Double Lead Through

Originally a French tune, written by Charles Lecoq and included in his three act opéra-comique 'La fille de Madame Angot' which was first produced in Brussels at the Théâtre des Fantaisies-Parisiennes on the 4 December 1872. The piece caused a sensation in Britain where it ran for a consecutive five-hundred nights and then appeared in London in various forms as well as being extensively toured. Made famous more recently in England from the version which Cecil Sharp collected from William Kimber at Headington Quarry. It is still a great favourite with the French, and is still, apparently, played almost continuously in the Asterix theme park, south of Paris. (Hugh Rippon)