PIT BOY’S RISE TO STAR TENOR

Hokitika Guardian, 24 June 1929, Page 5

PIT BOY’S RISE TO STAR TENOR

Thrown out of employment by the general strike, Tommy Sandilands, a pit boy, came to London in 1926 to seek work. He found it as a pantry boy at the Langham Hotel and sang while working. He was heard by Mr Van Yleet, who told the boy to call on nim. He was at once booked to appear at a National Sunday League concert at the Alhambra, this being followed by bookings for the season. He also appeared at the houses of the Provincial Cinema Theatres, Ltd. At the time of his appearance at tTTe Alhambra, Tommy only knew three songs, but to-day, after training, he can sing in Italian as well as in English. He is now to have his first real chance in London, for he is to appear at the Troeadero and the Coliseum. Tommy is a tenor and lie used to delight the miners when he sang to them. Ibis 17-vear-old tenor, who at one time earned 22s 6d a week as a pantry boy, now earns a salary that runs into four figures. “Have T ever suffered from stage fright? No. I enjoy every minute of my time before the footlights,” Tommy told a pressman. “My ambition is appear in opera and musical comedy, to be in dress and act the part I sing. 1 have had another offer from a talkie firm, but the negotiations are not completed yet.”