Worton David Ltd.

Worton David Ltd. was the company which published one of Lowry's songs 'Three Little Dog-gone Mice' that he co-wrote with Ronald Hill. Worton David Ltd was based at 6 New Compton Street, London.

H. Worton David was born in 1873 and died 1940. He was one of the few financially successful songwriters, astute enough to create his own music publishing company, H. Worton David wrote such classics as Wilkie Bard’s I Want To Sing In Opera (with Bert Lee, 1910); Clarice Mayne’s Nursie Nursie (with Bert Lee, 1911); Ella Retford’s They’re All Single At The Seaside (with C.W. Murphy, 1911); Florrie Forde’s Hello, Hello, Who’s Your Lady Friend? (with Harry Fragson and Bert Lee, 1913); and her Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy (with C.W. Murphy, 1914). He also wrote Are We Downhearted? No! (with Lawrence Wright, 1914); Heart Of A Rose (with Lawrence Wright as “Horatio Nicholls”, 1918); That Old Fashioned Mother Of Mine (with Lawrence Wright as “Horatio Nicholls”, 1919); Playthings (with Lawrence Wright as “Horatio Nicholls”, 1918); and A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds (with R.B. Saxe, 1926).

David teamed up with Fred Godfrey for a large number of songs, mostly in 1914 and 1915, often in partnership with fellow writer/publisher Lawrence Wright, and again in the mid-1920s. Their biggest hit undoubtedly was It Takes An Irish Heart To Sing An Irish Song (1914), which Florrie Forde sang with great success. Read more here

He maybe the model for Bolowski, the music publisher in Lowry's novel Under The Volcano whose office is in Old Compton Street in the novel.