Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
G. H. Chirgwin sings his composition "The Jocular Joker", on a 1909 Edison Bell record.
A highly idiosyncratic and charismatic performer, George H. Chirgwin (13 December 1854 to 14 November 1922) was an accomplished musician on violin, cello, banjo, bagpipes and numerous eccentric musical instruments (some of his own making - most notably the one-string "Japanese fiddle").
Chirgwin started performing on the music hall stage in the 1860s and soon became a regular artist on the London music hall scene. He retired in 1919 due to ill health, becoming the landlord of the Anchor pub in Shepperton, Middlesex, until his death in 1922, aged 67. The pub still exists, though when I visited the establishment, the landlord confessed that he had not heard of his erstwhile pint puller.
G. H. Chirgwin was possibly the most eccentric and unique of all the British music hall artists. Though long forgotten, his quirkiness and eccentricity make him timeless….it's said that David Bowie drew upon Chirgwin's famous "white eyed kaffir" make up for the cover of his 1973 album "Aladdin Sane".
G. H. Chirgwin sings his composition "The Jocular Joker", on a 1909 Edison Bell record.
A highly idiosyncratic and charismatic performer, George H. Chirgwin (13 December 1854 to 14 November 1922) was an accomplished musician on violin, cello, banjo, bagpipes and numerous eccentric musical instruments (some of his own making - most notably the one-string "Japanese fiddle").
Chirgwin started performing on the music hall stage in the 1860s and soon became a regular artist on the London music hall scene. He retired in 1919 due to ill health, becoming the landlord of the Anchor pub in Shepperton, Middlesex, until his death in 1922, aged 67. The pub still exists, though when I visited the establishment, the landlord confessed that he had not heard of his erstwhile pint puller.
G. H. Chirgwin was possibly the most eccentric and unique of all the British music hall artists. Though long forgotten, his quirkiness and eccentricity make him timeless….it's said that David Bowie drew upon Chirgwin's famous "white eyed kaffir" make up for the cover of his 1973 album "Aladdin Sane".
