The Bing Boys Are Here

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The Bing Boys Are Here was the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included The Bing Boys on Broadway and The Bing Boys are There. The music for them was written by Nat D. Ayer with lyrics by Clifford Grey, who also contributed to Yes, Uncle!.

It starred George Robey and Violet Lorraine, famous for their introduction of the song If You Were the Only Girl (in the World). It first opened on 19 April 1916 and was replaced on 24 February 1917 by The Bing Boys are There, with a different cast. It changed once again on 16 February 1918 to The Bing Boys on Broadway, with Robey returning to the cast. The total number of performances for all three reviews was well over 1,000, lasting beyond the Armistice in November 1918.

The Bing Boys Are Here was one of the three most important musical hits of the London stage during World War I (the other two being The Maid of the Mountains and Chu Chin Chow); music or scenes from all of these have been included as background in many films set in this period, and they remain intensely evocative of the "Great War" years. Other hit shows of the period were Theodore & Co (1816), The Boy (1917), and Yes, Uncle! (1917). Audiences wanted light and uplifting entertainment during the war, and these shows delivered it.

[edit] Songs

Other songs from all three reviews were:

"I stopped, I looked, and I listened"
"The Kipling Walk"
"Another little drink wouldn't do us any harm"
"First Love, Last Love"
"Yula Hicki Wicki Yacki Dula"
"Let the Great Big World keep Turning"

Bing Boys together with Chu Chin Chow and The Maid of the Mountains are musicals closely associated with the World War I and have been included as background in many films set in this period.