Ernest George Pike (1871 – 4 March 1936) was an English tenor of the early 20th century. After studying at the Guildhall School of Music in London, he worked as a bank clerk and sang as a church tenor before making his first recording "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes" for the Gramophone & Typewriter Company in 1904. He became the house tenor for HMV and made several hundred records in a career that spanned over twenty years. Pike has been called "England's most recorded tenor", and his "silver voice" became a favourite in thousands of homes – remaining so until well into the 1920s. For a time his popularity was as great as that of the singer Peter Dawson. His repertoire was varied and included grand opera, light opera, oratorio, and ballads and popular songs of the Edwardian era, the First World War and the 1920s. He toured the British Isles giving concerts and was a favourite of royalty. He recorded under a number of pseudonyms – most commonly Herbert Payne. Early career Ernest Pike was born in Pimlico, London, England in 1871 the son of Richard Pike, a builder. As a young tenor he sang in several choirs. In 1887 at the age of 16 and using the pseudonym Herbert Payne, he toured with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's "B" Company playing one of the ghosts of the ancestors in Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore. He went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music in London for two years before continuing his musical studies privately. After completing his studies in the early 1890s, Pike worked as a clerk for a bank in Victoria, London; he became a shorthand writing expert and taught his skill to other employees. Sometime during the 1890s he was appointed principal tenor at Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, London – a post that he still held in 1903. He also sang at The Spanish Church (St. James), Spanish Place, Marylebone, London. The church singing was done in his free time while he worked at the bank during the day. His profession was still that of a commercial clerk when he married May Stevens in 1900. They had a daughter Maud who was born in 1901. He soon began to receive invitations to sing at the London Ballad Concerts which were held at the Queen's Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London. He also