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A.K.A. - The Wacky World of Pseudonyms 
by Charles A. Hooey

What's in a name? Well, quite a lot actually, in terms of money, especially if you happened to be a singer in the early part of the last century. Here's how it worked.
 
The phonograph had just emerged as a viable form of home entertainment so manufacturers were scrambling for something to play on their new-fangled machines. Singers were soon a popular item. When one would step forward who had done well in oratorio or opera, he or she would be signed up to commit an aria to wax. This was fine and the money was welcome, but the work was sparse. One answer would be to approach another company and to avoid contractual problems, sign up using a different name. Or the original employer might say: "You know we’d pay you extra if you would record a popular ballad, something from musical comedy or a few hymns. You would have to disguise yourself though so as not to offend your more sophisticated fans. We'll attribute your singing to a mythical person and you can even choose your own alternate."

Not everyone took to using a false name but a surprising number did. In addition to a few classically trained singers, performers from the music hall and other aspects of music became involved with Australian bass-baritone Peter Dawson the undisputed king of aliases. Just how many names Peter used is open to conjecture; one even wonders if he knew who he was on any given recording day!
 
Dawson began using pseudonyms when he made cylinders as "Leonard Dawson" before switching to "James Osbourne" for early bass numbers. He must have had most fun as "Will Strong" for this was his impersonation of the great Scot entertainer, Harry Lauder. He would don a kilt and fool many a veteran listener. When told of these shenanigans, Lauder would not believe it was Dawson. In addition to many live performances, "Will" made 60 records as his Scottish self.
 
During The Great war, everyone needed lighter music, especially lively ditties from popular musicals. A splendid Welsh soprano named Bessie Jones who had sung with Caruso at Covent Garden became "Louise Leigh" when she joined the equally talented English soprano Violet Essex, known as "Vera Desmond", to record lighter music. Under her own name Violet recorded Arditi's "Il bacio" and Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme and dazzled in Gilbert and Sullivan operas that HMV would begin to record late in the war. As “Vera” she recorded current tunes such as Dorothy Forster's "Take me to flowerland with you" as well as English songs of the ages "Where the bee sucks" by Arne and "Orpheus with his lute" by Sullivan. “Louise” recorded a pair of duets from The Maid of the Mountains with Peter Dawson and others with "Walter Jefferies" (George Baker) and "Eric Courtland" (Ernest Pike). Both Baker and Pike, like Dawson, became prolific recorders who resorted to the disguise game often. Sometimes, to add to the confusion, more than one singer would utilize the same pseudonym.

Bessie Jones also recorded a duet with tenor Hubert Eisdell, "The Wells of Sleep" by Norton. Eisdell, who made a series of marvelous duet records with Dora Labbette, avoided pseudonyms for the most part but he did become "Michael Mortimer" to record four sides. In doing so, he utilized the first name of his son and his own middle name. As "Walter Adams”, he also recorded a comic duet with Labbette who became “Rosa Lynn” for the occasion. Of course the fabulous Dora would later achieve fame as “Lisa Perli” when she sang opera.
 
Another Welsh soprano who became a key figure in the world of pseudonyms was Eleanor Jones-Hudson, another busy recorder. She began in 1905 and by the time she finished, soon after losing her husband Eli Hudson in the war, she had accumulated over 500 discs. Her legacy reveals the full musical fabric of Britain at the time: opera, oratorio, songs, ballads, religious music and musical gems from the Victorian and Edwardian ages. She made records as a member of many vocal groups, usually with Ernest Pike, Peter Dawson, Stanley Kirkby and Harold Wilde. If you acquired a record by “Madame Deering,” “Madame Corona,” or “Marion Jerome,” when you got home you were hearing Eleanor Jones-Hudson.
 
So, as a determined record collector, the next time you are browsing through a pile of used discs at a local Odds and Ends shop or county fair, or whatever, don’t be discouraged if you spot an unknown performer listed, just check the list of pseudonyms that follows and possibly you’ll walk away with a treasure.
 
This fascinating activity tapered off in the mid 1920s. Although the subject could easily fill the pages of a book, here we offer the tip of the iceberg with emphasis on a few well-known singers as well as one or two lesser lights. Of course there is a lot of different opinions on this subject, so if I am incorrect on certain points, believe me that is to be expected!
 
Known conflicts:
* in dispute whether this is Burke.
** used first by Jones-Hudson, then by Bessie Jones.
*** used by Parry Jones & Ernest Pike or both.
 
MALE ARTISTS  
JOHN ADAMS, tenor
-T. Evison
 
GEORGE BAKER, bass-baritone 

-Harold Barnes
Harold Black - Jumbo
Arthur C. Brookes
Victor Conway - Decca
Gwyn Ellis
Arthur George
Uncle George - Pathé
George Guest
George Harris - Winner
Cyril Howard - Coliseum
Walter Jefferies - HMV
Leslie Scott - Vocalion
Jack Sherwood - Ariel
Harry Talbot

 
THORPE BATES, baritone
- Beverley Curtis

DAVID BRAZELL, baritone
-David Jones - Zono in Welsh
-Llewellyn Williams
 
ROBERT BURNETT, bass
- Robert Campbell - Zono
TOM BURKE, tenor
-Ted Feeny
Pat Nolan - Metropole
Pat (or John) O'Grady* - Parl/Ariel
Terry O'Neill - Edison Bell
Pat O'Sullivan - Piccadilly
Brian Thomas - Columbia

 
ROBERT CARR, bass
-Harry Durrant
Robert Durrant
Bobbie Gray - Regal 1927
Bobby Gray
Ernest Gray - Edison Bell
- Winner 1912
George Lacey - Tower
Eric Lawrence - Imperial
Robert Oswald
George Scott - Aco
Harry Trevor
Arthur Vincent - Coliseum & Guardsman
 

 
SYDNEY COLTHAM, tenor
-Frank Chamberlain - Piccadilly
Ivor Tayelor - Ariel
 
EDGAR COYLE, baritone
-Arthur Reeves - Regal
Harold Curtis
George Preston Gram

 
TUDOR DAVIES, tenor
-Stanley Aldridge - Meloto
Lionel Cornish - Curry's
Llewellyn Evans - Coliseum
Harry George - Tower
Edgar Langham - 12" Scala (?)
Stanley Leyland - Tower
J. McCarthy - Coliseum
Percy St. Albyn - Coliseum
Fred Stanley - Aco, Guardsman
H. Spencer Watts - Scala
Sidney Young - Tower

 
PETER DAWSON, bass-baritone
(Used many aliases to record, and many others when composing songs)
As singer:
-Robin Adair
C. Adams
Robert Baxter
James Bell
Percy Clifton
Percy Clifford
Percy Dalton
Frank Danby
Will Danby -cylinder
Leonard Dawson -Edison Cyl
Fred Davies
Maurice Evans -Ariel
Terson George -Gram
Victor Graham -Gram
Hector Grant
George Graves
Charles Handy - HMV
Hector McDonald
Mr. Miles
LLewellyn Morgan - HMV
James Osbourne
David Peters
Sydney Reeves - HMV
Charles Stander
Will Strong
Henry Tucker - HMV
Arthur Walpole
George Welsh
Walter Wentworth
Robert Woodville

 
DAWSON as composer: 
Peter Allison
Geoffrey Baxter
Evelyn Byrd
Arnold Flint
J. P. McCall
Allison Miller
Gilbert Mundy
Denton Toms
Charles Weber

 
 
HARRY DEARTH, basso
-Philip Cummings
 
JAMIESON DODDS, baritone
-Frank Halliday
Robert Hardie - Guardsman
Dennis Ormsby
EMILIO DE GOGORZA, baritone
-Carlos Francisco - Victor
Sig. E Francisco - Victor
Edward Franklin - Zon-o-phone US
Herbert Goddard - Victor

 
ROBERT EASTON, basso
-Robert Merlyn - Regal
Robert Raymond - Columbia
Graham Stewart - Broadcast 12
HUBERT EISDELL, tenor
-Walter Adams
Michael Mortimer

 
 
 
JOSEPH FARRINGTON, basso
-Fred Collins - Piccadilly
Martin Howard - Piccadilly
John Wilkinson - Piccadilly
 
STEWART GARDNER, baritone
-Arthur C. Brooke
-Clarence Franklin
-Thomas Franklin
-Thomas Lane
-Guy Merritt
WALTER GLYNNE, tenor
-Gwynne Ellis (possibly his real name)
 
JOHN GOSS, baritone
-Rufus John - New Leader
 
ARTHUR GROVER, baritone
-George Arthur
 
BARRINGTON HOOPER, tenor
-Everton Harvey - Ariel
Petty King - Regal

 
ROBERT HOWE, basso
-Maurice Benson
Arthur T. Brookes
Robert Kinnear - Imperial
Alfred Newman
Tom Piper - Savanna
Wilfred Shepherd
Robin Stone - Victory
Howard Thompson
Kenneth Walters
Walter Wilmott - Cinch
Harold Wood - Regal
DAN JONES, tenor
-Arthur Saunders
Ivor Evans
 
HIRWEN JONES, tenor
-Dan Llewellyn
Llewellyn Williams
 
PARRY JONES, tenor
-Roland Oliver - Regal
Herbert Perry***
Lloyd Thomas

 
 
THOMAS JACKSON, baritone
- William Thomas - Regal
 
TOM KINNIBURGH, basso
-Thomas Currie
Robert Hardie - Guardsman
Donald Lewis - Victory
John Thorpe - Imperial
 
GIUSEPPE LENGHI-CELLINI, tenor
- Sig. Faroli - Artiphon

JOHN McCORMACK, tenor
John O’Reilly - Zono
 
WALTER MIDGLEY, tenor
-Michael Eastley
 
BROWNING MUMMERY, tenor
-George Saunders
 
GERALD O’BRIEN, tenor
- Jack Desmond
"STANLEY KIRKBY," baritone
(Real Name: James Baker)
-Frank Ashton Gram.
Harry Carlton
Arthur Cecil
George Claff
Cobbett & Walker (w. E. Pike)
Fred Cooper
George Daly
Jim Donovan - Zono
Rupert Hazell
Charles Holland - Columbia/Zono
Sam Ireland
Murray Johnson - HMV
Charles Lester
Mike Magee
Bert Marsden - Twin
Joe Townson
Frank Miller - Empire
Walter Miller - Zonophone
Frank Williams
 
 

 
GRIFFITHS PERCY, bass
- Charles Crisp Zono
Albert Goodwin
 
FOSTER RICHARDSON, basso
-Stephen Arthur - Homochord
Reginald Barton - Homochord
James Brennan
Eric Chandler - Sterno
Percy Dalton - Ariel
Dick Denton - Zono
Derek Foster
Franklyn Gray - Filmaphone
Richard Kenneth
Dan McClintock - Eclipse
Howard Roberts - Homochord
Anthony Somers - Sterno
Bernard Wallace - Sterno
ERNEST PIKE, tenor
-Arthur Adams
Arthur Aldridge -Zono
Arthur Brett
Cobbett w. Walker (S. Kirkby)
Allan Dale -Zono
Eric Courtland HMV
Arthur Edwardes - Zonophone
Edgar Froome - Ariel
Arthur Gray
Arthur Grey
Jack Henty
Sam Hovey
Billy Murray
Bernard Moss
Charles Nelson
Herbert Payne - Twin/Zonophone
Richard Pembroke - HMV
Herbert Perry ***
J. Saunders

 
PHILIP RITTE, tenor
- Harold Harmsworth - Scala

DALE SMITH, baritone
- Gerald Phillips - Piccadilly
 
HORACE STEVENS, baritone
-Gerrard Maine
Stephen Langley
 
HERBERT TEALE, tenor
- Jay Laurier
 
HERBERT THORPE, tenor
-Arthur Wilson
 
"JOHN THORNE," baritone
(Real Name: Thomas Greenhalgh)
-Gilbert Austin
Marcus Browning
Billy Desmond -Aco/Broadcast
Tom Gordon
Robert Groves
Robert Gwynne - Victory
Chris Hall
L. Lawrence - Coliseum
Frank Nicholls - Coliseum
"Pavement Artist"
Gerald Scott - Actuelle
David Shepherd - Guardsman
Frank Thomas
Fred Thomas - Coliseum
Jack Vaughan - World echo
Arthur Vivian
 
 
FRANK TITTERTON. tenor
-Norton Collyer - Decca
Guy Marshall - Broadcast
Francesco Vada
Francesco Vado
John Howard - Mayfair
 
ALAN TURNER, baritone
Eldred Walker
 
RICHARD WATSON, basso
-Harold Foster - Decca
HAROLD WILDE, tenor
-David Boyd -Zono
Horatio Germaine
Ivor Lewis - Cinch
William Stewart
Herbert Wilde - Pathé
 
EVAN WILLIAMS, tenor
-William T. Evans - G & T
William T. Evans - HMV
Wllliam T. Evans - Victor
 
HAROLD WILLIAMS, bass-baritone -Geoffrey Spencer - Regal

 
 
FEMALE ARTISTS 
PERCEVAL ALLEN, soprano
- Blanche Ross - Zono
 
JESSIE BROUGHTON, contralto
-Agnes Preston
Madame(e) Truman - Arrow
 
EDITH CLEGG, mezzo
Alice Winslow
 
ESTHER COLEMAN, mezzo
-Annette Crosby
 
ELIZABETH DEWS, mezzo
-Mary Evans
 
VIOLET ESSEX, soprano
-Vera Desmond
 
CARRIE HERWIN, contralto
-Joan Murray - Regal
 
RUBY HEYLE, contralto
- Blanche Dare
 
DORA LABBETTE, soprano
-Rosa Lynn
Lisa Perli
BESSIE JONES. soprano
-Louise Brooks
Jessie Buckland
Doris Cowan
Madame Deering**
Evelyn Holmes**
Adele Leigh
Louise Leigh - HMV 1915-1922
Aimee Maxwell
Vera Reynolds
Blanche Young
 
ELEANOR JONES-HUDSON, soprano
-Madge Breese
Kitty Collins
Madame Corona
Madame Deering**
Madame Dews
Mary Evans
Gertrude Gibson
Sybil Grey - Ariel
Evelyn Holmes **
Marion Jerome HMV 1912
Miss Jolly
May Loveday
Eleanor Jones (her maiden name)
Madge St. Clair
Florence Saville
Alvena Yarrow HMV/Zonophone

  
VIOLET MOUNT, soprano
L’Incognita
Violetta Viamonti
 
VIOLET OPPENSHAW, contralto
- Eleanor Wishaite - Ariel
Olive Burton
 
DENISE ORME, soprano
Sybil Gray
May Loveday
MARY O'ROURKE, soprano
(or Mary Lethbridge)
-Master Joe Petersen
Wilfred Eaton - Eclipse
Michael Dawney - Eclipse
Jimmy Fletcher - Crown

ANNIE REES, soprano
-Mabel Lee - Columbia
 
GWLADYS ROBERTS, soprano
-Blodwen Morgan - Zono
 
 
LILLIAN STILES-ALLEN, soprano
-Linda Hinde - Radio
 
EDNA THORNTON, contralto
-Madame Violetta - HMV
 
CARRIE TUBB, soprano
-Dorothy Douglas
May Browne -Gram
Florence Smith - Zono
FLORENCE VENNING
-Ada Florence
Ada Smithson - Jumbo
 
NELLIE WALKER, contralto
-Sadie Haye
Ruby Harrison
 
PALGRAVE TURNER, contralto
- Madge Walker
 

 
Sources: “THE HISTORIC RECORD & AV Collector” was a fascinating publication put out for a number of years by John R. Wrigley of Sheffield. It is now defunct but between 1992 and 1995, Jack presented lists of those who used pseudonyms. If interested, look for issues Nos, 24, 25, 27, 28 and 36 at your library. In addition to this source, I appreciate the assistance of Peter Cliffe, Alan Kelly, Mike Langridge, Graham Oakes, John Walker and other kind folk in Britain.  

 
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