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Tom Leamore
Tom Leamore
Tom Leamore
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Thomas Leamore (probably born Henry Samuel Lee; 22 September 1866[1] – 6 September 1939) was an English music hall and variety comic performer, dancer and singer.[2]

Key Information

Life and career

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He was born in Shoreditch, London, in 1866. There is some uncertainty over his birth name and details; an alternative date and birth name are given by the Music Hall Guild.[3] He initially worked for a firm of wood carvers and gilders,[4] but developed talents for clog and sand dancing. He first appeared on stage in the early 1880s, perhaps at the Rodney Music Hall as early as 1880, though his first paid appearance came in 1884.[1][3] He quickly grew into a successful stage performer, singing comically and dancing eccentrically with clogs. Contemporary reviews state that he was second only to Dan Leno as an eccentric dancer.[1][5]

Leamore appeared in pantomimes, though he claimed not to enjoy the experience, and he also fought as a boxer.[1] He made up his own patter and songs, and, by 1898, he had introduced a repertoire of characters. He was engaged by the main London music halls as one of their leading attractions, sometimes performing in four different theatres each night. Lists of his engagements indicate that his popularity peaked in the 1890s and 1900s.[3] He was the first music hall performer to make commercial recordings, for Berliner in 1898.[6] His best known song was "Percy from Pimlico" which he composed and wrote himself in 1898.[1] He recorded the song in the 1930s, and was featured singing it in the 1968 documentary A Little of What You Fancy. In December 1905 he portrayed Ali Baba in the pantomime of The Forty Thieves at the Marlborough Theatre. He continued to perform in the 1910s, but his career began to fade. He toured South Africa in 1921, and Australia and New Zealand the following year, but by that time was seen as "quaint" and "old school".[1]

In the early 1930s, he made some radio and experimental television broadcasts, as a "veteran" performer.[7] In November 1937 Leamore joined the Old Timers touring company with fellow artistes including Tom Costello, George Mozart, and Tom Finglass, appearing with them in various venues across the UK. The following he took part in an early television programme, Cavalcade of Music Hall, broadcast from the Alexandra Palace. At the end of the same month he also appeared in the television broadcast New Years Eve Party with Sam Mayo and Daisy Dormer. In 1938 he continued to tour with The Old Timers, and appeared in the touring revue Time Marches On. In November 1938 he took part in a Royal Command Performance during which he performed "The Lambeth Walk" with Lupino Lane and various other music hall veterans. In 1939 he took part in Flashbacks of 30 Years Ago with Wilkie Bard, Ida Barr and Lillie Lassah.[1][3]

Leamore married three times. In 1889 he married Florrie Palmer, who died in 1895. He then married actress and dancer Rose Hamilton. They divorced in 1907, by which time he had been living for several years with Mary Ann Fleming, whom he married the same year.[1]

He died in Lambeth Hospital in 1939, aged 72, and was buried in the Variety Plot at Streatham Park Cemetery.[8]

References

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Tom Leamore

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Tom Leamore was an English music-hall comedian, singer, and eccentric dancer known for his energetic performances and character comedy that entertained audiences across Britain in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Born on 24 August 1866 in London, he began his professional career in music hall in 1880, initially featuring clog dancing in his act and earning a reputation as a skilled practitioner of the form, though he later focused more on singing and comic routines. He achieved popularity with a series of catchy songs, most notably "Percy from Pimlico," which he both wrote and performed, along with "Hi! Hi! Hi! I Thought She Was So Shy." Leamore remained active in variety theatre for decades, with his legacy preserved through later archival appearances of his material in television specials. He died on 6 September 1939 in London.

Early Life

Birth and Family Background

Tom Leamore was born on 24 August 1866 in London, England. Details of his parents or siblings remain undocumented in available sources.

Entry into Entertainment

Tom Leamore began his professional career in music hall in 1880. Early in his career, he distinguished himself as a particularly brilliant clog dancer, a skill that formed a central part of his act and helped him stand out in the competitive music hall scene of the period. His initial performances reflected the transition from local or amateur appearances to professional billing, aligning with the vibrant London music hall circuit where many performers honed their craft before gaining wider recognition. Influenced by the popular eccentric and clog dancing styles prevalent in the 1880s, Leamore developed a reputation as a rival to established figures like Dan Leno in that specialty, setting the stage for his emergence as a comic singer and dancer. Some accounts suggest specific venue debuts in the mid-1880s, though the exact details of his very first engagement remain approximate and reliant on varying biographical summaries. This period marked his shift into the professional entertainment world, launching a career that would span over five decades in British music hall.

Music Hall Career

Rise to Prominence

Tom Leamore rose to prominence in the 1890s as he secured engagements at major London music halls, including the Tivoli, where he appeared in variety bills as early as 1892 and continued through the decade. His breakthrough came with regular performances at such venues, establishing him as a leading comedian in the music hall circuit. He developed a distinctive comic style that combined eccentric comedy and clog dancing with quick-witted patter and character studies, which resonated with audiences and contributed to his ascent. This period marked his shift from supporting acts to headline status in the competitive London music hall world.

Peak Years and Signature Acts

Tom Leamore's peak years as a music hall performer spanned the 1890s through the 1910s, during which he established himself as a leading comic singer and entertainer in British variety theatres. He was regularly billed as a top-line act, drawing large audiences with his energetic delivery and cheeky humour, transitioning from earlier clog dancing elements—prominent in his rise but largely phased out by this period—to focus on character-driven comic songs. He was also one of the first music hall performers to make commercial recordings, starting in the late 1890s. His signature acts revolved around lively, narrative comic songs that showcased his vocal strength and comedic timing. A major hit came in 1897 with "Serving 'em all alike", a witty number about treating everyone equally in absurd situations, which proved hugely popular with music hall crowds. Other signature songs that defined his repertoire included "Hi! Hi! Hi! I Thought She Was So Shy", "Percy from Pimlico", and "Mick McDougal", many of which remained associated with him across decades and were later revived in his own recordings. These performances earned him acclaim as one of the era's most reliable and entertaining music hall stars, with his material and style resonating strongly in London's major halls during his prime.

Later Music Hall Work

Following his peak years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tom Leamore's music hall career saw a gradual reduction in prominence after the 1900s amid evolving public tastes and competition from cinema and other entertainments, though he continued performing. He undertook international tours as a veteran performer, including in Australia and New Zealand in 1922 as part of Fullers' Vaudeville, where he was billed as a burlesque artist in variety programmes. Reviews from the time described him as bringing "a whiff of the old times" to the stage through diverting song characterisations, praising his mastery of burlesque while noting his status as a representative of an earlier era. Such reception underscored the changing landscape of variety entertainment, where performers like Leamore were increasingly seen as nostalgic figures rather than current headliners. In his later appearances during this period, Leamore drew on his established repertoire of comic songs and character work, adapting to revues and variety bills that featured veteran acts amid the broader decline of traditional music hall. This phase marked a transition toward occasional engagements as a respected old-timer rather than a regular star attraction.

Recordings

Gramophone and Cylinder Records

Tom Leamore's known gramophone recordings date from the 1930s, offering some of the few preserved examples of his music hall singing and comic delivery. In 1932, he recorded "Percy From Pimlico," the song he had written and popularized in 1898, for Decca (catalog F3114), in what is believed to have been a live session. This disc captures Leamore performing his own composition late in his career, providing direct audio evidence of his style as both composer and performer. Other recordings from this period include "Hi! Hi! Hi!" and "Mick McDougal," which appear on compilations showcasing 1930s music hall and variety material. These sides reflect songs associated with his earlier music hall success, preserved on gramophone discs when his stage career had largely concluded. No commercial cylinder recordings by Leamore are documented in available sources. These gramophone records remain significant as rare surviving audio artifacts of his work in the music hall tradition.

Film and Media Appearances

Known Credits and Roles

Tom Leamore's known credits in film and visual media are limited, reflecting the early stage of cinema and television during his active years and his primary career in music hall performance. He did not appear in any feature films, but he made documented appearances in early British television. He is credited as an actor in the BBC television production Music-Hall Cavalcade: Stars of Yesterday and Today (1937), broadcast on 25 December 1937, where he performed as himself alongside other music hall veterans including George Mozart, Marie Kendall, Charles Lee, and Daisy Dormer. This program, part of the nascent BBC Television Service from Alexandra Palace, showcased surviving stars of the variety era in a cavalcade format. Recordings of Leamore's performances, particularly his singing of "Percy from Pimlico," were used in the 1968 documentaries A Little of What You Fancy and The Final Finale, for which he receives soundtrack credits as performer and writer of his original material. No visual archive footage of Leamore is indicated in these works. No other verified on-screen roles or visual media credits are documented in primary sources.

Personal Life

Marriages and Family

Tom Leamore was married three times. His first wife, Florrie Palmer, died in 1895. He married Rose Hamilton, a performer who appeared under her maiden name professionally, in April 1896 at the Lambeth Register Office, with the couple residing at Offley Road in Brixton at the time. The marriage produced no children, and Rose later alleged habitual cruelty beginning shortly after the wedding, including assaults in 1896 and 1897 that left her injured and unable to perform on some occasions. By 1899 the couple had separated, and in November 1906 Rose was granted a decree nisi in the Divorce Court on grounds of cruelty and Leamore's misconduct with Mary Ann Fleming, also known as Mary Ann Flemming and connected with the stage; Leamore offered no defense. Court evidence, including a birth register, confirmed that Leamore fathered twin girls born to Fleming in 1899. Leamore subsequently married Mary Ann Fleming in 1906, following the divorce proceedings. In addition to the twins, they had a son, Thomas Leamore junior, born in 1902. Fleming brought older children from a prior relationship into the household. The family resided at several addresses in south London, including 73 Larkhall Rise in Clapham by 1900, 35 Gresham Road (known as "Lyric House") from around 1902 to 1906, and later Grove Lodge at 128 Brixton Road and 184 Brixton Road. Little additional detail about Leamore's family life survives in public records.

Later Years and Death

Retirement and Passing

Tom Leamore resided at various addresses in the Lambeth area of London during his later years, up until his death in 1939. He passed away on 6 September 1939 at Lambeth Hospital in Lambeth, London, England, aged 72. No formal retirement date is documented, and he had continued to make occasional veteran appearances into the late 1930s before his passing. No cause of death or contemporary obituaries are detailed in available sources. He was buried in the Variety Plot at Streatham Park Cemetery.

Legacy

Influence and Recognition

Tom Leamore is remembered as a significant figure in the development of energetic comic dancing and character-based patter comedy in British music hall and variety entertainment. His clog-dancing skill, ranked second only to Dan Leno by contemporaries, helped sustain the popularity of that style in late 19th- and early 20th-century northern variety bills. Leamore was one of the earliest music hall performers to make commercial recordings, beginning in 1898. His legacy endures through early 20th-century recordings preserved in collections including the British Library Sound Archive, alongside late-career 1930s recordings. Archival appearances further document his contributions, including his recording of “Percy from Pimlico” featured in the 1968 documentary A Little of What You Fancy. Visual material, such as a 1903 caricature by George Cooke held in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection, attests to his recognition during his active years. Scholarly discussions of his work appear in historical texts on music hall, including Brian Rust’s British Music Hall on Record (1979) and Ian Peatey’s From Mummers to Madness (2021). Leamore is buried in the Variety Artistes’ section of Streatham Park Cemetery in London.
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