Peter Dawson

Peter Dawson, the Australian bass baritone who became the most widely recorded singer in history, is remembered today by some as the voice of British imperialism, of Kipling's Boots' and The Road to Mandalay'; and by others as the man who made Waltzing Matilda' the anthem it is today. In his record-breaking career from 1904 to 1958 he made nearly 2000 recordings, from cylinders to LPs, in a more diverse repertoire than any other artist in history. But his recording career with HMV and EMI was only a tenth of his career as a touring concert artist and entertainer to metropolitan centres and outposts of the British empire. In this, Dawson's first and definitive biography, the basso Russell Smith and sound archivist Peter Burgis, have revealed a tough-minded, dedicated artist who was also a bon viveur and practical joker whose personality, as much as his voice, contributed to his universal popularity.