Joe Jackson - Mr. Joe Jackson Presents: Max Champion In in 'What A Racket!' (CD)

Mr. Joe Jackson presents: Max Champion in 'What A Racket!'

Music Hall (along with its American cousin, Vaudeville) was the first form of mass entertainment created by the working classes. Its raw beginnings were in the pubs and streets of mid-19th century London, and while never really considered ‘respectable’, it was, by 1900, performed in opulent theatres to huge audiences drawn from all walks of life. Prostitutes and princes alike sang along with superstar performers, many of whom are now legendary, and whose songs are still known in the UK.

Those songs, depicting everyday life in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, were most often humorous or satirical, though some were sentimental or patriotic, and others dealt with darker themes such as jealousy and murder. Many were also blatantly sexual, though always expressed in clever euphemisms and double entendres.

One of the most fascinating of the later Music Hall performers was Max Champion. Little is known about him, excep