Norah Blaney (born Norah Mignon Cordwell; 16 July 18937 December 1983) was a pianist, composer, comedienne and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

performer. She recorded hundreds of songs between 1921 and 1935, many with her performing partner

Gwen Farrar Gwendoline "Gwen" Farrar (14 July 1897 – 25 December 1944) was an English duettist, cellist, singer, actress and comedian. Early life Gwendoline Farrar was born on 14 July 1897, at 108 Park Street, London. She was the third of six daughters of ...

Biography

Blaney was born Norah Mignon Cordwell in Shepherd's Bush, London on 16 July 1893. Her father, Walter Henry Cordwell was a musician and her mother was Mary Jane (Molly), née Thatcher. In 1906, she was awarded the ''Erard pianoforte scholarship'' to the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

followed by a scholarship at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

. She began using her stage name in 1910, after her maternal grandmother. On 10 October 1914, she married pianist, Albert Charles Lyne, however, 4 years later he died while serving with the London Scottish regiment in France. In 1922, she married for a second time, to Philip Barron Bruce Durham; they divorced in June 1931. She married for a final time to Basil Hughes on 20 February 1932. Blaney died on 7 December 1983 at the Actors’ Retirement Home in Northwood, London.

Act with Farrar

Blaney and Farrar were both members of

Lena Ashwell Lena Margaret Ashwell, Lady Simson ( Pocock; 28 September 1872 – 13 March 1957) was a British actress and theatre manager and producer, known as the first to organise large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during Wo ...

's group of entertainers for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

soldiers in France, initially as classical artists. However, the pair started a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

duet, which gained popularity. They brought the act back to the UK and performed it in

London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...

regularly during 1921. The pair lived together in Chelsea in 1917, remaining there until 1922. They performed in

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new buildin ...

productions around London. In 1925, they toured USA, including appearing on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

. However, in 1926, Farrar broke off their partnership, and Blaney returned to England. Blaney and Farrar began working together again in 1930, but after she injured her foot while performing in 1931, Blaney married her surgeon, Basil Hughes. She spent time in a nursing home recuperating from infection before retiring from performing generally, though she did the odd piece of work with Farrar.

Legacy

Blaney and Farrar are considered "

LGBT+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

icons". In 2014, Alison Child and Rosie Wakley created a play called "All The Nice Girls" based on the relationship between Blaney and Farrar.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaney, Norah 1893 births 1983 deaths British music hall performers British pianists British women pianists British LGBTQ singers 20th-century British LGBTQ people