I have often wondered who The Vagabond Lover character in Ronnie Barker's solo sketch (that he also wrote) was based on. At the start of the sketch, Ronnie as "Norman Barrell" (a very accurate impression of Barry Norman) refers to the upcoming film clip as featuring "Arthur Halliday - The Vagabond Lover".

I have searched the Internet for Arthur Halliday and is appears that he didn't exist - there is no mention of a similar real-life entertainer known as The Vagabond Lover. I wonder who Ronnie Barker based the character on? I have seen websites referring to an American singer known as The Vagabond Lover, but not an English Music Hall star who dressed like a 17th Century cavalier as Ronnie Barker did.

I think it was a spoof on sped-up film at the time rather than a particular performer-a cavalier seems a predictable costume to me.

Quote: Tim Azure @ February 27 2012, 2:55 PM GMT

I think it was a spoof on sped-up film at the time rather than a particular performer-a cavalier seems a predictable costume to me.

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I know what you mean - the sped-up film part is really funny. I have seen in Ronnie Barker's All I Ever Wrote Book that he did a similar sketch (also with a spoof of Barry Norman) where he played a (blacked-up) Jazz Singer with a nickname that would be considered very inappropriate nowadays.

It's probably a collection of various Music Hall performers put into one character - the Barry Norman bit mentions that Halliday was a bit of a dirty chap!

I think I know now. I remembered that Tom Good (Richard Briars) in The Good Life played a record called "The Bandelero" to see if the plants would react.

Since this was performed by Peter Dawson and had the Vagabond Lover's style of music and quality of recording, it is probably a spoof on that.

Here is a link to the recording: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QoSo3JXDcU

EDIT: I have found a song by Peter Dawson about a Vagabond but its much slower than Vagabond Lover, basically being about a vagabond travelling from place to place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ryYMe1JIM

Cheers for the reply and link. Sorry if the post is late - I haven't had as much time to go on the forums recently.

Quote: Matt79 @ February 28 2012, 5:13 PM GMT

I know what you mean - the sped-up film part is really funny. I have seen in Ronnie Barker's All I Ever Wrote Book that he did a similar sketch (also with a spoof of Barry Norman) where he played a (blacked-up) Jazz Singer with a nickname that would be considered very inappropriate nowadays.

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Presumably that refers to Al Vermont - "The Chocolate Coloured Cough Drop".

Yeah, he's probably right on that one.

Quote: David2006 @ May 5 2012, 8:34 PM BST

"The Chocolate Coloured Cough Drop".

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Were these chocolate flavoured or just chocolate coloured? Anyone know about cough drops?

(Sorry, but it's just curiosity!)

Quote: Tim Azure @ May 6 2012, 10:33 AM BST

Were these chocolate flavoured or just chocolate coloured? Anyone know about cough drops?

(Sorry, but it's just curiosity!)

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I am not sure about these cough drops, but the sketch I referred to is this very one. I am wondering if Al Vermont was also a made-up character, possibly a parody of Al Jolson, as it sounds like Ronnie Barker's character was a blacked-up performer.