BBC - Radio 4 Woman's Hour -Nellie Wallace

Remembering one of the best-loved stars of the music hall

Nellie Wallace was one of the most famous and best loved of music hall performers. Her style was known as grotesque. Performers like her wore bizarre outfits and illustrated their comic songs and patter with outlandish dances that required considerable dancing skills. This year sees the sixtieth anniversary of Nellie death and there’s a rare chance to see her most famous number, ‘My mother said’, performed live onstage, appropriately at Wilton’s Music Hall in London’s East End, as part of ‘Wink the Other Eye’ Wilton’s first true music hall show since 1888! Judi Herman has been looking back over a career that started in the Victorian era and lasted until after World War 2. She spoke to Dr Ann Featherstone, researcher in popular entertainment at Royal Holloway College, London and Tony Barker who’s issued twelve of her songs on CD. Margery Bowes had plenty of opportunities to watch Nellie perform, from the orchestra pit at the London Coliseum.

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