SONG MADE HIM RICH

Evening Star, Issue 23565, 2 May 1940, Page 12

SONG MADE HIM RICH

NEVER LEARNED TO PLAY PIANO The man who wrote ‘ My Old Dutch,’ the greatest cockney song of all times, has died at the age of 77, writes Paul Holt, in the ‘ Daily Express ’ London. His name was Charles Ingle; he was a

brother of the late Albert Chevalier, famous music-hall singer. There is no poverty story to tell about Charles Ingle. He died a happy old man. When Effie Canning Carlton, who wrote the world’s favourite lullaby, ‘ Rock-bye-Baby,’ died recently, the song writers’ trade union had to save her from a pauper’s grave. She had earned only £I,OOO from tho tune. But Charles Ingle collected royalties on 0.000,000 copies of ‘ .My Old Dutch/ and was comfortably oh.,

He used to tell this story of how he wrote it:— “ I never learned the piano. I can only strum. One night—it was in 1892, and my brother had just made his first big hit at the London Pavilion—he came home with some words written on a bit of paper. “ ‘ See what you can do with this,’ he said. I read it through once and then, without hesitation, a tune seemed to come right out of my brain on to the keyboard.’!

* My Old'Dutch ’ was Charles Ingle’s greatest song, but he wrote others. He wrote ‘ Knocked ’Em in the Old Kent Road,’ and 1 Wet’s the Good of Anyfink? Wy, Nuffink.’ Mr Ingle used to say he invented the theatre queue.' Great crowds would flock to see Albert Chevalier, and in Cardiff Mr Ingle asked the police to get the crowd to “stand in a line ” and take their turn. That was after an- experience in Edinburgh,.where,.at the largest hall,

about seven thousand people stormed, the doors, knocking down the police’ and smashing glass panels. When Albert Chevalier died there wasn’t anybody to scribble words for,. Charles, so he didn’t bother to writer any more songs.