We're delighted and privileged to be releasing today's podcast on the 200th anniversary of the death of Billy Waters.
Born in 1776 Waters was a familiar sight on the Strand in London. He was a black ex-sailor who had been invalided out of the Navy after losing a leg. With a crude wooden prosthesis he danced and also played the violin outside the Adelphi Theatre. He became so famous that a whole industry grew up around him - his picture was painted by celebrated artists of the time, there were porcelain statues of him on sale and he was even portrayed in a popular play. Sadly this story does not end well.
Why do we refer to him as "Waters" and not "Billy"? precisely because "Billy Waters" became a fictionalised character. In this podcast Dr. Mary Shannon talks about the real man behind the myth and how popular culture has not changed much in 200 years. The "fame game" is still exploiting the vulnerable.
What has changed considerably is the life of the busker and we're also fortunate to have first hand experiences of the modern day busking life told to us by Charlotte Campbell.
We've told some sad tales during the time we've been recording our podcasts, but Waters' is possibly the most tragic. We just hope that we can contribute a little to seeing him get the attention he deserves.
Guest: Dr. Mary Shannon
Guest: Charlotte Campbell
Host: Lottie Walker
Production & Editing: Harry Jacobs
Find out more about Mary:
https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/mary-l-shannon
Look out for Mary's book, "Billy Waters is Dancing", which will be published by Yale University Press.
This research received support of a Linda H. Peterson Fellowship awarded by the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals and funded from the bequest of the Eileen Curran estate; it is currently funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship Grant.
Leverhulme Trust:
https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/
The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals:
https://rs4vp.org/
Find out more about Charlotte:
https://www.charlottecampbell.co.uk/
More from Mary about Waters on BBC Radio 3:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k1g8
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