Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a school revue in 1939 and eventually wrote more than 100 comic songs together.
Flanders and Swann performed their songs, interspersed with comic monologues, in their long-running two-man revues At the Drop of a Hat (1956–1959) and At the Drop of Another Hat (1963–1967), which they toured in Britain and abroad. Both revues were recorded in concert (by George Martin). The duo also made several studio recordings.
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Musical partnership
Flanders and Swann both attended Westminster School (where in July and August 1940 they staged a revue called Go To It) and Christ Church, Oxford, two institutions linked by ancient tradition. The pair went their separate ways during World War II, but a chance meeting in 1948 led to their forming a musical partnership writing songs and light opera. Flanders provided the words and Swann composed the music. Their songs have been sung by performers such as Ian Wallace and Joyce Grenfell.
In December 1956, Flanders and Swann hired the New Lindsey Theatre, Notting Hill, to perform their two-man revue At the Drop of a Hat, which opened on New Year's Eve. Flanders sang a selection of the songs that they had written, interspersed with comic monologues, accompanied by Swann on the piano. An unusual feature of their act was that both men remained seated for their shows: Swann behind his piano and Flanders in a wheelchair (having contracted poliomyelitis in 1943). The show was successful and transferred the next month to the Fortune Theatre, where it ran for over two years, before touring in the UK, the United States, Canada and Switzerland.
In 1963, Flanders and Swann opened in a second revue, At the Drop of Another Hat, at the Haymarket Theatre. Over the next four years they toured a combination of the two shows in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the United States and Canada, before finishing at the Booth Theatre on Broadway in New York City. On 9 April 1967, they performed their last live show together. Ten days later, they moved into a studio theatre and recorded the show for television.
Over the course of 11 years, Flanders and Swann gave nearly 2,000 live performances. Although their performing partnership ended in 1967, they remained friends afterwards and collaborated on occasional projects.
Discography
Their records were originally released on the Parlophone label; CD reissues are on EMI.
45s
1957 – "A Gnu" b/w "Misalliance"
EPs
1957 – More out of the Hat! (EP)
1959 – Excerpts from at the Drop of a Hat (EP)
1959 – More Excerpts from at the Drop of a Hat (EP)
1962 – The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann (EP)
1964 – Favourites from at the Drop of Another Hat (EP)
1964 – More out of the New Hat (EP)
LPs
1957 – At the Drop of a Hat (Parlophone PMC 1033 mono) (Recorded live at the Fortune Theatre, London, 21 February 1957.
1960 – At The Drop Of A Hat (1959 Stereo re-recording) (Parlophone PCS 3001) (Recorded during the final performance at the Fortune Theatre, London, on 2 May 1959. Parlophone's first stereo LP release.)
1961 – The Bestiary Of Flanders & Swann Parlophone PMC 1164 (mono)/ PCS 3026 (stereo)
1964 – At the Drop of Another Hat (produced by George Martin) Parlophone PMC 1126 (mono) / PCS 3052 (stereo)
1975 – And Then We Wrote...
1977 – Tried by the Centre Court
Cassettes
1996 – EMI Comedy Classics (Hat and Another Hat on two cassettes)
1997 – More out of the Drop of a Hat – Again! (double cassette)
CDs
1991 – The Complete Flanders & Swann (first three albums, in stereo in a boxed set)
1994 – A Transport of Delight: The Best of Flanders & Swann
1999 – The Flanders and Swann Collection
2000 – A Drop of Hilarity from Flanders & Swann
2007 – Hat Trick: Flanders & Swann Collector's Edition