 The saloon was a room where for an admission fee or a greater price at the bar , singing , dancing , drama or comedy was performed . The most famous London saloon of the early days was the Grecian Saloon , established in 1825 , at The Eagle ( a former tea @-@ garden ) , 2 Shepherdess Walk , off the City Road in east London . According to John Hollingshead , proprietor of the Gaiety Theatre , London ( originally the Strand Music Hall ) , this establishment was " the father and mother , the dry and wet nurse of the Music Hall " . Later known as the Grecian Theatre , it was here that Marie Lloyd made her début at the age of 14 in 1884 . It is still famous because of an English nursery rhyme , with the somewhat mysterious lyrics : 
