The Beatles and the English Music-Hall tradition

An interesting look at the continuation of British music hall tradition in 'rock':

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:una7ZhLCl1cJ:acrosstheuniverse.forumotion.com/t1858-the-beatles-and-the-english-music-hall-tradition+site:acrosstheuniverse.forumotion.com+acrosstheuniverse.forumotion+beatles&cd=23&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&source=www.google.co.uk

^ sadly, now gorn, shuffled off this mortal wotsit - the cache is no more

Oh, and I missed it first time around

It was good, Nash, it was bloomin' good. What a classic thread you missed. I say, what a classic thread!

Did it include clips like this? 1974? Someone has obviously filmed their dodgy telly?

^ I don't remember quite honestly, Nash! But I do recall it was a n interesting read...

Here's what wiki has to say in its 'music hall' article:

Music hall had a profound influence on The Beatles through Paul McCartney, who is himself the son of a music hall performer (Jim McCartney, who led Jim Mac's Jazz Band). Many of McCartney's songs are indistinguishable from music hall except in their instrumentation. When I'm Sixty-Four and Honey Pie are two fine examples, as is Your Mother Should Know.

and the wiki entry on the Beatles' 'All Together Now' says:

"All Together Now" is a song by The Beatles written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon/McCartney. The song was recorded during the band's Magical Mystery Tour period, but remained unreleased until it was included on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.

McCartney described the song as a children's sing-along with the title phrase inspired by the music hall tradition of asking the audience to join in.

It shouldn't be forgotten that the Fab Four played twice at The Music Hall in Shrewsbury!

Here's a poster from their first gig there in December 1962:

^

Neither should it be forgotten that in their early mainstream TV showbiz career The Beatles were just another novelty act in the dying days of the English music hall. (Its slow death was recorded on stage by Angry Young Man John Osborne in his play "The Entertainer", in which the decline of the English music hall stood as a metaphor for the dying days of the British Empire).

Anyone old enough to remember "Saturday Night at the London Palladium" will recall that they topped the bill after the jugglers, the poodles leaping through hoops of fire, the Memory Man and the Tiller Girls (a troupe of leggy female dancers).

The Fab Four- lovable mop-tops as they were back then- had no qualms about appearing on the revolving stage to wave 'bye bye' to the folks watching at home for the traditional finale of the show, but The Rolling Stones (bad boys, as they were) refused to participate, thus creating what passed in those innocent days for a National Scandal.

One only has to look at Peter Blake's "Sgnt. Pepper" cover or listen to "Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite" to grasp how deeply involved The Beatles were ( in the Beatlemania years) in the English music-hall tradition.

The poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal which inspired the lyrics for "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"