Summary
John Randolph Sutton (24 July 1888 – 28 February 1969) was an English singer and comic entertainer in music hall and variety shows.
Randolph Sutton | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover, 1930 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Randolph Sutton |
| Born | 24 July 1888 Clifton, Bristol, England |
| Died | 28 February 1969 (aged 80) Brixton, London, England |
| Genres | Variety show, novelty |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1910–1969 |
Life and career edit
Sutton was born in Clifton, Bristol. He made his first stage appearance in a concert at Burnham-on-Sea in 1905,[1] and was so well received that he left his job with a printing company to start a performing career.[2] He made his Bristol stage debut in 1910, and his London debut in 1915.[3] He rapidly became popular as a singer and entertainer, touring around the country, and always performed in top hat and tails, with a combination of "charm and cheekiness".[4]
Sutton was a prolific recording artist during the late 1920s and 1930s, and many of his records are of a suggestively humorous nature.[4] Among his recordings were "Jolly Good Company" (1931) and "The Sun Has Got His Hat On" (1932).[2] While his best-known song (though first performed by Fred Barnes)[5] was "On Mother Kelly's Doorstep", this was never recorded commercially, but private recordings were made and subsequently released on commercial compilations,[6] including one recorded as late as January 1969, shortly before his death.
He appeared regularly in BBC radio broadcasts from 1932, billed as "Britain's Premier Light Comedian".[7] He was also a star and producer of pantomime, and one of the modern era's earliest male principal boys.[5][8] As part of Don Ross's show Thanks For the Memory, he appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in 1948.[9] He continued to appear in radio and television broadcasts such as The Good Old Days,[7] and in 1966 made a guest appearance as himself in Coronation Street.[10]
He made his final stage appearance at the City Hall Theatre in St Albans, Hertfordshire on 26 February 1969 and died two days later.[11] He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on 5 March and his ashes placed in the Garden of Remembrance. A memorial plaque has been erected on the east wall of the West Memorial Court there, as well as a green plaque outside his Bristol birthplace.[10]
References edit
- ^ Busby, Roy (1976). British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day. London: Paul Elek. p. 166. ISBN 0 236 40053 3.
- ^ a b "The original influencers: Inspiring people from Bristol’s history: John Randolph Sutton", The Bristol Mag. Retrieved 2 January 2021
- ^ Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson, British Music Hall: A story in pictures, Studio Vista, 1965, p.164
- ^ a b Dixon, Stephen (2013). "Don Ross and 'Thanks for the Memory'". Voices of Variety. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ a b Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts, Robson Books, 1998, ISBN 1-86105-206-5, p.177
- ^ "Review, The Gramophone June 1969".
- ^ a b Search, Randolph Sutton, Radio Times, BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2020
- ^ Wilkes, Joseph; Byrne, Eugene (25 November 2017). "How Bristol pioneered pantomime... oh yes it did!". bristolpost.
- ^ Charity, Royal Variety. "Performances :: 1948, London Palladium - Royal Variety Charity". www.royalvarietycharity.org.
- ^ a b Good Stuff. "Randolph Sutton green plaque in Bristol". Blue Plaque Places. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Randolph Sutton". BFI. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019.
External links edit
- Variety Series CD
- Randolph Sutton at IMDb
- Randolph Sutton at Find a Grave