Billy Williams (music hall performer)
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, was one of the most recorded popular entertainers of his and indeed of all time. His recordings sold in their thousands long after his early death in 1915. Born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Williams tried a number of jobs before embarking on an entertainment career which led him to come to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1899. He became a popular entertainer in the music halls singing what were known as chorus-songs - he also appeared in pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
.
Career
It was in 1906 that Williams made his first recordings and from that date he recorded prolifically on cylinder and disc.In 1910, he returned for an extended tour of his native Australia where he was greeted with wild enthusiasm. Returning to England later in that year, he continued his business relationship with songwriter Fred Godfrey
Fred Godfrey
Fred Godfrey was the pen name of Llewellyn Williams, a World War II songwriter...
. The two had what might be described as a "song factory" and worked in partnership (although it is believed that Godfrey did all of the song writing).
The year 1912 seemed to be the zenith of Williams' career - he appeared in the first Royal Command Performance
Royal Command Performance
For the annual Royal Variety Performance performed in Britain for the benefit of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, see Royal Variety Performance...
of that year and achieved glowing reviews in the national press. Sadly this fame was not to last as Williams became ill in late 1914 and died in Hove near Brighton in March 1915, the proximate cause being complications after an operation, but rumoured to be connected with "previous social excesses." (Myerscough, book to CD set, 2001)
He is buried in Mill Lane Cemetery, Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
, West Sussex, England. His headstone is in a family plot and reads "In Ever Loving Memory of William Holt Williams - "Billy Williams" whom God called 13 March 1915 aged 37 years. Fairwell Fair Heart until we Meet Again - WIFE. Also of RICHARD SHAW father of the above whom God called 6 August 1914 aged 63 years. RIP'.
Billy was also the brother of Richard and Rowley Banks, two of Australia's earliest professional golfers, who were also foundation members of the Australian Professional Golfers Association, founded in 1911.
Williams had married Amy Robinson in 1901 and she survived her husband by some 61 years.
Billy and Amy Williams produced four living children: Reginald, William, Margaret and Cathleen, who after his death, moved with Amy to Australia to lives out their lives.
Billy Williams is survived by his grandson Richard John Williams and great grandson Richard Guy Williams who both reside in Sydney, Australia.