George Formby

By David Bret

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1861052391
• ISBN13: 9781861052391
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Robson Books Ltd
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fitting Tribute to An Entertainment Legend

England's Famed Clown Prince of Song The War and Postwar Years Ultimate Collection Leaning on a Lamp Post Don't ask me why, but I've always liked the music and movies of George Formby, ever since I saw 'Let George Do It' on TV many years ago. The man who was born George Hoy Booth peddled a simple art; reciting comic songs with (for the time) risque lyrics, such as 'The Window Cleaner,' My Ukulele, 'Auntie Maggie's Remedy' and hundreds more, accompanying himself on the ukulele (actually, it was a variant called the banjulele.) He also appeared in 19 films of variety theate style comedy, limited plots and sometimes glaringly obvious continuity errors. Yet I defy you to find a better player of the 'uke' - an instrument when played by 'Our George' to such perfection, found world-wide appeal. And the movies remain among the funniest of their era. Formby was also an extremely patriotic man and with his wife Beryl was among the first group of entertainers to perform for the British Expeditionary Forces in Belgium and France during the early days of World War Two, ultimately appearing in just about every theatre of war, and often against the advice of the powers that be from a personal safety perspective. For this work he was awarded the OBE in 1946. After the war he conquered Russia, Australia, Canada and Sweden. Only a weak constitution and illness exacerbated by heavy smoking cut short his triumphs. At his funeral cortege in March 1961, over 150,000 people lined the streets - still the biggest ever crowd to turn out for such an event. I can't recount his entire life in these few words and I should encourage you to read the book. David Bret has done an outstanding job to produce a biography which is extremely readable, entertaining and often poignant. I've also suggested a sample of his music available on CD. See more of my writing at http://whateverhappenedtoyouknowwho.googlepages.com