Thomas Hudson

Thomas Hudson (April 1791 – June 1844) was an English writer and performer of comic songs who was one of the earliest credited songwriters in the music hall tradition.

Biography Tom Hudson was born in Mount Street, Lambeth, in 1791, the son of John Hudson who worked at the Stamp Office in Somerset House. He performed regularly in "song and supper rooms" such as the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, which opened in the mid-1820s and had a very broad clientele ranging from tradesmen and apprentices to members of parliament; and the Coal Hole, near the Strand. He was considered to be "a man of considerable literary ability", and his songs were described as "lively and really witty".

The Illustrated London News said of him:Though well known in the convivial circles of the metropolis, Hudson was not a dissipated man, for his habits were the reverse of intemperance: his talents impromptu were very great; he has often caught some incident which occurred at the table, or availed himself of the unexpected appearance of some public character, to produce appropriate joke or compliment, which never failed to tell upon the company.... [He] was by no means an Apollo in voice; but the new song, composed by the singer, excused his defects or vocal execution. His more studied efforts were characterised by great humor and knowledge of life, and an abundant stock of those grotesque images which give the finish to a comic picture. A benefit concert was arranged at the Princess' Theatre to raise funds for his family, under the patronage of the Duke of Cambridge, the Lord Mayor, T. S. Duncombe M.P., and others.