Poster advertising the Easter Holiday programme at the South London Palace

One of the performers listed on this poster of 1892 for the South London Palace is Marie Lloyd (1870-1922). Born Matilda Alice Victoria Wood, she first appeared on stage in 1885 under the name "Bella Delmere" at the Eagle Tavern Music Hall, City Road, London. However, her first great success was when, as Marie Lloyd, she sang 'The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery' at the Middlesex Music Hall in Drury Lane. In performance, Marie Lloyd used saucy winks and gestures to give a slightly improper twist to her material. Her elegant figure was particularly well displayed when she dressed in fashionable gowns she designed and made herself to perform the serio-comic song, 'As I Take My Morning Promenade'. With such well loved songs as 'My Old Man Said Follow the Van', 'Oh, Mr. Porter!' and 'A Little of What You Fancy Does You Good', Marie Lloyd became the idol of British music hall audiences and perhaps the finest of the country's comic women singers.