10 Facts About Florrie Forde

Florrie Forde was the sixth of the eight children of Irish-born Lott Flannagan, a stonemason, and Phoebe, who had two children from a prior marriage.

Florrie Forde toured widely in Australia over the next few years, performing as a soubrette, or in pantomimes as a "principal boy".

Florrie Forde had a powerful stage presence, and specialised in songs that had memorable choruses in which the audience was encouraged to join.

Florrie Forde appeared in the very first Royal Variety Performance in 1912.

Florrie Forde was described by W J MacQueen-Pope as the "female epitome of music hall gusto; she controlled an audience, she made them sing, she had memorable songs and nobody ever sang those songs as she could".

Florrie Forde ran her own touring revue company, which provided a platform for new rising stars, the most famous being the singing duo of Flanagan and Allen.

For 36 consecutive years Florrie Forde performed for a summer season at Douglas, Isle of Man.

Florrie Forde has appeared in London pantomimes as a principal boy into the 1930s, when she was in her sixties, and performed in the 1935 Royal Variety Performance.

Florrie Forde collapsed and died from a cerebral haemorrhage after singing for troops in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 18 April 1940; she was 64.

Florrie Forde's song "Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013.