Florrie Forde - Fair, fat and forty (1936) (Regal Zonphone MR 2234 mtx CAR. 4181) (78rpm)

Flora May Augusta Flannagan (16 August 1875 – 18 April 1940, known professionally as Florrie Forde, was an Australian popular singer and music hall entertainer. From 1897 she lived and worked in the United Kingdom. She was one of the most popular stars of the early 20th century music hall.

At the age of 21, in 1897, she left for London, and on August Bank Holiday 1897, she made her first appearances in London at three music halls – the South London Palace, the Pavilion and the Oxford – in the course of one evening. She became an immediate star, making the first of her many sound recordings in 1903 and making 700 individual recordings by 1936. Forde had a powerful stage presence, and specialised in songs that had powerful and memorable choruses in which the audience was encouraged to join.

Florrie Forde - Fair, fat and forty