For the Benefit of Pablo Fanque, the Greatest Victorian Showman

Britain's first Black circus proprietor wowed London crowds, and inspired The Beatles.

“The Hendersons will all be there, late of Pablo Fanque’s Fair. What a scene!” So sings John Lennon on one of the more eccentric songs from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Pablo Fanque’s name’s been heard by millions, if not billions of people since the record was released in 1967. But how many realise the Fanque was a real person; that he was ca…