Gareth Malone

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0:00:02 > 0:00:04Hello.

0:00:04 > 0:00:07CHEERING

0:00:07 > 0:00:10- Who likes singing? - CHILDREN: Me!

0:00:10 > 0:00:13- Good. Me too. Are you ready to sing? - CHILDREN: Yes!

0:00:13 > 0:00:15Er, why don't we stand up. Wow!

0:00:15 > 0:00:17'I love being in front of a choir.'

0:00:17 > 0:00:19Drrrrrr-drrrrrr!

0:00:19 > 0:00:22- ALL: Drrrrrrr!- Grrrr-grrrr.

0:00:22 > 0:00:24And I love being involved in performance of any kind.

0:00:24 > 0:00:26My favourite singing exercise of all,

0:00:26 > 0:00:28grab your pneumatic drill and dig the road.

0:00:28 > 0:00:30Yah, yah, yah, yah, yah!

0:00:30 > 0:00:31ALL: Yah, yah, yah!

0:00:31 > 0:00:35'And music is so integral to my life.'

0:00:35 > 0:00:36I wake up in the morning

0:00:36 > 0:00:39and it's really the first thing I think about after coffee.

0:00:39 > 0:00:42- Are you ready? - CHILDREN: Yes, Gareth!

0:00:42 > 0:00:44That's good. One, two.

0:00:46 > 0:00:51# If anybody asks you

0:00:51 > 0:00:53# Where are you going... #

0:00:53 > 0:01:00Choirmaster and TV presenter Gareth Malone was born in London in 1975.

0:01:01 > 0:01:03His father, James, worked in finance.

0:01:03 > 0:01:06His mother, Sian, was a civil servant.

0:01:06 > 0:01:09My parents met doing amateur dramatics -

0:01:09 > 0:01:12I think their eyes met across the stage.

0:01:13 > 0:01:15'And so I am the product of a musical liaison.

0:01:18 > 0:01:21'When I was growing up, music was a very normal part of life.'

0:01:21 > 0:01:25There was just me, my mum, my dad, singing songs together.

0:01:25 > 0:01:30Gilbert and Sullivan and musicals, always singing.

0:01:30 > 0:01:34# I'm going up a yonder... #

0:01:35 > 0:01:38On a Sunday, if somebody was round for Sunday lunch or something,

0:01:38 > 0:01:40go and do...you know, I always have to do a turn.

0:01:40 > 0:01:45I would...you know, bring out Gareth, do a song.

0:01:45 > 0:01:50# If I can take the pain, the heartbreak that it brings... #

0:01:50 > 0:01:52'In my DNA,'

0:01:52 > 0:01:56I'm sure there's a little switch for singing and it's on!

0:01:56 > 0:02:01# There's comfort in knowing I'll soon be home... #

0:02:01 > 0:02:03And there's a fire in my belly about music

0:02:03 > 0:02:05that has just always been there.

0:02:05 > 0:02:10# I'm going up a yonder, I'm going up a yonder... #

0:02:10 > 0:02:14I want to find out where my performance gene comes from.

0:02:14 > 0:02:17I feel like it's all sort of filtered down and I've just

0:02:17 > 0:02:21got a lot of the kind "ta-da" gene, if that's a real thing.

0:02:23 > 0:02:24I'm not a scientist.

0:03:06 > 0:03:10Gareth's come to Bournemouth, the seaside town where he grew up

0:03:10 > 0:03:12and where his parents still live.

0:03:14 > 0:03:16It's quite funny to be back here.

0:03:16 > 0:03:20I used to busk right there, just outside this department store.

0:03:20 > 0:03:23Used to have a band, it was just me and some schoolmates,

0:03:23 > 0:03:25and we used to do Guns N' Roses covers

0:03:25 > 0:03:28and Beatles and we'd sing for hours and hours and make

0:03:28 > 0:03:33about £20 and, um...very humble beginnings for my musical career.

0:03:42 > 0:03:46Home sweet home. Hi.

0:03:46 > 0:03:48- Hello.- How are you?

0:03:48 > 0:03:49Mmm!

0:03:49 > 0:03:52Hello, how are you? Good to see you.

0:03:52 > 0:03:53Come in, come in.

0:03:55 > 0:03:57Smells of new paint.

0:03:57 > 0:03:59HE LAUGHS

0:03:59 > 0:04:01Oh, and there's me. This is me at the piano.

0:04:01 > 0:04:03When you were 18 months old.

0:04:03 > 0:04:04Goodness me, I was fat!

0:04:04 > 0:04:07Well, yes...you... You're smiling away.

0:04:07 > 0:04:10- Right at home, aren't I?- Yes. - Making up pieces on the piano.

0:04:10 > 0:04:13- You used to bash away. - Bashing away, yeah, yes.

0:04:13 > 0:04:15- But, yeah, this piano, but in our old house in London.- Yes.

0:04:15 > 0:04:17Did you always think I was going to be a performer?

0:04:17 > 0:04:20- Did you always think I was... - I did.- You did, didn't you?- Always.

0:04:20 > 0:04:23- From when I was little? - From when you were very small.

0:04:23 > 0:04:26You would perform to anybody, really, at the drop of a hat.

0:04:26 > 0:04:28It was very...it was very funny to watch.

0:04:28 > 0:04:31- Yeah, I've not stopped that, really! - Yeah.

0:04:31 > 0:04:33And, and then this is me and my grandfather - Papa, as I call him.

0:04:33 > 0:04:37- There he is, yeah.- Look at that cheeky face. I must be, what? Two?

0:04:37 > 0:04:39About two and a half.

0:04:39 > 0:04:40- Two and a half.- Yeah.

0:04:40 > 0:04:42- You're obviously sharing a joke of some kind.- Yeah.

0:04:42 > 0:04:44And I always love being with my grandfather,

0:04:44 > 0:04:47cos he's fun and silly and playful and comic.

0:04:47 > 0:04:50I really feel like he's a sort of frustrated performer.

0:04:50 > 0:04:53When he was young, he had a good baritone voice.

0:04:53 > 0:04:54He wasn't on the stage?

0:04:54 > 0:04:57He wasn't on the stage, no, although his grandfather, he was on the stage.

0:04:57 > 0:04:59His grandfather is this man.

0:04:59 > 0:05:04- Edmund Payne. - Yeah. Short little fellow.

0:05:04 > 0:05:07- Yeah. - So he's my great-great-grandfather.

0:05:07 > 0:05:09- Yes.- Edmund Payne.

0:05:09 > 0:05:11I mean, that's a name that I've grown up with,

0:05:11 > 0:05:12cos his photo's on our wall.

0:05:12 > 0:05:16I love this one. The Toreador.

0:05:16 > 0:05:20Hmm, there he is, acting the clown.

0:05:20 > 0:05:21And that's George Grossmith Jnr.

0:05:21 > 0:05:25- That's right.- So this is the person that he performed with?

0:05:25 > 0:05:29- Yeah. They played together a lot. - In London?- Yes.

0:05:29 > 0:05:32I once heard, um, a recording of Edmund Payne on Radio 3.

0:05:32 > 0:05:33I remember this. I was going...

0:05:33 > 0:05:36- I had to go into school to pick something up.- Yes.

0:05:36 > 0:05:39And I came out to the car and she was flapping her arms about,

0:05:39 > 0:05:40was like, "Come quickly!"

0:05:40 > 0:05:42And I was being very nonchalant, cos I was a teenager.

0:05:42 > 0:05:44I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it.

0:05:44 > 0:05:47- And you've not heard it since? - Not heard it since, no.

0:05:47 > 0:05:49Family legend has it that there's, um,

0:05:49 > 0:05:53a film of Edmund Payne as well but we've never tracked it down.

0:05:53 > 0:05:54I don't know where it is.

0:05:54 > 0:05:57- I'd love to see it but there's... - So would I.- So would I.

0:05:57 > 0:05:59I'd love to know more about him

0:05:59 > 0:06:01and what he was actually like as a person and...

0:06:01 > 0:06:03because, you know, there's more,

0:06:03 > 0:06:05there's more to someone than their stage self.

0:06:05 > 0:06:07What's this?

0:06:07 > 0:06:08This is the family tree.

0:06:08 > 0:06:11When did you get this? I've never seen this. Oh, this is so exciting.

0:06:11 > 0:06:14So hang on, one, two, three, four generations, five,

0:06:14 > 0:06:15six generations back to Dan Lowrey.

0:06:15 > 0:06:18Mmm. Yes. Now I know the name Dan Lowrey from my childhood but...

0:06:18 > 0:06:21Dan - Dan Lowrey was a music hall impresario...

0:06:21 > 0:06:23- Impresario.- OK.

0:06:23 > 0:06:25..and he started at a theatre in Dublin called...

0:06:25 > 0:06:28- Star of Erin?- ..Star of Erin, I believe.- I didn't know that.

0:06:28 > 0:06:30- Yeah, yeah, they did... - That's amazing.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33How he came to that, I don't know.

0:06:33 > 0:06:34This is Dublin here?

0:06:34 > 0:06:35This is Dublin.

0:06:35 > 0:06:36That's a story there.

0:06:36 > 0:06:37Yes, there is a story there.

0:06:37 > 0:06:40Oh, God! It's...I've got so many questions.

0:06:40 > 0:06:41So I shall have to be a detective.

0:06:41 > 0:06:45- Yes. Good luck.- I know. I'm really looking forward to it.

0:06:45 > 0:06:47- I'm going to have to get a deerstalker. - SHE LAUGHS

0:06:49 > 0:06:52Gareth has discovered that his four times great-grandfather,

0:06:52 > 0:06:59Daniel Lowrey, was an impresario, a theatre manager in Victorian Dublin.

0:06:59 > 0:07:01But before exploring his life,

0:07:01 > 0:07:03Gareth is first going to follow the trail

0:07:03 > 0:07:09of his great-great-grandfather, Edmund Payne, a comic actor.

0:07:09 > 0:07:12I've walked past this picture I don't know how many tens

0:07:12 > 0:07:16of thousands of times, cos it's been up in our house since I was a kid.

0:07:16 > 0:07:18But Mr Edmund Payne I know very little about.

0:07:19 > 0:07:22But I know he performed, but really that's it.

0:07:22 > 0:07:24Don't know what he was like off-stage.

0:07:24 > 0:07:26I don't know about his family.

0:07:26 > 0:07:28I don't know much about where he lived, anything like that.

0:07:28 > 0:07:30I'd really like to find out more.

0:07:39 > 0:07:42When Edmund performed in the early 1900s, there were

0:07:42 > 0:07:48nearly 20,000 working actors and competition for roles was fierce.

0:07:50 > 0:07:53In an era before television, and with film in its infancy,

0:07:53 > 0:07:57theatre was the entertainment industry of its day.

0:07:58 > 0:08:02Gareth's meeting historian Matthew Neill at Her Majesty's Theatre.

0:08:05 > 0:08:07Wow!

0:08:07 > 0:08:09I haven't been here since I was 14 and I sat down there

0:08:09 > 0:08:11and watched Phantom Of The Opera.

0:08:11 > 0:08:12Good to meet you, hello.

0:08:12 > 0:08:14Hello, Gareth. Very pleased to meet you.

0:08:14 > 0:08:15You're going to be able to tell me

0:08:15 > 0:08:17something about my great-great-grandfather?

0:08:17 > 0:08:19I am indeed.

0:08:19 > 0:08:21I've got a couple of things I'd like to show you.

0:08:21 > 0:08:24"Coronation Gala Performance by command of the King.

0:08:24 > 0:08:28"His Majesty's Theatre, June 27th, 1911." 1911!

0:08:28 > 0:08:32I can't believe it! This is so exciting.

0:08:32 > 0:08:35So there's a lot of Shakespeare.

0:08:35 > 0:08:38- Merry Wives of Windsor with Ellen Terry.- Indeed. Of course.

0:08:38 > 0:08:42There's a big...a big night of entertainment.

0:08:42 > 0:08:43The Critic by Sheridan.

0:08:43 > 0:08:47George Grossmith Jnr - that's a name I know. Edmund Payne!

0:08:47 > 0:08:50And there he is. Wow!

0:08:50 > 0:08:52Playing Sir Christopher Hatton.

0:08:52 > 0:08:54The Critic was a burlesque, really,

0:08:54 > 0:08:56a parody of the business of putting on a play.

0:08:56 > 0:08:58There'd been a little bit of light relief

0:08:58 > 0:09:00after all this rather heavy Shakespeare, because...

0:09:00 > 0:09:02Yes. This is extraordinary.

0:09:02 > 0:09:05And I think it's a mark of the esteem that he was held in

0:09:05 > 0:09:10that he was chosen to be part of this big theatrical event.

0:09:10 > 0:09:13- And in 1911...- He stood right here. - ..he stood right here.

0:09:13 > 0:09:15That's great.

0:09:16 > 0:09:21The 1911 Royal Gala Performance dedicated to the new King George V,

0:09:21 > 0:09:24boasted the brightest theatre talent.

0:09:25 > 0:09:30Edmund was a star of musical comedy, a hugely popular genre that

0:09:30 > 0:09:34showcased his ability to sing and dance and to play the fool.

0:09:36 > 0:09:39In a career lasting over 30 years,

0:09:39 > 0:09:44Edmund made a name for his playful, often slapstick humour.

0:09:44 > 0:09:48Edmund was an extremely accomplished comic actor,

0:09:48 > 0:09:52well over 300 roles in his entire career.

0:09:52 > 0:09:55Ah. So he really was at the top of his game.

0:09:55 > 0:09:57I had a sense that he did all right,

0:09:57 > 0:09:59but that...this is... this is fantastic.

0:09:59 > 0:10:01And I also have another document here.

0:10:01 > 0:10:04This is actually the prompt book of The Critic that night.

0:10:04 > 0:10:06- This is the actual one?- Yes.

0:10:06 > 0:10:09And it would have situated over there in the prompt corner

0:10:09 > 0:10:12and it would have been used to prompt the actors

0:10:12 > 0:10:14should they forget their lines.

0:10:14 > 0:10:17And there, there he is, Sir Christopher Hatton.

0:10:17 > 0:10:20"True gallant Raleigh, but oh, thou champion of thy country's fame,

0:10:20 > 0:10:24"there is a question which I yet must ask, a question which

0:10:24 > 0:10:27"I've never asked before - what mean these mighty armaments?"

0:10:27 > 0:10:30- "Points left."- Points left. - "Does business with stick."

0:10:30 > 0:10:34- Business with stick.- Probably whacks him on the head or trips over...

0:10:34 > 0:10:35Absolutely, absolutely.

0:10:35 > 0:10:38Pokes him in the eye! That's great.

0:10:38 > 0:10:42And then we have here a book by a critic of the time,

0:10:42 > 0:10:46- and in here he has a description of Edmund.- Gosh.

0:10:46 > 0:10:49"Payne was a little man with a very funny face,

0:10:49 > 0:10:51"with which he could work wonders -

0:10:51 > 0:10:53"a real funny man who was never vulgar.

0:10:53 > 0:10:56"He could both sing and dance". Great, good man.

0:10:56 > 0:10:58Well, I've not inherited the dancing very much!

0:10:58 > 0:11:01"His greatest asset was his lisp. It gave a perfect character

0:11:01 > 0:11:04"to the lovable little men he always impersonated."

0:11:04 > 0:11:06- A lithp.- A lisp.- A comic lithp.

0:11:06 > 0:11:07A comic lithp!

0:11:07 > 0:11:09"If he allowed himself a little festivity

0:11:09 > 0:11:11"after a successful first night,

0:11:11 > 0:11:14"he would go to Gow's, the famous restaurant on the Strand.

0:11:14 > 0:11:17"There he would celebrate with a real blow-out of two sausages

0:11:17 > 0:11:19"and a bottle of Guinness!"

0:11:19 > 0:11:21I think we would have got on very well!

0:11:21 > 0:11:24"Living in Stoke Newington, near Clissold Park..."

0:11:24 > 0:11:27That's like three minutes from my house.

0:11:27 > 0:11:31"..he rode to and from the Gaiety on a bicycle, sometimes a tricycle."

0:11:31 > 0:11:36- Mm.- "Teddy Payne, as everyone called him, was a universal favourite..."

0:11:36 > 0:11:37That's so wonderful.

0:11:37 > 0:11:41"..and a very great comedian." Wow!

0:11:41 > 0:11:44I mean, I, you know, we have his picture up in my parents' house

0:11:44 > 0:11:45and I've seen it... You know,

0:11:45 > 0:11:50I saw it every day of my childhood, but I don't think I had any sense

0:11:50 > 0:11:54of just how famous he was and how appreciated he was in his own time.

0:11:54 > 0:11:56- Absolutely.- Thank you so much. - Oh, you're very welcome.

0:11:58 > 0:12:02I'm tremendously proud of my great-great-grandfather

0:12:02 > 0:12:04being here, performing for the King.

0:12:05 > 0:12:08You know, I'm very lucky to have also performed for royalty,

0:12:08 > 0:12:12and I remember the, you know, the effect it had on my family

0:12:12 > 0:12:15and how much pride they had in my small role

0:12:15 > 0:12:17that I had in that performance,

0:12:17 > 0:12:19and I bet it was exactly the same for Edmund Payne,

0:12:19 > 0:12:22and he was somebody who could make people laugh.

0:12:22 > 0:12:23What's better than that?

0:12:34 > 0:12:37Gareth's come to Clissold Park in Stoke Newington,

0:12:37 > 0:12:40the area of London Edmund made home.

0:12:41 > 0:12:44He's meeting one of Edmund's relatives, Lesley Elsen.

0:12:44 > 0:12:47- Hello.- Hello, Gareth.

0:12:47 > 0:12:49Hi. Very nice to meet you.

0:12:49 > 0:12:51- And nice to meet you too. - And we're related?

0:12:51 > 0:12:54We are, yes. I'm Edmund Payne's great-granddaughter.

0:12:54 > 0:12:56And I'm his great-great-grandson.

0:12:56 > 0:12:58- Yes, so we are cousins.- We're cousins. Now that's fantastic.

0:12:58 > 0:13:00I know a little bit about his performance life

0:13:00 > 0:13:02but I know nothing about his family at all.

0:13:02 > 0:13:04- OK.- What have you got in your brown envelope?

0:13:04 > 0:13:06- Right, the first thing to show you... - Yeah.

0:13:06 > 0:13:11..is the marriage certificate of Edmund's mother and father.

0:13:11 > 0:13:14Oh! I've been really wondering about who...where he came from.

0:13:14 > 0:13:18So this is "Marriage solemnised in the Parish Church in the Parish

0:13:18 > 0:13:25"of St Leonard's Shoreditch, August 8th, 1859."

0:13:25 > 0:13:27Hang on, this is...this is Edmund Payne as well?

0:13:27 > 0:13:28That's not our Edmund Payne.

0:13:28 > 0:13:31- This is his father. So everyone's called Edmund?- Edmund Payne.

0:13:31 > 0:13:33There's a lot of Edmund Paynes.

0:13:33 > 0:13:35Well, he's...my middle name is Edmund as well,

0:13:35 > 0:13:37and then my, grandfather's called Edmund,

0:13:37 > 0:13:40and then my great-great-grandfather was called Edmund,

0:13:40 > 0:13:42and then my great-great-great-grandfather

0:13:42 > 0:13:44is this...this is...this him?

0:13:44 > 0:13:47- I'm not!- You're not called Edmund. You should be. It's a great name.

0:13:47 > 0:13:49What does this say? No!

0:13:49 > 0:13:51What does that say?

0:13:51 > 0:13:54- Chair maker. - Oh, I thought it said choirmaster!

0:13:54 > 0:13:55Just for a minute.

0:13:55 > 0:13:57He was a chair maker.

0:13:57 > 0:14:01A chair maker. Well, OK, chair maker's a good profession.

0:14:01 > 0:14:05I'm kind of gutted, it really does look like choirmaster.

0:14:05 > 0:14:07- OK.- Right.- You've got more?

0:14:07 > 0:14:10- I have more. So the next...- Great.

0:14:10 > 0:14:13..thing I would like to show is the 1881 Census

0:14:13 > 0:14:16which shows the Payne family.

0:14:16 > 0:14:21Wow, yes. Um.... Edmund Payne, the father, important.

0:14:21 > 0:14:23- That's the father.- The father.

0:14:23 > 0:14:2643 at this point, and it says here,

0:14:26 > 0:14:28chair maker employing four men.

0:14:28 > 0:14:29So he was doing all right.

0:14:29 > 0:14:30Oh, that's nice to know.

0:14:30 > 0:14:35OK, and children - one, two, three, four, five, six, seven children.

0:14:35 > 0:14:38- Edmund J - so this is our... - That's our Edmund.

0:14:38 > 0:14:43My great-great-grandfather. He's 17 and he's a ticket writer.

0:14:43 > 0:14:46- Oh!- A ticket writer is somebody who worked at front of house

0:14:46 > 0:14:49- and issued tickets in the theatre. - Oh, he's got the bug already.

0:14:49 > 0:14:51- He's in there.- And he's 17.- Yeah.

0:14:51 > 0:14:54Good man. So he didn't follow his father's footsteps?

0:14:54 > 0:14:57No. He's not following in the family tradition of chair makers.

0:14:57 > 0:14:58No, he's breaking out.

0:14:58 > 0:15:01But if he was employing four men, presumably he's doing well enough

0:15:01 > 0:15:03that he could say to his son, "Go and try...

0:15:03 > 0:15:05"Go and indulge your ridiculous..."

0:15:05 > 0:15:07- Well, that's it. - "..aspirations to be an actor."

0:15:07 > 0:15:09Which was quite forward-thinking of them back in those days,

0:15:09 > 0:15:13to follow his dreams, and his dream was to be on the stage.

0:15:13 > 0:15:15Oh, history has repeated itself in my generation.

0:15:15 > 0:15:17- Yes.- I rather like that.

0:15:17 > 0:15:20Is that the first theatrical person in the family, then?

0:15:20 > 0:15:23As far as we know, yes. But here's something else.

0:15:23 > 0:15:25- You've got more. Oh. - You'll like this.

0:15:25 > 0:15:27Good. I mean, it's not warm out here

0:15:27 > 0:15:30but the cockles of my heart are warmed by this story.

0:15:30 > 0:15:32Yes. Oh, there he is!

0:15:32 > 0:15:34Now what a fantastic picture.

0:15:34 > 0:15:38And there he is on a kid's tricycle.

0:15:38 > 0:15:39A very keen cyclist.

0:15:39 > 0:15:41Probably not on this bike.

0:15:41 > 0:15:44Not on that one. And he looks a nice father.

0:15:44 > 0:15:46He does, doesn't he? He looks warm.

0:15:46 > 0:15:48Not the stern Victorian image.

0:15:49 > 0:15:54My family seem to think that there's a bit of film of Edmund Payne.

0:15:54 > 0:15:56There is. It's called The Gaiety Duet.

0:15:56 > 0:15:59- What's it like? The Gaiety Duet? - Yeah.- Have you seen it?

0:15:59 > 0:16:01- Yes.- Have you? - Yes. Obviously silent...- Yeah.

0:16:01 > 0:16:04- ..but you get the essence of the man from the film.- Ah!

0:16:04 > 0:16:09- Where would I go?- There you go. - Oh, no! Oh!

0:16:09 > 0:16:11Wow! Thank you.

0:16:11 > 0:16:14Oh, that's so nice. That's really lovely.

0:16:14 > 0:16:17It's so, you know, ah... Sorry, I've got to go.

0:16:17 > 0:16:20Got to go and watch this now.

0:16:20 > 0:16:23Ah, thank you! I'm so excited.

0:16:23 > 0:16:26I have to say, when I was handed this by Lesley,

0:16:26 > 0:16:28my immediate thought was, "I have to...

0:16:28 > 0:16:29"My grandfather has to see this."

0:16:29 > 0:16:33My grandfather is 94 and he won't be around forever

0:16:33 > 0:16:35and he's never seen this film.

0:16:35 > 0:16:37And here it is! I've got it.

0:16:37 > 0:16:40I want to go and see him and I want to show him this.

0:16:43 > 0:16:47But before leaving London, Gareth hopes to track down one final

0:16:47 > 0:16:48piece of evidence.

0:16:53 > 0:16:57'I'm going back to Bournemouth later to show my family the film of

0:16:57 > 0:16:59'Teddy Payne, but before I go,

0:16:59 > 0:17:02'I want to see if I can find a recording he made

0:17:02 > 0:17:06'that I heard a brief moment of when I was about 16-17.

0:17:06 > 0:17:09'So I'm going to the British Library where, I think,

0:17:09 > 0:17:12'if it's going to be anywhere, it'll be here.'

0:17:12 > 0:17:16The British Library holds over a million audio recordings,

0:17:16 > 0:17:20including many from the early 20th century,

0:17:20 > 0:17:23when Edmund was at the peak of his theatrical career.

0:17:26 > 0:17:29'I'm really enjoying being a detective.

0:17:29 > 0:17:31'I always wanted to be a detective when I was a kid

0:17:31 > 0:17:36'and I feel like I'm sneaking around and finding out about the past.

0:17:36 > 0:17:37'It's really fun.'

0:17:45 > 0:17:47I'm in the, um, I'm in the British Library

0:17:47 > 0:17:50and I'm looking on the Sound & Moving Image Catalogue,

0:17:50 > 0:17:54which is where I hope to find a bit more information about Edmund Payne.

0:17:54 > 0:17:56Payne...

0:17:58 > 0:18:00Ooh, here we go.

0:18:00 > 0:18:04An oral history of the Wine Society.

0:18:04 > 0:18:05What?

0:18:05 > 0:18:06Doesn't sound right.

0:18:06 > 0:18:09Ooh, here we go.

0:18:09 > 0:18:14"Proteger le repos des villes, Offenbach. Grossmith, George Jnr.

0:18:14 > 0:18:17"Sung in English, recording."

0:18:17 > 0:18:19Right, details.

0:18:19 > 0:18:20What is this?

0:18:20 > 0:18:23There he is. "Contributor - Payne, Edmund, singer.

0:18:23 > 0:18:25"Tag - vocal music.

0:18:25 > 0:18:27"Play this."

0:18:27 > 0:18:29HE GASPS

0:18:29 > 0:18:31Oh, great!

0:18:33 > 0:18:36I've waited a long time to hear this.

0:18:36 > 0:18:38RECORDING CRACKLES

0:18:39 > 0:18:41It's just really crackly.

0:18:41 > 0:18:43MUSIC STARTS

0:18:43 > 0:18:45Ah! There's a little orchestra...

0:18:45 > 0:18:47like a brass band.

0:18:50 > 0:18:54# We're public guardians Bold yet wary... #

0:18:54 > 0:18:56I think that's him.

0:18:56 > 0:19:00# ..And of ourselves we take good care

0:19:00 > 0:19:02# To risk our precious lives... #

0:19:02 > 0:19:03That's amazing.

0:19:03 > 0:19:06I mean it's not a... It's a comic voice.

0:19:06 > 0:19:09GARETH JOINS IN: # ..We're never there... #

0:19:09 > 0:19:10Oh, that's great.

0:19:10 > 0:19:14- # ..If we see a helpless woman... # - Ooh-ooh!

0:19:14 > 0:19:17# ..Or a little boy that does no harm... #

0:19:17 > 0:19:20What an incredible sensation to hear a voice,

0:19:20 > 0:19:22to hear these two men.

0:19:22 > 0:19:24- # We run them in - We run them in

0:19:24 > 0:19:27BOTH: # To show that we're the bold gendarmes... #

0:19:27 > 0:19:29The Bold Gendarmes. Funny.

0:19:29 > 0:19:33I know this song because I performed it with my dad

0:19:33 > 0:19:37in the Bournemouth Music Festival in, I think, 1997.

0:19:37 > 0:19:39MUSIC CONTINUES

0:19:39 > 0:19:42# Tum-ta-dah, tum-ta-dah... #

0:19:46 > 0:19:48Oh, he's talking!

0:19:48 > 0:19:52'What is that little child doing in the field?

0:19:52 > 0:19:56'What is that old woman doing in the back garden there?

0:19:56 > 0:19:58'Washing her face.'

0:19:58 > 0:20:00"Washing her face"!

0:20:00 > 0:20:04- HE OVERENUNCIATES:- You can hear that they're theatre people,

0:20:04 > 0:20:06so they speak like that!

0:20:06 > 0:20:09# Provided that they make it right... #

0:20:09 > 0:20:12Oh, I can't believe it's my great-great-grandfather.

0:20:12 > 0:20:14Fantastic.

0:20:14 > 0:20:19# Or give to us our proper terms

0:20:19 > 0:20:21- # We run them in - We run them in

0:20:21 > 0:20:24- # We run them in - We run them in

0:20:24 > 0:20:26GARETH JOINS IN: # To show

0:20:26 > 0:20:28# That we're the bold gendarmes. #

0:20:36 > 0:20:39Gareth's back in Bournemouth to share his discoveries

0:20:39 > 0:20:42with his parents and his grandfather Papa.

0:20:42 > 0:20:44DOORBELL RINGS

0:20:44 > 0:20:49Edmund died before Papa was born, so they never met.

0:20:52 > 0:20:55- Hello, Papa. How are you? - Hello.- Hello. How are you?

0:20:55 > 0:20:58- Very well.- Lovely to see you. You all right?

0:20:58 > 0:21:00How did you know I was coming?

0:21:00 > 0:21:05I don't know, I just had a sense. You're invited. Come on in. Come in.

0:21:05 > 0:21:07How was your journey? Was it all right?

0:21:07 > 0:21:10OK. No trouble at all.

0:21:10 > 0:21:12No traffic? Good.

0:21:12 > 0:21:15Go on through to the sitting room.

0:21:15 > 0:21:18- My grandfather. - Salute your grandfather.

0:21:18 > 0:21:19PAPA LAUGHS

0:21:19 > 0:21:21Go on in. Through here, come on through.

0:21:21 > 0:21:24You're probably wondering why I've gathered you here today.

0:21:24 > 0:21:27Well, the reason is, I've been looking into our family history...

0:21:27 > 0:21:30- Yes... - ..and the name I've been focusing on

0:21:30 > 0:21:33has been a name that we know very well, which is Edmund Payne.

0:21:33 > 0:21:36- Yes.- Your grandfather, my great-great-grandfather.

0:21:36 > 0:21:37Yes.

0:21:37 > 0:21:42And, amazingly, I've managed to track down one of his relatives,

0:21:42 > 0:21:46one of his descendants that we didn't know about.

0:21:46 > 0:21:47- What's her name?- Lesley.

0:21:47 > 0:21:53I said to her we've got wind that there is a film of Edmund Payne...

0:21:53 > 0:21:56- Yeah.- ..and she just said, "Yes, I've seen it."

0:21:56 > 0:21:58WOMAN GASPS

0:21:58 > 0:21:59Oh, no!

0:21:59 > 0:22:02So she said she's seen it and she says it's absolutely wonderful.

0:22:02 > 0:22:05- Where is it?- It's right here.

0:22:05 > 0:22:08- Oh, marvellous. - You've never seen this, have you?

0:22:08 > 0:22:11- Oh, no. I really have never... - Well, this is it.

0:22:11 > 0:22:14So this is, um... It's called The Gaiety Duet,

0:22:14 > 0:22:18it has George Grossmith Jnr in it and Edmund Payne.

0:22:18 > 0:22:20- Would you like to see it? - Yes, yes, yes! I'd love to.

0:22:20 > 0:22:21- Yeah.- Let's watch it.

0:22:21 > 0:22:23I didn't know how famous he was

0:22:23 > 0:22:25- and how successful he was, but he was...- Oh, yes.

0:22:25 > 0:22:29..hugely successful. By the way, it's silent.

0:22:29 > 0:22:32I've been wanting to see this for 94 years

0:22:32 > 0:22:34and I'm going to see it at last.

0:22:34 > 0:22:38- Well, this is the moment of truth. Let's watch it.- Yeah. Yeah.

0:22:38 > 0:22:40- Gaiety Duet.- Gaiety Duet.

0:22:42 > 0:22:44Oh, there he is!

0:22:44 > 0:22:46- That's him!- Oh!

0:22:46 > 0:22:48PIANO MUSIC PLAYS

0:22:48 > 0:22:51- That must be George Grossmith Jnr on the right.- FATHER: That's him.

0:22:51 > 0:22:53Oh, he was very famous too, yeah.

0:22:53 > 0:22:55There he is.

0:23:01 > 0:23:04George Grossmith, sort of typical straight man, isn't he?

0:23:04 > 0:23:07Yeah. And Teddy Payne's doing the clown.

0:23:07 > 0:23:10- Slapstick.- It's great, isn't it?

0:23:11 > 0:23:14And he's got a funny little stature, hasn't he?

0:23:14 > 0:23:15PAPA LAUGHS

0:23:15 > 0:23:17- Yes.- He's tiny. Quite round.

0:23:17 > 0:23:19Yes, quite round but very distinctive.

0:23:19 > 0:23:22THEY LAUGH

0:23:24 > 0:23:26Apparently, he had a lisp.

0:23:26 > 0:23:28- Oh, did he?- Yeah.

0:23:28 > 0:23:30His father was a chair-maker.

0:23:30 > 0:23:32- Oh!- No!

0:23:32 > 0:23:33Yeah.

0:23:33 > 0:23:35Ah...

0:23:35 > 0:23:37What's it like to watch your grandfather?

0:23:37 > 0:23:39It's too much.

0:23:39 > 0:23:40Yeah.

0:23:40 > 0:23:43It's incredible, actually. Really is.

0:23:43 > 0:23:46You get sort of a true character coming through

0:23:46 > 0:23:49rather than just a still photograph. Hmm.

0:23:49 > 0:23:53I've always longed to see my grandfather,

0:23:53 > 0:23:55and I've seen him now.

0:23:55 > 0:23:57Yeah.

0:23:59 > 0:24:01PAPA CHUCKLES

0:24:07 > 0:24:09'I feel so lucky that I have seen

0:24:09 > 0:24:12'and heard my great-great-grandfather

0:24:12 > 0:24:15'from over 100 years ago.'

0:24:15 > 0:24:17# We're public guardians Bold but wary

0:24:17 > 0:24:19# And of ourselves we take good care... #

0:24:19 > 0:24:23I can't describe it, really. It's extraordinary.

0:24:23 > 0:24:27It's overwhelming, actually, to be able to watch him

0:24:27 > 0:24:30and to be able to hear his voice.

0:24:31 > 0:24:35And that's going to stay with me for a really long time.

0:24:35 > 0:24:38# ..or a little boy that does no harm... #

0:24:40 > 0:24:43# We're public guardians Bold yet wary

0:24:43 > 0:24:47# And of ourselves we take good care

0:24:47 > 0:24:51# To risk our precious lives we're chary

0:24:51 > 0:24:54# When danger looms we're never there... #

0:24:54 > 0:24:58'This whole process feels like a gift for my grandfather, really,

0:24:58 > 0:25:00'as much as it's for me,

0:25:00 > 0:25:03'and that's really special.'

0:25:03 > 0:25:05- # We run them in - We run them in

0:25:05 > 0:25:07- # We run them in - We run them in

0:25:07 > 0:25:10# To show them we're the bold gendarmes... #

0:25:10 > 0:25:13It's interesting. I mean, that picture in the hall

0:25:13 > 0:25:15that I've looked at so many times,

0:25:15 > 0:25:18you just get the sense of a clown, somebody sort of pratting around,

0:25:18 > 0:25:20but he was much more than that.

0:25:20 > 0:25:24# Sometimes our duty's extramural... #

0:25:24 > 0:25:27'He made it. He made it huge.'

0:25:27 > 0:25:29# We like to gambol... #

0:25:29 > 0:25:31'I feel like I would have liked him a lot.'

0:25:31 > 0:25:35# ..Commune with nature face-to-face... #

0:25:35 > 0:25:38'I feel a connection to him.'

0:25:38 > 0:25:40# To our beats then back returning

0:25:40 > 0:25:43# Refreshed by nature's holy charms

0:25:43 > 0:25:45# We run them in We run them in... #

0:25:45 > 0:25:48Having explored Edmund Payne's life as an actor,

0:25:48 > 0:25:52Gareth's now going to investigate his four times great-grandfather,

0:25:52 > 0:25:54Daniel Lowrey,

0:25:54 > 0:25:58according to the family, a theatre manager in Dublin.

0:25:58 > 0:26:01I've got the family tree from my mother

0:26:01 > 0:26:06that suggests that the furthest back we can go at the moment is 1823,

0:26:06 > 0:26:09and he married somebody called Hannah Elteringham.

0:26:09 > 0:26:11So I'm going to look them up on the internet

0:26:11 > 0:26:14to see if there's any more information.

0:26:16 > 0:26:18First and middle names... Dan Lowrey.

0:26:18 > 0:26:20Year...

0:26:20 > 0:26:23Birth - 1823.

0:26:23 > 0:26:25OK.

0:26:25 > 0:26:27OK, Mr Lowrey, where are you?

0:26:27 > 0:26:31Oh, there's a couple of things here.

0:26:31 > 0:26:33Um, is that him?

0:26:33 > 0:26:35That looks right.

0:26:35 > 0:26:37Married 1840.

0:26:37 > 0:26:38I can look at that.

0:26:42 > 0:26:43Right.

0:26:43 > 0:26:45August 22nd 1840,

0:26:45 > 0:26:49marriage solemnised at the parish church in the Parish of Leeds.

0:26:49 > 0:26:51Leeds!

0:26:51 > 0:26:53I'm Northern!

0:26:53 > 0:26:55Well, there you go.

0:26:55 > 0:26:56That's not what I was expecting.

0:26:56 > 0:26:58I was expecting to find Dublin.

0:26:58 > 0:27:00Profession - dyer.

0:27:03 > 0:27:07OK. That doesn't sound like my theatrical impresario.

0:27:07 > 0:27:11I mean, dyeing material, that's a very sort of working-class...

0:27:11 > 0:27:14very different sort of profession.

0:27:14 > 0:27:19And his father Patrick Lowrey is a weaver.

0:27:19 > 0:27:21A weaver?!

0:27:22 > 0:27:26This doesn't fit at all with what my mum was telling me.

0:27:26 > 0:27:28That just doesn't tally.

0:27:28 > 0:27:30There's one more thing on here.

0:27:30 > 0:27:33I might just go back and have a look.

0:27:33 > 0:27:36OK. The census - Dan Lowrey and Hannah Lowrey...

0:27:36 > 0:27:38Oh, this is 1851. Oh, great.

0:27:38 > 0:27:40OK, there's more.

0:27:40 > 0:27:42Liverpool.

0:27:42 > 0:27:44And he's moved to Liverpool.

0:27:45 > 0:27:48OK, well, we're getting closer to Dublin.

0:27:48 > 0:27:49Right, there he is.

0:27:49 > 0:27:52Dan Lowrey. Head.

0:27:52 > 0:27:54And now he's 28.

0:27:54 > 0:27:57And there's children.

0:27:57 > 0:28:00Thomas, who's ten years old.

0:28:00 > 0:28:02And what's that? No, hang on.

0:28:03 > 0:28:06Servant.

0:28:06 > 0:28:07They've got a servant.

0:28:07 > 0:28:11That doesn't sound like somebody who was a dyer in the wool trade.

0:28:11 > 0:28:14That sounds like somebody who's doing really well for themselves.

0:28:14 > 0:28:17And what does he do? What's this?

0:28:17 > 0:28:20Ooh, it's difficult to read. I'm going to zoom in.

0:28:21 > 0:28:24Oh, this feels really, really important,

0:28:24 > 0:28:25and I can't read it.

0:28:25 > 0:28:27S...

0:28:28 > 0:28:31It's definitely an S, looking at the other words, like "scholar".

0:28:31 > 0:28:34So that's an S. That looks like an I,

0:28:34 > 0:28:35cos there's a dot...

0:28:35 > 0:28:39S-I-G-S is all I can really make out.

0:28:39 > 0:28:42S-I-P-S? No.

0:28:42 > 0:28:44Not ships, is it?

0:28:44 > 0:28:46C-O-N... Cone...

0:28:46 > 0:28:47Is that an E?

0:28:47 > 0:28:49Conner...

0:28:49 > 0:28:51Connercuts. Connercols...

0:28:51 > 0:28:52Ablonical?!

0:28:52 > 0:28:54Stigs ablonical.

0:28:54 > 0:28:56He was a "stigs ablonical"!

0:28:56 > 0:28:59Well, that's the mystery solved, isn't it? That's great(!)

0:28:59 > 0:29:01Stigs... Stag...

0:29:01 > 0:29:04Do I look very stupid here?

0:29:04 > 0:29:05And what is that?

0:29:05 > 0:29:07You'll cut this out, right?

0:29:07 > 0:29:09Agh, this is agonising!

0:29:09 > 0:29:12C-O-N... Conc...

0:29:12 > 0:29:14Concerts.

0:29:14 > 0:29:17Is it "concerts"?

0:29:23 > 0:29:25Does that say "sings at concerts"?

0:29:26 > 0:29:28Oh, my God!

0:29:30 > 0:29:33Sings at concerts.

0:29:33 > 0:29:35It's not "ships conical" at all.

0:29:37 > 0:29:39He sings at concerts!

0:29:39 > 0:29:41That's Dan Lowrey! OK.

0:29:41 > 0:29:42Oh, wow!

0:29:42 > 0:29:47He was a dyer and he became a singer at concerts.

0:29:47 > 0:29:49That's fantastic.

0:29:49 > 0:29:51What kind of concerts?

0:29:51 > 0:29:53What did he sing?

0:29:53 > 0:29:56Agh! God, it's so exciting.

0:29:56 > 0:29:58It's really good.

0:29:59 > 0:30:02I love Liverpool. That's great.

0:30:09 > 0:30:12It's fascinating to find that your ancestor did

0:30:12 > 0:30:16something like leave working in the mills to go off and become

0:30:16 > 0:30:18Dan Lowrey the singer.

0:30:20 > 0:30:21What made him do that?

0:30:21 > 0:30:25You know, it takes a certain kind of determination and bravery

0:30:25 > 0:30:29and feeling that you...you can't do anything else, in a way,

0:30:29 > 0:30:32that you HAVE to become a performer.

0:30:32 > 0:30:35And he had the ambition to believe

0:30:35 > 0:30:38that he was going to become something.

0:30:38 > 0:30:41I know from my own life, you know, it's really hard.

0:30:41 > 0:30:44I had years of doing, you know, not very exciting jobs.

0:30:44 > 0:30:48I worked in bars, I sold ice creams, I swept floors,

0:30:48 > 0:30:52I picked up cigarette ends from the beach.

0:30:52 > 0:30:54I did all sorts of things that were not glamorous

0:30:54 > 0:30:58for a good ten years before I finally, you know,

0:30:58 > 0:31:00got to where I wanted to be.

0:31:00 > 0:31:03And so I warm to him for that.

0:31:04 > 0:31:06There may be a little bit of that

0:31:06 > 0:31:08that's come down through the generations,

0:31:08 > 0:31:11a little bit of that, don't know, grit or personality or something.

0:31:11 > 0:31:13I hope so.

0:31:22 > 0:31:24Gareth's in Liverpool to meet

0:31:24 > 0:31:27an expert in popular Victorian entertainment,

0:31:27 > 0:31:29Dr Caroline Radcliffe.

0:31:30 > 0:31:33They're meeting at the Caledonia Pub.

0:31:33 > 0:31:35LIVELY FOLK MUSIC PLAYS

0:31:37 > 0:31:38Hello.

0:31:38 > 0:31:40- Caroline, hello.- Hello.

0:31:40 > 0:31:41Oh, this is cosy.

0:31:45 > 0:31:47Oh, I love it.

0:31:50 > 0:31:52I feel like dancing!

0:32:02 > 0:32:06Until very recently, I didn't know anything about Dan Lowrey at all.

0:32:06 > 0:32:08He was just a name in the family,

0:32:08 > 0:32:10so I'm hoping you can fill in some gaps.

0:32:10 > 0:32:14Well, this is a Liverpool trade directory from 1857

0:32:14 > 0:32:16and you can find his name...

0:32:16 > 0:32:19I've just noticed here - "lunatic asylum".

0:32:19 > 0:32:21There's all sorts of things on here.

0:32:21 > 0:32:24Provision dealer, tobacconist... And Lowrey.

0:32:24 > 0:32:26- Is that him?- That's the one.

0:32:26 > 0:32:28Victualler. Vict...

0:32:28 > 0:32:31Do you know what that is? He's a publican.

0:32:31 > 0:32:33He's got his own pub now.

0:32:33 > 0:32:34Wow! Publican.

0:32:34 > 0:32:37So, in the years since the 1851 census,

0:32:37 > 0:32:40- he's amassed enough money to buy a pub.- Yep.

0:32:40 > 0:32:43And this, 22 Cleveland Square, where is that?

0:32:43 > 0:32:46It's down by the docks.

0:32:47 > 0:32:48And if I show you this one,

0:32:48 > 0:32:51you'll find out a bit more about that pub

0:32:51 > 0:32:53and what he was actually doing with it.

0:32:53 > 0:32:56And this is a very well-known theatrical paper.

0:32:56 > 0:33:00- The Era. And this is 1859.- Yeah.

0:33:00 > 0:33:01Bayliss... No...

0:33:01 > 0:33:03Um...OK...

0:33:05 > 0:33:08Dan... Ah, here we are. Oh! Oh, my gosh!

0:33:08 > 0:33:12"Liverpool - Dan Lowrey's music hall." This is a change.

0:33:12 > 0:33:16Yeah. A lot of pubs at this time turned into music halls.

0:33:16 > 0:33:19What Dan actually was, was a music hall performer.

0:33:19 > 0:33:23- Right.- And he'd already established quite a reputation.

0:33:26 > 0:33:29"This splendid music hall is nightly crowded

0:33:29 > 0:33:31"to witness the following talented company -

0:33:31 > 0:33:35"Mr & Mrs Hughes, the clever duettists and pantomimists

0:33:35 > 0:33:37"with their wonderful dog Polly."

0:33:37 > 0:33:39This is Britain's Got Talent.

0:33:39 > 0:33:44"Dan Lowrey, the greatest Irish singer of the present day,

0:33:44 > 0:33:49"bar none." Why is he an Irish vocalist if he came from Leeds?

0:33:49 > 0:33:51That was his speciality.

0:33:51 > 0:33:55Liverpool was full of Irish immigrants

0:33:55 > 0:33:58so he chose traditional Irish songs

0:33:58 > 0:34:00which the audience would have known.

0:34:00 > 0:34:03It was the real music of the people.

0:34:08 > 0:34:12In the 1850s, Liverpool was a thriving port

0:34:12 > 0:34:15and Britain's second city after London.

0:34:15 > 0:34:17Migrants came in their thousands,

0:34:17 > 0:34:21particularly from Ireland, to seek a living.

0:34:21 > 0:34:23As the city's population boomed,

0:34:23 > 0:34:26so did demand for entertainment.

0:34:26 > 0:34:30Many pubs, like Dan Lowrey's, were adapted to become music halls.

0:34:30 > 0:34:33Unlike traditional theatres,

0:34:33 > 0:34:36they were allowed to serve food and drink during performances.

0:34:38 > 0:34:42And we've got some more information about his particular music hall

0:34:42 > 0:34:44in this catalogue of all the music halls

0:34:44 > 0:34:47that were in Liverpool during the 19th century.

0:34:47 > 0:34:50- All the music halls, right. The Malakoff Music Hall.- Yeah.

0:34:50 > 0:34:53"The Malakoff Music Hall was situated in Cleveland Square

0:34:53 > 0:34:57"and was a very popular resort for youthful and ancient mariners.

0:34:57 > 0:35:01"Outside the Malakoff, there is a statue of Mr Lowrey

0:35:01 > 0:35:03"in one of his favourite Irish characters."

0:35:03 > 0:35:05So if we just turn back...

0:35:05 > 0:35:08- Ah.- ..there's a picture of the actual Malakoff.

0:35:08 > 0:35:10That's it!

0:35:10 > 0:35:12- And there...- There he is.

0:35:12 > 0:35:15Taking pride of place over his music hall.

0:35:15 > 0:35:17Looking quite the gentleman.

0:35:17 > 0:35:20And was this erected during his lifetime, do you know?

0:35:20 > 0:35:22Yes, I think he erected it.

0:35:22 > 0:35:24He had a statue commissioned of himself?!

0:35:24 > 0:35:26- He's a real self-publicist.- Yeah.

0:35:26 > 0:35:30He needed to be, because to climb from those roots,

0:35:30 > 0:35:32to establish your own music hall

0:35:32 > 0:35:37- and move up the social ladder, took a lot of business acumen.- Yeah.

0:35:37 > 0:35:40He's not a dyer or a weaver's son any more.

0:35:40 > 0:35:42- That says quite a lot of about him, doesn't it?- Yep.

0:35:43 > 0:35:46Dan's music hall proved a big hit.

0:35:46 > 0:35:49Audiences poured in to see a variety of acts -

0:35:49 > 0:35:53comic singer, acrobats, even performing animals -

0:35:53 > 0:35:56and with alcohol flowing freely,

0:35:56 > 0:35:59Victorian music halls, like Dan Lowrey's,

0:35:59 > 0:36:02quickly became THE place for a drink and a singsong.

0:36:09 > 0:36:14I'll show something which I think you'll find really interesting.

0:36:14 > 0:36:15That's him?

0:36:15 > 0:36:18This is him doing one of his Irish songs.

0:36:18 > 0:36:20Wow!

0:36:20 > 0:36:23Dressed in a sort of typical music hall character.

0:36:23 > 0:36:24In all his finery.

0:36:24 > 0:36:27He's quite a stocky man, isn't he?

0:36:27 > 0:36:30He looks like he can handle himself.

0:36:30 > 0:36:33And the docks were very, very rough at that time.

0:36:33 > 0:36:36Where you get sailors, there are lot of prostitutes,

0:36:36 > 0:36:39fights, police raids.

0:36:39 > 0:36:42I'm so glad you didn't tell me he was running a brothel.

0:36:42 > 0:36:44Maybe you're going to tell me that in a minute!

0:36:44 > 0:36:47Now, we've got one more thing for you.

0:36:47 > 0:36:51We've actually managed to find one of the songs that he performed.

0:36:51 > 0:36:52Goodness.

0:36:52 > 0:36:54Pat Came Over The Hill.

0:36:54 > 0:36:55Or the Whistling Thief.

0:36:55 > 0:36:57Whistling Thief. What's the song about?

0:36:57 > 0:37:00Well, it's about a man who's courting his sweetheart,

0:37:00 > 0:37:05his colleen, and his little signal to her is a whistle.

0:37:06 > 0:37:08So he starts whistling to her.

0:37:08 > 0:37:11Unfortunately, the mum hears, and says,

0:37:11 > 0:37:14"Daughter, go back to bed, we're not having any of that..."

0:37:14 > 0:37:17- You're not going out. - "..hanky-panky."

0:37:17 > 0:37:20You can never take a music hall song at face value.

0:37:20 > 0:37:24- You always have to imagine what was going with it, the act...- Yes.

0:37:24 > 0:37:27- ..and the business, as they called it.- The business.

0:37:27 > 0:37:31So it's traditional, but with a bit of sauciness and fun.

0:37:31 > 0:37:34The audience would have joined in and it would have become a whole...

0:37:34 > 0:37:37- And they'd be banging on the table and...- All those sailors.

0:37:37 > 0:37:40- Yeah. Yeah. - How's your sight reading?

0:37:40 > 0:37:43- First-rate. Let's have a go. - Do you want to have a go?- Yeah.

0:37:46 > 0:37:49Um, right, so, erm, ladies and gentlemen,

0:37:49 > 0:37:52in honour of my great-great-great-great-grandfather,

0:37:52 > 0:37:54the great Dan Lowrey,

0:37:54 > 0:37:59we give you a very under-rehearsed version of the Whistling Thief.

0:37:59 > 0:38:03You don't know it? Well, you'll pick it up.

0:38:06 > 0:38:09# When Pat came over the hill

0:38:09 > 0:38:11# His colleen fair to see

0:38:11 > 0:38:12# His whistle loud and shrill

0:38:12 > 0:38:14# The signal was to be

0:38:14 > 0:38:16# Oh, Mary, the mother cried

0:38:16 > 0:38:18# There's somebody whistling sure

0:38:18 > 0:38:20# No, Mother, it's only the wind

0:38:20 > 0:38:22# That's whistling through the door

0:38:22 > 0:38:25# That's whistling through the door. #

0:38:27 > 0:38:29'Dan must have really had something about him.'

0:38:29 > 0:38:31Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!

0:38:31 > 0:38:32He's got charm.

0:38:32 > 0:38:34# ..The dog is barking now... #

0:38:34 > 0:38:38And enough charm to draw in an audience

0:38:38 > 0:38:41and win them over with a song.

0:38:41 > 0:38:44# ..Now, how can you see the moon when you know... #

0:38:44 > 0:38:46And that's what leaps out of this picture for me,

0:38:46 > 0:38:48is a man who is confident

0:38:48 > 0:38:53and he's able to perform.

0:38:53 > 0:38:54And here we go again.

0:38:54 > 0:38:56# ..I'm not such a fool as you think

0:38:56 > 0:38:59# I know very well it is Pat

0:38:59 > 0:39:00# Get out, you whistling thief... #

0:39:00 > 0:39:03There was a ready audience for Irish song.

0:39:03 > 0:39:05You would get up and you'd entertain a crowd,

0:39:05 > 0:39:07and people obviously loved it.

0:39:07 > 0:39:11# ..Although I've lost my eyes I haven't lost my ears... #

0:39:11 > 0:39:15I like songs that are light and fun and entertaining and comic,

0:39:15 > 0:39:18and so did my great-great-great-great-grandfather,

0:39:18 > 0:39:20Dan Lowrey, and that's really exciting for me,

0:39:20 > 0:39:24to find that there's that immediate connection with the past.

0:39:24 > 0:39:25# ..Now, boys don't courting go

0:39:25 > 0:39:27# Too near the house, do you mind?

0:39:27 > 0:39:29# Unless you're certain sure... #

0:39:29 > 0:39:31I want to go to 22 Cleveland Square

0:39:31 > 0:39:33and find out whether there's still anything there

0:39:33 > 0:39:35and whether the statue's still there.

0:39:35 > 0:39:37So I want to go and find out.

0:39:37 > 0:39:39I hope it is.

0:39:39 > 0:39:40# ..A fiddle, pig, dog and a man

0:39:40 > 0:39:43# A fiddle, pig, dog and a man. # Whoo!

0:39:43 > 0:39:46MUSIC CONTINUES

0:40:00 > 0:40:03MUSIC ENDS, APPLAUSE

0:40:16 > 0:40:19Well, this is it. This is Cleveland Square.

0:40:22 > 0:40:23I'm drawn to that building

0:40:23 > 0:40:28because it kind of looks a little bit like Dan Lowrey's music hall,

0:40:28 > 0:40:30but it's not the right shape,

0:40:30 > 0:40:32it's not wide enough and it's not grand enough.

0:40:32 > 0:40:36And that building's got... It says 1882, so it's from the right period.

0:40:36 > 0:40:38Right, though, it's not the right building.

0:40:40 > 0:40:43There's a number 22 on that gate over there.

0:40:43 > 0:40:45Oh... It's a house!

0:40:45 > 0:40:49This statue would have been just on the first floor, just there.

0:40:49 > 0:40:50Huh!

0:40:50 > 0:40:51Oh!

0:40:51 > 0:40:53HE TUTS

0:40:53 > 0:40:54I'm really gutted about that.

0:40:54 > 0:40:59I was really hoping to find Dan still looking out over the square.

0:41:01 > 0:41:03I get the sense that this was someone for whom

0:41:03 > 0:41:05things were really beginning to happen.

0:41:05 > 0:41:07And I want to find out what happened next.

0:41:09 > 0:41:13Gareth's going to search the British Newspaper Archive.

0:41:13 > 0:41:15Right, let's have a look online.

0:41:15 > 0:41:17OK.

0:41:17 > 0:41:19Newspapers.

0:41:20 > 0:41:22What have we got?

0:41:26 > 0:41:28Ah, there we are.

0:41:28 > 0:41:30There's quite a lot of articles here, mentioning him.

0:41:30 > 0:41:33This is the Daily Post,

0:41:33 > 0:41:36and that's from 1st June 1860.

0:41:38 > 0:41:40Erm, OK, here we are.

0:41:40 > 0:41:43"Dan Lowrey's new Malakoff Music Hall, 22 Cleveland Square,"

0:41:43 > 0:41:45just over there.

0:41:45 > 0:41:46I think it must be an advert.

0:41:46 > 0:41:49"Dan, the unrivalled Irish comedian

0:41:49 > 0:41:52"appears every evening at half past ten o'clock precisely."

0:41:52 > 0:41:56He's always called "the unrivalled",

0:41:56 > 0:42:00"the unparalleled", the sine qua non of music hall.

0:42:00 > 0:42:02Brilliant.

0:42:04 > 0:42:07Oh, here's another one.

0:42:07 > 0:42:08Huh!

0:42:08 > 0:42:11"Every evening go and hear DAN..." - capital letters -

0:42:11 > 0:42:14"..with the best company in Liverpool. Dan Lowrey!"

0:42:14 > 0:42:15Exclamation mark.

0:42:15 > 0:42:17Pause. "Dan Lowrey" again.

0:42:17 > 0:42:20And again, "Dan Lowrey".

0:42:20 > 0:42:24He wants to get his name and his brand out there.

0:42:24 > 0:42:25Good for him.

0:42:25 > 0:42:28"A private box for captains and gentlemen."

0:42:28 > 0:42:30Wow. That's interesting.

0:42:30 > 0:42:33When he says a private box for captains and gentlemen,

0:42:33 > 0:42:35it sounds like, actually,

0:42:35 > 0:42:38he's trying to make this sound like a respectable place.

0:42:38 > 0:42:41He doesn't just want riff-raff, he wants captains and gentlemen.

0:42:41 > 0:42:43He wants to be the classy establishment

0:42:43 > 0:42:45that's making more money, perhaps.

0:42:48 > 0:42:50OK, this one looks interesting.

0:42:50 > 0:42:53"Daily Courier. 25th October 1870."

0:42:53 > 0:42:55Let me make this bigger.

0:42:55 > 0:42:56Here we go.

0:42:56 > 0:42:59"Municipal elections, Pitt Street ward.

0:42:59 > 0:43:03"Last evening, a meeting for the friends and supporters

0:43:03 > 0:43:07"of Mr Daniel Lowrey, the people's candidate..."

0:43:07 > 0:43:09Wow, come on, Dan!

0:43:09 > 0:43:12"..was held in the Malakoff Music Hall, Cleveland Square.

0:43:12 > 0:43:15"Dan himself came on amidst loud applause,

0:43:15 > 0:43:18"which he acknowledged, bowing two or three times."

0:43:18 > 0:43:20Well, that sounds right. I love that.

0:43:20 > 0:43:23The idea that he comes out at a political rally

0:43:23 > 0:43:27and just bows ceremoniously, like, "Yes, it's me!"

0:43:27 > 0:43:29That's really interesting.

0:43:29 > 0:43:31So the Pitt Street ward...

0:43:31 > 0:43:33So this is local elections.

0:43:33 > 0:43:35The people's candidate for Pitt Street ward.

0:43:35 > 0:43:36Presumably that's this area.

0:43:36 > 0:43:40So he's really coming up in the world, isn't he?

0:43:40 > 0:43:41That's extraordinary.

0:43:41 > 0:43:44He's now wanting to get into politics.

0:43:44 > 0:43:47What ambition!

0:43:47 > 0:43:48He must have been a smart guy.

0:43:50 > 0:43:53I wonder if he was successful. That I want to know.

0:43:56 > 0:44:01By 1870, Dan had been performing in Liverpool for over 20 years.

0:44:01 > 0:44:04His music hall business had flourished

0:44:04 > 0:44:07and now he sought a new challenge...

0:44:07 > 0:44:09in local politics.

0:44:10 > 0:44:14At the time, Britain only had two political parties -

0:44:14 > 0:44:16the Conservatives and the Liberals.

0:44:18 > 0:44:21Gareth's meeting local historian Mike Royden

0:44:21 > 0:44:24to find out more about Dan's electoral campaign.

0:44:24 > 0:44:26Hi, Mike, hello.

0:44:26 > 0:44:29- Hi, Gareth, it's nice to meet you. - Yeah, lovely to meet you.

0:44:29 > 0:44:30Why this part of Liverpool?

0:44:30 > 0:44:32Why have you brought me here?

0:44:32 > 0:44:33Well, this is the Pitt Street area,

0:44:33 > 0:44:37and this is the ward where your ancestor Dan Lowrey

0:44:37 > 0:44:39decided to go into politics,

0:44:39 > 0:44:42and this is the area he was going to hopefully represent.

0:44:42 > 0:44:45And he's decided to stand as an independent Liberal.

0:44:45 > 0:44:49Now, this was about 20 years before the Independent Labour Party.

0:44:49 > 0:44:51So he's standing for the working man.

0:44:51 > 0:44:53And the document I have here

0:44:53 > 0:44:56- will show you a little bit more about that.- Where am I looking?

0:44:56 > 0:44:58See here with the Pitt Street ward, there.

0:44:58 > 0:45:00So this is 1870, the Daily Courier.

0:45:00 > 0:45:03"In this ward, which has generally been considered

0:45:03 > 0:45:04"a Conservative stronghold,

0:45:04 > 0:45:07"there was a perfectly unique contest.

0:45:07 > 0:45:09"The Conservative managers of the ward introduced

0:45:09 > 0:45:12"a very eligible candidate in the person

0:45:12 > 0:45:17"of Lieutenant Colonel CE Hamilton, a merchant and ship owner."

0:45:17 > 0:45:18Yeah, so as far as they're concerned,

0:45:18 > 0:45:20anybody Conservative would win this seat.

0:45:20 > 0:45:23So Dan Lowrey was very, very unusual -

0:45:23 > 0:45:25the determination of this man to stand against all the odds.

0:45:25 > 0:45:28"Lowrey has been steady and industrious

0:45:28 > 0:45:30"and has thrived in all his undertakings

0:45:30 > 0:45:35"but perhaps he is hardly, either in social or mental culture,

0:45:35 > 0:45:39"the sort of material out of which to manufacture a town council."

0:45:39 > 0:45:41- He's not the right type. - He's not the right type.

0:45:41 > 0:45:43He's a bit rough round the edges.

0:45:43 > 0:45:45I mean, you think of what he's achieved in his life,

0:45:45 > 0:45:49- and where he's come from, it was very rude...- Very disparaging.

0:45:49 > 0:45:51Thank you very much. The right mental culture?!

0:45:51 > 0:45:55I mean, I suppose they were unused to people like Mr Lowrey

0:45:55 > 0:45:57getting political ideas.

0:45:57 > 0:45:59Yeah, they're not taking this guy seriously at all.

0:45:59 > 0:46:02You know, with his music hall background,

0:46:02 > 0:46:04- I suppose they thought, "Who is this man?"- A singer.

0:46:04 > 0:46:07"It was evident yesterday that a great number of their party

0:46:07 > 0:46:11"considered Dan Lowrey's candidature a mere joke."

0:46:11 > 0:46:13A joke! Oh, and here we have the result.

0:46:13 > 0:46:17"The hourly progress of the voting is shown by the following return.

0:46:17 > 0:46:21"Ten o'clock - Hamilton 70, Lowrey 65."

0:46:21 > 0:46:22It's like the football results!

0:46:22 > 0:46:26"12 o'clock - 191 to 151." He's opening up the lead.

0:46:26 > 0:46:27Oh, then at the end,

0:46:27 > 0:46:31"For Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton 363 votes

0:46:31 > 0:46:36"and Mr Lowrey 298, making the majority for Colonel Hamilton 65."

0:46:36 > 0:46:37Very, very close.

0:46:37 > 0:46:38Yeah. He did well.

0:46:38 > 0:46:40I think he did amazingly,

0:46:40 > 0:46:44because in consideration of where he came from and the way

0:46:44 > 0:46:47the local press treated him as a joke,

0:46:47 > 0:46:49the Conservatives treated him as a joke,

0:46:49 > 0:46:53he was really up against it, and he did extremely well.

0:46:53 > 0:46:55Good man.

0:46:55 > 0:46:58"Mr Daniel Lowrey, who was vociferously cheered,

0:46:58 > 0:47:01"then addressed the assemblage as follows."

0:47:01 > 0:47:02And this is his words.

0:47:02 > 0:47:07"I threw myself before you as the working man's candidate." Cheers.

0:47:07 > 0:47:09"When I issued myself,

0:47:09 > 0:47:11"I was told I was putting up for the working men,

0:47:11 > 0:47:15"but the reply I gave was, 'I am a working man myself.' "

0:47:15 > 0:47:16More cheers.

0:47:16 > 0:47:19"Let me say that although I have been called a comic singer,

0:47:19 > 0:47:21"I am proud of it.

0:47:21 > 0:47:24"I have amused thousands of you for 23 years

0:47:24 > 0:47:27"in the town of Liverpool, and whenever Dan Lowrey is called upon,

0:47:27 > 0:47:31"Dan Lowrey is there to sing them a comic song with all his heart".

0:47:31 > 0:47:33HE BREATHES DEEPLY

0:47:33 > 0:47:34Yes!

0:47:34 > 0:47:37But he didn't last in Liverpool much longer.

0:47:37 > 0:47:39- He stayed only about a year. - Really?

0:47:39 > 0:47:43And this document here will give you an idea of where he went to next.

0:47:43 > 0:47:46And if you look at the advert over on the left-hand side.

0:47:46 > 0:47:48I'm just reeling from the speech.

0:47:48 > 0:47:52"Star of Erin Music Hall, sole proprietor - Mr D Lowrey.

0:47:52 > 0:47:56"The above hall will open on Monday evening next,

0:47:56 > 0:47:58"with a complete and powerful

0:47:58 > 0:48:00"company of vocal and instrumental artists."

0:48:00 > 0:48:02And where is this? This is...

0:48:02 > 0:48:05Look at the adverts, they might give you an idea.

0:48:05 > 0:48:07- Dublin.- That's quite right.

0:48:07 > 0:48:09This is the piece of jigsaw that makes sense to me,

0:48:09 > 0:48:12because my mum always said that Dan Lowrey is from Dublin

0:48:12 > 0:48:15- and that he had a theatre there. - Right.

0:48:15 > 0:48:19So it's great to find that that's true, it's true, he really did.

0:48:19 > 0:48:22Yeah. So we know that he left the following year, after the election.

0:48:22 > 0:48:24- Why?- Well, maybe he thinks he's run his course here,

0:48:24 > 0:48:27- maybe he was affronted by what had happened to him.- Yeah.

0:48:27 > 0:48:29Maybe he thinks it's time to move on.

0:48:29 > 0:48:32Dublin. I feel like that's my next step.

0:48:32 > 0:48:34- That's where you need to go next, yeah.- Yeah.

0:48:38 > 0:48:45In 1871, Dan Lowrey sailed with his family from Liverpool for Ireland.

0:48:48 > 0:48:51He left his eldest son, 30-year-old Thomas,

0:48:51 > 0:48:53in charge of his music hall.

0:48:55 > 0:48:58There have been so many surprises with Dan

0:48:58 > 0:49:01and now he just ups sticks and leaves and goes to Dublin.

0:49:01 > 0:49:03He's a self-made man, Dan Lowrey,

0:49:03 > 0:49:08he branded himself as the ultimate Irish singer in Liverpool,

0:49:08 > 0:49:11and now he's going to, you know, go and take that,

0:49:11 > 0:49:14that's taking coals to Newcastle, isn't it, really,

0:49:14 > 0:49:16going all the way to Dublin to become, who knows,

0:49:16 > 0:49:20a singer and performer and a proprietor over there?

0:49:20 > 0:49:22It must have been a challenge.

0:49:22 > 0:49:26I admire that about him, that he's got the determination to succeed,

0:49:26 > 0:49:28the determination to reinvent himself.

0:49:28 > 0:49:31I don't know what surprises are ahead.

0:49:31 > 0:49:33I'm sure he's got a few tricks up his sleeve.

0:49:46 > 0:49:48When Dan Lowrey arrived in Dublin,

0:49:48 > 0:49:52music hall entertainment was only just catching on,

0:49:52 > 0:49:55and he had ambitious plans.

0:49:57 > 0:50:01To find out more, Gareth's meeting Professor Kevin Rockett.

0:50:07 > 0:50:11- Hello. Kevin?- Ah, hello, Gareth. How are you? Welcome to Dublin.

0:50:11 > 0:50:12Thanks very much. I love the pub.

0:50:12 > 0:50:14- Yeah, it's gorgeous, isn't it? - Wonderful.

0:50:14 > 0:50:17Can you tell me a bit about my great-great-great-great-grandfather?

0:50:17 > 0:50:19- I can tell you lots about him. - Good.

0:50:19 > 0:50:22But I think we'll find a quieter spot, rather than here.

0:50:22 > 0:50:24- Right, lead on.- OK. - Past the bar.- Right.

0:50:24 > 0:50:27- I should pick up a Guinness, really, shouldn't I?- Oh!

0:50:29 > 0:50:32As it happens, we have one of his music hall programmes here.

0:50:32 > 0:50:33Is this the theatre?

0:50:33 > 0:50:38- This is the theatre. Now, this is... - This is amazing. It's huge!

0:50:38 > 0:50:41There's an orchestra,

0:50:41 > 0:50:43there's ballerinas,

0:50:43 > 0:50:45gentlemen in top hats. Goodness me!

0:50:45 > 0:50:47It looks like an opera house.

0:50:47 > 0:50:50This is a very, very different theatre

0:50:50 > 0:50:52from the Malakoff Music Hall in Liverpool.

0:50:52 > 0:50:55This is quite middle-class entertainment, isn't it?

0:50:55 > 0:50:56- It's got aspirations.- Exactly.

0:50:56 > 0:50:59You're pointing out exactly the sort of things

0:50:59 > 0:51:01and the image that he wanted to convey.

0:51:01 > 0:51:03Because he was trying to make more money?

0:51:03 > 0:51:05Trying to make more money

0:51:05 > 0:51:08but also maybe it was, in part, a search for respectability.

0:51:08 > 0:51:09I'm amazed, because we've...

0:51:09 > 0:51:12I've gone from Dan Lowrey being a sort of man of the people

0:51:12 > 0:51:16and entertaining prostitutes and sailors in Liverpool,

0:51:16 > 0:51:19- to coming to be... He's a social climber.- Yes, indeed.

0:51:19 > 0:51:22- What drive in this family. It's amazing.- Yeah.

0:51:22 > 0:51:24He had a great entrepreneurial spirit

0:51:24 > 0:51:26and he saw an opportunity,

0:51:26 > 0:51:31because Dublin didn't have a significant music hall.

0:51:33 > 0:51:34Oh, look at this!

0:51:34 > 0:51:36There's so much to take in.

0:51:36 > 0:51:40"Programme for the week ending 27th December 1884.

0:51:40 > 0:51:44"Grand production entitled Lalla Rookh,

0:51:44 > 0:51:46"supported by the following eminent artist,

0:51:46 > 0:51:49"Miss Alice Rogers from the Alhambra Palace, London."

0:51:49 > 0:51:53- Hmm.- "The gorgeous dresses supplied by Nathan and Son,

0:51:53 > 0:51:54"in Leicester Square."

0:51:54 > 0:51:58So they're getting... This is very fancy, isn't it?

0:51:58 > 0:52:02"professor Buer and his troupe of performing dogs and monkeys!

0:52:02 > 0:52:06"He will also introduce for the first time in Dublin

0:52:06 > 0:52:08"his wonderful performing mule!"

0:52:08 > 0:52:09A performing mule.

0:52:09 > 0:52:12- We don't know what it performed, but it was...- Who knows?

0:52:12 > 0:52:14- Maybe it sang! - That's proper entertainment.

0:52:14 > 0:52:17I love it. This is a hell of a show.

0:52:17 > 0:52:18It's got everything -

0:52:18 > 0:52:22mules, monkeys, ballerinas and big stars from London.

0:52:22 > 0:52:24It's proper variety, isn't it?

0:52:24 > 0:52:25Indeed it is.

0:52:25 > 0:52:27Some more on the back.

0:52:27 > 0:52:29Oh, there he is!

0:52:29 > 0:52:30There's a picture!

0:52:30 > 0:52:32Oh, there's two.

0:52:32 > 0:52:33Dan Lowrey Snr

0:52:33 > 0:52:34and Dan Lowrey Jnr.

0:52:34 > 0:52:37- Mm-hm.- Which is this, then?

0:52:37 > 0:52:40By 1884, we have another figure coming into the picture.

0:52:40 > 0:52:42Who's that?

0:52:42 > 0:52:46That is Dan's son, Thomas, now called Dan.

0:52:46 > 0:52:48He's changed his name to Dan...

0:52:48 > 0:52:50To maintain...

0:52:50 > 0:52:53- The family...- ..the marketing of the Dan Lowrey name.

0:52:55 > 0:52:57That's hilarious.

0:52:57 > 0:53:00So what actually happened was that Thomas was summoned over

0:53:00 > 0:53:02by Dan Snr to be a manager,

0:53:02 > 0:53:06as Dan himself was becoming old and somewhat ill,

0:53:06 > 0:53:11and Thomas was then simultaneously renamed Dan Jnr.

0:53:11 > 0:53:15- It was part of the marketing. - Yeah.

0:53:15 > 0:53:17It's now a brand, the Dan Lowrey brand.

0:53:17 > 0:53:20That's right. Dan Jnr.

0:53:20 > 0:53:24He was never a performer, cos he had a serious stammer,

0:53:24 > 0:53:28- but he was a magician at promotion and advertising.- Hmm.

0:53:28 > 0:53:31And Dan Snr really left

0:53:31 > 0:53:35the running of his music hall in Dublin to his son.

0:53:35 > 0:53:37Ah. Is there anything there?

0:53:37 > 0:53:39Can I go and see it?

0:53:39 > 0:53:42Yes, the theatre was and indeed still is...

0:53:42 > 0:53:44Still there?! Not a bingo hall!

0:53:44 > 0:53:46Not a bingo hall. A theatre.

0:53:46 > 0:53:48That is wonderful.

0:53:48 > 0:53:49Perhaps tomorrow,

0:53:49 > 0:53:52it might be possible to see what is actually left.

0:53:52 > 0:53:54Oh, you're teasing me.

0:53:54 > 0:53:56Oh, I can't wait.

0:53:56 > 0:53:59I'm really bowled over by this.

0:53:59 > 0:54:01Two Dans for the price of one.

0:54:01 > 0:54:03I can't believe it. Father and son.

0:54:03 > 0:54:06I think my family had always had the wrong Dan in their minds.

0:54:06 > 0:54:09They'd been thinking about Dan Lowrey Jnr,

0:54:09 > 0:54:11who was the manager, the impresario,

0:54:11 > 0:54:14and, actually, his father is the one that I've been so excited about,

0:54:14 > 0:54:17and this man who created this theatrical legacy in his family

0:54:17 > 0:54:20and had all the talent.

0:54:20 > 0:54:21It's wonderful.

0:54:21 > 0:54:23Wonderful. What a revelation.

0:54:26 > 0:54:32Dan Lowrey Sr died in Dublin in 1889 aged 66.

0:54:32 > 0:54:36He'd been a performer for almost 50 years.

0:54:38 > 0:54:42Dan's eldest son Thomas, now known as Dan Jnr,

0:54:42 > 0:54:45took over the management of his father's theatre.

0:54:45 > 0:54:48It has since been renamed the Olympia.

0:54:50 > 0:54:54Come and have a look what I've found. There he is.

0:54:54 > 0:54:55Dan Lowrey Snr.

0:54:55 > 0:54:58He looks rather august and upright,

0:54:58 > 0:55:01in a little bow tie.

0:55:01 > 0:55:04And it looks like he's in the theatre

0:55:04 > 0:55:07cos there's a hint of a velvet curtain coming down.

0:55:07 > 0:55:10He looks like a man that's, you know, come good.

0:55:19 > 0:55:21Wow! Look at this.

0:55:23 > 0:55:25Welcome to Dan Lowrey's!

0:55:25 > 0:55:27I can't believe it. It's extraordinary.

0:55:27 > 0:55:29What a...what a treat.

0:55:29 > 0:55:30Look at that!

0:55:30 > 0:55:32It's quite ornate, isn't it?

0:55:32 > 0:55:36The chandeliers, plush boxes,

0:55:36 > 0:55:38and just vast.

0:55:38 > 0:55:40It's a really proper theatre.

0:55:40 > 0:55:44Yes, this is a really classic late-Victorian music hall,

0:55:44 > 0:55:50the 1897 version restored to all its original power and beauty.

0:55:50 > 0:55:53Dan Lowrey, look where you've got to!

0:55:54 > 0:55:57And to come from Leeds, working in the mills,

0:55:57 > 0:55:59to a building...

0:55:59 > 0:56:02to owning and running a building like this - amazing.

0:56:02 > 0:56:04Yes. They're doing extremely well.

0:56:04 > 0:56:06The family had truly arrived.

0:56:06 > 0:56:07Yes.

0:56:07 > 0:56:10And it's still a theatre.

0:56:10 > 0:56:13I can't believe it. It's really amazing.

0:56:13 > 0:56:16I mean, of all the things for my family to have done,

0:56:16 > 0:56:17it's extraordinary.

0:56:17 > 0:56:19Quite overwhelming.

0:56:20 > 0:56:22What a man. What men.

0:56:22 > 0:56:23What men, indeed.

0:56:23 > 0:56:25I think I'm going to change my name to Dan!

0:56:25 > 0:56:27I've always liked the name Dan.

0:56:29 > 0:56:33I set out to find out where this theatrical gene came from,

0:56:33 > 0:56:36and it's clearly there right through my family,

0:56:36 > 0:56:39in many parts, but particularly in Dan Lowrey Snr.

0:56:39 > 0:56:42And it's just so moving to be in this room

0:56:42 > 0:56:46and think, you know, this was my family that built this place up.

0:56:46 > 0:56:48And here it is, 130 years later.

0:56:50 > 0:56:52# When Pat came over the hill

0:56:52 > 0:56:55# His colleen fair to see

0:56:55 > 0:56:57# His whistle loud and shrill

0:56:57 > 0:57:00# The signal was to be

0:57:00 > 0:57:01# Oh, Mary, the mother cried... #

0:57:01 > 0:57:04I've always stepped into rooms like this

0:57:04 > 0:57:06and there's one place that I want to be, and it's not here,

0:57:06 > 0:57:08it's down there on that stage.

0:57:08 > 0:57:10And Dan Lowrey, I think, was exactly the same.

0:57:10 > 0:57:11Ruff!

0:57:11 > 0:57:13# ..The dog is barking now

0:57:13 > 0:57:16# And the fiddle can't play the tune... #

0:57:16 > 0:57:18How wonderful to be related to somebody like that.

0:57:18 > 0:57:20# ..When they see the moon

0:57:20 > 0:57:22# Now, how can he see the moon

0:57:22 > 0:57:24# When you know he's old and blind?

0:57:24 > 0:57:26# Blind dogs can't see the moon

0:57:26 > 0:57:29# Nor fiddles be played by the wind

0:57:29 > 0:57:32# Nor fiddles be played by the wind

0:57:32 > 0:57:34# I'm not such a fool as you think

0:57:34 > 0:57:36# I know very well it is Pat

0:57:36 > 0:57:39# Get out, you whistling thief

0:57:39 > 0:57:41# And get along home out of that

0:57:41 > 0:57:43# And you must be off to your bed

0:57:43 > 0:57:46# Don't bother me with your tears

0:57:46 > 0:57:48# For though I have lost my eyes

0:57:48 > 0:57:50# I haven't yet lost my ears

0:57:50 > 0:57:54# I haven't yet lost my ears. #