UPDATE – October 2023. Please find below our review of the event with lots and video clips and other information about the event
Many thanks to all the fabulous local singers for entertaining us so wonderfully at Walworth’s History Through Song 2023 at St Peter’s Church in July.
Our singers were Olivia Penhallow and John Whelan of People’s Company, Matt Meynell of the Walworth Community Pub, Rawlene Evelyn, and Sam Foster, a councillor for Faraday Ward. Father Andrew also entertained us and accompanied the singers on various musical instruments.
A special thanks to Tyrone Landau for organising the evening, researching the songs and mentoring the singers. Thanks also to Diana Cochrane and Neil Crossfield for narrating the performance and providing some historical context.
And, of course, many thanks also to all of those who helped to welcome everyone and helped to serve tea and biscuits on the evening.
The project was jointly sponsored by Historic England and Southwark Council as part of the Walworth Heritage Action Zone. The historical research will form part of the Walworth Society’s Walworth Untold Stories project.
You can listen to the songs on YouTube, click here,
And below are links to some of our favourite moments:
- Matt Meynell and Father Andrew perform All In The Forest Of Bondy – with an additional verse at the end about Walworth, click here
- Matt Meynell getting “Lit Up” When The Lights Go Out In London, click here
- John Whelan’s sing-a-long We’ll Meet Again, click here
- Rawlene Evelyn singing Blackeyed Susan, click here
- Sam Foster and Olivia Penhallow’s duet Campaigning’s No For You, Bonnie Lassie, click here
- Sam Foster sings Tis Sweet For Our Country To Die, click here
- And the rousing final applause, click here
The programme for the evening can be found by clicking here.
Walworth’s History Through Song 2023 – Details.
After the success of our event in 2022, we are pleased to offer another evening of entertainment, live music and songs composed in and about Walworth through the ages, sung by six local residents.The venue will be St Peter’s Church, Liverpool Grove SE17 2HH.
We will include songs that were last heard in Walworth back in the 1850s in performances at the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens, to celebrate the return of soldiers at the end of the Crimean War in a series of concerts to raise money for Mary Seacole (1805-1881), in July 1857.Tyrone Landau, a professional tenor and pianist, has uncovered songs held in the British Library that showcase the work of JK Green (1790-1860), who played a significant role in the invention of the Toy Theatre and was one of the most prolific publishers for the art form in the first half of the 19th Century, printed near East Street.
From the mid C20th we offer a tribute to Fred Bason (1907-1973), local council tenant, bookseller, renowned autograph hunter, diarist, author and TV presenter who also played the piano in nearby theaters.
In the final secton, join us and singalong to popular songs from the period of the Blitz and Music Hall including “Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner” and “The Blue Birds over the White Cliffs of Dover.”
Book your FREE tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/walworths-history-through-song-2023-registration-661765286787
Doors open for a free cuppa at 6.30pm and the performance will run from 7.30pm to 9.00pm.
Below is a snippet (35 seconds) from our rehearsals of Olivia Penhallow performing “Campaigning’s no for you, Bonnie Lassie” a song from the 1850’s Mary Seacole fundraiser event at the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens.
The Walworth Society 