Patriotic Palaces of Pleasure? The Popular Music Industry in 1900

International audienceThe centre of musical entertainment in Britain at the turn of the 20th century was music hall. It is true that musical comedy was still in its heyday, that minstrel shows (though they had declined in number) still had considerable success, and that gramophone records were gradually picking up sales among the wealthier classes; but the cheapest, most popular, genre was the music hall. Around a million tickets a week were sold in London alone. The front page of local newspapers around the country advertised the week’s programme at the local hall, while music hall stars were interviewed in the inside pages for the enjoyment of their crowds of fans.A number of authors have uncovered the history of the Victorian music hall and the gradual emergence of a true entertainment industry ; there has been little work done, though, on early 20th century music hall . This paper will try to sketch a portrait of the popular music industry in the one year of 1900, and the most important processes which were underway