Florrie Forde

Florrie Forde (1875–1940), singer and music hall performer, was born in Melbourne to Phoebe Simmons, who had sixteen children by three different fathers before dying at the age of 46. Flora (Florrie), her eighth child, spent some time in a convent before running away to Sydney with her sister Nan. She first sang publicly at the Polytechnic Hall in the Imperial Arcade, Pitt Street, at the age of sixteen. For the next five years she sang and acted in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, in the latter city singing the saucy song 'She Wore a Little Safety Pin, Behind' for members of the Australasian Federal Convention. By 1897 she was making her debut in London, singing 'You Know and I Know' at three separate music halls on the same night. Henceforth she was never out of work, remaining a star until her death through songs in which her audiences joined enthusiastically, including 'Down at the Old Bull and Bush', 'Pack Up Your Troubles', 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary', 'Oh! Oh! Antonio' and 'Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy'. In 1912 she appeared before King George V in the very first Royal Command Variety Performance. At the peak of her career during the First World War, she continued to perform, mentor up-and-coming stars and record songs in her strong Australian accent through to the 1930s, also appearing as herself in two films. She performed as one of the 'Veterans of Variety' in another Command performance in 1935. Continuously working, she never returned to Australia. She died a few hours after entertaining patients in a naval hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2017