Ernest Pike

Ernest Pike standing beside a G&T Sheraton gramophone, c. 1907, photo from a record sleeve of one of the Zonophone grand opera series.

Ernest George Pike (1871 – 4 March 1936) was an English tenor of the early 20th century who made numerous recordings in the first decades of the 20th century. After studying at the Guildhall School of Music in London, he worked as a bank clerk and sang as a church tenor before making his first recording "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes" for the Gramophone & Typewriter Company in 1904. He became the house tenor for HMV and made several hundred records in a career that spanned over twenty years.

Pike has been called "England's most recorded tenor", and his "silver voice" became a favourite in thousands of homes – remaining so until well into the 1920s. For a time his popularity was as great as that of the singer Peter Dawson. His repertoire was varied and included grand opera, light opera, oratorio, and ballads and popular songs of the Edwardian era, the First World War and the 1920s. He toured the British Isles giving concerts and was a favourite of royalty. He recorded under a number of pseudonyms – most commonly Herbert Payne.

Early career Ernest Pike was born in Pimlico, London, England in 1871 Pike was one of the chosen singers along with Peter Dawson, Derek Oldham, George Baker, Stanley Kirkby, Robert Radford, Edna Thornton, Violet Essex, Sarah Jones and Bessie Jones.