Famous People You've Never Heard Of
40 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsOur podcasts are a mix of conversations with a wide range of subject matter experts and enthusiasts, interspersed with the occasional audio drama. Each episode focuses on one person, a group of people or a genre from the world of entertainment that we wish to bring back to the spotlight and who has been lost to history or is in danger of being so.The Arts industries are currently in peril but this is nothing new. The Entertainment industry in all its guises has seen it all before. Political turmoil, plague, poverty, overnight success, sudden failure and the long term closure of theatres are not unique to the 21st century.We are not academics (although luckily some of our prestigious guests are) so don't expect forensic analysis or ground breaking research in every episode. We are entertainers, passionate about our craft, its heritage and its future. And we want to share our enthusiasm with you!
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Episodes
Her Father's Daughter - Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond talk about Avril Coleridge-Taylor
March 29, 2023 04:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBAvril Coleridge-Taylor (1903-1988); Wikipedia says she was a "pianist". She was. She was also a composer and conductor (in fact she was the first female conductor of the band of the Royal Marines). She was also the daughter of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Historian and author Stephen Bourne and musician and author Patricia Hammond talk about her talent and her eventful life in this episode. Find out more about Stephen and his work championing black and LGBTQ history here: https://step...
"Damn Tom & Jerry" - Dr Mary Shannon Talks About Billy Waters. With Charlotte Campbell.
March 21, 2023 04:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBWe're delighted and privileged to be releasing today's podcast on the 200th anniversary of the death of Billy Waters. Born in 1776 Waters was a familiar sight on the Strand in London. He was a black ex-sailor who had been invalided out of the Navy after losing a leg. With a crude wooden prosthesis he danced and also played the violin outside the Adelphi Theatre. He became so famous that a whole industry grew up around him - his picture was painted by celebrated artists of the time, ther...
Man or Myth? Dr Mary Shannon Talks About Billy Waters. With Charlotte Campbell.
March 21, 2023 04:00 - 31 minutes - 21.9 MBWe're delighted and privileged to be releasing today's podcast on the 200th anniversary of the death of Billy Waters. Born in 1776 Waters was a familiar sight on the Strand in London. He was a black ex-sailor who had been invalided out of the Navy after losing a leg. With a crude wooden prosthesis he danced and also played the violin outside the Adelphi Theatre. He became so famous that a whole industry grew up around him - his picture was painted by celebrated artists of the time, ther...
Chenoa Murphy
March 14, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBThank you for listening. If you've enjoyed today's podcast do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode.. And if you'd like to help us in our work in keeping the podcast going, please consider becoming a patron. It's really easy to do, just go to : https://www.patreon.com/bluefiretheatre if you're more comfortable with a one off donation you can do this via our website: https://www.bluefiretheatre.co.uk/ or buy us a coffee on: https://ko-fi.com/bluefiretheatr...
"The African Mahler": Chenoa Murphy talks about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
March 14, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 12.4 MBSamuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was a British composer. His mother was English and his father from Sierra Leone. He referred to himself as "Anglo-African" and was referred to by white musicians in the US as the "Black Mahler", which is the title of the biography by Charles Elford. Coleridge-Taylor entered the Royal College of Music at the age of only 15 and was taught by Prof. Charles Villiers Stanford, who conducted the debut performance of Coleridge-Taylor's "Hiawatha". He is ren...
Blood, Sweat and Vaginas , with Paula David - One Woman Wednesdays
March 08, 2023 05:00 - 11 minutes - 7.66 MBPaula David's one woman show is a journey through menopause and a discovery of self. It is poetic and musical, has movement and dance and examines something that all women experience and few have the courage to speak about. It is also highly amusing! Paula spoke to us about the show ahead of her one night at the Exchange in Twickenham on 29th March as part of the One Woman Wednesday season. Book tickets for the show here: https://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/event/blood-sweat-vaginas/ Guest:...
Tickbox with Lubna Kerr- One Woman Wednesdays
February 26, 2023 03:00 - 11 minutes - 7.94 MBActor and stand up comedian Lubna Kerr has been ticking boxes all her life. In this one woman show she tells the tale of her parents' relocation to Glasgow from Pakistan and how they swapped their upper middle class lives for inner city living. This is a tale of immigration, personal development, family, friendship - and Tunnock's teacakes! The show is part of One woman Wednesdays at The Exchange in Twickenham, See it on 15th March. book tickets for the show here: https://exchangetwicken...
She Wolves with Laura Careless - One Woman Wednesdays
February 24, 2023 11:00 - 14 minutes - 9.79 MBThis one-woman show, based on the book and television series She-Wolves: The Women who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by historian Helen Castor, depicts the lives of five of England’s most famous medieval queens (Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and Mary I) using speech, song, dance, and animation. Performer Laura Careless chats to us about how the show came about, what the show is about and her relationship with the incredible women featured in...
Testament of Yootha - One Woman Wednesdays
February 13, 2023 06:00 - 9 minutes - 6.57 MBYootha Joyce, best known for "George and Mildred" was one of the best known TV stars of the 1970's. But she was so much more... Award -winning actress Caroline Burns-Cooke tells her story in the brilliant one woman show "Testament of Yootha", showing for one night only at the Exchange in Twickenham on 22nd March as part of the One Woman Wednesday season to celebrate Womens History Month and International Womens Day. We had a quick chat with her about the show..... Guest: Caroline Burns...
The Ballad of Mulan - One Woman Wednesdays
February 11, 2023 05:00 - 10 minutes - 7.59 MBFor ten years Mulan, disguised as a man, has fought for the Chinese Empire, but now the fighting is coming to an end, one last battle and she will be going home - but can she return to her old life and become a woman again? A search for an identity in a violent world. This project is Michelle Yim’s third solo show commission. It has toured Fringe Festivals and many UK venues. The Ballad of Mulan is the first in our series of "One Woman Wednesdays", a short season we have curated to celebra...
Isadorable! Elizabeth Blake Talks About Isadora Duncan
October 26, 2022 04:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBIsadora Duncan: dancer, muse, innovator, political activist and so much more was born in the USA in 1877. She died in Nice, France in 1927 in a freak accident that is sadly the thing that she seems to be most remembered for. Well we want to change that! Elizabeth Blake is an actress, dancer and choreographer. She has written and is currently performing a one woman show about Isadora that has wowed audiences and critics alike and today and we're delighted she agreed to chat to us about t...
Sex, Love and Classical Music - Elena Mazzon talks about Clara Schumann
July 26, 2022 04:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBClara Schumann, a pianist, composer and piano teacher. And wife of Robert Schumann. Clara Wieck had a fascinating life- a child prodigy, like Mozart before her she was touring as a concert pianist under the watchful eye of her domineering father from a very young age. She went on to marry Robert, have eight children and continue to work in the male dominated world of classical music until she died aged 76 having survived all but two of her children. Elena Mazzon is an actress and musicia...
Ally Sloper's Half Holiday
June 04, 2022 09:00 - 40 minutes - 28.2 MBAlly Sloper's Half-Holiday was the name of a weekly comic strip which first appeared on 3 May 1884. Before Superman, Spiderman, Desperate Dan and Dennis the Menace came Ally Sloper. From 1884 until the 1920s, the red-nosed social climber who poked fun at the English people and their customs was a household name and national favourite. Ally Sloper takes us into the realms of the first comic strip character whole Beano and Dandy. This comic strip started it all. Here is a man who becam...
Let's All Go to the Music Hall - an episode for Music Hall & Variety Day
May 16, 2022 03:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBThe British Music Hall Society's annual online celebration of "Music Hall and Variety Day" is on 16th May. It's an annual online event now in its third year where all sorts of videos, audio recordings, pictures, posters and anecdotes are shared. It's great fun and a really good excuse to sort out the archives and take a look to see what's hidden at the back of your sock drawer! Don't forget the hashtags #MHVD and #musichallvarietyday We've recorded this special episode as part of the pro...
Who's Army...? David Crump talks about Fred Karno
May 02, 2022 03:00 - 1 hour - 48.3 MBWho was Fred Karno? and what was his army? We talk to David Crump whose biography of today's subject reveals all - and some! Karno was a giant personality who had a giant effect on theatre and cinema as we know it. The man who gave Stan Laurel, Charlie Chaplin and the Crazy Gang their first break and almost single handedly invented the type of slapstick we recognise in the silent movies had an eventful life that was touched by many of the major events of the first part of the 20th Centu...
The 2nd Best Whore in London. With guest contributions from Moira Buffini and Lyn Brown
January 02, 2022 16:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBBack in the dark days of Lockdown number 2 at the end of 2020 Lottie and Linda were enjoying the TV series Harlots. Whilst chatting about it Lottie remembered seeing the blue plaque that is dedicated to Priss Fotheringham, the "second best whore in London". And the idea for a podcast episode was born! For reasons many and varied it's taken us a whole year to bring the episode to you and we do hope you enjoy it. It's not been all beer and skittles (or ping pong balls!) for sex workers th...
The Forgotten Talent of Amanda Ira Aldridge, with Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond
October 28, 2021 05:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBAmanda Ira Aldridge, one of the most important female composers of the 20th century has been all but forgotten. Daughter of the groundbreaking actor Ira Aldridge, Amanda, was also a singer and in her latter years a voice teacher. One of her pupils was Paul Robeson who approached her when he cane to the UK to play Othello. He was only the second black actor to play the role. Amanda's father Ira had been the first! Under the name Montague Ring, Amanda was a composer of many songs and he...
"It Seems That I'm Interested in Lots of Things"; In Conversation with Christopher Green
October 14, 2021 04:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBFor this special episode we've moved away from talking about our long forgotten heroes of history to talk to our very much up to date award winning theatre-maker - and hero - Christopher Green. Christopher is a huge advocate of theatre as an experience and of the "all the world's a stage" ethos. In this conversation we talk about experiential theatre, site-specific productions and why clear instructions for both audience and performers would make the theatre experience more accessible...
The Black Sheep of the Family - Christopher Green & John Orchard talk about Fred Barnes
September 30, 2021 04:00 - 51 minutes - 35.5 MBFred Barnes was a huge star in his time, but his fame, fortune and undeniable glamour hid a tragic story and self-destructive nature. Christopher Green and John Orchard talk to Lottie about Fred Barnes' tragic life and death, how he has been almost written out of history and their own projects to bring him back into popular culture. A blue plaque to Fred Barnes will be unveiled on 18th October 2021 at his home - 22, Clifton Villas, Maida Vale, London W9. Further Reading and information ...
Jolly Good Luck! Ann-Lindsey Wickens & Chris Jaeger talk about Vesta Tilley. With Jessica Danheiser
August 05, 2021 05:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBVesta Tilley was possibly the most famous male impersonator of all time and a huge star of the Victorian Music Hall. The girl from Worcester, who was treading the boards from the age of 3 was also the wife of an MP and "Britain's best recruiting sergeant" during WW1. In this episode Ann-Lindsey Wickens tells us what it's like to portray this iconic figure, and Vesta's history is told - in brief by Chris Jaeger, author of "Vesta" the one woman play about Lady De Fries as she became. And we...
"The Funniest Book in the World" & How We adapted it for the Stage - with Tim Shaw & Andy Smith
July 15, 2021 03:00 - 43 minutes - 29.6 MB"The Diary of a Nobody" has long been a favourite book of both Tim Shaw and Andy Smith. They've seen it on stage, listened to it on the radio and, of course, read it. So one rainy August day in Edinburgh after seeing Rodney Bewes in his on man version of 3 Men in a Boat and over a small sherry or two they hit upon the idea of adapting Charles Pooter's diary into a one man play. Andy reprised his role as Pooter for the specially recorded version of the play for this podcast, And here he ...
The Diary of a Nobody by George & Weedon Grossmith; adapted by Tim Shaw
July 08, 2021 03:00 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MBThis season's audio drama is : The Diary of a Nobody, by George & Weedon Grossmith, said by Evelyn Waugh to be the "funniest book ever written". The book has never been out of print and is available at all good bookshops. This adaptation is by Tim Shaw. It is directed by Steve Taylor Charles Pooter - Andy Smith Carrie - Lottie Walker Lupin - Steve Taylor Studio Recording, Production & Editing- Harry Jacobs Assisted by - Jacob Taylor Music - James Hall https://www.jamesahall.co.uk/ ...
The Victorian Somebody - Stephen Wade talks about George Grossmith
July 01, 2021 03:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBGeorge Grossmith created many of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic baritone roles and was known for his delivery of the famous patter songs. He was also a writer and composer who entertained royalty in the parlours of palaces and a journalist who spent time as a Bow Street Court reporter. And, together with his brother Weedon he was responsible for producing "The Diary of a Nobody", which has never been out of print. It was hailed by Evelyn Waugh as being the "funniest book ever written". An...
The Greatest Showman - Andrew van Buren talks about Philip Astley. With Chris Barltrop.
June 22, 2021 17:00 - 1 hour - 50.6 MBThe original "greatest showman" was not P.T. Barnum, it was a chap from Newcastle Under Lyme in Staffordshire, who went by the name Philip Astley. Astley was a soldier and talented equestrian who went on to invent what we now recognise as the modern day circus. His story is one of the many that prove that truth is stranger (certainly more remarkable) than fiction. Andrew Van Buren hails from the world of circus and a very theatrical family. He's a true all round entertainer and is passi...
Into the Limelight with Margaret Monod; a special episode for BHMS Music Hall & Variety Day
May 16, 2021 09:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBMargaret Monod talks about her blog, "Into the Limelight" and her fabulous collection of Music Hall postcards . Today's Podcast: Host: Lottie Guest: Margaret Monod Edited By: Jacob Taylor Music: James Hall This is a special bonus episode broadcast specially for the British Music Hall Society's Music Hall & Variety Day Follow Margaret on Twitter: @monomaniablogs To find out more about Music Hall check out: The British Music Hall Society http://www.britishmusichallsociety.com/ The Pla...
Series Two Trailer
April 22, 2021 05:00 - 4 minutes - 2.94 MBWelcome back to "Famous People You've Never Heard Of"! We've some fabulous guests talking about some truly fabulous people and hope that you enjoy finding out about them all. Some of our contributors this season are: Stephen Bourne Lyn Brown MP Moira Buffini Christopher Green John Orchard Andrew van Buren And some of our wonderful subjects are: Vesta Tilley, Billy Waters, Philip Astley, Fred Barnes, Amanda Aldridge and George Grossmith We've been having a wonderful time producing these ...
Update - Where Has Series Two Gone?
April 19, 2021 05:00 - 4 minutes - 2.84 MBA short message to reassure our listeners that you're not abandoned! We've had a slight delay but Series Two will be up and running soon. In the meantime, check out the show notes for all of Series One , which have been updated and do use this downtime to catch up on any episodes you've missed. If you want to revisit Episodes 3 and 4 (the ones that missed out on the all singing all dancing technology when we first broadcast) please do. They are both very popular episodes: No. 3 (ne...
Music Hall Darlings (updated) Alison Young talks about Daisy Dormer & Her Sisters
April 18, 2021 09:00 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MBAlison Young is the Secretary of the British Music Hall Society. She ran away from the law to research and write about her family connections with the Music Hall and has uncovered many little gems that she shares with us today. "Dainty Daisy Dormer" was a Music Hall star. She was also Alison's great great aunt. She and her sisters toured around the UK - and much further afield entertaining audiences in the thousands of music hall theatres that existed in the late 19th/early 20th centuri...
Music Hall Darlings (updated) Alison Young talks about Daisy Dormer & Her Sisters
April 18, 2021 09:00 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MBAlison Young is the Secretary of the British Music Hall Society. She ran away from the law to research and write about her family connections with the Music Hall and has uncovered many little gems that she shares with us today. "Dainty Daisy Dormer" was a Music Hall star. She was also Alison's great great aunt. She and her sisters toured around the UK - and much further afield entertaining audiences in the thousands of music hall theatres that existed in the late 19th/early 20th centuri...
Man of Letters (updated) Paterson Joseph talks about Charles Ignatius Sancho
April 05, 2021 10:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBToday's episode features writer and actor Paterson Joseph, author of the play "Sancho, An Act of Remembrance", which he has been performing for some 10 years and brings back to the theatre next year. He has also recently completed a book about Sancho, this incredible man who was born on a slave ship in the Atlantic and died a businessman in London. Sancho's life was lived to the full: he composed popular music, corresponded with the great and the good of the day and became the first man...
Well, La-Di-Dah! : The Team Behind "Marie Lloyd Stole My Life" Talk About Nelly Power
February 18, 2021 05:00 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBNelly Power was a huge star of music hall who is now pretty much forgotten. In 2017/18 Blue Fire's Lottie Walker was researching the life of Marie Lloyd when she discovered Nelly, who was in fact the first person to sing the famous song "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery". And made it her mission to get Ms Power the recognition she deserves. By 2019 J.J. Leppink had written the one woman play, "Marie Lloyd Stole My Life" for Lottie to take to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. since th...
A Little of What You Fancy - Marie Kelly & Midge Gillies Talk About Marie Lloyd
February 11, 2021 04:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBMarie Lloyd, Queen of the Music Hall was a force of nature with a larger than life personality. At one time the highest paid act in the country, she sang a string of hit songs including "Oh, Mr Porter" and "Don't Dilly Dally on the Way". Finding fame at the age of 15 she spent the next 40 years entertaining on the music halls and vaudeville theatres around the globe. Her life was every bit as lively offstage as it was on. She experienced extreme wealth and extreme poverty, 3 marriages an...
A Woman of Her Time - Dr Debbie Cannon Talks About Alice Thornton
January 14, 2021 04:00 - 52 minutes - 72 MBAlice Thornton was an ordinary, if somewhat well to do woman of the 17th century. She lived through the time of Plague, the Great Fire of London, the English Civil War and the Restoration. But as the old saying says "there are no troubles as big as your own" and Alice's troubles (indeed tragedies), which were many are what she recorded in her diary. Dr Debbie Cannon, who is a writer and actor created her one person play, "The Remarkable Deliverances of Alice Thornton for the Being Human ...
Principal Boys, Pantomime & Poltergeists, Kate Griffin talks about Kitty Peck & Music Hall
January 06, 2021 11:00 - 55 minutes - 76.8 MBJust before Christmas 2020 we had a jolly conversation with Kate Griffin, author of the "Kitty Peck" novels about her interest in music hall. Kate tells us about her love of theatre, how she fell in love with music hall and Jenny Hall, the real artiste that Kitty Peck is based on. We also talk about principal boys, theatre ghosts and what pantomime was like in days gone by. The "Kitty Peck" books are published by Faber and Faber: Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders Kitty Peck and th...
Big Time - by Jonathan Holloway
December 24, 2020 04:00 - 52 minutes - 71.6 MBWilliam Shakespeare, arguably the greatest playwright the world has ever known; and Miguel de Cervantes, arguably the greatest writer in Spanish history and author of the first modern novel died on the same day. Or did they...? In 2016, to mark the 400th anniversary of this occasion the BBC commissioned Jonathan Holloway to write this play, set in Shakespeare's house on 23rd April 1616. An irreverent commentary on an imagined conversation between two giants of literature (and the maid)...
Actress or Activist? Dr Renata Kobetts Miller talks about Elizabeth Robins
December 10, 2020 06:00 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBRenata Kobetts Miller is Professor of English and Deputy Dean of Humanities and the Arts at the City College of New York. Her book, "The Victorian Actress in the Novel and on the Stage" begins in the 1830s and ends in the 1910s. It looks at how Victorian novels and plays used the actress, who was a significant figure for the relationship between women and the public sphere, to define their own place within and among genres and in relation to audiences. It traces a cultural history of t...
Music Hall Darlings - Alison Young talks about Daisy Dormer & Her Sisters
December 03, 2020 05:00 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MBAlison Young is the Secretary of the British Music Hall Society. She ran away from the law to research and write about her family connections with the Music Hall and has uncovered many little gems that she shares with us today. "Dainty Daisy Dormer" was a Music Hall star. She was also Alison's great great aunt. She and her sisters toured around the UK - and much further afield entertaining audiences in the thousands of music hall theatres that existed in the late 19th/early 20th centuri...
Man of Letters: Paterson Joseph talks about Charles Ignatius Sancho
November 25, 2020 06:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBToday's episode features writer and actor Paterson Joseph, author of the play "Sancho, An Act of Remembrance", which he has been performing for some 10 years and brings back to the theatre next year. He has also recently completed a book about Sancho, this incredible man who was born on a slave ship in the Atlantic and died a businessman in London. Sancho's life was lived to the full: he composed popular music, corresponded with the great and the good of the day and became the first m...
All the Fun of the Fair - David Slattery Christy talks about Reg Pratley
November 17, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 29.9 MBAuthor and playwright David Slattery Christy, talks to us about his grandfather, Reg Pratley. Reg's story shines a light on the social history of the early 20th Century. From growing up in a sleepy Oxfordshire village via a short spell in the Royal Navy, Reg Pratley ended up managing one of the largest and most prestigious travelling fairgrounds in England. His story is part Mills and Boon romance, part Boy's Own Adventure and part historical drama. We also learn about David's new pl...
Series One Trailer
November 07, 2020 15:00 - 3 minutes - 2.38 MBHere's what to expect in our first series of "Famous People You've Never Heard Of" Amongst others our special guests this season include actor and writer Dr Debbie Cannon, author David Slattery Christy and actor and writer Paterson Joseph. Join us as they take us on journeys into the past to discover tales of fame, fortune and failure in the worlds of theatre, music and other areas of entertainment. And don't forget to tune in to our "Christmas Special" audio drama, "Big Time", by Jo...