Category:Hastings, Ernest

• Detailed biography: Wikipedia, VIAF

A famous British entertainer at the piano, born in Manchester in 1879. He studied the piano at Trinity College at age 10 under "Mr. W Smales". Originally started out as an accompanist for smoking concerts in 1899 before going the entertainer route. His act in the music hall was a satirical discourse of a plethora of subjects. His main one was singing popular satirical songs of the time, many of him he composed himself. Other stables of his act with general satires on anything and everything. This included church bells, English ballads, or anything slightly musical. His prodigal piano playing and brilliant musical ear meant that he could easily arrange anything to represent any style he wanted. An example of this is rendering Balfe's "Come Into The Garden Maud" as a minstrel song. A second example is arranging the old English ballad "Vicar of Bray" in the styles of Bach, Mendelssohn, and Handel. He and his piano was popular with the crowds. This shows in his long and prolific career, starting as a young adult in the late Victorian era, working all the way until his death in 1940. His recording era came in middle age, with his first recording from 1914 at age 35. He had a recording career of nearly twenty years, with his last electric recordings in the early 1930s. He sadly died suddenly in his sleep at his London home in 1940 at age 61.