proved the hollowness of the old saying that an artiste is never appreciated in his own town. He has gone a long way towards packing the house at every performance at the Hippodrome'. Following his father's death, Fred's career continued to improve, and he toured widely, including visits to Australia and South Africa. His other successful songs included "Give Me the Moonlight" (1917) and "On Mother Kelly's Doorstep". Private life Barnes was openly gay. In an interview with The Era in 1914 he stated that he had no vacant dates for the next three years and held contracts for the next ten. This was when his personal problems, namely spending and drinking too much, began. He attributed these to dealing with both the death of his father and his newfound success and popularity. The large sums of money he was earning and which he inherited led him to begin spending extravagantly – a habit he found hard to break when he was no longer earning any money. But it was drinking which was to ruin Barnes' career. He missed performances, went on stage incapable of singing or dancing and generally put less and less care into his performances. This led to his being moved to a less and less desirable position on the bill until he was finally back at first turn. Managers grew wary of him and soon his outstanding contracts were paid off and he was without work altogether. He experienced extremes of success and failure, and as a young gay man escaped to London from his father and his father's lifestyle. Scandal and controversies In 1924, Barnes was sentenced to a month in jail for driving in Hyde Park while drunk and in a dangerous manner and without a licence. Following the arrest, he was deemed a "menace to His Majesty's fighting forces" (because of the topless sailor who had been travelling with him at the time of the accident), and was banned from attending the Royal Tournament, an annual military tattoo. Despite this he returned each year and successfully evaded discovery. Later life and death By the mid 1930s, Barnes was suffering from tuberculosis. His failing health led him and his lover and manager John Senior to move to Southend-on-Sea. By this time any work consisted of playing the piano in pubs while Senior collected tips. Barnes's rent was paid for by Charles Ashmead Watson, while