Mother Goose

The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes often published as (Old) Mother Goose's Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one nursery rhyme. A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom. The so-called "Mother Goose" rhymes and stories have formed the basis for many classic British pantomimes. Mother Goose is generally depicted in literature and book illustration as an elderly country woman in a tall hat and shawl, a costume identical to the peasant costume worn in Wales in the early 20th century, but is sometimes depicted as a goose (usually wearing a bonnet).

Identity

Mother Goose is the name given to an archetypal country woman. She is credited with the Mother Goose stories and rhymes popularized in the 1700s in English-language literature, although no specific writer has ever been identified with such a name.

17th century English readers would have been familiar with Mother Hubbard, a stock figure when Edmund Spenser published his satire Mother Hubberd's Tale in 1590; as well as with similar fairy tales told by "Mother Bunch" (the pseudonym of Madame d'Aulnoy) in the 1690s. An early mention appears in an aside in a French versified chronicle of weekly happenings, Jean Loret's La Muse Historique, collected in 1650. His remark, comme un conte de la Mère Oye ("like a Mother Goose story") shows that the term was readily understood. Additional 17th century Mother Goose/Mere l'Oye references appear in French literature in the 1620s and 1630s.

Mother Goose (band)

Mother Goose was a 1970s New Zealand band formed in Dunedin, in 1975.

Only eighteen months after forming, Mother Goose had smashed attendance records for gigs in every city in Australia and New Zealand (many of these house records still stand today). Stuffed, their debut album became Mushroom Records fastest selling album, and "Baked Beans" was a hit single across Australia; and their self-directed film clip for "Baked Beans" was so popular it was played on television stations between prime time programmes (in addition to dominating every Aussie TV rock show).

History

In late 1975, six Dunedin musicians wanted to play rock music, but came up with a name they considered low-brow, Mother Goose, and one of their trademarks was dressing in ludicrous attire.

Moving across the Tasman Sea

After a successful concert in Albert Park, Auckland, Mother Goose decided to move to Australia and started playing at Cloudland in Brisbane and at the Playroom on the Gold Coast, Queensland in late 1976. Their promoter, Ivan Dayman, contacted top Australian manager, Garry Spry, who flew up from Melbourne to see them and agreed to become their manager. He showcased the band at his Babes nightclub, and Mushroom Records offered them a recording contract, and their debut album, Stuffed, was released in 1977.

Mother Goose (Finnish band)

Mother Goose is an alternative rock band from Porvoo and Helsinki, Finland.

History

Mother Goose started playing alternative rock in 1989. They have recorded albums for a number of labels, such as Blast First and Seriously Groovy in the UK and Verdura Records, If Society and Lamplite Ltd. in Finland.

Members

Discography

External links

Official website