Isaac Solomons ..... The Real Fagin ?

Isaac Solomon, nearly always referred to by the derogatory name Ikey, was one of nine children born in Gravel Lane, Houndsditch, three of his siblings died in infancy. His father, Henry, was a well known local fence, someone who buys and sells stolen property, so when he was growing up it must have seemed only natural to Isaac that he should follow in the 'family trade'. In fact it seems he joined the 'trade' at just nine years old.

In 1807 he married Hannah Julian a local girl and they went on to have six children.

It was in 1810 that Isaac came to the notice of the police, though it’s feasible they were aware of him before, but in June of that year he stood trial at the Old Bailey on the charge of being a pickpocket. He was twenty two years old at the time and not twenty one as shown in the trial transcript below.

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18100606-89-defend734&div=t18100606-89#highlight

For his crime Isaac and his co-defendent were sentenced to be transported for life. At this time prisoners sentenced to transportation were usually transferred to be held in one of the prison hulks moored around the coast. Prison hulks were ex navy ships where as many as 600 prisoners could be held at one time. They were brought into use in 1776 as a stopgap to the rising prison population. They were originally intended to be used for two years, instead they were in use for eighty two years.

Circumstances aboard the hulks were appalling, worse even than those at Newgate prison, the men were shackled by both hands and feet, and the cramped and filthy conditions together with a merge diet meant disease was rife, should a prisoner show the slightest sign of disobedience it would mean either a severe flogging or a spell in solitary confinement in a tiny dark cell.

During their time on the hulks men were expected to work, and even though this meant dragging filthy rivers, or any of the most dirtiest jobs the officers could devise, just to have the chance to tread on firm ground and breathe relatively clean air was a welcomed change from the constant swelling waters beneath their feet. It was to one of these old navy vessels, the 'Zetland', that Isaac was sent to await for a vessel which would take them to Van Deimans Land [Tasmania] and away from everything they ever knew.

Now here is where Isaac's story takes a strange twist, it seems likely that the length of waiting time would be as short as possible, for the authorities, if only on monetary grounds would want the prisoners to be on their way to the other side of the world as soon as possible. Checking the records it seems this is what happened to Joel Joseph.

According to the 'Colonial Secretary' Index Joel Joseph arrived at Tasmania on the 'Indian' which departed at Blackheath 18th July 1810 and arrived 16th December of that year, aboard were 275 other prisoners.In the following year in June he is noted on the prisoners list of the 'Lady Nelson' as being returned from Newcastle, this was a penal colony where repeat offenders were sent to experience of a harsher regime of cutting and hauling timber or working in coal mines. In February 1813 he was sent back to Newcastle on the 'Endeavour'.

Nothing more is noted until October when he is recorded as deceased so it can be assumed his last seven years of life were spent in the severe confines of Newcastle penal colony.

So so if his 'partner in crime' was quickly dispatched how did Isaac manage to stay aboard the old hulk for four years, but this it seems what happened, when the four years had passed he was either released or escaped, there is no note of which.

Normally an escaped prisoner would go into hiding, especially if the alternative was transportation for life as in Isaac's case, but instead of doing this Isaac simply returned to his family and carried on with his old 'trade' so perhaps by some error, or good fortune on his part he was released, over the next thirteen years he had his brushes with the law but it wasn't until 1827 that his eastend life was to change forever.

On the 25th April 1827 he was arrested in possession of 6 watches, 3½ yards (1.4 m) of woollen cloth, 17 shawls, 12 pieces of Valentia cloth, lace, bobbinet, caps and other articles all of which were found to be stolen. He was commited for trial and taken to Newgate Prison. It seems sometimes certain criminals enter the popular psyche, as was the case with Isaac for after his arrested pamphlets were printed detailing his exploits be them real or imagined, whatever the case they proved to be very popular.

While in Newgate prison Isaac appealed for a writ of habeas corpus, this is a writ where the prisoner challanges the authority of the court to hold him, if the judge grants him a hearing he gets the right to claim that his confinement is illegal. Of course Isaac knew that he had little or no chance of being granted a hearing, but by simply entering the writ was part of his larger plan, for it would take him to the Court of Kings Bench and for a short time out of Newgate, and a short time was all he needed.

The writ of course was denied and as arranged Isaac was to be taken back to prison by Hackney cab, however unknown to anyone but Isaac the cab driver was his father-in-law. Now comes the puzzle, why if the trip was back to Newgate it shouldn't have taken Isaac and his guards anywhere near the eastend, did the turnkeys 'sanction' the detour, for this is seemed what happened and when the cab arrived at Petticoat Lane Isaac's plan was put into practice, no sooner had the cab drawn to a halt than the guards were overpowered and Isaac set off on his road to freedom.

First he went to Denmark and then made his way to New York, it might have been planned for his wife and children to follow however the police had other ideas. Hannah was arrested and charged with receiving stolen goods, being found guilty she was sentenced to transportation to Tasmania for fourteen years, between the time of her trial and sentencing the pamphlets, as with her husband, began rolling off the press claiming she was a 'harlot, a shrew and a brothel keeper' though none of the claims were proved.

Her four younger children, all who were under ten years old accompanied her. They set sail from Woolwich on the ship 'Mermaid' on the 17th Feburary 1828 and arrived 131 days later on the 27th of June, she shared the ship with ninety nine other women, once they arrived they were taken to the Hobart Town Penal Colony.

Her two elder children John aged 20 and Moses aged 19  travelled to Australia by their own choice first to Sydney then on to Hobart to be with their mother and siblings.

During this period prisoners held in Tasmania made up nearly half of the population, so to cut the cost of housing and feeding those convicted of non violent crimes such as pickpockets they were usually assigned to the households of settlers or emancipated prisoners to act as house servants.

Such was the case for Hannah, she was assigned the household of Richard Newman a local police officer, but evidence shows that Hannah didn't settle well into the life of a servant, and soon following various quarrels she was returned to the penal house. The reason for those quarrels probably had there basis in the following excerpt from the book 'Convict Women' by Kay Daniels. 

[ Few women were able to pervert the assignment system as effectively as Hannah Solomon, she was transported in 1827 for receiving stolen goods. Assignment for Mrs Solomon did not mean that she became a domestic servant; Assigned to the family whom her sons lodged, her 'mistress' did  the work, as her record discloses '1828 Assigned to Mr and Mrs Richard Newman where according to another servant, she was not required to work ''Mrs Newman doing all of the drudgery''.]

Perhaps it hardly surprising that Hannah had somehow managed to arrange the house as almost her own, with her children around her she might have felt she really was the mistress. or  it could be her behaviour was forced upon her by growing up in London's eastend where, like so many other women of her time, to survive she had to use all her wiles and cunning to keep their families one step ahead of the jail or the workhouse.

When the news reached New York that his wife had been transported, and that their children were with her, Isaac had no hesitation in deciding what he should do. First he travelled to Rio de Janero then on to Hobart aboard the vessel 'Coronet' under the name Slowman, whether this was deliberate or accidental it's hard to say. When asked why he risked his freedom to travel to a penal colony he simply replied 'solely to gain the society of an affectionate wife', even though this statement amazed the authorities he never deviated from it throughout his life.

When he arrived in Hobart Isaac found he was amongst old aquaintencies, for many who he had dealt with in the past had found themselves transported for their illegal activities. Although the police were aware of Isaac's noteriety there was little they could do for he hadn't broken any laws in Tasmania. Knowing that he couldn't be arrested for crimes commited in Britain without a warrant from London on the 17th October Colonel George Arthur, the Tasmanian Lieutenant General-Govenor, wrote to Colonial House to request one.

The request was granted and wended its way to London, it would be a year before the reply would be received and during that time Isaac set about making a new life for himself. He did this by opening a tobaconist/general store in Elizabeth Street and began petitioning to have his wife, and thereby his children, assigned to his household.

He made many requests but each was refused, until at last it was agreed on condition that he raised a bond of £1000 as a guarantee that she would not escape, the amount was so great that maybe the govenor used it as a ruse to keep Ann imprisoned and Isaac on the right side of the law until his warrant arrived. Whatever the reason for setting the bond so high it didn't make allowances for Isaac's friends who gathered together to raise the sum.

Among the merchants and publicans who donated between £100 or £200 each was John Pascoe Faulkner, like Isaac he was also a Londoner but maybe this wasn't the reason for his being one of those who stood suritie for Isaac, perhaps he was looking back to the time a quarter of a century before when he had arrived in Tasmania with his father, who like Isaac was also a convicted fence, his mother and sister also travelled with them.

Eventually his father was conditionally released and opened a timber works and a bakery in which his son was involved, in 1814 John took over the bakery, but in the same year he helped seven prisoners escape and was sentenced to 500 lashes and three years hard labour. 

After his release he and his new wife moved to Launceston where as well as building the towns first ever two storey building and public house he started the first newspaper. As well as this he began representing convicts and petty criminals in court. However it seems this wasn't quite enough for with Tom Bateman he is credited with the founding of Melbourne.

Getting back to Isaac this support was successful and Hannah and his children were assigned to his custody. There is one photo which is widely available which purports to be Isaac's shop and the figure in the doorway being Isaac himself, but the original which is held in the Australian archives still survives in it's mounted form. 

On that mount is the name of the photographer Alfred Winter who was in Tasmania in 1860, but by that time Isaac had already passed away. The figure in the photograph has been claimed to be a man named W Legrand a bookseller, but although the man may not be Isaac Solomon this could have originally his shop.

After a year of his arriving in Hobart the warrant for Isaac arrived and he was arrested immediately. As in the past his council entered a writ of habeas corpus, and this time because of a technical fault in the warrant the judge granted Isaac's immediate release with a fixed bail of £2000 but following so closely on the request for his wife's release, this time the funds were unavailable.

So Colonel George Arthur issued a warrant in his own name and Isaac was arrested. As soon as possible he was put aboard 'The Prince Regent' and set sail for England. Some say that he was taken aboard in chains but this isn't confirmed, what is know however that the Chief Constable Thomas Capon was authorised to travel with him on the request of the ships master

When he eventually arrived in England and stood trial it caused a sensation, at this time Charles Dickens was working as a journalist and would have undoubtably attended the trial, it is said that he met and interviewed him and later based his character of Fagin upon him. Isaac's trials lasted from 18th July 1830 until 17th May 1831. Of the eight charges against him he was convicted of two and sentenced to fourteen years transportation.

At the time I suppose he wasn't too disappointed with the sentence seeing that his whole family were living on the other side of the world. He was sent back on the 'William Glen Anderson' arriving in Hobart in November 1831, there were 166 prisoners aboard. Prison uniforms were used as a symbol of humiliation for prisoners who broke the law while incarcerated. The suits garnered the name 'magpies'.

Male prisoners wore canvas trousers, striped cotton shirts and grey woolen jackets. Female prisoners were issued with drab cotton clothing stencilled with 'C' and sometimes had their heads shaved. Other prisoners deemed as political, these were mainly Irish wore all yellow suits the same applied to all prisoners at Port Arthur.

He was sent to Richmond Jail where he became a javelin man, this seems to be a position of trust usually given to the more 'better behaved' prisoners, which gives an insight into Isaac's personality, for although he may have been one of the most notorious fences in London he must have been a very personable man to have been given this position so soon after arriving

A report of a mass execution where 'javelin men' are mentioned.

[ At half-past 4, the Reverend Ordinary arrived, and shortly after, Mr. Carvosso, the Wesley Minister; when, with their assistance, they commenced their religious services, which continued until 7 o'clock, when they received the Holy Sacrament, and were left praying and reading until the solemn sound of the death bell announced 8. - The Sheriff,  Dudley Fereday, Esq., attended by the Under Sheriff, Mr. Hayes, and Mr. George West, the Head Bailiff, accompanied by 14 or 15 javelin-men; in their new uniform, then proceeded into the Gaol-yard.  The coffins were also brought in, and the javelin-men ranked in a column file; and the Military being drawn up, their cell-door was opened, and the last sentence of earthly justice awaited them.  Dreadful moment!]  

He was at Richmond Jail for two years before being transferred to Port Arthur Penal Settlement, and the following year in 1835 he was given his 'ticket of leave' on condition that he lived twenty miles from Hobart. 

When he was released he went to live in New Norfolk to be reunited with his family, by this time his two eldest sons had left Tasmania and were possibly living in Sydney. Whatever Isaac expected from his ''affectionate wife'' it wasn't forthcoming, perhaps Hannah blamed him for her situation and missed her life and friends in London, whatever the reason they were soon quarrelling violently, the children naturally took their mothers part and according to some sources resorted to throwing Isaac out of the home, others say it was the other way around and Isaac threw his children out.

When the altercations reached the notice of the authorities and the result was that Hannah was once again to the 'Female House of Correction'. For the following months her daughter Ann wrote numerous petitions on her mothers behalf which bore fruit in September 1830 when her mother was released. This however brought no reconciliation for Isaac and Hannah for they lived apart for the rest of their lives.

In November 1835 Ann was granted ticket-of-leave and a conditional pardon in May 1840. Isaac remained living in New Norfolk until 1838 then moved to New Town where, in 1840 he too was granted a conditional pardon. Then in four years later in 1844 he was given his 'certificate of freedom' which meant he could now leave the country, but this wasn't to happen and Isaac continued living half a world away from the noisy overcrowed eastend that had been his home for the early part of his life.

Isaac died alone on September 3rd, 1850 and buried at the Jewish cemetery, Harrington Street Hobart. His estate was worth little more than £70. The cemetery was closed in 1872 and in the 1950's an apartment complex was built on the site. Two years ago this public housing was pulled down, and underneath they found the old Jewish cemetery, including the remains of Ikey Solomon. The skeletons were removed and reburied in the main cemetery at Cornelian Bay.

Although he was born nearly 200 years ago the shadow of Isaac Solomons still lives, trapped forever in the pages of 'Oliver Twist'. in the old black and white film directed by David Lean and others, and in the glorious musical by Lionel Bart which first strode the stage in 1960 and has hardly been out of production ever since.

He doesn't seem to have been an aggresive type of villian, for there is no record of him ever being violent.  Someone who by neccessity learned from a young age to survive, and provide for his family, by the only way that he was taught, even if that meant crossing the line of what was and wasn't legal. By the response of those that greeted him in Tasmania, and by his own response in putting his freedom at risk by joining his family there shows that deep down maybe he was a decent man but circumstaces, history and perhaps Mr Dickens chose to paint him another way. However perhaps in Lionel Bart's 'Oliver' he's given a more human touch and maybe that's why the musical has been so popular since he first walked the London stage.

Lionel Bart

Born Lionel Begleiter on the 1st August 1930 the youngest of seven surviving children in Stepney, East London. His family originated from Galicia, a province of present day Poland. During the latter part of the 19th century this part of eastern Europe witnessed some of the most violent anti-Jewish pogroms. It was to escape this rising tide of anti-semetism that the Begleiter family, like many other Jewish families, settled in east London to start a new life.

When he was six years old his teacher told his parents that he was a musical genius. To encourage his musical talent in the hope he would aspire to becoming something other than a tailor like his father they bought him a violin. The violin was the instrument of choice for most Jews for it was small and easy to carry when the order came to leave, as they often did in their history, to pack up their belongings and move on to goodness knows where.

It seems however the violin failed to hold his interest and soon the lessons stopped. When he was sixteen Lionel was granted a scholarship at St Martin's School of Art, but as with the violin his ambition to be a painter was abandoned when he was expelled for ''mischievousness''. After leaving college he found work as a silk screen printer and a commercial artist.

While doing his National Service in the R.A.F he met and became friends with fellow eastender John Gorman, and after they were demobbed and with a borrowed £50 they rented a workshop at 53 Elderfield Road, Hackney and began a silk screen printing business. They named their business G and B Arts after the initial letters of their surnames. According to John Gorman this is where Lionel got his new surname of 'Bart', it happened when then business grew large enough to employ a local youngster who when arriving on his first day referred to Lionel as 'Mr Bart, it is also claimed that he changed his surname from Bagleiter to Bart one day when passing by St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, know affectionately as St Bart's. Whatever the truth he became known to the world as Lionel Bart.

Like John Gorman he became a member of the Communist party and wrote a revue for the International Youth Centre which was a leftist organisation, the revue was based on the story of Robin Hood, it was during this time he recognise his gift for songwriting, and slightly strange that a musical based on the same subject should effectively end it, but that was still in the future.

Soon the business ran into money problems and had no option but to close, by then Lionel's interest lay in music, and about the same time he met up with Mike Pratt, who went on to appear in many films and TV programmes but perhaps will be best remembered as Randall in the series 'Randall and Hopkirk Deceased', but at that time like Lionel he was into music so with three other friends they formed a group and in a taxi, which cost £12 they toured Europe.

On returning to London in 1956 Lionel introduced Mike Pratt to a young ex merchant seaman by the name of Tommy Hicks, and together they formed a music group by the name of 'The Cavemen', named after a coffee house they used to play in. Gradually they began to play in more venues around Soho including the famous coffee bar the 'Two I's', it was here that they were spotted by a talent scout which led to a meeting with impressario Larry Parnes.

Larry Parnes was to become the first major British manager of young singers responsible for the careers such as Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Georgie Fame and Joe Brown among many others.The Cavemen were to be among the first of his signings but as he didn't consider the name 'Tommy Hicks' suitable for a pop singer he decided he would be known as Tommy Steele.

Their first recording in 1956 was a joint effort of writing 'Rock With a Cavemen' but as with his other artistes their manager had changed their name to 'Tommy Steele and the Steelemen' the saxophonist on the recording was Ronnie Scott. The record achieved number thirteen in the charts.

The following year in 1957 they collaborated again with 'Tommy Steele Story' where they achieved the remarkable feat of writing the twelve song score in one week, even more remarkable was that one of those songs 'A Handful of Songs' received the Ivor Novello Award for 'Most outstanding song of the year both lyrically and musically'.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsKZ-NL_1Vg

They wrote the songs for two more Tommy Steele Films 'The Duke Wore Jeans' and ''Tommy the Toreador' before pursuing their individual careers. Tommy Steele continued in films and stage shows, Mike Pratt went off to Spain to write a couple of plays, though he is probably best remembered for the TV series 'Randall and Hopkirk'.

In 1959 Lionel Bart wrote the lyrics to the stage musical 'Lock up your Daughters'. This wasfollowed by 'Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be' with the Joan Littlewood Theatre Group at Stratford East. It was thought to be the first time genuine cockney voices were heard on stage, so when it transferred to the Garrick, where it ran for two years, translations of some of the speech was printed in the programmes.

The title song became a hit for Max Bygraves, not that this was the song heard in the original play for that was deemed to risque for national consumption. So it was rewritten and it is the one we remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5WKERDMRPI

The following year came the show he is most remembered for and that is 'Oliver', although most of the Dickens story has been edited out it still remains one of the most popular musical shows/films. Alma Cogan was a popular singer at the time and a friend of Lionel Bart's and it was her that he had in mind for the role of Nancy, due to her other commitments she was unable to take up the role and it went to Georgia Brown.

Georgia Brown was born in Whitechapel so there was no question of needing to adopt a fake cockney accent. When she originally auditioned for the part and gave her name a voice from the auditorium said ''no it's not it's Lily Klot'' seeing the voice came from Lionel Bart she replied ''and yours is Lionel Begleiter'' She got the part and as the first Nancy laid down the template for the role that has never been equalled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG0FqwOGfNk

Unfortunately Georgia Brown seems to have been almost forgotten today and there is very little information about her. Before she played Nancy, and her debut stage appearance was four years earlier at The Royal Court in the Threepenny Opera. She played the role of Lucy for four years not only at The Royal Court but also at the Aldwych and off Broadway in New York. She also opened with 'Oliver' on Broadway proper in 1962.

Despite the critical acclaim she received her career never reached those heights again. She carried on working mainly on American TV and in a few stage shows that closed early. She died in 1992 following an operation to remove a stomach obstruction. she was 57 years old.

In 1963 he wrote 'From Russia With Love' for the second James Bond film. This was the only film of the series where the title song wasn't sung at the beginning. Instead it was played during the film where it was sung by Matt Monro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yijo4y_alRk

In 1967 'Oliver' was made into a musical film which went on to win six Oscars the following year. The same year he also became the first British composer to win a Tony award. Shirley Bassey was the first choice of director Sir Carol Reed to play, but those running the studio refused to consider her for the part preferring Shani Wallis instead. Incidentally Sir Carol Reed was the uncle to Oliver Reed who played Bill Sykes in the film.

The reason for wanting Shirley Bassey for the role may have been when she recorded 'As Long as He Needs Me'  in 1960 it reached No2 in the charts and stayed in the Top 50 for thirty consecutive weeks, one of the longest unbroken runs in chart history. The video below was aired in 1990 as an audience with Shirley Bassey, Lionel Bart was in the audience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyhhY1MIUxw

With the success of 'Oliver' money came rolling in and rolling out just as quickly as Lionel indulged in the celebrity life mixing with the biggest and brightest stars of the time, His parties were legendary where it's said money and cocaine would be supplied in two large urns.

His next show in 1962 was to be 'Blitz' a story of the love affair between a cockney boy and a Jewish girl set gainst the backdrop of the London blitz. Once again the sets were created by Sean Kenny who had just won an Oscar for set design in Oliver. The sets for 'Blitz' with their representations of were the most expensive ever seen in the West end at that time. With Petticoat Lane, Victoria station and the Bank underground, also a view of London on fire. Four houses on revolving sets were the main focus and as well as the cast recordings on Winston Churchill and Vera Lynn singing 'The Day After Tomorrow', a song written by Lionel Bart, were played through the wireless in the houses. On the video it's sung by Jean Campbell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9FRiDahMaE

Although it was a fairly successful musical it never gathered the acclaim of Oliver. It didn't help that Noel Coward commented 'it's twice as long and twice as noisy as the real thing', or perhaps the time wasn't right for the sixties were embracing 'peace and love' and didn't want to think of the time when England was fighting for it's life.

During this time he wrote the title song for Joan Littlewoods film 'Sparrows Can't Sing' starring Barbara Windsor. The film was set in the east end during the 1960's when the area was changing forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR-7rNlJRCE

His next musical in 1964 was 'Maggie May' set in Liverpool and based on an old ballad concerning a prostitute, the lead was played by Rachel Roberts. Judy Garland who was a close friend recorded four songs from the show including 'Land of Promises' but the musical wasn't a success closing after 501 performances, however it was 'Twang' that finally sent Lionel Bart into a decline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yckBdKamV1E

The show was the story of Robin Hood and brought together many of those from the JoanLittlewood's workshop, including James Booth, Barbara Windsor and Ronnie Corbett. The scriptwas confused and ever changing, some said this was due to Lionels use of LSD. The show not surprisingly due to the chaos which brought it into being was panned by the critics and the public stopped going.

For some reason Lionel believed in it and as well as backing it with his own money he sold everything he possessed, including his houses and the rights to 'Oliver' all went in an attempt to keep it going but it seemed nothing could save the show. 

In 1969 he composed the words and music for 'La Strada' a musical based on the Fellini film, however this was to suffer the same fate as 'Twang' lasting for just one day after it opened on Broadway. In 1972 he was declared bankrupt. 

The next two decades he sank into oblivion fueled by drink and drugs, and gradually the abuses brought illness and depression. During this time he continued rewriting 'Twang' as well as a musical based on ' The Hunchback of Notre Damme' which had been a project since the early days.

It wasn't until Cameron Makintosh bought part of the rights to 'Oliver' that Lionel Bart's life began to change for the better, and after years of almost being forgotten he was once again recognised as one of Britains most popular songwriters. He died on the 3rd of April 1999 and his funeral took place at Golders Green Crematorium.

In 1990 he was seen on our TV screens in the advert for Abbey National.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9qJtmw2c5U&playnext=1&list=PL4C2C01F2BFB77BFB&feature=results_video  

One of many obituaries in The Independent echoes many others.

If he had written only Oliver!, the composer Lionel Bart would have earned an honoured place in the history of British musicals, but he was far from a one-show wonder. His other work included shows such as Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be and Maggie May, plus many pop songs including "Living Doll" (Cliff Richard's first No 1 hit), Tommy Steele's "A Handful of Songs", Anthony Newley's "Do You Mind?" and Matt Monro's "From Russia With Love".

He epitomised the start of the Sixties in Britain, which he uniquely captured in song and spirit, and he was one of the few composers to deal uncondescendingly with the working classes, transposing their life styles and vernacular to the musical stage. "Nobody tries to be la-de-da or uppity, there's a cuppa tea for all," sings the Artful Dodger to Oliver, while Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be remains a time capsule of a world in which folk talked of their "birds" amd their "manor" and dreamed of being able to afford furniture that was "contempery". It was like a musical EastEnders, but far more joyous and celebratory, without the unremitting angst suffered by the inhabitants of Albert Square.

Bart also epitomised the Sixties in a less happy way - like many who flourished in that era he was seduced by sudden success into a world of drink, drugs and hedonism, squandering his money and his youth.

With the revival of 'Oliver' it would seem that Lionel Bart will be remembered for the talent he possessed and not the years of oblivion.