Andrew White tells of the North-East music hall star who had a string of popular hits but was found dead in a park with a revolver beside him.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

I do like to be beside the sea

Oh I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom

Where the brass bands play 'Tiddely-om-pom-pom'

EVERYBODY knows the song I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside – but have you ever heard of Mark Sheridan, the North-East born music hall star who made it famous?

Probably not. And yet he was one of the best-known entertainers of his time, instantly recognisable from his trademark outfit – a battered top hat, frock coat and a truly remarkable pair of bell bottomed trousers.

Best known as the original performer of that classic seaside yarn, Sheridan was a prolific recording artist, releasing more than 50 songs during a ten year period. He was a mainstay of pantomime and he appeared on stages across the world.

Yet today, his name is barely known – even in his own home town.

Born Frederick Shaw in Sunderland in 1864 – the precise date is uncertain – he grew up in the town's West End, with his six siblings.

The Northern Echo: Mark Sheridan, one of the most popular entertainers of the music hall eraMark Sheridan, one of the most popular entertainers of the music hall era

The young Frederick worked with his father William Shaw, a sail maker on Sunderland Docks. Later, he took a back office theatre job and became interested in amateur dramatics. From there, at some point in his twenties, he turned professional, changing his name to Mark Sheridan – taking his first name from writer Mark Twain and his surname from his Irish mother's maiden name.

Sheridan honed his act on tours of South Africa and Australia in the 1890s and was an accomplished performer by the time he returned to the London stage, becoming one of the country's best-known and most popular music hall comedians.

His recording career took off in the early part of the 20th Century, when he had a string of hits. I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside, recorded in 1909, was his biggest and best-known. Other popular songs included What A Game It Is! Wow! Wow, They All Walk the Wibbly-Wobbly Walk and One of the B'hoys.

The Northern Echo: Front cover of the sheet music for 'Who Were You With Last Night?' one of Godfrey and Sheridan's biggest hitsFront cover of the sheet music for 'Who Were You With Last Night?' one of Godfrey and Sheridan's biggest hits

Who Were You With Last Night?, recorded in 1912, was described as "one of the finest rattling good choruses in the music-hall repertoire". It was written by Fred Godfrey, and the website Bless ’Em All (fredgodfreysongs.ca) which his dedicated to his, notes that it was turned down by every music publisher in London – until Sheridan asked Godfrey if he had any ideas for "a good chorus song".

"Good old Mark put it on at the London Pavilion. And it was a success from the start," said Godfrey.

After performing it at the Palace Theatre, in Southampton, The Era – a newspaper known as "the actor's Bible" – noted that the song was "already being whistled all over the southern seaport", adding: "The engagement of the genial Mark is bringing gust to the Palace."

Like many of Sheridan's songs, it was still extremely popular with soldiers at the beginning of the First World War. A 1915 newspaper report from the Western Front noted: “In a [Belgian] township through which we passed, we saw a London battalion coming out of the baths, where they had had a cleansing plunge, and their clothes fumigated. They were singing Who Were You With Last Night.”

Another of his tunes, Here We Are Again was described as "the British Army battlecry".

Despite his success, the music hall era was coming to an end and, with audiences dwindling, Sheridan concentrated on revue. In 1917, he wrote and financed Gay Paree, a musical burlesque spoof of a popular play called A Royal Divorce, depicting the romance between Napoleon and his wife Josephine. There was a cast of 40, with Sheridan himself taking the part of Napoleon.

The Northern Echo: News of Mark Sheridan's death in The Western Times from January 16, 1918 – the morning after he took his own lifeNews of Mark Sheridan's death in The Western Times from January 16, 1918 – the morning after he took his own life

On January 14, 1918, it opened at the Coliseum in Glasgow. Sheridan was due back at the theatre the next day for a rehearsal, but never showed up. Later that afternoon, two men found his body in a snow-covered Kelvingrove Park – shot through the head with a Browning revolver lying on the path nearby.

It seemed like a clear case of suicide and music hall folklore has it that a bad review led him to take his own life.

But was that really the reason? Reviews published that morning appear quite positive.

The Northern Echo: This advert for Gay Paree appeared in the same edition of The Era as his obituary – just a week after his deathThis advert for Gay Paree appeared in the same edition of The Era as his obituary – just a week after his death

The Daily Record described Gay Paree as "a clever and delightful skit", adding: "The revue goes with a swing from start to finish and there is not a dull moment throughout."

And The Glasgow Herald reported: "The burlesque admirably fulfils its purpose of mirth making and is in every way an attractive entertainment."

Hardly damning.

The Northern Echo: An article on Mark Sheridan, written for the British Music Hall Society by Alison Young on the centenary of his deathAn article on Mark Sheridan, written for the British Music Hall Society by Alison Young on the centenary of his death

Alison Young of the British Music Hall Society, who has scoured the archives without success for that bad review, thinks the real reason for Sheridan's death lies in "the hints at unhappiness and undoubtedly depression throughout his career".

She says: "Mrs Sheridan told the police in the days immediately following his death that 'her husband had been ailing for two years off and on' and that he had been consumed with anxiety over the fate of his two sons, in the Navy and Army, as well as unhappy with the marriage of his daughter to a man of which he had not approved."

And she notes that earlier that month he had been "indisposed" and unable to appear in Brighton and a performance at the Bradford Alhambra had been poorly reviewed in The Yorkshire Evening Post.

Alison adds: "All of this points to a man struggling with life."

The suicide theory was even disputed in a legal case brought by the executors of Sheridan's will – including his wife Ethel – against the Equitable Life Assurance Company. Sheridan had taken out two life insurance policies, which included a clause stating there would be no payout if he committed suicide.

The executors' case was that the death was an accident, claiming Sheridan had gone to the park to rehearse his part in which Napoleon shot a convict.

Sheridan was happy, they reckoned, and booked up to 1920 – after which he planned to retire to Sunderland. Counsel for the executors said: "If every comedian who had a bad review shot himself, there would be a lot of dead bodies in The Strand."

However, the Coliseum manager – a Mr Baxter – did not help the executors' case when he said the first night had "not been a success" and Sheridan "was not up to his form" as Napoleon.

The legal case was lost.

Perhaps the reason for the challenge lies in the detail that the responsibility for fulfilling the commitments of Gay Paree, a costly production with future bookings to fulfil, fell to Sheridan's widow, Ethel.

Indeed, within hours of her husband's death, Ethel was updating adverts in the local press, declaring "Our Motto – Carry On!" An advert for the show even appears alongside an obituary for Sheridan in the January 23 edition of The Era.

The Northern Echo: The obituary for Mark Sheridan in The Era newspaper from January 23, 1918The obituary for Mark Sheridan in The Era newspaper from January 23, 1918

That obituary reflects the esteem in which Sheridan was held during his lifetime, describing him as "a breezy and spirited favourite of the public, and a witty commentator on passing events, with his sunshiny smile, his delightful dance, his irresistable hat and his famous bell-bottomed trousers, Mark was one of the most successful comedians of the variety stage and was also very popular in pantomime".

He continues to be well-regarded by music hall enthusiasts, historian Walter Macqueen-Pope describing him as "true music hall – gusto, vim and vigour personified".

You can still see Sheridan's headstone in an overgrown and overlooked corner of a Glasgow cemetery. The only hint to his former fame is the single word "comedian", inscribed upon it.

All but forgotten now, The British Music Hall Society is keen to keep his legacy alive with a Blue Plaque to his memory in Sunderland.

But where? Covent Garden Street – where he was born – appears not to exist today and Addison Terrace – where he grew up – now runs through an industrial estate. A report in The Northern Echo suggests he "occupied a house on the Terrace at Roker" for some years, but where exactly?

The society would welcome any further local intelligence to help locate a suitable spot for a plaque. Contact Andrew White on 01325-505054 or email andrew.white@nne.co.uk if you can help.

Thanks to Alison Young of the British Music Hall Society and Barry Norris, grandson of Fred Godfrey, for their help in writing this article.