George Formby - his life, career, films and recordings

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The life and times of George Formby and his ukulele

Welcome to this website, which celebrates the life and career of the great ukulele-playing entertainer and film star, George Formby. Much of the material on this website is being released for the first time, coming from previously unpublished primary sources: interviews with Formby’s colleagues, plus five hours of recorded interviews with Eliza Formby – Formby’s mother, and widow of the great music hall star George Formby Senior – which were made between 1962-67 and have never before been made public.

WHAT’S ON THE SITE

George in gymnastic pose from the poster of his 1938 film, 'Keep Fit'

For those wanting to read George’s life story, there is a short biography, divided into sections. Please take the time to read the story of his father’s life too, there is much new information about him on this site, most significantly his bigamy, which seems to have been kept quiet for 112 years, until reading between the lines of various documents led to a fascinating story. There is less newsworthy, but equally interesting information relating to old George Senior – his reunion with his mother, and a harrowing account of his final days in February 1921.

Formby Senior’s act was, by all accounts, subtle and delicate, with a sad beauty and dark shading entirely lacking in his son’s work – there, all is poster colours and bright lights, saucy words and knowing winks. But they are perhaps two sides of the same Lancashire coin, giants as artists, and perhaps even greater as men, both showing superhuman endurance and courage in their often difficult lives.

There is the the definitive chronological list of George Formby’s recorded works, and the individual film sections will be expanded to include contemporary reviews and photographs.

For those interested, there is a short section on the background to the project, which also gives details of the main sources used.

There are also a significant amount of original news cuttings, trade reviews, recording session details, interviews and photographs which will be posted on the site over the coming months, again, much of which has never before been released. Much of this material was part of the collected archive of Decca record producer and George Formby aficionado Kevin Daly. His almost fifty-year-old tapes, found buried in cardboard boxes have been newly transferred and remastered; hundreds of photographs have been scanned, a ton of typed-up and hand-written (and often scribbled) notes have been deciphered, and on these sources the text of this website has been based. It is an attempt – in a multi-media way – to tell the life stories of the two great George Formbys, father and son, based as far as possible on these primary sources.

Many, many thanks to airbrush legend Philip Castle who painted the wonderful header image especially for the site.

GENERAL INFORMATION

It is interesting, when quoting sums of money from the past, to have an idea what they equate to now; this is a difficult task, and no method is fool-proof. After various words of advice, We have chosen to use the Retail Price Index, which gives a conservative estimate. It shows for instance that at the end of his life, Formby Senior was earning the equivalent of £14,000 per week, and Formby Junior’s Columbia film contract was worth, in today’s money, £18m.

All material on this site is under copyright unless otherwise stated. If you wish to quote from the text, or use it as a reference, please make sure you credit us (georgeformby.org), and email us to inform us where it’s being used. If you wish to reproduce any photographs, again, please contact us.

It is very satisfying to see this material – much of it the result of Kevin Daly’s many years of dedication to the Formby cause – making its way slowly into the world. He had a generous spirit, and would have been thrilled to see his work made freely available on the Internet – something he never lived to experience himself. With that in mind, we hope it is received in a similar spirit of good will.

Comments

  1. hi,wonder if anyone can help. who is ‘old moor’ that george mentions in the song ‘letting the new year in’ ? also a ‘steve’ is mentioned in another lyric from the same song. cheers and thanks, dennie

    • Dear Dennie, When George Formby sings about *Old Moore* he is referring to the publication *Old Moore’s Almanac, which is a book of prophesies and which is still going today.

      Every good wish, and congratulations on finding the most authoritative website on George Formby in existence. Sincerely. Gerry George.

  2. There is so much information on here. Really fascinating. Thank you for sharing it with us.

  3. A great deal of information about a great singer and actor. Did George ever tour Australia? I feel I remember him visiting our hospital at Goulburn.

    • Yes, George Formby did tour Australia and New Zealand. I am co-author of a book to be published in 2015: “George Formby’s Lost Love”.

  4. I;ve been a g//f fan since going to the Isle of Man T.T. in 1998.This site & info on U tube is fantastic.Would like to know what the book'”Troubled Genius”; is like????? Kind regards Wayne.

    • Hi Wayne, I am currently writing about George Formby for my dissertation, and am using Troubled Genius. It is a really great book that reveals a lot about Formby that people may not know. It is a little hard to come by, I suggest searching for it on bookfinder.com, thats how i found mine. Good luck :)

        • Hi Caroline,
          It will be finished by the end of May, I am more than happy to share it once it’s finished!

  6. Just to let you know that my new book, “Ukulele Heroes” is published in July by Hal Leonard Books in both the USA ad in Britain. Michael–you were a great help in providing us with pictures of George and fact-checking my Formby chapter. I want to send you a copy but have no street address for you. Please let me know it–at ianwhitcomb1@aol.com. You might also enjoy our promo film–it’s on YouTube under “Ukulele Heroes”.
    Best, Ian Whitcomb

    • Did your research reveal who the “other boy” was in the Glenray Brothers? It seems to be a mystery.

      Thanks,

      Margaret

      • Hi Margaret, I’ve been in touch with the author of the recent Formby biography, Sue Smart; there are several versions of the Brothers Glenray story, and one version has the young James meeting one Barney Parsons, ‘and acted as the feed in his act’ as the book says. Together they became known initially as The Songbirds of the Music Halls, and were managed by a Mr. Brown. Whether this is the true version of events will probably never be known. At least you have a name, and there is some chance it is the ‘other boy’. Hope that helps.

        Best regards,

        Michael

  7. Absolutely love this site and have been telling folk about it!

    Neil here from Wigan – uke player and George Fan, also co-runner of the “George Formby Film Club” (our first showing is “No Limit” on thursday in Wigan!

    Again – great site, loads of info. and very well put together!

    Regards!

    Neil.

    • Thanks for your kind comments Neil, and for spreading the word. Much appreciated.

      Michael

  8. I am still trying to find out who the other half of The Brothers Glenray was. Any help would be appreciated.
    Margaret

  9. Hi Michael
    I knew your dad in the 1960’s and we became close friends in the GFS. The society owes Kevin an awful lot and I treasure my memories of him. I Amos pleased that you are continuing his love for George Formby. He would be proud of you. Congratulations on your web site and if I can be of any help then please let me know.
    John Walley
    Founder and Honorary member GFS

    • Thanks for your kind words, John, they are much appreciated. Likewise, I am more than happy to share any material I have with you and the GFS.

  10. hi reg i still think of you when i go to kevins , hope you are keeping well ? i am still in gloucester. it would be nice to meet you again . regards alan

    • Hi Alan Thanks for your reply, nice to hear from you. Like you, always thinking of the times we had together,You and Kevin coming along to my home and going to the theatre to see Alan Randall who sadly is not with us any longer. Alan, kindly forward me details of your phone number via my Email address which is: footydad@live.co.uk then we can talk and arrange a meeting. I’m now going to reply to Kevin and ask the same.
      Take Care Alan. Kindest Regards. Reg Thacker.