James Cosgrove (''d.'' 26 August 1943)
was an English humourist and concert hall singer whose career spanned the 19th and 20th centuries.
Career
Born in
Byker
Byker is a district in the east of the City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', By ...
, he used the pseudonym "J C Scatter". He is credited with making the first recording of the "
Blaydon Races
"Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song of 1862, with lyrics by George Ridley written in a style deriving from music hall. It celebrates the horse races held at Blaydon in North East England that year, although mostly composed ...
" in 1908 and in doing so brought the song back from obscurity to become one of the main
Tyneside
Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...
anthems, although using a slightly different melody. James Cosgrove performed on stage all over the country and continued to do so until the 1940s. He would arrive on stage through the curtains, dressed as his female fruit seller, and juggled with oranges while singing his "Orange Lass". He was one of the greats, and left a legacy of
Geordie humour and dialect.
Works
His songs include (together with known recording dates):
* "
Blaydon Races
"Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song of 1862, with lyrics by George Ridley written in a style deriving from music hall. It celebrates the horse races held at Blaydon in North East England that year, although mostly composed ...
" – (recorded 1909)
* "
Blaydon Races
"Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song of 1862, with lyrics by George Ridley written in a style deriving from music hall. It celebrates the horse races held at Blaydon in North East England that year, although mostly composed ...
" – (recorded 1929)
* "The Tyneside Policeman"
* "
Wor Nanny's a mazer"
* "Orange Lass" – (recorded 1929)
Legacy
James Cosgrove as J C Scatter made several recordings, some towards the end of his career. His 1909 recording of "
Blaydon Races
"Blaydon Races" ( Roud #3511) is a Geordie folk song of 1862, with lyrics by George Ridley written in a style deriving from music hall. It celebrates the horse races held at Blaydon in North East England that year, although mostly composed ...
" also survives, but the quality has deteriorated. Several of these survived and two of these songs are available on the CD "Various Artists - Wor Nanny's A Mazer: Early Recordings Of Artists From The North East 1904-1933" (on Phonograph, PHCD2K1)
The full list of tracks on this CD are as follows :
See also
*
Geordie dialect words
Geordie ( ), sometimes known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English, is an English dialect and accent spoken in the Tyneside area of North East England. It developed as a variety of the old Northumbrian dialect and became espec ...
References
External links
The Northumberland AnthologyJ C Scatter sings Blaydon RacesJ C Scatter sings Orange LassJ C Scatter sings "Orange Lass" The Northumberland Anthology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgrove, James
English male singers
English male comedians
People from Newcastle upon Tyne (district)
Musicians from Gateshead
Geordie songwriters
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
Comedians from Tyne and Wear