BMHS Conference 2023 – Call for Papers

British Music Hall Society Conference, Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th October 2023 

“How the Music Hall Worked, 1840 – 1918” CALL FOR PAPERS

The first British Music Hall Society conference will take place at the Cinema Museum in Kennington, London, over the last weekend in October 2023. It will look at ‘How the Music Hall Worked 1840 – 1918’ with a particular emphasis this year on the Speciality Act and Music Hall, Families and Children, and Agents and Circuits (including continental ones).

We invite proposals for talks (20 minutes plus 10 for questions) on subjects related to the theme.  We particularly welcome proposals that go beyond a simple biographical account, but look instead at a wider picture, for example comparing the work or experience of several families. 

We also invite proposals of short PowerPoint presentations – no longer than 6 minutes and 20 seconds, accompanied by up to 20 slides (20 seconds talking per image) – to contribute towards an hour of eight short presentations. Biographical accounts are welcome.

The British Music Hall Society is not an academic institution so presentations should be worded to appeal to a general audience rather than an exclusively academic one.

Ideally, talks will be given in-person, though consideration will be given to virtual presentations (for example, to avoid carbon emissions from long-distance travel). 

The conference will also feature panel discussions, early film of acts, and exhibitions (proposals of items to exhibit are welcome) and a local walk. The wonderfully atmospheric Cinema Museum (formerly the Lambeth Workhouse, where Charlie Chaplin was once a resident) is in an area where many music hall performers lived, many agents had their offices and where the first grand music hall and the first circus were established. 

How to submit a proposal:

Please send a short paragraph about the subject of your proposed presentation to the email below. 

Also include a short biography (up to 100 words), your mobile phone number, and any audio-visual requirements you will need beyond a microphone and lectern. For example, do you plan to display images or a PowerPoint presentation?  Will you need to play video or music during parts of your presentation?

Proposals should be emailed to: contact@britishmusichallsociety.com 

Deadline for submission: 30th April 2023 though we invite expressions of interest to be made as early as possible, and are happy to discuss your ideas.  Please consider submitting your proposal soon! Whilst we would like to accommodate all proposals, our focus is on curating a range of presentations that, together, will give a good coverage of the key topics.

The Future We hope that this will be the first in a series of potentially annual conferences, each looking at particular aspects of Music Hall. We welcome suggestions of venues, topics and presentations for future years.

The Funniest Man in London – Wednesday 11th January 2023, 7.30pm

A lecture by BMHS member Anthony Binns with a slide show presentation on the life of H.G. Pélissier, music hall and concert party entertainer and founder of The Follies at Highgate Society on January 11^th 2023. Tickets available here 

The talk is based on the newly-published biography of H.G. Pélissier, entitled The Funniest Man in London, now Times newspaper critic Quentin Letts’ ‘Book of the Year’ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-writers-favourite-books-of-2022-3qmvh6q0n and available for purchase from all good bookshops, Amazon and from The-Funniest-Man-in-London| Pélissier’s Follies (pelissiersfollies.com)

In the Limelight: Midge Gillies, Thursday 17th November 2022

Our final ‘In the Limelight’ talk of the year is next week, on Thursday 17th November at 7.30pm at the Water Rats. Midge Gillies will be talking about the history of Piccadilly Circus, the subject of her latest book which she describes as “a people’s history” of Piccadilly Circus. She will discuss how music hall performers helped to turn the world-famous junction into “the hub of the universe” and why one police officer described it as “the wickedest pavement in England”. Her illustrated talk will describe what went on at the London Pavilion and how its history marked the changing world of music hall. She will tell the story of the acts who performed at the subterranean night club, the Café de Paris and its tragic finale, as well as the big bands who performed at the GIs’ favourite, Rainbow Corner, and the more sedate Criterion. She will introduce you to performers such as the “Man/Doll” Phroso, invite you to take a cup of tea at the first Lyon’s Tea Shop and explain why Piccadilly Circus was the best place in the world to celebrate – whatever your class or means.

Many of you will be familiar with Midge from her 1999 biography of Marie Lloyd, The One and Only. Midge also spoke most eloquently about Marie’s life at our recent commemoration service. Tickets may be booked via Ticketsource and the booking link can be found here.