"Lovely Bubbly"

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Written by G. Leybourne, composer Alfred Lee.

Champagne Charlie was one of George Leybourne's most famous character songs, and an early example of 'product placement' advertising. Leybourne sang it brandishing a bottle of Moet & Chandon and lived up to the part both on and off the stage.

By subsidising his performance, Moet & Chandon secured publicity and a place in the history books as an early (circa 1868) commercial sponsor.

He dressed in the height of fashion and drove to engagements in a brougham with coachmen and four white horses.

The chorus tune of Champagne Charlie was later adopted by the Salvation Army following their motto: "Why should the devil have all the best tunes?"

And I read from the news that......

"The cost of a bottle of champagne is likely to fall as low as £10-£12 in the next few weeks as a result of the recession.

Sales of champagne, for which Britain is the largest export market, fell by 45 per cent in the first six months of this year, the Times reports.

In Britain they dropped by 16 per cent as consumers opted for cheaper sparkling wines such as Cava and Prosecco. However, the low prices won't last long. France has taken measures to reduce next year's grape production to half its current level and shore up prices.

Always the same.....when there's a shortage - put the price up!......when there's an excess - cut the production to keep the price up! This is happening now with all sorts of things from food to petrol....up.....up....UP!

It also looks as if the consumption of Champagne went up at the recent Conswervative conference, judging by the number of empties!

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Over the four days of the conference guests at the hotel got through 650 bottles of champagne and 3,000 bottles of wine. An insider said bar takings exceeded the hotel’s target of £160,000."

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