£6.5M NOTES FOR SINGER’S HOME
If you’ve ever found yourself in a pub singing It’s a Long Way to Tipperary or in more morose moments Keep the Home Fires Burning then you have tenor John McCormack to thank.
He was the Luciano Pavarotti of the early 19th century and although born in Ireland and a friend of author James Joyce during his earlier years, he travelled to Italy to train as a professional singer.
He made his debut in 1905 in Italy and the year after sang at London’s Covent Garden opera house at just 21. His recordings made him a household name. He was one of the first singers to take advantage of the emerging phonograph technology of the time, and made multiple recordings.
His most popular song, I Hear You Calling Me, topped the sales charts and helped make him a multi-millionaire in today’s money. He later moved to the US and became a naturalised American citizen, appearing in several of the early Hollywood ‘talkie’ films. John also spent much of his fortune on property, owning homes in New York, California, Ireland and London.
One of these is now for sale. It’s a double-fronted detached Victorian house in the London suburb of Hampstead where the singer lived between 1908 and 1913. It’s for sale with TK International (020 7794 8700) for £6.5 million. It has two reception rooms, seven bedrooms, three bathrooms, a 63-foot rear garden and a garage for up to six cars.