Alfred Peek Stevens, best known by his stage name of Alfred Vance, was a 19th-century English music hall singer. He was also known as The Great Vance, and Alfred Grenville.
His first solo appearance was at the South London Palace in 1864. He had earlier performed in a blackface act with his brother in 1860. His act, initially as a Cockney singer, evolved into comedy. Throughout the 1860s Vance, along with contemporaries Arthur Lloyd and George Leybourne, was instrumental in developing a new style of music hall performer known as the lion comique or swells. In this style, performers relied less on copying burlesque, and instead sought inspiration in their everyday experiences and the colourful characters of daily street life. Audiences loved to join in the chorus and "give the bird". Vance was a great rival of George Leybourne, writer of "Champagne Charlie". Vance wrote and performed "Cliquot" in response, and eventually ended the feud with the song "Beautiful Beer". His popular song "Walking in the Zoo" has been cited by Desmond Morris as the earliest known use in the UK of the term "O.K." in its current sense. The chorus of Vance's song begins with the line "Walking in the zoo is the O.K. thing to do." It is also one of the first uses of the term "zoo" in place of the full name of "zoological garden". The song refers specifically to the Zoological Gardens at Regent's Park, London. Another song of the 1860s was "The King of Trumps". The cover depicts a playing card for the King of Trumps in colour with parts of other cards in each corner, around a picture of Alfred Vance in a top hat. Vance died on 26 December 1888 while performing on the stage of the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge. He is buried in Nunhead Cemetery, although his headstone no longer exists.
Songs
"The Brokin 'arted Butler"
"The Chickaleery Cove"
"Carrie"
"A country life for me"
"Covent garden in the morning"
"Dick Murphy of T.C.D."
"Fair Girl dress'd in check"
"The husbands boat"
"The Kerrect Kard"
"Jolly Dogs"
"Walking in the Zoo"
"Cliquot, Cliquot"
"Act on the Square, Boys"
"The Young Man of the Day"
"The naughty young man"
"Old Brown's Daughter"
"Peter Potts the Peeler"
"Serjeant Sharp Of Lincoln's Inn"
"Slap Bang Here We Are Again"
"The Style"
"TICK! TICK! TICK!"
"THE 'TICKET-OF-LEAVE' MAN"
"TOOTHPICK AND CRUTCH"
Critical reception
Vance toured Cornwall in 1880. Writing in The Cornishman newspaper, a reporter described him as a broad, not to say vulgar singer who should not be allowed to dispense to the people such songs as the London Music Halls encourage; and suggested that,
The feelings of well-disposed and peaceful citizens are outraged by the so-called improvised songs or topical allusions of this very low comedian. Respectable people are held up to ridicule.
The writer, further suggested that if Vance, a broad and vulgar singer/comedian, should choose to tour Cornwall again, the citizens of Falmouth should follow the example of Redruth and Liskeard, and make his visit a far from pleasant one.
