Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Albert Whelan ( requested re-up )



Some scratchy old 78's dubbed to minidisc here courtesy of Angel Radio who kindly sent me these when I was searching for novelty songs a few years back. There have been a few versions of Barnacle BIll The Sailor and this is one of the best despite the pops and crackles.

"Albert Whelan, Florrie Forde, and Billy Williams were the three most famous Australians who graced the stage of the British Music Hall. Born in Melbourne, Whelan first made a name for himself entertaining the miners in the goldfields of Western Australia. Emigrating to Britain, he debuted as a “scarecrow” dancer at the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, but his versatile talents soon led him to singing and piano playing. Whelan invented the “signature tune,” and always came on stage whistling a waltz from Die Lustige BrĂ¼der [The Jolly Brothers]. Music Hall historian W. Macqueen-Pope (1950, 374) describes Whelan as having “an individual style which defies imitation, because it comes from his own inherent talent; he has, too, that perfect clarity of diction which was such a feature of Music Hall."

You can find a CD of Albert Whelan at Windyridge Records.


Albert Whelan - Pass Shoot Goal!

Albert Whelan - Barnacle Bill The Sailor

Albert Whelan - In My Bell Bottom Trousers

Albert Whelan - Oh Sailor Beware


These SendSpace files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

6 comments:

  1. Some of the links do not belong to the songs you list.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the tip luis- much appreciated. Ive corrected it now and will try and uplaod the missing one tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I left a thank-you on the earlier entry, but I should do the same here. Thanks to both you and Luis for helping me out.

    Another question - where did you get the biographical info on Albert above (i.e. can I quote it elsewhere and should it be attributed?).

    -Matt Whelan

    ReplyDelete
  4. No problem Matt. Glad to be of help. I can't remember the exact sourse of the quote- maybe Wikipedia which i use quite a lot. Google part of it and it may point you in the right direction.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey, guys, the quote about Albert Whelan is actually from my website: www.fredgodfreysongs.ca. on my page about Whelan, one of the stars who sang Godfrey's songs. You're more than welcome to quote, but attribution would be nice. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry Barry, I try to atribute quotes as much as possible but in my haste sometimes I forget. I will try better in future!

    ReplyDelete