Do Brits remember George Formby?

Subject: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:33 PM

I'm researching the role of the ukulele in the 20th century. Most Americans are only vaguely aware of the popularity of the uke in the 1920s. Most have no knowledge of Roy Smeck or Cliff Edwards a.k.a Ukulele Ike (unless they know he supplied Jiminy Cricket's voice singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" in 1940)

In comparison, how well do Brits today remember George Formby? He ssemed to be very popular all the way up to his death in 1961. Is he like someone the averge Brit today would know something about or has he slid into obscurity?

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Will Fly
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:38 PM

We had a performer of Formby songs at a folk club last night - everyone knew the words!

I remember meeting him as a small boy, and I have all his records. I think he's very much alive in the memories of my generation and before. Even kids who probably don't know him directly have some knowledge of "Leaning on a lamp" and "My little stock of Blackpool rock", etc.

George Harrison was a keen uke player and an active member of the George Formby Society!

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Smokey.
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:39 PM

This one certainly remembers him - some of the first music I ever heard was 78s of George. He didn't play ukelele though, it was a banjolele. I'd say in general he's well remembered over here.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Bernard
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:39 PM

Nope, he's still a well-loved household name... the ukulele and George Formby belong in the same breath!

There are even societies which meet and play his stuff, often with a film for them to play along with.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Rumncoke
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:39 PM

certainly older people would remember him.

There was a series on TV called 'Goodnight Sweetheart' about someone able to move between the present and wartime England, and George Formby was one of the characters he met in the past.

He does occasionally crop up in person in various old films which are still screened on TV.

Anne Croucher

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,PeterC
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:41 PM

Depends of the generation I think. Most British people of the age that post here would know of him. I don't know about younger people.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Bernard
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:42 PM

George Harrison was not only a keen uke player, he actually owned most of GF's ukes!

I actually got to play some of them at an exhibition in Warrington (Cheshire, UK) Museum - I was setting up a sound system when the collection arrived!

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:46 PM

I've read that 100,000 people attended his funeral so I figure he was far more beloved than Smeck or Edwards who both died uneventfully--Smeck in 1994 and Edwards in 1971.

The Brits seem to have more of an appreciating for the great musical figures of the past. After all, they still have the Eddie Cochran Society and America has never bothered to honor him at all. I'm sure they mourned Gene Vincent way more than America who didn't seem to notice his passing.

I do "When I'm Cleaning Windows" at open mics and when I say George Formby there's no reaction at all. Clearly, Americans have no idea who he is. I normally never introduce a song before I play but I try with "When You Wish Upon a Star" because I want people to know why I learned it on the uke--because Cliff Edwards was Ukulele Ike who was extremely popular in the 20s so it's my way of honoring him but I've stopped doing it because I can see nobody cares.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Will Fly
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:51 PM

Cliff Edwards, I believe, had the first hit version of "Singin' in the rain" - try the audience with that one...

He died bankrupt after a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse. He had a great talent - he also recorded songs which were considered slightly risqué at the time - a little like George Formby.

My two favourite Formby songs are "In a little Wigan garden" and "The Lancashire Toreador".

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Smokey.
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:54 PM

Statue in Wigan.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 05:58 PM

Edwards also did some of the earliest, if not the earliest, recorded scat singing (1922). Americans have forgotten him. Smeck was a fantastic musician and could play a uke like nobody's business but never became legendary like Django but then even Django couldn't make Rolling Stones Top 100 Guitarists list. America is a cultural wasteland.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Will Fly
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:10 PM

Josepp - do you do anything by Johnny Marvin - "The Ukulele Ace"? Another forgotten hero.

Roy Smeck did a superb version of the 1932 hit "Lullaby of the leaves", which I do with my Dobro playing buddy Andy.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:19 PM

Unsheath a banjo in a pub in England and chances are you will be asked to play "that tune you know with the blokes in the canoe, it goes da da da" or "When I'm Cleaning Windows".

It's a reminds me of those long suffering musicians in Preservation Hall in New Orleans but they had the right idea a notice which read "Requests:$1, When the Saints Go Marching In:$5"

Hoot

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:19 PM

No, I don't do any Johnny Marvin. I'm a newcomer to the uke and am assembling a repertoire. Is there anything by him on Youtube?

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:24 PM

"When I'm Cleaning Windows" is unknown in America. I figure it's a good song to hopefully get people interested in Formby. At least if somebody asks them if they ever heard of George Formby, they can reply, "Didn't he do that window-cleaning song?" and therefore not look so damned, bloody stupid.

As for trad jazz, I'd ask for "Down Home Rag" or "Bedelia." But then I've played and recorded a lot of that stuff for years.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Will Fly
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 06:25 PM

Johnny Marvin YouTube playlist

There you go!

Here's a link to info on George Formby's father - George Formby Senior - also a wonderful Music Hall (Vaudeville) artist:

George Formby Senior

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 07:00 PM

I saw the weird motorcycle he bought for his wife in a Preston antique shop a couple of years back... A lot of the location shots in Bell Bottom George were done in Fleetwood, not far from his home 'Beryldene' (the house is still there, but has a different name).

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Ann N
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 07:21 PM

A link to the George Formby Society   :)

We used to sit down as a family to watch his old black and white films on TV :) Dad used to do George Formby impresssions to make us laugh :-D

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Tootler
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 07:22 PM

They used to show his films at school (I was at a boarding school).

I don't remember much about the films themselves but I do clearly remember his songs and his distinctive style of ukulele playing.

I've recently started to play the ukulele and have bought a couple of tutor books and both include George Formby in their list of major players of the ukulele.

Keep playing the George Formby songs, Josepp.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: terrier
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 08:15 PM

George Formby, prior to his musical career, was a racing jockey, a fact that my old Gran never missed a chance to tell me as a younster. Maybe that's why some of his films were based around stable yards and racetracks.
It struck me as coincidental that an old thread has been ressurected on Mudcat, regarding Percy French, who died at Formby, in Lancashire. That was of course the town that George (Hoy Booth) took as his stage name.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: olddude
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 08:19 PM

No I am not a Brit but I remember Homer Formby the refinishing guy. He would repair furniture on TV and refinish it like glass

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 09:19 PM

////It's a reminds me of those long suffering musicians in Preservation Hall in New Orleans but they had the right idea a notice which read "Requests:$1, When the Saints Go Marching In:$5"////

That reminds me of that scene in the old "Wayne's World" movie when he goes into the music store and picks up a guitar and starts playing "Stairway to Heaven" and one of the clerks rushes over and yells, "Hey, can't you read!!!??" And he points to a sign on the wall that says, "NO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN!!!!"

I've always loved that. Every guitarist I know loves that scene.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 17 Sep 11 - 09:31 PM

Eddie Cochran plays the uke from his only album "Singin' to My Baby" released in 1957:

Lovin' Time

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,josepp
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 12:43 AM

I also learned this one on the uke by Ray Noble & his orchestra with Al Bowlly on vocal. HMV label 1934. Used as the closing theme for Kubrick's "The Shining":

Midnight, the Stars and You

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Gurney
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 12:50 AM

I was listening to some of his records now available on CD. You couldn't sing some of his songs today without being buttonholed by some earnest person and told that they were stereotypical and racist, especially the 'Mr. Woo' songs.
I should think.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Allan Conn
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 02:19 AM

"You couldn't sing some of his songs today without being buttonholed by some earnest person and told that they were stereotypical and racist, especially the 'Mr. Woo' songs."

That actually happened at our club a few years back and hit the national headlines. We have one member who only does George Formby songs. In truth the complainers (who were neighbours of the performer) only actually complained about the songs after they had fallen out with him on a personal level.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article3858634.ece

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Will Fly
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 03:36 AM

Terrier - I believe it was John Booth, i.e. George Formby Senior, who did the surname change from Booth to Formby. When he died comparatively young from TB, his son Hoy Booth took over the act to earn money for the family. If you look at photos of the older and younger Formbys, you'll see the style. As for the music, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the later George Senior and the young George Junior! It was only when Beryl came along that GF became the entertainer we know now. :-)

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 03:51 AM

buttonholed by some earnest person

Too right right as well. I've heard a Neo-George Formby type performer do an update which not only perpetuates the racist stereotyping but introduces an element of homophobia on 'Mr Woo Runs a Gar Bar Bay Now (the chorus of which runs oh Mr Woo; ooh, get you...). That people are still singing Mr Woo is worrying; that they see fit to subject it to such a reactionary and quite rancid perversion is even more worrying; that people laugh at it is more worrying still. Forgive me, I'm just one of these old-fashioned types who feel that ethnicity or sexuality isn't a matter for ridicule on any sort of level.

Here's a clicky to the above link which really is a hoot, full of typical reactionary outrage from people who find this sort of thing an infringment of their human rights to perpetuate sugar-coated hate crime. The only thing it lacks is some earnest folkie saying it's political correctness gone mad - or maybe it did, just there's only so much of this sort of thing one can stomach first thing on a Sunday morning:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article3858634.ece

Otherwise George Formby songs consist of good clean (mostly) smut & knob gags, very thinly disguised by way of a pretty irritating sort of moral cuteness. Even as a kid I found this irksome. Are people so hung-up about sex that they find this sort of euphemistic tomfoolery funny? But then again I'll quite happily sing Butter and Cheese and All - so maybe this is deep rooted in the English psycho-sexual collective subconscious?? I saw a classic clip of the George Formby Society at one of their Blackpool Conventions (is Blackpool still the Formby mecca? Saw his Uke on exhibition there recently) - about 100 of them in a theatre strumming their along to film-stock of their hero - of which there is no shortage...

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Darowyn
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 04:06 AM

George Formby is still well remembered in TT Racing circles. (That's a motorcycle race around the Isle of Man, if you are outside the UK)
His film, 'No Limit' is still shown every year in TT week, and a regular competitor in a strange little motorcycle competition called 'The Northwich Thundersprint' turns up every year on a replica of the Shuttleworth Snap, George's home built racer. He rides dressed as George's character from the film, to the accompaniment of "Riding in the TT Races" on the PA.
Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 04:43 AM

I've always thought that George Formby was irritating and weird with a peculiar and rather unsavoury 'sense of humour'.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 05:42 AM

I love George Formby. He is THE best. My Dad used to cut his hair before the war and he used to tip my Dad a shilling, when Dad's wages was only seven bob a week. (Dad started out as the lather boy at Myett's hairdressers opposite the Music Hall in St Helens.

The character he played in his films - the naive , but lucky idiot is a treasured part of Lancashire folklore. Treasured and honoured by the Lancashire Dialect society.

No one has equalled his ability to accompany and do astonishing solos on the banjo uke - or his way with a comic song. Despite being the highest paid filmstar in England - he risked his life to entertain troops in the front line during the war.

Just what do you want from a human being.... maybe its you with the problem, pal...! Racist my ass. And for my money he plays those chord changes with more grace than any of the ragtime guitarists. Check it out - Cleaning windows is more or less the same chords as Blind Blake's Too Tight Rag.

Perhaps his cardinal sin is that he sings in his uncouth Northern working class accent instead of being a southerner pretendinng to be an 18th sailor.

Butter and Chees and All - the cheese melts - very funny. The people who laugh at that, are the kind of exhibitionists who laugh loudly at the jokes in Shakespeare to show that they're clever enough to have understood the verbose twit. Its not funny, hardly bears repetition. Bout time, someone said it.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Mo the caller
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 05:56 AM

The thing about George Formby is that they are so much 'of their time'. Does that excuse them?

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:06 AM

should read 18th century sailor

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Mo the caller
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:14 AM

?

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:32 AM

Oh How She Could Play the Ukelele

Lovely!

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:36 AM

Al ~~ Re B&C&A; well, ideas of humour vary. I agree with Ewan's comment that it was a situation ~ the lover hidden up the chimney betrayed by misfortunate chance ~ worthy of Boccaccio: but then I must admit that I don't find Boccaccio that funny either, & think B&C&A much funnier. Not a masterpiece of subtle wit, just an agreeable roister, without any of Bocc.'s irritating up-the-sleeve 'tee-hee-hee'-ery about it. Quite a chaste song, in fact; all he is doing is eating the master's food, not screwing his wife ~ or his cook, for that matter.

A song I love to sing, anyhow. Perhaps I just like the choon!

Best

~M~

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:39 AM

My aunt plays ukelele in a George Formby ensemble, and is the only woman in the group - she was on tv once!

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:44 AM

I know Mike - many of my friends sing that song. Just got on my nerves someone calling GF a racist.

After all Mr Wu just lost his heart to a Chinese girl and thus distracted messed up the laundry. What the hell's racist about that?

You want to square up to a racist - try one of those bullet headed bastards in whatever the National front is calling itself this year.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: melodeonboy
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:50 AM

This one does! I've even sung his songs. (My favourite's Mr. Wu!)

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Max Johnson
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 06:57 AM

Of course he's dated now in many ways, but in his day he was a great star. Like Gracie Fields, he was making unsophisticated films for an unsophisticated audience. His films made during the war were intended to be morale-building, and they were. I remember my dad telling me that he saw one of his films in a jungle clearing in Burma. When they showed 'Brief Encounter' in a few towns in the North before it was released, to see how it might be received, half of the audiences walked out and the other half fell about laughing. They preferred George.
The first film I saw at 'Saturday Morning Pictures' was 'It's In The Air'. The Beehive in Bradford had a free jukebox when I was a regular there a few years ago, and one of the most popular plays was 'Leaning On The Lampost'. That in a pub where the most popular play was probably Gillian Welsh's 'Elvis Presley Blues'.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: alanabit
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 07:57 AM

As a member of Mudcat's youth wing, I can confirm that I was a big fan back in the early sixties. I became aware of him from those Saturday Morning Matinee films when we were living up in Barrow in Furness at the time (while my Dad was training for the first commission of HMS Dreadnought). Of course, George Formby died around that time - in 1962, if I recall rightly. Looking at clips of him on YouTube, I am still impressed by his liveliness and his delivery of cheeky songs. There were some good writers supplying material to him too - isn't "Leaning on a Lamp Post" a Noel Gay song? He was a seemingly unaffected man, who just knew, "I had something people seemed to like" and got on with it. At the end of the day, it is that natural empathy which marks out the greatest entertainers more than any amount of skill.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 08:22 AM

Here's an interesting piece of trivia.
Back in the late 30s, George Formby was the biggest entertainer in the UK, and Bing Crosby was the biggest in the US.
Why is that interesting? Because Crosby and Formby are the names of two towns, a few miles apart, on the Lancashire coast, just north of Liverpool, UK.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 08:29 AM

What's a Brit?

:D tG

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: GUEST,Dave Hunt
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 08:58 AM

For superb use of the uke - take a look at the stuff on Youtube by The Ukelele Orchestra of Gt.Britain - wonderful!

Here's one for a starter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIv8hP-UIA

And this from Shrewsbury Folk Festival - I was at this gig (I've just retired after many years as Director of the Childrens Festival at SFF) it was superb - and the audience LOVED them - and we've been asked many times when they will be back!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEJpDohjd70&feature=related

Dave (aka Dr Sunshine - www.sunshinearts.co.uk)

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: MikeL2
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 10:44 AM

hi

I am another old enough to remember George.

Latterly in his life he lived just down the road from me; near the Mere Golf & Country Club.

Alan he may have tipped your father well but around here his wife had a reputation as being "mean".

She was his manager for much of his performing life and it was said that she inspired him and encouraged him to entertain. She was a clog-dancing champion and I believe ( according to my father) that Beryl had a great act with her sister before she met George.

As to whether he plated the ukele or the "banjolele" or the "ukelebanjo, maybe he played all three?? He used to have a number of different instruments on stage when he performed.

Certainly George is still well remembered and revered here in his native North West of England.

Cheers

Mike

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Smokey.
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 11:31 AM

In answer to suggestions of racism:

"In 1946 Beryl and George toured South Africa shortly before formal racial apartheid was introduced, where they refused to play racially-segregated venues. According to Formby's biographer, when George was cheered by a black audience after embracing a small black girl who had presented his wife with a box of chocolates, National Party leader Daniel François Malan (who later introduced apartheid) phoned to complain; Beryl replied 'Why don't you piss off you horrible little man?'." (Wiki)

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Peter C
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 12:00 PM

People have publically doubted his ability to play bajo-ukulele, but I remember him on live TV doing a song, a string breaking, him picking up another instrument, (which would have been tuned in a different key)and carrying on without losing a beat!

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 12:40 PM

As an older statesider, I'm aware of and enjoyed some of his songs, and films. His continuing popularity is attested to by the availability of most of his recordings and films.
There is one LOST film from 1915 where he plays a jockey.
There are rumours that he appeared in a 1931 film version of HOBSON'S CHOICE, also lost.
From 1934 to 1946 he appeared regularly in films - all but one is available on DVD. The missing title is "FEATHER YOUR NEST" 1937 - is available on unofficial DVD-R's.
He did a TV Farewell performance in December 1960. This is available on DVD, as well as newsreel clips, and a documentary, including a Blackpool George Formby Society meeting.
Does anyone know why FEATHER YOUR NEST has never been available on
an authorized video (neither VHS nor DVD) ???
Best wishes, Thomas.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: alanabit
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 01:41 PM

Thanks for giving that story Smokey. I had come across it before but had forgotten it.

Subject: RE: Do Brits remember George Formby?
From: Bernard
Date: 18 Sep 11 - 01:56 PM

George was a very clever ukulele player, quite difficult to mimic - the reason why he had his doubters was because there were rumours that he couldn't tune the uke himself, so he had a few on stage with him.

In reality he was such a pro that he was already doing then what a lot of well-respected guitarsists and other string players do nowadays as standard practice - a few instruments in standard or other tunings to save re-tuning in front of the audience, thereby maintaining a slick performance.