R. P. Weston
Encyclopedia
Robert Patrick Weston was an English songwriter
. He was born and died in London
. Among other songs, he co-authored (with Bert Lee
), "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm
", a macabre
little ditty about the ghost
of Anne Boleyn
haunting the Tower of London
, seeking revenge on Henry VIII
for having her beheaded.
Weston's real name was Robert Harris and he was born in Kingsbury Road, Islington
, very close to Dalston Junction. His father ran a grocery shop and the family lived over it. Harris became a railway clerk (as listed in the 1911 census), but took up performing and song writing. At this time, he was living at 46 Hemmingford Road in Islington with his wife Maud. In 1915 in the offices of his music publisher, Francis Day and Hunter, he met his future collaborator Bert Lee and they spent the next twenty years working together on songs, monologues, musicals and films. Some of their most durable work arose out their collaboration with Stanley Holloway
. They also worked with Gracie Fields
and the Crazy Gang
. This collaboration was conducted in Weston's house in Twickenham
until his death in 1936.
Towards the end of Robert's life, his son, Harris Weston (born Robert Edgar Harris) also collaborated with his father and Bert Lee and the three of them produced the song "Harmonica Dan" in 1936. After Robert's death, Harris continued the collaboration with Lee and produced "Knees Up Mother Brown" in 1938. Like his father, Harris had talent as an amateur artist and in December 1939 produced a painting showing a riotous party scene entitled "Knees Up Mother Brown
". On the back of the painting Harris describes the scene as "The Costers' Party on the 100th Anniversary of Ma Brown". This indicates that this song must have been inspired by, or arose from, the costermonger community of London. Both Robert and Harris Weston drew inspiration from London's cockney culture for many of their songs, some of which were often sung in a cockney accent. These include Robert Weston's "What a Mouth" which was recorded as a pop song by Tommy Steele in 1960 and "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
" (with Fred Murray), which became US pop chart number 1 for Herman's Hermits
in the 1965. Robert Weston's paintings also reflect his London background and include a watercolour of Houndsditch Market painted in 1916.
After Robert Weston's death, the house was occupied by Weston's two daughters who lived there into old age, with Weston and Lee's papers sitting untouched and unlooked-at. Their present whereabouts are unknown though several items have appeared on ebay, including Weston and Lee's three-volume work-book, containing manuscript versions of many, if not all, their songs. It is now known that this item is in the hands of a collector of music hall memorabilia. Robert and Maud Weston both enjoyed sketching and painting on an amateur basis and a selection of their art work was auctioned with other family items in 2008.
The actor and singer Roy Hudd
created a stage show based on the songs of Robert Weston and Bert Lee (Just a Verse and a Chorus) and wrote the only authoritative article of any length about Weston and Lee in a now defunct periodical, Theatrephile (Volume 2 No. 6), in 1985. In the article, Hudd reproduced the only known photograph of Weston and Lee together. Roy Hudd also adapted the stage show into a series of shows for Radio 2 and directed by the late Jonathan James Moore. These are in the BBC Archive. A programme exploring their lives and work was broadcast on BBC Radio 4
on 16 June 2009, presented by Children's Laureate
Michael Rosen
, produced by Emma Williams. It was a Unique Production. An earlier radio programme about the partners entitled "The Perfect Partners" was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1946. In describing the programme, the Radio Times of the period states that they "wrote more than three thousand songs, as well as countless sketches, adaptations and revues".
Weston also wrote "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
" (with Fred Murray), "I've Got Rings On My Fingers
" and "When Father Papered the Parlour
" (both with Fred J. Barnes
). In fact the collaboration with Barnes was especially fruitful. Besides these two songs, Weston and Barnes produced "Somebody Would Shout Out Shop", "Hush Here Comes the Dream Man" (parodied by First World War soldiers as 'Hush Here comes a Whizzbang' and sung in the Theatre Workshop
production of Oh, What a Lovely War!
, 1963) and "Sister Suzie's Sewing Shirts For Soldiers" which was Al Jolson's first hit. It was stated in an email to Michael Rosen from Barnes's grandson, that Barnes wrote the lyrics to these songs. Then, in his early forties, Barnes volunteered for the army and was drowned when the troop ship RMS Aragon was torpedoed off Alexandria on 30th December, 1917. He was buried in the military cemetery in Alexandria.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He was born and died in 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...
. Among other songs, he co-authored (with Bert Lee
Bert Lee
Bert Lee was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston.Lee was born 11 June 1880 in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England....
), "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm
With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm
With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm is a darkly humorous song, written in 1934 by R. P. Weston and Bert Lee, originally performed by Stanley Holloway...
", a macabre
Macabre
In works of art, macabre is the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works emphasize the details and symbols of death....
little ditty about the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
haunting the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, seeking revenge on Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
for having her beheaded.
Weston's real name was Robert Harris and he was born in Kingsbury Road, Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, very close to Dalston Junction. His father ran a grocery shop and the family lived over it. Harris became a railway clerk (as listed in the 1911 census), but took up performing and song writing. At this time, he was living at 46 Hemmingford Road in Islington with his wife Maud. In 1915 in the offices of his music publisher, Francis Day and Hunter, he met his future collaborator Bert Lee and they spent the next twenty years working together on songs, monologues, musicals and films. Some of their most durable work arose out their collaboration with Stanley Holloway
Stanley Holloway
Stanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
. They also worked with Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
and the Crazy Gang
Crazy Gang
The Crazy Gang is a nickname used by the English media to describe Wimbledon F.C. during the 1980s and the 1990s.The name, originally that of a well known group of British comedy entertainers popular in the late 1930s, was used because of the often eccentric and boisterously macho behaviour of...
. This collaboration was conducted in Weston's house in Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
until his death in 1936.
Towards the end of Robert's life, his son, Harris Weston (born Robert Edgar Harris) also collaborated with his father and Bert Lee and the three of them produced the song "Harmonica Dan" in 1936. After Robert's death, Harris continued the collaboration with Lee and produced "Knees Up Mother Brown" in 1938. Like his father, Harris had talent as an amateur artist and in December 1939 produced a painting showing a riotous party scene entitled "Knees Up Mother Brown
Knees Up Mother Brown
"Knees Up Mother Brown" is a song, published in 1938, by when it had already been known for some years. It dates to at least 1918 and appears to have been sung widely in London on 11 November of that year, Armistice Night, at the end of the First World War...
". On the back of the painting Harris describes the scene as "The Costers' Party on the 100th Anniversary of Ma Brown". This indicates that this song must have been inspired by, or arose from, the costermonger community of London. Both Robert and Harris Weston drew inspiration from London's cockney culture for many of their songs, some of which were often sung in a cockney accent. These include Robert Weston's "What a Mouth" which was recorded as a pop song by Tommy Steele in 1960 and "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston...
" (with Fred Murray), which became US pop chart number 1 for Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
in the 1965. Robert Weston's paintings also reflect his London background and include a watercolour of Houndsditch Market painted in 1916.
After Robert Weston's death, the house was occupied by Weston's two daughters who lived there into old age, with Weston and Lee's papers sitting untouched and unlooked-at. Their present whereabouts are unknown though several items have appeared on ebay, including Weston and Lee's three-volume work-book, containing manuscript versions of many, if not all, their songs. It is now known that this item is in the hands of a collector of music hall memorabilia. Robert and Maud Weston both enjoyed sketching and painting on an amateur basis and a selection of their art work was auctioned with other family items in 2008.
The actor and singer Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
created a stage show based on the songs of Robert Weston and Bert Lee (Just a Verse and a Chorus) and wrote the only authoritative article of any length about Weston and Lee in a now defunct periodical, Theatrephile (Volume 2 No. 6), in 1985. In the article, Hudd reproduced the only known photograph of Weston and Lee together. Roy Hudd also adapted the stage show into a series of shows for Radio 2 and directed by the late Jonathan James Moore. These are in the BBC Archive. A programme exploring their lives and work was broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
on 16 June 2009, presented by Children's Laureate
Children's Laureate
Children's Laureate is a position awarded in the UK once every two years to a distinguished writer or illustrator of children's books. A biannual bursary of £10,000 is offered...
Michael Rosen
Michael Rosen
Michael Wayne Rosen is a broadcaster, children's novelist and poet and the author of 140 books. He was appointed as the fifth Children's Laureate in June 2007, succeeding Jacqueline Wilson, and held this honour until 2009....
, produced by Emma Williams. It was a Unique Production. An earlier radio programme about the partners entitled "The Perfect Partners" was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1946. In describing the programme, the Radio Times of the period states that they "wrote more than three thousand songs, as well as countless sketches, adaptations and revues".
Weston also wrote "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston...
" (with Fred Murray), "I've Got Rings On My Fingers
I've Got Rings On My Fingers
I've Got Rings On My Fingers is a popular song written in 1909, words by Weston and Barnes, and music by Maurice Scott. It concerns an Irishman named Jim O'Shea, a castaway who finds himself on an island somewhere in the East Indies, whereupon he is made Chief Panjandrum by the natives because they...
" and "When Father Papered the Parlour
When Father Papered the Parlour
When Father Papered the Parlour is a popular song, written and composed by R. P. Weston and Fred J. Barnes in 1910. It is performed by comedian Billy Williams, and was one of his most successful hits.- References :*, Huntington Historical Society.*...
" (both with Fred J. Barnes
Fred J. Barnes
Fred James Barnes was a British songwriter. He co-wrote numerous songs with R. P. Weston and Fred Godfrey.-References:*...
). In fact the collaboration with Barnes was especially fruitful. Besides these two songs, Weston and Barnes produced "Somebody Would Shout Out Shop", "Hush Here Comes the Dream Man" (parodied by First World War soldiers as 'Hush Here comes a Whizzbang' and sung in the Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop
Theatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
production of Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop in 1963...
, 1963) and "Sister Suzie's Sewing Shirts For Soldiers" which was Al Jolson's first hit. It was stated in an email to Michael Rosen from Barnes's grandson, that Barnes wrote the lyrics to these songs. Then, in his early forties, Barnes volunteered for the army and was drowned when the troop ship RMS Aragon was torpedoed off Alexandria on 30th December, 1917. He was buried in the military cemetery in Alexandria.