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will pay to see him, and his muscular system will hold out. Abstractedly, there is nothing either pleasing or amusing in seeing a full-grown man, in a striped suit and an eccentric cap, bounding up and down like an India-rubber ball, whilst he is trying to sing. But it is clever, nevertheless; and, although we do not sympathise with his ‘line of endeavour,’ as
Carlyle says, we can at least praise him for his industry.
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Mr. J. H. Stead … sang and danced the composition which has made his reputation – the ‘Perfect Cure.’ Mr. Stead is usually described as ‘the man who never stood still;’ and indeed, seeing that he has jumped into so good a thing, there is no reason why he should relax his efforts as long as the public
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wrote that, when Stead performed the song, "he sprang a couple of feet in the air at every bar, and never paused for some ten minutes. The words were the merest drivel, the attraction consisting solely in the eccentric appearance of the singer, his antics, agility and endurance." In each chorus, he
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In his early performances of the song, Stead wore "a long black coat, large white neckcloth, gaiters, and large rimmed low black hat; in fact the costume of a French curé – the chorus being sung after the Quaker fashion, with the raising and lowering of the body. It was very funny, and he used to
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Stead became ill with a chest condition in 1884, developed "symptoms of serious mental aberration", and died in 1886. Benefit concerts were arranged for his family, but after it was discovered that he had accumulated savings of some £3,000, a considerable sum at the time, the money raised was
142:", "I’ve Joined the Teetotal Society", "That Blessed Baby", and "The Great Sensation Song", but his reputation rests on "The Perfect Cure". The song was written by Frederick C. Perry, to a tune by
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which had previously been used for another song, "The Monkey and the Nuts". The phrase "perfect cure" was a slang term at the time for a "curiosity", or eccentric person.
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in his likeness, for use in travelling shows, dancing to the tune of "The
Perfect Cure". The tune itself became a popular
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Bennett wrote that, around 1860, Stead's performances "raged through the land like influenza". In 1869,
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meet with great applause…". Later, he dressed in a striped suit and dunce's cap like a French circus
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Stead's act was one of the inspirations of the 1980s dance group, the Wild
Wigglers, created by
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Stead continued to perform the song into the early 1880s. His success led to the production of
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and Billy Cowie. Like Stead, the dancers wore tall pointy hats, which can be seen
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Young Love he plays some funny tricks with us unlucky elves,
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would jump several times into the air, stiff-legged like a
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So gentlemen, I pray look out, and take care of yourselves,
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on 2 February 1886, where "a large number of residents of
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Katie Howson, "Tracing a Tune No.1 – The
Perfect Cure",
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London and
Londoners in the Eighteen-Fifties and Sixties
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The song's opening verse (out of ten) and chorus went:
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All at once to me she said, 'You’re a perfect cure …'
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comedian, popular for several decades from the 1850s.
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Sheet music cover, showing Stead jumping into the air
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For once I met a nice young maid, looking so demure,
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311:Bob Davenport, "J. H. Stead: ‘The Perfect Cure’",
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138:Comic Singer in England". His songs included "
112:1826 – 24 January 1886) was an English
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326:Mary Fermor, "Popular Songs of the Past",
282:British Music Hall: an illustrated history
242:returned to the donors. He was buried at
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361:East Anglian Traditional Music Trust
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406:Comedians from Kingston upon Hull
391:19th-century English male singers
165:A cure, a cure, a cure, a cure,
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250:" assembled in his honour.
16:English music hall comedian
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364:. Retrieved 28 August 2020
316:. Retrieved 28 August 2020
210:reviewed his performance:
177:For I’m a perfect cure....
284:, Pen & Sword, 2014,
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344:Alfred Rosling Bennett,
280:Richard Anthony Baker,
396:English male comedians
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190:Alfred Rosling Bennett
75:24 January 1886 (aged
401:Music hall performers
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330:, vol.6, pp.276-277
244:St Pancras Cemetery
168:Now isn’t I a cure,
140:Pop Goes the Weasel
328:The Royal Magazine
126:Kingston upon Hull
57:Kingston upon Hull
348:, 1924, p.66, 187
313:Studied Monuments
290:978-1-78383-118-0
207:The Musical Times
106:James Hurst Stead
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99:1850s–1880s
96:Years active
47:James Hurst Stead
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174:My high gee wo ,
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171:For here I go,
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386:1886 deaths
248:Camden Town
229:barn dances
59:, Yorkshire
25:J. H. Stead
375:Categories
292:, pp.15-16
265:References
259:on youtube
255:Liz Aggiss
195:marionette
114:music hall
71:1886-01-24
130:Yorkshire
120:Biography
227:tune at
233:Norfolk
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225:fiddle
82:London
186:clown
135:Buffo
286:ISBN
65:Died
53:1826
43:Born
236:jig
204:of
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79:60)
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110:c.
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