Gus Elen
Encyclopedia
Ernest Augustus Elen was an English
music hall
singer and comedian
. He achieved success from 1891, performing cockney
songs including Arf a Pint of Ale, It's a Great Big Shame, Down the Road and If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses in Between in a career lasting over thirty years.
Born in Pimlico
, London
, Elen had worked as a barman and a draper's assistant and had packed eggs for the Co-op before becoming a singer. He began busking at an early age and found a position singing in a minstrel
troupe. His solo success began in 1891 when he started performing in public houses, singing songs in a manner similar to many cockney fruit sellers and ironmongers of the time, known as costermongers. Because of this, he became known as a "coster comedian". For the stage persona he had created, Elen dressed in a coster uniform of striped jersey, peaked cap turned towards one ear and a short clay pipe in the side of his mouth. His characters adopted a persona of being constantly bad tempered and pugnacious. In 1907 he starred in a short film called Wait Till the Work Comes Round.
In his later years, Elen was offered work in the USA due to the English music hall strike which was taking place that year. Elen, along with other comic's of the day, including Albert Chevalier
, performed their acts in the same manner as they did previously in the uk. However, the box-office sales indicated that Chevalier was more popular with American audiences than Elen and so he returned to the UK and performed for a further seven years as a top attraction in music halls across London. He appeared on stage occasionally in the 1930s, albeit briefly, where he appeared in the 1935 Royal Command Performance. He retired in 1914, shortly after returning from America. He made occasional appearances on stage and film before his death in 1940 aged 77.
, London
. His father was Edwin Elen, a viewer of cloth in a military store, and Mercy Elen, née Letherbarrow.
Elen started his career as a solo performer and briefly worked at the Old Marylebone Theatre in a 'blackface' comedy double act with a man named Daniels, who died in a in a boating accident a few years after the partnership was formed. After the death of Daniels, he returned to being a solo performer and bought the rights to Never introduce your donah to a pal from the song's writer A.E Durandeau, (donah was cockney
slang meaning girlfriend). The song was performed on stage on 4 June 1891, at Harewood's varieties in Hoxton
.Elen performed songs and sketches as the character of an old east end costermonger and became known as a 'coster' comedian. Elen drew inspiration from his experiences of growing up around people, similar to that of his persona on stage. Elen's performances were often misinterpreted as being a self caricature, but were performed in a realistic and simplistic manner, one that made him popular with his audiences.
In an interview, given after he had become a star, he said:
Elen's songs were often compared to those of Albert Chevalier
, a contemporary to Elen and a major performer on the halls. There were many other coster performers on the Victorian music hall circuit, but throughout his career Elen maintained a particularly friendly rivalry with Chevalier.
The lyrics to "If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses" were written by Edgar Bateman and who later wrote two more of Elen's songs: "She's Too Good to Live Is Mrs. Carter" and "The Postman's 'Oliday." The music to the songs were written by George Le Brunn, who wrote a vast number of music-hall songs and accompaniments, for Marie Lloyd and Dan Leno, and also for Gus Elen's "It's a Great Big Shame"--. Chance Newton, a friend of Elen, spoke of his habit of leaving scores he was working on at the various pubs he visited en route to the particular hall he was travelling to.
"If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses" is perhaps Elen's most recognizable song and is about the little backyards of London houses which are hemmed in by row upon row of other houses in all of the other streets in the neighbourhood. It is set in a typical working day of an east end costermonger.
The movements for each of Elen's songs were carefully rehearsed so that the performances themselves were clean and precise. Each gesture was powerfully distinct and could be seen from the back of the largest theatre.
Many of Elen's songs spoke of the living conditions of ordinary workers and about the cramped housing conditions of the East End. Commenting on the overcrowded poor parts of London, in one of his songs, he takes on the persona of a proud tenant boasting about the dismal place he lives in, and in particular the view from his 'garden':
The lyrics to "If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses" were written by Edgar Bateman and who later wrote two more of Elen's songs: "She's Too Good to Live Is Mrs. Carter" and "The Postman's 'Oliday." The music to the songs was written by George Le Brunn, who wrote a vast number of music-hall songs and accompaniments for Marie Lloyd and Dan Leno, and also for Gus Elen's "It's a Great Big Shame". Chance Newton, a friend of Elen, spoke of his habit of leaving scores he was working on at the various pubs he visited en route to the particular hall he was travelling to.
His most famous song was ‘If it Wasn’t for the Houses in Between’ and is about the little backyards of London houses which are hemmed in by row upon row of other houses in all of the other streets in the neighbourhood. It is set in a typical working day of a costermonger.
William Morris, a respected vaudeville performer in America, was sent to London and saw a performance of Elen's at the Hackney Empire
and signed Elen to take part in the new company. The New York Dramatic News cited;
"While his act is, in a sense, similar to that of Albert Chevalier, it is also radically different. Mr. Elen portrays the coster as if he actually exists in his native element".
The box-office sales indicated that Chevalier was more popular with American audiences than Elen and so he returned to the UK and performed for a further seven years as a top attraction in music halls across London, before his retirement.
Elen took early retirement in 1914 after 33 years of performing. He returned in the 1930s, albeit briefly, where he appeared in a film and in the 1935 Royal Command Performance
.
Elen was a fiercely private person and although he was married with children, he would never refer to his family by their names when interviewed by the press. From 1898 Elen lived largely in Balham, where he bred poultry and took up photography. He also became a keen fisherman, particularly during a spell in residence on the south coast, and enjoyed shooting. Elen would not socialize with fellow artists, opting instead to go fishing, shooting or driving around the English countryside.
He died of liver cancer at his home, Edith Villa, 3 Thurleigh Avenue, Balham, on 17 February 1940.
aged 77 and is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery. There is a blue plaque
at his former home, 3 Thurleigh Avenue, Balham, which was erected by Greater London Council in 1984.
The Reluctant Juggler, an episode of the 1972 BBC anthology series The Edwardians dealing with the 1907 music hall strike and written by Alan Plater
, features George Sewell
as Elen.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music hall
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...
singer and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
. He achieved success from 1891, performing cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
songs including Arf a Pint of Ale, It's a Great Big Shame, Down the Road and If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses in Between in a career lasting over thirty years.
Born in Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Elen had worked as a barman and a draper's assistant and had packed eggs for the Co-op before becoming a singer. He began busking at an early age and found a position singing in a minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
troupe. His solo success began in 1891 when he started performing in public houses, singing songs in a manner similar to many cockney fruit sellers and ironmongers of the time, known as costermongers. Because of this, he became known as a "coster comedian". For the stage persona he had created, Elen dressed in a coster uniform of striped jersey, peaked cap turned towards one ear and a short clay pipe in the side of his mouth. His characters adopted a persona of being constantly bad tempered and pugnacious. In 1907 he starred in a short film called Wait Till the Work Comes Round.
In his later years, Elen was offered work in the USA due to the English music hall strike which was taking place that year. Elen, along with other comic's of the day, including Albert Chevalier
Albert Chevalier
Albert Onesime Britannicus Gwathveoyd Louis Chevalier was an English comedian and actor.-Early life:Albert Chevalier was born in the Royal Crescent, in London's Notting Hill...
, performed their acts in the same manner as they did previously in the uk. However, the box-office sales indicated that Chevalier was more popular with American audiences than Elen and so he returned to the UK and performed for a further seven years as a top attraction in music halls across London. He appeared on stage occasionally in the 1930s, albeit briefly, where he appeared in the 1935 Royal Command Performance. He retired in 1914, shortly after returning from America. He made occasional appearances on stage and film before his death in 1940 aged 77.
Early career
Elen was born at 103 Pulford Street, PimlicoPimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father was Edwin Elen, a viewer of cloth in a military store, and Mercy Elen, née Letherbarrow.
Elen started his career as a solo performer and briefly worked at the Old Marylebone Theatre in a 'blackface' comedy double act with a man named Daniels, who died in a in a boating accident a few years after the partnership was formed. After the death of Daniels, he returned to being a solo performer and bought the rights to Never introduce your donah to a pal from the song's writer A.E Durandeau, (donah was cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
slang meaning girlfriend). The song was performed on stage on 4 June 1891, at Harewood's varieties in Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
.Elen performed songs and sketches as the character of an old east end costermonger and became known as a 'coster' comedian. Elen drew inspiration from his experiences of growing up around people, similar to that of his persona on stage. Elen's performances were often misinterpreted as being a self caricature, but were performed in a realistic and simplistic manner, one that made him popular with his audiences.
In an interview, given after he had become a star, he said:
- Years before I entered the ranks of music hall performers proper, I used to contribute to the programmes of the weekly sing songs held at such places as 'Poppy Lords' in Lisson GroveLisson GroveLisson Grove is a district and also a street of the City of Westminster, London, England located just to the north of the city ring road. There are many landmarks surrounding the area. To the north is Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood. To the west are Paddington and Watling Street...
; the 'Magpie and Stump', BatterseaBatterseaBattersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
; or the 'George Street Recital Hall'. At the last named hall, the salaries ranged from a shilling to three and sixpence a night with a cup of coffee and a bun thrown in by way of refreshment. In those days I often filled in a season on the 'waxeys' (on the seaside) at MargateMargate-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
and RamsgateRamsgateRamsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
in a Negro minstrel troupe.
Elen's songs were often compared to those of Albert Chevalier
Albert Chevalier
Albert Onesime Britannicus Gwathveoyd Louis Chevalier was an English comedian and actor.-Early life:Albert Chevalier was born in the Royal Crescent, in London's Notting Hill...
, a contemporary to Elen and a major performer on the halls. There were many other coster performers on the Victorian music hall circuit, but throughout his career Elen maintained a particularly friendly rivalry with Chevalier.
The lyrics to "If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses" were written by Edgar Bateman and who later wrote two more of Elen's songs: "She's Too Good to Live Is Mrs. Carter" and "The Postman's 'Oliday." The music to the songs were written by George Le Brunn, who wrote a vast number of music-hall songs and accompaniments, for Marie Lloyd and Dan Leno, and also for Gus Elen's "It's a Great Big Shame"--. Chance Newton, a friend of Elen, spoke of his habit of leaving scores he was working on at the various pubs he visited en route to the particular hall he was travelling to.
"If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses" is perhaps Elen's most recognizable song and is about the little backyards of London houses which are hemmed in by row upon row of other houses in all of the other streets in the neighbourhood. It is set in a typical working day of an east end costermonger.
Musical performances
Many of Elen's songs spoke of the living conditions of ordinary workers and about the cramped housing conditions of the East End. Commenting on the overcrowded poor parts of London, in one of his songs, he takes on the persona of a proud tenant boasting about the dismal place he lives in, and in particular the view from his 'garden':
The lyrics to "If It Wasn't for the 'Ouses" were written by Edgar Bateman and who later wrote two more of Elen's songs: "She's Too Good to Live Is Mrs. Carter" and "The Postman's 'Oliday." The music to the songs was written by George Le Brunn, who wrote a vast number of music-hall songs and accompaniments for Marie Lloyd and Dan Leno, and also for Gus Elen's "It's a Great Big Shame". Chance Newton, a friend of Elen, spoke of his habit of leaving scores he was working on at the various pubs he visited en route to the particular hall he was travelling to.
His most famous song was ‘If it Wasn’t for the Houses in Between’ and is about the little backyards of London houses which are hemmed in by row upon row of other houses in all of the other streets in the neighbourhood. It is set in a typical working day of a costermonger.
Audience representation
His songs were bitter and realistic and rooted in the poverty and life of the East Enders who were his audience. The appeal to his audience, many of whom were poor, proved to be a relief to the working classes of society within London. His act would encourage his audience to laugh at the difficulties of working class life, and to celebrate one's capacity for survival. Some songs would go further and openly reject establishment values of hard work and moral rectitude. His song "Wait until the work comes round" was specifically written for the unemployed people of Victorian London.Later career
In 1907, Elen was offered work in the USA due to the English music hall strike which was taking place that year. The czar of the American legitimate theatre, Abe Erlanger, formed The Advanced Vaudeville. This was created to act as direct competition for the newly established Vaudeville Hegemony, which was operating in the eastern half of the USA.William Morris, a respected vaudeville performer in America, was sent to London and saw a performance of Elen's at the Hackney Empire
Hackney Empire
The Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney, built in 1901 as a music hall.-History:Hackney Empire is a grade II* listed building...
and signed Elen to take part in the new company. The New York Dramatic News cited;
"While his act is, in a sense, similar to that of Albert Chevalier, it is also radically different. Mr. Elen portrays the coster as if he actually exists in his native element".
The box-office sales indicated that Chevalier was more popular with American audiences than Elen and so he returned to the UK and performed for a further seven years as a top attraction in music halls across London, before his retirement.
Elen took early retirement in 1914 after 33 years of performing. He returned in the 1930s, albeit briefly, where he appeared in a film and in the 1935 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...
.
Personal life
Unlike most performers, Elen kept a meticulous record of his songs with notes about the gestures and emotions, props required and stage settings. He also wrote comments about how his performance was received. Elen was praised as an "authentic cockney from the poor streets of London" and was well known for his involvement in personally organized charity events. For many years he and his wife distributed free Christmas gifts to the poor in public.Elen was a fiercely private person and although he was married with children, he would never refer to his family by their names when interviewed by the press. From 1898 Elen lived largely in Balham, where he bred poultry and took up photography. He also became a keen fisherman, particularly during a spell in residence on the south coast, and enjoyed shooting. Elen would not socialize with fellow artists, opting instead to go fishing, shooting or driving around the English countryside.
He died of liver cancer at his home, Edith Villa, 3 Thurleigh Avenue, Balham, on 17 February 1940.
aged 77 and is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery. There is a blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
at his former home, 3 Thurleigh Avenue, Balham, which was erected by Greater London Council in 1984.
In popular culture
The journalist Gary Bushell names Gus Elen as an influence and performs "'Arf a Pint of Ale" with his punk band The Gonads.The Reluctant Juggler, an episode of the 1972 BBC anthology series The Edwardians dealing with the 1907 music hall strike and written by Alan Plater
Alan Plater
Alan Frederick Plater, CBE, FRSL was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s.-Career:...
, features George Sewell
George Sewell
George Sewell was an English actor.-Early life and early career:The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist; Sewell left school at age 14 and worked briefly in the printing trade before switching to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses...
as Elen.