By Rail to the Music Halls

David Hindle is an author and social historian with a particular interest in the genre of music hall and the history of the railways. In this book, he flags up parallels to drawn between the origins of railways and music hall. This is an original concept, notwithstanding that long before the age of the automobile, it was the railways that conveyed audiences and performers to the music halls that evolved to become variety theatres. The foreward is written by Gary Morecambe who details the story of how a trip his father took on a train in 1940 lead to a career entertaining millions. For over twenty years Morecambe and Wise learned their craft in Britain's variety theatres whilst travelling extensively throughout the country. When variety effectively died and many theatres went permanently dark in the 1950s and 1960s, they switched to television, which were enjoyed by millions throughout the world. The profusely illustrated narrative will offer something for railway enthusiasts and music lovers alike.