Gus Elen - Thurleigh Avenue, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 27.188 W 000° 09.235
30U E 697738 N 5704059
This Greater London Council (GLC) blue plaque indicates that the music hall comedian, Gus Elen, "lived here". The plaque is attached to a building on the north east side of Thurleigh Avenue.
Waymark Code: WMXNGJ
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/03/2018
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 0

The full wording on the GLC blue plaque reads:

Greater London Council

Gus
Elen
1862 - 1940
Music Hall
Comedian
lived here

The V&A Museum website has an article about Gus Elen that tells us:

Gus Elen was the best known of the 'coster' comedians, who performed songs and sketches about being a Cockney. Elen dressed in the coster uniform of striped jersey with a peaked cap turned towards one ear and a short clay pipe in the side of his mouth.

Born in Pimlico in 1862, Elen had worked as a barman, a draper's assistant and had packed eggs for the Co-op before becoming a singer. At first he busked in the street and at small music halls.

His first big success was in 1891, when he performed cockney songs at the Middlesex Music Hall, with a song called 'Never introduce your Donah to a pal' ('donah' meaning girlfriend). The movements for each of his songs were carefully rehearsed so that the performances themselves were clean and precise. Each gesture was powerfully distinct and could be seen from the back of the largest theatre.

His songs were bitter and realistic and rooted in the poverty and life of the East Enders who were his audience.

Elen was a genuine cockney and his songs were truer to life than the more sentimental numbers of his closest rival, Albert Chevalier. As pictures of Elen show, his characters appeared bad tempered and pugnacious.

His most famous song was ‘If it Wasn’t for the Houses in Between’ about the cramped housing conditions of the East End. Other songs included ‘It’s a Great Big Shame’ which was about a tiny girl dominating her beefy husband: ‘Naggin at a feller wot is six foot three, And ’er only four foot two’. Another song told of a couple who could never marry because as soon as one came out of jail, the other went in: ‘When I came out I found that Liza was in prison still. For when ordering of ’er wedding cake she’d simply pinched the till’.

Unlike most performers, Elen kept meticulous records of his songs with notes about the gestures and emotions, props required and stage settings. He also wrote comments about how his gags were received.

That Elen lived to the relatively old age of 77 can probably be attributed to the fact that, apart from the occasional appearance on stage, he virtually retired in 1914 to devote himself to his passion – fishing.

Blue Plaque managing agency: Greater London Council

Individual Recognized: Gus Elen

Physical Address:
3 Thirleigh Avenue
London, United Kingdom


Web Address: [Web Link]

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