Chesney Allen
Encyclopedia
Chesney Allen was a popular English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 entertainer of the Second World War period. He is best remembered as part of the double act
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...

 with Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan was a popular English music hall and vaudeville entertainer from the 1930s until the 1960s. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1960.- Family background :Flaganan was born Chaim Reuben Weintrop in...

, Flanagan and Allen
Flanagan and Allen
Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act popular during World War II. Its members were Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen...

.

Life and career

He was born William Ernest Chesney Allen in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, married Aleta Cosette Turner in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 in 1926 and died in Midhurst
Midhurst
Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...

, Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

, England. He began his career in straight acting, making his debut in stock at the Wimbledon Theatre, London in 1912. As 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...

 comedians, they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act and this led to a successful recording career as a duo with Bud Flanagan from 1924 and roles in film and television. Flanagan and Allen were both also members of The Crazy Gang
The Crazy Gang
The Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold...

 and worked with that team for many years concurrently.

Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually gentle humour for which the duo were known in their live performances, and during the war reflected the experiences of ordinary people during wartime. Songs like "We're Going To Hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line" mocked the German defences (Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...

), while others like "Miss You" sang of missing one's sweetheart during enforced absences. Other songs such as their best known "Underneath the Arches
Underneath the Arches (song)
"Underneath the Arches" is a 1931 popular song with words and music by Bud Flanagan, and additional lyrics by Reg Connelly. It was one of the most famous songs of the duo Flanagan and Allen....

" (which Flanagan co-wrote with Reg Connelly) had universal themes such as friendship, which again, helped people relate to the subject matter. The music was usually melodic, following a binary verse, verse chorus structure, with a small dance band
Dance band
Dance band can be one of several kinds of musical ensemble:* British dance band* Dansband, a Swedish pop genre* A Eurodance band...

 or orchestra providing the backing. The vocals were distinctive because while Flanagan was at least a competent singer and sang the melody lines, Allen used an almost spoken delivery to provide the harmonies.

Flanagan and Allen stopped performing together with Chesney Allen's retirement on health grounds in 1946, although he continued working in theatrical management. Allen returned to make occasional guest appearances. His last recording was for the album of the stage show Underneath the Arches in 1982.

Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Lee Hawkes , is an English pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He is best known for his 1991 single "The One and Only", which topped the charts in the UK and reached the Top 10 in the U.S.-Life and career:...

 is named after Chesney Allen.

Selected filmography

  • Alf's Button Afloat
    Alf's Button Afloat
    Alf's Button Afloat is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Alastair Sim and Peter Gawthorne. The Crazy Gang go to sea. It paradoies the 1920 novel Alf's Button by W.A...

    (1938)
  • Dunkirk
    Dunkirk (film)
    Dunkirk is a 1958 British war film directed by Leslie Norman and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough and Bernard Lee. It was based on two novels: Elleston Trevor's The Big Pick-Up and Lt. Col. Ewan Hunter and Maj. J. S...

    (1958)

External links

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