Champagne Charlie (song)
Encyclopedia
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song from the 19th century composed by Alfred Lee with lyrics by George Leybourne
George Leybourne
Joe Sanders , better known as George Leybourne, was an English music hall performer. Often nicknamed "Champagne Charlie", Leybourne is best-remembered as the lyricist for The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze....
. It was popularised by performer George Leybourne. The song was first performed at the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
in 1867. Leybourne entered in top hat and tails, dressed as a "swell" in immaculate evening dress, with gloves, cane, and scarf, waving a bottle of vintage Moët et Chandon
Moët et Chandon
Moët & Chandon , or Moët, is a French winery and co-owner of the luxury goods company Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. The company holds a Royal Warrant to supply champagne to Elizabeth II...
.
Leybourne's rival Alfred Vance
Alfred Vance
Alfred Peek Stevens , best known by his stage name Alfred Vance, was an English singer in the 19th Century music halls.-Early life and family:Vance was born in London in 1839...
introduced a number called Cliquot
Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is both a champagne house in Reims, France, and a brand of premium champagne. Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot-Muiron, Veuve Clicquot played an important role in establishing champagne as a favored drink of haute bourgeoisie and nobility throughout Europe...
, starting a fierce competition between the two men.
The melody of this song was subsequently adapted by the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
for their song Bless His Name He Sets Me Free. It later featured in the play Champagne Charlie
Champagne Charlie (play)
Champagne Charlie is a play in which George Lemon, a popular actor, and The Great Vance, his rival, attempt to out-do the other with drinking songs , and this turns into a feud....
and the film Champagne Charlie
Champagne Charlie (film)
Champagne Charlie is a 1944 British musical film made by Ealing Studios. It is based on an 1860s play that depicted the real life rivalry between George Leybourne, who first performed the song of that name, and Alfred Vance....
featuring Tommy Trinder
Tommy Trinder
Thomas Edward Trinder CBE known as Tommy Trinder, was an English stage, screen and radio comedian of the pre and post war years whose catchphrase was 'You lucky people'.-Life:...
and Stanley Holloway
Stanley Holloway
Stanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
. This song, with alternate lyrics, was also sung by the jazz musician Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone is a singer and guitarist specializing in interpretations of early 20th-century music, including jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics....
on his album of the same name
Champagne Charlie (Leon Redbone album)
Champagne Charlie is the title of a recording by singer/guitarist Leon Redbone, released in 1978. It peaked at No. 163 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.- Track listing :LP side A:# "Champagne Charlie" – 2:52...
in 1978. It is also heard as a background song a few times in the Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper (1988 TV series)
Jack the Ripper is a 1988 four-part television movie/mini-series portraying a fictionalized account of the hunt for Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial killer responsible for the Whitechapel murders of 1888...
(1988) television movie starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
.