Whittaker Cunliffe (15 December 1875 – 1 May 1966) was an English comic singer. The historian and critic W. J. MacQueen-Pope described Cunliffe as a "great singer of great songs and the epitome of what made

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 ...

Biography

Whit Cunliffe was born in

Waterfoot, Lancashire Waterfoot is a historic mill town and civil parish in the Borough of Rossendale between Rawtenstall and Bacup in Lancashire, England. The B6238 road from Burnley meets the A681 road, and Whitewell Brook the River Irwell. History Like the ma ...

. By 1900 he was performing 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. He was described as being "a bit of a

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

", W. J. MacQueen-Pope.
''The Melodies Linger On: the Story of Music Hall''
Allen, 1950 strolling around the stage dressed in a

frock coat A frock coat is a formal wear, formal men's coat (clothing), coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). ...

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

and spats, and was referred to as the last surviving ''

Lion comique The ''lion comique'' was a type of popular entertainer in the Victorian music halls, a parody of upper-class toffs or "swells" made popular by Alfred Vance and G. H. MacDermott, among others. They were artistes whose stage appearance, resplende ...

''. Among his most successful songs was "There Are Nice Girls Everywhere" (1909). Several of his songs - most of which were written for him by writers such as R. P. Weston and

Fred Godfrey Fred or Frederick Godfrey may refer to: * Fred Godfrey (bandmaster) (1837–1882), English bandmaster and music arranger * Fred Godfrey (footballer) (1910–1989), Australian footballer *Fred Godfrey (songwriter) (1880–1953), Welsh songwriter ...

- took a highly conservative view of women's roles, and particularly of the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement. They included "If the World Were Ruled by Girls" (1905), "It's a Different Girl Again" (1906), "Tight Skirts Have Got to Go", "Let's Have Free Trade Among the Girls", "They Can Do Without Us", and "Do You Believe in Women's Rights". He recorded other topical songs; his 1914 song "Tow the Row Row" laughs at the forced feeding in prison of

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s a couple of years earlier, and denounced the

Social Insurance Social insurance is a form of Social protection, social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of Welfare spend ...

laws put in place by

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

's government. Cunliffe was an enthusiastic supporter of the allied cause in the First World War and was involved in many concerts raising money to help the war drive. His 1914 song "Hock Hock Der Kaiser" made fun of German pretensions. He recorded many of his songs between 1910 and 1915, including "There Are Nice Girls Everywhere", "There's Something in the Seaside Air", and "Who Were You With Last Night?", which had first been performed by

Mark Sheridan Mark Sheridan (11 September 1864 – 15 January 1918), born Frederick Shaw, was an English music hall comedian and singer. He became a popular performer of lusty seaside songs and originated the J. Glover-Kind classic, "I Do Like to Be Beside t ...

. "Whit Cunliffe", ''Fred Godfrey Songs''
Retrieved 28 December 2022 A selection of his songs was released on CD in 2003, as ''Tight Skirts Have Got To Go''. Cunliffe retired after the end of the First World War. He died in

Battle, East Sussex Battle is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Districts of England, district of Rother District, Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south- ...

, in 1966, aged 90.

Other songs

*"I will! I won't! As Soon as the Girl Gets you Home" (wrote) *"Women get the Best of it; Poor Old Father" (composer)Catalog of Copyright
Jan. 1908 Library of Congress *"Hallo Hallo Hallo, It's a Different Girl Again!"The Bystande

(An Illustrated Sixpenny Weekly)April 3, 1907 to June 26, 1907 The Graphic Office London page 446

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, Whit English male singers 1966 deaths 1875 births People from Waterfoot, Lancashire People from Haslingden