer Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

" * "

What's the Matter With Rachmaninoff? What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an English interrogative word * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film), also known as ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * ...

" * " The spooning of the knife and fork" The song "Is 'E an Aussie" features during the end credits for the 2013 film ''

The Purge ''The Purge'' is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes, which are written and in some cases also ...

''. McEachern, though, appears without Hilliam as Abdullah in the 1934 film ''Chu Chin Chow'' where his deep voice is heard to great effect.

References

External links

Recording session outline with photos of the two

National Library of Australia digital recording listing for "The Changing of the Guard"
* Australian comedy musical groups {{UK-comedian-stub