Ernest Hastings
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Ernest Walter Hastings (15 June 1879 – 2 September 1940) was an English singer, pianist, composer and performer of comic
monologues In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character (arts), character, most often to expres ...
. He was popular from the 1900s to the 1930s, when he was described as "England's Greatest Entertainer at the Piano".


Biography

He was born in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in 1879, and at first found work as a shipping clerk. He also played piano, and developed a talent for mimicry and monologues which led him to a theatrical career in
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 ...
s before 1900. He became popular, and toured in the United States as well as in Britain. His early successes included "The Commissionaire" (1899, with lyrics by Charles H. Taylor), "A Blooming Ballad" (with lyricist Astley Weaver, 1901), "The Three Ages of Man" (with lyrics by Nelson Jackson, 1909), and "The Emigrant's Letter" (with lyrics by
Percy French William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. Life French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher F ...
, 1912). Ernest Hastings, ''Petrucci Music Library''
Retrieved 17 January 2021
In the
First World War 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 ...
, he performed songs both in support of recruitment, such as "We're All Plain Civilians" (with lyrics by Foden Williams, 1914), and critical of the apparent impossibility of escaping conscription, in songs such as "Exemptions and Otherwise" and "The Military Representative", written by R. P. Weston and
Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard ...
(1916), in which the military recruitment tribunal approves for active service "a series of ever more unsuitable candidates". The song was very well received, with lyrics such as: "How dare your husband die!/ He was A1 in July/ What say ma'am? He's in heaven now?/ Well you just let him know/ I'm sending a Sergeant to fetch him back/ For of course he's got to go!". His other songs and monologues included "The Bolshevik" (written by Lee and Weston, 1919), and "Seaside Posters Round the Home" (by Edgar Bateman and Henry E. Pether, 1919). From 1914 until 1929, he made recordings for the Columbia and
His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
s. These included "A Soldier's Reminiscences" (with lyrics by Bert Lee, 1914); the earliest recording of Lee and Weston's song "
My Word, You Do Look Queer "My Word, You Do Look Queer" is a comic monologue written by Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. L ...
" (1922, later popularised by
Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles Stanley Holloway on stage and screen, on stage and screen, especially t ...
); and the tribute to
Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses Australia and New Zealand * Woolworths Group (Australia), the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand; named after the American F.W. Woolworth company, but unrelated * W ...
stores, "There's Nothing Over Sixpence in the Store" (with lyrics by Frank S Wilcock, 1927), "In My Young Days" (with lyrics by Percy Beck, 1930), and "The Nut Brown Ale of England" (with lyrics by Percy Beck, 1931). Hastings appeared in the 1919
Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
, and toured the
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
circuit in Australia in 1925 with
J. Milton Hayes James Milton Hayes Military Cross, MC (1884, in Ardwick – 1940, in Nice), known as J. Milton Hayes, was an England, English actor and poet, best known for his 1911 dramatic monologue "The Green Eye of the Yellow God", much parodied by his cont ...
. "Ernest Hastings", ''AusRadioHistorian''
Retrieved 17 January 2021
He also made
BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
broadcasts in the late 1920s. Ernest Hastings, ''Radio Times'', ''Genome''
Retrieved 17 January 2021
Hastings died in
Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...
, London, in 1940, aged 61. A compilation of his recordings, ''The Seaside Posters'', was issued on CD in 2018. Ernest Hastings, "The Seaside Posters", ''Windyridge Records''
Retrieved 17 January 2021


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Ernest 1879 births 1940 deaths British music hall performers British male singers