George Leybourne (in real life Joe Sanders), an English music hall performer and one of the ‘Lions Comiques’, parodied the leisured classes. He appeared as a dandy with fashionable clothes and the corresponding paraphernalia.

His most famous character is ‘Champagne Charlie’ which premiered in 1867. »He entered in top hat and tails, dressed as a swell in immaculate evening dress, with gloves, cane, and scarf, waving a bottle of vintage Moet & Chandon.«[1] Charles Morton, the manager of the Canterbury Theatre, employed Leybourne and encouraged him to extravagant behaviour such as drinking nothing but champagne when in public, and driving a carriage drawn by four white horses.

The “Champagne Charlie” tune goes like this:

“The way I gained my title’s by a hobby which I’ve got
Of never letting others pay, however long the shot;
Whoever drinks at my expense is treated all the same;
Whoever calls himself my friend, I make him drink champagne.
Some epicures like Burgundy, Hock, Claret, and Moselle,
But Moet’s vintage only satisfies this champagne swell.
What matter if I go to bed and head is muddled thick,
A bottle in the morning sets me right then very quick.
Champagne Charlie is my name;
Champagne Charlie is my name.
Who’s the man with the heart so young,
Who’s the man with the ginger tongue?
Champagne Charlie is his name!”

Leybourne also wore a coat with the largest fur collar in London. ‘Champagne Charlie’ is said to have been his alter ego. »He decorated his face with monocle and whiskers, and exhorted his hearers to be with the boys “who make a noise from now till day is dawning.” At night he took his own advice. Yet he, like the rest, spent money as freely on charity as on the champagne he drank out of pewter pots.«[2] Some sources say that Leybourne was even commissioned by the Champagne maker Moet to extoll the luxurious drink’s exquisiteness. Quite a handy way for a dandy to retain his lifestyle.