James Cosgrove (d. 26 August 1943)[1] was an English humourist and concert hall singer whose career spanned the 19th and 20th centuries.
He is credited with making the first recording of the "Blaydon Races" in 1908 and in doing so brought the song back from obscurity to become one of the main Tyneside anthems, although using a slightly different melody.
James Cosgrove performed on stage all over the country and continued to do so until the 1940s.
He was one of the greats, and left a legacy of Geordie humour and dialect.
Several of these survived and two of these songs are available on the CD "Various Artists - Wor Nanny's A Mazer: Early Recordings Of Artists From The North East 1904-1933" (on Phonograph, PHCD2K1) The full list of tracks on this CD are as follows :