| 1925 [aged
20-21] |
| One of the most important
things that happened to Formby was his marriage to Beryl Ingham with whom
he performed and worked for decades. Around this time, they took on a
manager, Thomas Connery (of Newcastle) who signed them to a review for
5-years. |
| Another transforming event
for Formby happened while playing the Alhambra Theatre in Barnsley. There
he bought (for £2.10s) a fellow performer's ukulele and, taking up a bet
from other performers, played the instrument that was to become his signature
the first evening (to great applause). He continued performing a combination
of songs and comedic sketches, including a "park bench" routine together
with Beryl. |
| Through the 1920s, he remained
a stage star largely in the north of England (Liverpool, Manchester, and
Newcastle), but not in the south. The London entertainment scene resisted
the idea that anything of value could come from the north, unless it was
made of steel or iron. Formby would change that. |
| |
| 1926
[aged 21-22] |
| 11 June. Formby records
"I Parted My Hair in the Middle" ( David/Murphy), "I Was
Always a Willing Young Lad" (Hargreaves/Dammerell), "John Willie
Come On" ( George Formby, Sr.), "John Willie’s Jazz Band"
(Hargreaves/Dammerell), "Rolling around Piccadilly" (Hargreaves/Dammerell),
and "The Man Was a Stranger to Me" (Connor) for Edison Bell/Winner. |
| |
| 1929
[aged 24-25] |
| 20 October. Formby
records "All Going Back" and "In the Congo" for Dominion. |
| |
| 1932
[aged 27-28] |
| June. Formby successfully
auditions with Decca Studios located on Thames Street) for a film role.
He had been trying to break into the film business, but his previous film
contracts (with Edison Bell Winner and with Dominion) had been unsuccessful.
Around this time, John Blakeley approaches him about making a movie. |
| 1 July. Formby records
"Chinese Blues" and "Do De O Do" for Decca. |
| 13 October. Formby
records "I Told My Baby with My Ukulele" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe),
"If You Don’t Want the Goods Don’t Maul ‘Em"
(Cottrell), and "The Old Kitchen Kettle" (Woods/Campbell/Connelly)
for Decca. |
| 18 October. Formby
records "John Willie at the Licence Office (Part 1)" and "John
Willie at the Licence Office (Part 2)" (Cottrell) for Decca. |
| 9 November. Formby
records "I Could Make a Good Living at That" (Cottrell/Lawton)
and "Let’s All Go to Reno" (Cottrell) for Decca. |
| |
| 1933 [aged 28-29] |
| 29 January. Formby
records "Levi’s Monkey Mike" (Cottrell/Rick), "Running
Round the Fountains" (Cottrell), "Sitting on the Ice in the
Ice Rink" (Cottrell), and "Why Don’t Women Like Me"
(Cottrell/Bennett/Formby) for Decca. |
| 7 July. Formby records
"As the Hours and the Days and the Weeks and the Months and the Years
Roll By" (Gifford/Cliffe) and "With My Little Ukulele in My
Hand" (Cottrell) for Decca. [Decca withdraws the latter.] |
| 27 August. Formby records
"She’s Never Been Seen Since Then" (Cottrell), "Sunbathing
in the Park" (Gifford/Cliffe/Kendall), and "Swimmin’ with
the Wimmin" (Cottrell) for Decca. |
| 12 November. Formby
records "Baby" (Cottrell), "I Went All Hot and Cold"
(Cottrell, arr. Formby), "My Ukulele" (Cottrell, arr. Formby),
and "The Wedding of Mr Wu" (Cottrell) for Decca. |
| |
| 1934 [aged 29-30] |
| 21 March. Formby records
"Believe It or Not" (Gifford/Cliffe) and "In a Little Wigan
Garden" (Gifford/Cliffe) for Decca. |
| 22 April. Formby records
"You Can't Keep a Growing Lad Down" (Gifford/Cliffe) and "It's
No Use Looking at Me" (Cottrell/Gifford/Cliffe) for Decca. |
| Blakeley and the Formbys make
their first film using a script written by George and Beryl with Arthur
Mertz, production assistance from Beryl, £3000, and a studio above the
Albany car garage (off Regent Street). |
| 30 July. Boots!
Boots! released featuring Formby as a hotel worker in a number of
comedic skits and Beryl in a dance number. They earn enough money to make
a second movie. |
| 13 September. Formby
re-records "John Willie's Jazz Band" (Hargreaves/Dammerell)
and records "There's Nothing Proud about Me" (Gifford/Cliffe)
for Decca. |
| 11 October. Formby
records "The Best of Schemes" (Gifford/Cliffe) and Madam Moscovitch
(Gifford/Cliffe) for Decca. |
| 11 November. Formby
records "John Willie Goes Carolling (Pts 1 & 2)" (Gifford/Cliffe)
for Decca. |
| |
| 1935 [aged 30-31] |
| 29 May. Formby records
"Fanlight Fanny" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "The Fiddler
Kept on Fiddling" (Gifford/Cliffe), "Share and Share Alike"
(Cliffe), and "I Do Do Things I Do" (Gibson/Long) for Decca. |
| 1 July. Off the
Dole (written and directed by Mertz) was even more successful than Boots (and featured the tune, "Little Ukukele"). George Formby
Cavalcade, a third Blakeley film, was basically Formby's music hall
act. |
| Formby begins series of films
with Associated Talking Pictures (A.T.P.) in Ealing and Basil Dean. . |
| 28 November. Formby
records "The Pleasure Cruise" [Version 1] (Gifford/Cliffe),
"The Isle of Man" (Gifford/Cliffe), "The Wash House at
the Back" (Gifford/Cliffe), and "Riding in the T.T. Races"
(Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| |
| 1936 [aged
31-32] |
| 25 February. Formby
records "Gallant Dick Turpin (Parts 1 & 2)" (Gifford/Cliffe),
"A Farmer's Boy" (Gifford/Cliffe), and "Radio Bungalow
Town" (Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 23 March. No Limit released. |
| 8 May. Formby records
"George Formby Medley (Parts 1 & 2)" for Regal Zonophone. |
| 19 July. Formby records
"Ring Your Little Bell" (Wallace) and "Quickfire Medley"
for Regal Zonophone. |
| 27 September. Formby
records "When I'm Cleaning Windows" [Version 1] (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Sitting
on the Sands All Night" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Keep Your Seats Please" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "Five and Twenty Year" (Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 29 October. Formby
records "Dare Devil Dick" (Gifford/Cliffe), "Bunkum's Travelling
Show" (Gifford/Cliffe), "I'm a Froggie" (Hargreaves/Damerell),
and "The Ghost" (Hargreaves/Damerell) for Regal Zonophone. |
| The Song That Made a Star:
George Formby Cavalcade. Mancunian Films. |
| Unlike most other film stars
of the thirties, George Formby often appears in his films as clearly working
class. Tuxedos and three-piece suits were not his film style. His characters
never put people down, and he is often the object of bullying (followed
by providential retribution). Between 1936 and 1945 he was one of the
biggest earners in British cinema. |
| |
| 1937 [aged
32-33] |
| 24 January. Formby
records "Oh Dear Mother" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "You're
a Liaty" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "When We Feather Our Nest"
(Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock"
(Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 14 February. Formby
records "Hindoo Man" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Trailing
Around in a Trailor" ( Gifford/Cliffe), "Said the Little Brown
Hen" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "My Little Goat and Me" (Gifford/Cliffe), and the "Trailer for the film Keep Your Seats
Please" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 15 March. Keep Your
Seats Please (featuring "When I'm Cleaning Windows"). Produced by
Basil Dean. |
| 21 March. Formby records
"The Lancashire Toreador" (Gifford/Cliffe), "My Plus Fours"
(Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Easy Going Chap" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe),
and "The Window Cleaner (No.2)" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for
Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 July. Formby records
"Somebody's Wedding Day" (Formby/Cliffe), "I Don't Like"
(Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Keep Fit" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe),
and "Biceps, Muscle and Brawn" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal
Zonophone. |
| 19 July. Feather
Your Nest: (featuring "Leaning on a Lamp Post"). Produced by Basil
Dean. |
| 5 September. Formby
records "Leaning On a Lampost" (Gay), "Hi-Tiddley-Hi-Ti
Island" (Stanley/Alleyn), and the "Trailer for the film Keep
Fit" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 28 November. Formby
records "You Can't Stop Me from Dreaming" (Friend/Franklyn),
"She Can't Say No" (Bryan/Meyer), and "Remember Me"
[Formby, intro & uke and Tommy Farr, vocals] (Dubin/Warren) for Regal
Zonophone. |
| |
| 1938 [aged
33-34] |
| 6 February. Formby
records "Does Your Dreambook Tell You That" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe)
and "Like The Big Pots Do" (Long) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 18 February. Keep
Fit (featuring "
Keep Fit") .
Produced by Basil Dean. |
| 4 March. Formby records
"I Blew a Little Blast on My Whistle" (Formby), "Wunga
Bunga Boo" (Stanley/Alleyn), "Have You Ever Heard This One?"
(Gilbert/Sullivan), and "Springtime's Here Again" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| 3 April. Formby records
"Noughts and Crosses" (Hunter/Parr-Davies), "The Joo Jah
Tree" (Box/Cox/Butler), "Mother What'll I Do Now" (Formby/Cliffe),
and "In My Little Snapshot Album" (Harper/Haines/Parr-Davies)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 July. I See Ice (featuring " In My Little Snapshot Album"). Produced by Basil
Dean. |
| 17 July. Formby records
"Our Sergeant Major" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "They Can't
Fool Me" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "It's in the Air" ( Parr-Davies),
and "Sitting Pretty with My Fingers Crossed" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| 22 October. Formby
records "Tan-Tan-Tivvy-Tally-Ho" (LeClerq), "I Wonder Who's
Under Her Balcony Now" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Kiss Your Mansy
Pansy" (), and "Rhythm in the Alphabet" (Lisbona/Steller)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 December. Formby
records "Frigid Air Fanny" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) and "My
Little Wooden Toolshed in the Garden" (Steeles/Stevens/Wilmott) for
Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 July. I See Ice |
| |
| 1939 [aged
34-35] |
| 27 February. It's
In The Air (featuring "Our Sergeant Major"). Produced by
Basil Dean. |
| 2 April. Formby records
"Hill Billy Willie" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "It's Turned
Out Nice Again" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "I Can Tell It by My
Horoscope" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "Hitting the High Spots
Now" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 18 June. Formby records
"Swing It George (Parts 1 & 2)" (variou), "I'm the
Husband of the Wife of Mr. Wu" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "It's
a Grand and Healthy Life" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 27 June. Formby records
"Goodnight Little Fellow, Goodnight" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe),
"Pardon Me" (Formby/Frame/Allan.Nicholson), "I'm Making
Headway Now" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "I Couldn't Let the
Stable Down" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 24 July. Trouble
Brewing (featuring "I Can Tell It by My Horoscope"). Produced
by Jack Kitchin. |
| 20 August. Formby records
"Dan the Dairy Man" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "The Blue
Eyed Blonde Next Door" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Low Down Lazy
Turk" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "Lancashire Hot Pot Swingers"
(Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 12 October. Formby
records "Swinging Along, Singing A Song" (Formby) and "A
Lad from Lancashire" (Formby/Godfrey) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 17 December. "A
Lancashire Romeo" (Formby/Godfrey), "Imagine Me in the Maginot
Line" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Grandad's Flannelette Nightshirt"
(Formby/Godfrey), and "Mr. Wu's a Window Cleaner Now" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| |
| 1940 [aged
35-6] |
| 1 January. Come
On George (about horses, GF does his own stunts). Produced by Jack
Kitchin. |
| 31 May. Formby records
"Count Your Blessings and Smile" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Oh,
Don't the Wind Blow Cold" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "You've Got
Something There" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and "I Always Get
to Bed by Half-Past-Nine" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 4 August. Formby records
"On the Wigan Boat Express" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Down
the Old Coal Hole" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "I'm the Ukulele
Man" (MacDougal), and "On the Beat" (MacDougal) for Regal
Zonophone. |
| 10 November. Formby
records "Letting The New Year In" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), "Bless
'Em All" [Version 1] (Hughes/Lake/Godfrey), "Guarding the Home
of the Home Guard" (Formby/Latta), and "I Wish I Was Back on
the Farm" (MacDougal) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 November. Let
George Do It (featuring "Mr Wu's A Window Cleaner Now").
Produced by Michael Balcon. |
| 5 December. Spare
a Copper released by Ealing/ATP. Produced by Michael Balcon. |
| Like his father, Formby begins
to develop his own catch phrases such as "Never touched me" and "Turned
out nice again, hasn't it." |
| |
| 1941 [aged
36-37] |
| 2 February. Formby
records "Formby Favourites For The Forces (Parts 1 & 2)"
for Regal Zonophone. |
| 21 February. Formby
records "Thanks Mr. Roosevelt" (Connor) and "Bless 'Em
All" [Version 2] (Hughes/Lake/Godfrey) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 8 April. Formby records
"It Might Have Been A Great Deal Worse" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe),
"You'd Be Far Better Off in a Home" (Hughes/Lake/Godfrey), "I
Did What I Could with My Gas Mask" (Javaloyes/Box/Cox/Osborne), and
"Delivering the Morning Milk" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal
Zonophone. |
| 28 July. Formby records
"The Emperor of Lancashire" (MacDougal), "You Can't Go
Wrong in These" (MacDougal), "Auntie Maggies Remedy" (Formby/Latta),
and "You're Everything to Me" (MacDougal) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 4 August. Turned
Out Nice Again released by Ealing/United Artists. Produced by Michael
Balcon. |
| 24 August. Formby records
"I'd Do It with a Smile" (MacDougal), "The Left Hand Side
of Egypt" (Bennett/Gay), "Who Are You A-Shoving Of?" (Gay),
and "The Barmaid at the Rose and Crown" (Arthurs/Formby) for
Regal Zonophone. |
| 5 October. Formby records
"I Played on My Spanish Guitar" (Lyons), "Swing Mama"
(MacDougal), and "George Formby's Crazy Record (Parts 1 & 2)"
(various) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 29 December. South
American George (for Columbia). Produced by Marcel Varnel & Ben
Henry. |
| |
| 1942 [aged
37-38] |
| 12 March. Formby records
"Katy Did, Katy Didn't" (Loesser/Carmichael), "Smile All
the Time" (Formby/Coady), and "Out in the Middle East"
(Godfrey) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 31 May. Formby records
"Andy The Handy Man" (), "They Laughed When I Started to
Play" (), "Talking to the Moon about You" (), and "Got
to Get Your Photo in the Press" () for Regal Zonophone. |
| 7 June. Formby records
"Mr. Wu's an Air Raid Warden Now" (Latta) and "Sally the
Salvage Queen" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 24 August. Formby records
"Thirty Thirsty Sailors" (Elton/Box/Cox) and "Hold Your
Hats On" (Miller/Addinsell) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 October. Formby
records "Cookhouse Serenade" (Twomey/Goodhart), "You Can't
Love Two Girls at the Same Time" (Formby/Godfrey), "Under the
Blasted Oak" (Formby/Cliffe), and "(When the Lads of the Village)
Get Cracking" (Formby/Latta) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 12 October. Much
to Shy released by Columbia. Produced by Marcel Varney & Ben Henry.
Formby appears with character actors Jimmy Clitheroe, Charles Hawtrey,
and Kathleen Harrison. |
| 17 December. Formby
records "When the Waterworks Caught Fire" (), "The Baby
Show" (), "Homeguard Blues" (), and "Oh, You Have
No Idea" () for Regal Zonophone. |
| |
| 1943 [aged 38-39] |
| 7 February. Formby
records "Spotting on the Top of Blackpool Tower" (Formby/Latta)
and "Sentimental Lou" (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 3 May. Get
Cracking released by Columbia. Produced by Marcel Varnel &
Ben Henry. |
| 14 July. Formby records
"British Isles Medley" (various), "American Medley"
(various), "On the HMS Cowheel" (Formby/Cliffe), and "Bunty's
Such a Big Girl Now" (Formby/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 7 November. Formby
records "It Serves You Right" (Elton/Box/Cox), "If I Had
a Girl Like You" (Parke/Parr-Davies), "Swim Little Fish"
(Parke/Parr-Davies), and "Bell Bottom George" (Parke/Parr-Davies)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| |
| 1944 [aged 39-40] |
| 10 January. Bell-Bottom
George released by Columbia. Produced by Marcel Varnel & Ben Henry. |
| 14 May. Formby records
"The 'V' Sign Song" (Sievier) and "The Old Cane Bottom
Chair" (Formby/Cliffe) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 11 November. Formby
records "Our Fanny's Gone All Yankee" (Van Dusen), "Unconditional
Surrender" (Cunningham/Towers), "Blackpool Prom" (Sievier),
and "Mr. Wu's in the Air Force" (Formby/Latta) for Regal Zonophone. |
| |
| 1945 [aged 40-41] |
| 8 January. He Snoops
to Conquer released by Columbia. Produced by Marcel Varnel & Ben
Henry. |
| 10 June. Formby records
"The Daring Young Man" (), "I'd Like a Dream Like That"
(), "She's Got Two of Everything" (), and "Up in the Air
and Down in the Dumps" () for Regal Zonophone. |
| 23 July. I
Didn't Do It released by Columbia. Produced by Marcel Varnel
& Ben Henry. |
| |
| 1946 [aged 41-42] |
| 23 March. Formby records
"You Don't Need a Licence for That" (Formby/Cliffe), "The
Mad March Hare" (Formby/Cliffe), "It Could Be" (Cunningham/Towers),
and "We've Been a Long Time Gone" (Formby/Cliffe) for Regal
Zonophone. |
| 16 April. Formby makes
a live recording of "(When the Lads of the Village) Get Cracking"
(Formby/Latta) for Regal Zonophone. |
| 17 June. George
in Civvy Street released by Columbia. Produced by Marcel Varnel
& Ben Henry. Formby's last film is a failure. |
| The British government awards
him the OBE for entertaining troops and Stalin gives him the "Order of
Lenin" (for being the funniest man on screen). However, like other public
figures of the second world war, this marks the end of his film career.
(Compare what happened to Churchill.) He spent the remainder of his life
in stage productions but in ill health. |
| |
| 1950 [aged 45-46] |
| 21 January. Formby
records "Auntie Maggie's Remedy" [Version 2] (Formby/Latta),
"Leaning on a Lampost" [Version 2] (Gay), "When
I'm Cleaning Windows" [Version 2] (Formby/Gifford/Cliffe), and
"Come Hither with Your Zither" (Miller/Noel/Donnelly) for Decca. |
| |
| 1951 [aged 46-47] |
| 5 November. Formby
records "I'm Saving Up for Sally" (Posford/Maschwitz), "The
Pleasure Cruise" [Version 2] (Gifford/Cliffe), "Ordinary People"
(Posford/Maschwitz), and "Zip Goes a Million" (Posford/Maschwitz)
for Regal Zonophone. |
| |
| 1960 [aged 55-56] |
| 11 May. Formby records
"Happy Go Lucky Me" (Evans/Byron) and "Banjo Boy"
(Niessen/Kay) for Pye. |
| |
| 1961 [aged 56-57] |
| 6 March. Formby dies while attempting to resurrect his career. Thousands turn out for
his funeral. |
| Also see the website for the George Formby Society. |
| |
