Charles Sloman (1808 – 22 July 1870) was an English comic entertainer, singer and songwriter, as well as a composer of ballads and sacred music. He was billed as "the only English ''Improvisatore''".

Biography

Born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

into a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish family originally named Solomon, he began singing in

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

s at a young age, and made one of his first professional appearances at the Rotunda in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in 1825. In 1834 he went into partnership with his brother, the actor Henry Sloman (1793–1873), in managing the Rochester Theatre, and four years later was briefly the manager of the Colosseum Theatre in

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

. He was also

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

at the Mogul Tavern in

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

. He specialised in improvising

doggerel Doggerel, or doggrel, is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is deri ...

verse about current topics or about issues raised by members of the audience. Most popular in the 1840s and 1850s, he maintained a career as a performer for over forty years. He performed regularly at venues such as Evans' Supper Rooms and the Cyder Cellars in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, the Coal Hole in the

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline *Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street, ...

, the Eagle tavern in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, the Temple of Harmony in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

, the

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, and the Cremorne Gardens in

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.Peter Gammond, ''The Oxford Companion to Popular Music'', Oxford University Press, 1991, , p.534Richard Anthony Baker, ''British Music Hall: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2014, , pp.122-123 The diarist Charles Rice described Sloman as "the great, the Only, extemporaneous singer... his wonderful Genius is one of the most unassuming characters that ever entered the field of Public Criticism...". David Conway, ''Jewry in Music: Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner'', Cambridge University Press, 2011, p.104
/ref> His popular songs included "Charming Sue" and "Social Bricks". He also wrote songs for other entertainers, including

Sam Cowell Samuel Houghton Cowell (5 April 1820 – 11 March 1864) was an actor and singer of comical songs. He was born in England and raised in the United States. Biography Born in London, he was the son of Joseph Cowell, a British actor who took ...

and J. W. Sharp, and wrote much of the material used by "Chief Lord Baron"

Renton Nicholson Renton Nicholson (4 April 1809 – 18 May 1861) was an English impresario, businessman, actor, and writer. He is best known for his Judge and Jury Society performances and for his ownership of the newspaper '' The Town''. After being o ...

in his Judge and Jury Society performances. Some sources describe him as the composer of "

Pop Goes the Weasel "Pop! Goes the Weasel" (Roud 5249) is a traditional English and American song, a country dance, nursery rhyme, and singing game that emerged in the mid-19th century. It is commonly used in Jack-in-the-box toys and for ice cream trucks. The song ...

Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

used Sloman as the basis of the character of "Little Nadab" in his 1854 novel ''

The Newcomes ''The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family'' is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1854 and 1855. Publication ''The Newcomes'' was published serially over about two years, as Thackeray himself says in one of t ...

''. "Charles Sloman", ''Oxford Reference''
Retrieved 26 September 2020 According to historian Harold Scott, Sloman was "the most respectable, the most ubiquitous and in some ways the most typical of tavern concert artists. As a performer, in spite of certain versatility, he may be regarded as negligible... ut.it was rather as a personality with the gift of popularity that he succeeded in attaching himself to history." The majority of Sloman's songs were serious in nature and included religious songs such as "The Maid of Judah", published in 1860 as part of a collection, ''Sacred Strains, Hymns, etc.'', as well as romantic ballads."Sloman, Charles", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
Retrieved 26 September 2020 He supported Jewish charities, and in 1866 proposed setting up a provident society to help support entertainers who had fallen on hard times. His health declined following his wife's death, and he was not given any money from the fund which he had helped set up, possibly because he had received some money from the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

.Harold Scott, ''The Early Doors: Origins of the Music Hall'', Nicholson & Watson, 1946, p.45 In 1870, after becoming destitute, he was admitted to the Strand Union Workhouse in Cleveland Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, where he died seven weeks later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloman, Charles 1808 births 1870 deaths Music hall performers 19th-century British composers