SMOKING CONCERT

In the evening after the end of the cricket match ‘Perim vs Allcomers’ which took place around 1909-1910 there was a smoking concert for members of the club and the opposing team. This photograph, although of poor quality is full of interest.

There are three ladies on the balcony of the club. (Bear in mind that at that time there were perhaps not more than four or five European wives on Perim). It may also be pertinent that smoking concerts were normally men-only occasions; are they just there to listen, rather than to take part? There are at least four more people at the far end of the balcony.

Quite a few Arabs or Somalis have come to listen and are standing outside at the far end of the hotel. Those sitting or standing outside under the sign of the hotel (in other words outside the general store run by Charles Phillimore & Co Ltd) do not appear to be Europeans.

Musicians are gathered at the near end of the hotel; there are at least four music stands, and possibly quite a few more. At least two brass instruments can be seen. There are at least 15 and perhaps as many as 20 in this group, perhaps not all of whom are actually playing an instrument.

The men appear to be identically dressed , wearing white trousers and white linen jacket which probably buttons up the front, uniform style. Two of the men are wearing white pith helmets. Was this the formal evening wear of those employed by the Perim Coal Company or are they from a ship in the harbour?

In the days before moving pictures, let alone television, informal events such as the smoking concert would have been a major event in the social calendar of a small community such as there was on Perim. It seems likely that far more people played a musical instrument than they do today. A cricket match followed by a smoking concert would have been well attended.

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Smoking concerts were live performances, usually of music, before an audience of men only; popular during the Victorian era. These social occasions were instrumental in introducing new musical forms to the public. At these functions men would smoke and speak of politics while listening to live music. These popular gatherings were sometimes held at hotels.