Comedian/descriptive singer, songwriter, actor, producer/director.
Born William James Gartell, Slade Murray started out his working life as a compositor for the Croydon
Chronicle. and later as a signal boy, telegraph operator, booking office clerk, cashier and bookkeeper. While employed as foreman at a ship store owned by Parlimentarian Sir Andrew Lusk, he performed at amateur entertainments, including smoke nights, temperance concerts and harmonic meetings. This led in 1883 to him making his first performance on a music hall stage, the venue being Crowder's Music Hall, Greenwich. Within a year Murray had signed to an agency and was securing engagements at four of the leading London theatres, including the London Pavilion. He also wrote this first hit song, 'Far Far Away' that same year. It went on to be performed in numerous pantomimes throughout Great Britain for some two years and established Murray as one of the rising young songwriter/comedians of the day.
In 1889
Frank M. Clark invited him to tour Australia. he subsequently played season in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Launceston as a solo artist. He then worked briefly as a burlesque actor for
Williamson, Garner and Musgrove, appearing as the Emperor of China in the firm's 1889 pantomime
Aladdin. During 1890s he again worked for Clark, as well as
Harry Rickards, the
Cogill Brothers, and
Williamson and Musgrove, while also operating his own troupes - the Gaiety Burlesque Co (1890/91), Crusaders (1892), New Lyric Combination (1893), 'Up-to-date' Specialty and Burlesque Combination and Oxford Co (1894).
Murray returned home in the mid-1890s but in 1905 came back to Australia for Harry Rickards. He remained in the Antipodes, touring New Zealand for the
John Fuller and Sons in 1907, and appearing for
Ted Holland,
Harry Clay and
James Brennan until 1911. He died in 1913, some two years after contracting dengue fever.
During his years in Australia Murray was associated with many of the leading local variety practitioners and touring artists, notably Martin Hagan,
Percy St John,
Lance Lenton, the Fausts, Alf Lawton and Clara Spencer,
Will Whitburn, Charles Hicks (and his American Coloured Minstrels), Darcy Stanfield, Johnny Gilmore, Johnny Matlock, George Jones, Edwin Shipp, Pope and Sayles, J. H. Rainford and Amy Rowe.
In addition to 'Far Far Away,' Murray was also best associated with the songs 'Balaclava' and 'Good Old Mary-Ann.'
[Source:
Australian Variety Theatre Archive]
