Solo Men

Arthur Rigby 1865-1944

Kilgarriff lists thirty two songs for Arthur's repertoire in his 'Sing Us One of the Old Songs'

Arthur Rigby was another good, sound comedian, who flourished until recently; his great song was "I'm The Plumber." He was a man of quaint humour in private life, and his especial joy was to prove that all the famous characters of the Old Testament were, in reality, music hall performers. Moses, according to Rigby, was a supreme conjuror. Aaron and Joshua were illusionists, he proved it all to his own satisfaction with great glee.

The Melodies Linger On by W. Macqueen-Pope

In discussing the comic artists then current and of a high quality, Stuart & Park write:  "...Mr Tom Costello, Mr Harry Randall, Mr James Fawn, Mr Tom Bass, Mr Charles Coborn and Mr J. C. Rich are other artistes in the same line who have won distinction for themselves by sheer force of artistic merit. In the same category too must be mentioned Mr Charles Bignell, Mr Arthur Lennard, Mr Harry Pleon, Mr Tom Leamore and Mr.ArthurRigby."

From The Variety Stage by C.D.Stuart & J.W.Park (1885)

Arthur Rigby is still actively concerned in the "business of pleasure," although he began as a turn over forty years ago {1886}. For a long time he was famous as a dame, and played the queen to Mark Sheridan’s king in a pantomime of "Humpty Dumpty." He remembers when Chirgwin was rehearsing a "Trilby" burlesque for a pantomime. "‘Trilby’? "asked Chirgwin, genuinely puzzled. "Who’s he?"

A FAMOUS CHARACTER STUDY.    Arthur Rigby’s character study for "I’m the Plumber" was 'a cross between a Methodist and a working-man,' to quote his own words. His experience as a dame, with such numbers as "I’m Throwing Myself Away’ and "What They Showed Me in Paree," go back to the bad old days. He remembers when the audiences in Middlesbrough threw rivets. He also remembers a manager who noticed that his audience always walked out during the last turn and decided 'not to have a last turn any longer.'

Among Arthur Rigby’s stage successes as an author is "Darling, I Love You," which has been filmed by Lupino Lane under the title of "The Deputy Drummer," and it is in this (film) that Arthur Rigby makes his first appearance on the screen.

From Romance of the Music Hall by M.Wilson Disher