George Formby made a massive contribution to the allied forces, during WWII. As an entertainer, he would often perform under fire, or even during bombing raids. He entertained Russian troops, and was awarded the Order of Lenin, by Stalin himself. George will always be remembered. A nice bit of northern fun. Rest In Peace, George.
How very true. The songs or (videos) that were banned by the BBC in the 1980s practically guaranteed them going to No. 1. Look at George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" or the video to the Beastie Boys's "Fight for Your Right (to Party)".
That's true about some of his songs. On the other hand, most of them were perfectly proper, and suitable for any audience. His performance skills were superb, musically, comedically, and he was a pretty accomplished actor. He understood his audiences.
I grew up listening to George, loved every minute of him. He has given me good memories that i am really grateful for in these times of woe!! Cheers George and may your memory live on!!
George Formby is an amazing performer! It strikes me that anyone who never warmed to him never liked Music Halls,Benny Hill, Fish and Chips, mushy peas, or much of anything else that is quintessentially British. The people that banned him were so busy crawling around looking under other people's beds that they forgot how to have fun, and wanted to take fun away from the rest of the people as well! Bless George, Bless Benny, and all the other fine folks with the courage and the talent to get up on stage and give the world laughter!
No; some of his songs were banned under censorship laws. So he, as did a number of other performers, made second versions of those banned records, which were suitable for broadcast. Many recordings simply had words changed. This can sometimes be heard when two lines don't rhyme... but you can work out what the original words would have been. Much better than using a bleep. Other performer's music which was banned include 'Anything Goes' and 'June Is Busting Out All Over'. The latter was only banned because of the unintentional double entendre in the title. Lord Reith, who set up the British Broadcasting Company, as it was first called, believed in high moral standards, to his organisation adhered to those standards. Without that adherence, the BBC would likely have never existed. Unfortunately, broadcasting has become far more permissive over recent years, and that has had a noticeable deleterious effect upon the general public behaviour of audiences worldwide. What would have been carried out privately among certain groups of people has been thrust into public view and earshot, whether everybody likes it or not. Millions of people of all ages today do not wish to be entertained by such material. It's fine, in theory, to have equal rights and Political Correctness, but the two do not go together, and never have done so. Those large numbers of people who try to live a decent life with no intentional double entendre and no offensive language or behaviour are being effectively prejudiced against by portrayal of such things in the media. In many cases, their only acceptable choice is to refuse to watch or hear broadcasts which they find to be unacceptable. Sadly, things are often broadcast without warning, so they are forced to see or hear things which they would never choose to use for entertainment; things which are ordinarily no part of their lives. If a Jewish or Moslem person were forced to eat unclean meats, when there is plenty of other food around, would you think that the person doing the forcing was being reasonable with them? If you disliked touching a particular item and you were forced to carry that item, would you feel well respected by the person who forced you to carry it? If you hated a certain genre of music, and someone forced you to hear it randomly, day and night, would you think that the people who inflicted that unacceptable sound upon you was being fair and honourable? No, of course not; you would perceive those three cases as being unfair, disrespectful and detestable. The same reasoning applies to broadcasting standards. It's really nothing to do with mushy peas, fish and chips or being quintessentially British. It's about honouring the other person and trying to respect their beliefs, moral values, rights, culture, likes and dislikes. Even lord Reith liked being British, and may well have enjoyed fish and chips. But he also respected the values and rights of other people. Better to aim for a high standard than to try to cater for the lowest common denominator. Almost everyone can be entertained by aiming high, and almost nobody would be offended in any way. That important point has been largely forgotten by many modern entertainers and the media, whether online, broadcasted publicly or in physical formats.
I've always loved George Formby since I was a child, and being innocent, could never understand the fuss being made - conducting an orchestra with a stick of Blackpool rock instead of a baton I found hilarious. grubby minds will see grubby innuendos.
The lyrics were meant to be innuendos to those who understood, whilst sounding (and being) a bit of harmless fun.Nothing to do with being grubby minded at all.Christ! you must've led a sheltered life.
@@cyborgbadger1015 Interestingly, people got away with innuendo without censorship previously because of this precise argument, it is harmless fun vs. clearly there is more to it than that. I remember reading something to the effect that a woman said to W S Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) Sir, what an utterly filthy and shocking joke, I was appalled by the performance, and he replied something like, Madam, that was certainly not what I intended by it, but if you saw it and such an interpretation occurred to you, then that says more about your mind and morals than mine. And so such a situation, a public argument, where people had to acknowledge understanding a filthy joke in order to try to protest against it and seek cleaner, censored comedy, meant that people got away with a lot in comic operetta, music hall and so on by pretending it was just innocent and no one wanting to be seen to complain loudly (and of course still others enjoyed the innuendo while pretending not to understand). E.g. in Iolanthe, Gilbert wrote (what the character actually said): "When tempests wreck thy bark, And all is drear and dark, If thou shouldst need an Ark, I'll give thee one!"; (Woman hiding in the bushes): "What was that?"; (a Lord, also hiding and eavesdropping, replies): "I heard the minx remark, She'd meet him after dark, Inside St. James's Park, And give him one!" Some directors still try to sanitise this today by having the characters mime kissing at this point in the hope audiences don't think of the more obvious...
vjab1108 Back in the 1940's, people were prudish and easily offended. It was still a Victorian society in most ways but had already come a long way from the days when a woman would be considered indecent if she showed an ankle! It was a different country then.
One week ago you lodged that insult at me ... I don't normally engage with trolls, but I was somewhat puzzled by your motives and attempting to be civil, before I realised that you are, indeed, a troll. The one thing I can be certain of though, is that my mind is somewhat more developed than yours will ever live to be. Trolling is a psychological issue, often caused by deep-seated insecurities, typically arising from issues in early childhood. You will, of course, decline my suggestion to seek remedial therapy, though I am sure your enjoyment of life would significantly improve if you did. I am now deleting this thread from my system, so troll back if you wish, but you would be better off trolling to the wall.
George Formby - holder of the Order of Lenin, awarded for entertaining Russian troops, during World War Two. Not just a great entertainer, but also a very brave man.
My Dad, one of the first half dozen tv cameramen back in the 1930s tells a lovely story of the prudery of the Beeb. The microphones in those days were carbon granule type which would fail to work if they got wet. The announcers, often after a few G&Ts would splutter into the mikes causing problems so, the engineers would put a condom over the mike element to spittle proof it. The problem was that the Beeb wouldn't accept the cost for those on expenses so they had to be paid for out of the engineers pocket.
I apprenticed in Canada, my Journeyman was from London and moved to Canada in the 60's. He used to sing George Form by songs all the time. He had a great voice, and was hilarious when he was drinking. ( which all the time) lol. Good Times! 😉
There is a plaque on the wall of Central Park Way stating that George was born at Westminster Street. I didn’t know that area was Newtown. My brother thinks he lived somewhere else in Wigan but doesn’t know where.
There is no one bigger than Elvis,but before American TV banned him saying he was Satan's servant,and he was first this and that and so on,but our George was from the 40s the biggest movie star in Britain,and before Elvis was the first to be banned by the pompous BBC,God bless you George, the king of the being real, and with million pound smile🙌🙌🙌
I love George Formby but I'm also a huge fan of Elvis. He certainly was the first in many aspects, but there's no need to diminish his effect (which you certainly couldn't anyway) because you admire another. It's the BBC that should be the target here.
The BBC miss the total irony of their line "radio is for everyone" because the very act of censorship precludes those who would wish to listen, thus excluding them from the collective "everyone" and making their actual claim bogus. Given some of the total drivel put out by them these days, there are quite a lot of people who would be perfectly happy to listen to some harmless innuendo from the likes of George. In conclusion, the BBC is not for everyone and never has been and it sure as hell isn't for me anymore. I sold my TV in disgust and got a refund on my licence and have never looked back.
Yeah, so does that mean because some people want to hear "my coochie pink, my butthole brown" then anyone turning on the radio while they're cooking breakfast must risk their children saying "what does that mean, Mummy?"
I love the fact the Beeb only allowed him back on air after the King told Lord Reith that George was one of his wife's favourite acts!! George was like Max Miller, the comedian who said he never told a rude joke, he always stopped short and it was the listener who finished it! To the innocent, there was always an innocent answer (like George's little stick of Blackpool rock, a hard sweet confection....or was like it the Tower, a euphemism for the Male member? You decide, if you're innocent and know no different, the former, if you're an adult with humour, perhaps the latter!) Another dubious line was Mr Woo in the Chinese laundry, see how his eye flickers as he irons ladies' blouses, or the honeymooning couple spotted by the window cleaner, who exclaims he'd rather have the Groom's job than his own.....! Perfect seaside postcard humour, later immortalised in the Carry On films, naughty but nice!!
Considering recent disclosures of all the shenanigans regarding paedophilia etc etc.,that the BBC closed their eyes and ears to, this shows just how hypocritical and corrupt the Corporation was (and is).
majordendrocopos apart from the obvious RICK MAYALL JILL DANDO MIKE SMITH etc not going do the full list WHO DID THOSE 3 PEOPLE WORK FOR And where are they now? They are all connected to the BBC and they are all dead even though they were all in perfect health apart from the WORD KITTY ? ? 🤷♂️
He knew what he was doing. He played the part of a harmless idiot but it was all an act. His father had the same or similar act on the music hall stage.
My Nanny would bring us home Blackpool Roll each time she came come from England. There were lots of Ditties the English sang that were funny. My husbands Gran would sing a song about a chimney sweep that said something about ‘I haven’t been around since I don’t know when but I’ll be up your flue next week.”
George’s music was very clever.... and very funny. Listen carefully to Chinese Laundry Blues. Brilliant lyrics, who could be offended? At the time he was a massive star and rightly so. On top of this he was an amazing uke and banjolele (he played a cross between a uke and a banjo) player. Just listen to his solo passages! There was no one really at the time to touch him or even now today. Even more amazing is that he was largely illiterate, had very poor writing skills, could sign his name but that was about it. Famously managed but his wife Beryl who looked after all his business affairs till she died in the early 60’s. A very good upload, thanks,
It wasn't called "Aunty" for nothing. I think there was also a class thing . Guys like Formby were lower class and, therefore, automatically "vulgar". There was a whole working class humour based on double entendrse. Consider all the saucy seaside postcards that were in vogue in the 30's. One of Orwell's essays "The Art of Donald McGill" analyses them. Well worth a read.
Rasputin That’s how it was. In America in the 1940's a white man could kill a black man without fear of prosecution. Things are a bit better now but still not good.
Rasputin, I think you need to read up about his tour of South Africa. He and his wife Beryl toured South Africa shortly before formal racial apartheid was introduced. Basically, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into and didn't like it when they found out. While there they refused to play racially-segregated venues. When Formby 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) telephoned to complain; Beryl replied "Why don't you piss off, you horrible little man? Malan had the tour manager shot dead.
I watched some George Formby films on TV when I was a kid. I had no idea there was innuendo and double entendres . Lord Reith and his pals must have had very overactive imaginations. It's easy to forget how puritanical and self righteous people were. My Gran loved George Formby and also Benny Hill.
It's funny reading the comments, and a lot of folk use the word innocent, it wasn't innocent by any means, if you read between the lines and understood what he's talking about the songs are actually quite bawdy, but yeah done in an innocent kind of way, I guess that was the fun, the nudge and the wink, very British and of it's time. But what a lot of folk miss is what an amazing songwriter he is, and very talented player. 5-10 years ago there was a fad for the Ukulele and my daughter ending up with one, so I had I learned some of his songs, and was just blown away by the chords for When I'm Cleaning Windows, very clever and pretty unique, and listening to his playing style it's very polished.
He did a private show for the royal family and they asked him to sing the full version of when I'm cleaning windows with all the mucky bits left in they loved it very innocent humour compared with modern day stuff and boy could he play that uke
Actually, these days he's banned by the BBC for being a privileged, non-disabled, white, heterosexual, cis male who was socialised in the context of the violence of patriarchy.
River Huntingdon When he toured South Africa he refused to play to segregated audiences and when the National Party leader telephoned him to complain, George's wife Beryl told him to piss off.
I have seen several similar videos, articles etc. and have always reached the conclusion that there was something wrong with the people who decided these were "dirty" songs. To me they were, and are, just amusing songs.
Few people realise that George Formby was totally oppressed by his wife. She used to tell him what to wear, what to sing and how to behave. She kept most of his money, giving him just a small allowance to keep him from being entirely penniless.
Not totally oppressed: his mistress lived next doot to my mate's Granny. After the war Formby was slighty out of favour, so he went on a world tour. In South Africa - where he insisted on playing to mixed audiences - his wife was presented on stage with a bunch of lowers by a little black girl. Formby leant down and embraced the little girl, which the audience responded to enthusiastically. Next day D F Malan, one of the architects of arpartheid, rang to complain. George's wife took the call, and responded 'why don't you piss off, you horrible little man'. Couldn't have put it better myself.
Erm, wasn't this a BBC program? How do you presume to know about this subject without that very broadcaster having an educational bent? If you would rather not know about these things, go ahead and switch off. But don't stop me or anyone else
People might not realize the two songs With Me Little Ukulele In Me Hand, and My Ukulele, are two completely different songs. In 2 different keys and time signatures. This isn't the first time I've heard that the second song is a retitled version of the first one. I have all his songs on CDs. He is an absolute treasure to listen to. 💖🤓💖
WHAT ! George Formby....Riske ! Never thought about him that way. Not my parents, not my neighbours, not anybody that I've met. Could it be that the very people who want to ban it, have the filthy minds. What about 'The Maginot line'. Reputed to be a propaganda song & an uplift to the troops during the 'Phoney war'.
How Narrow Minded was the BBC and thank God that times have changed as I've heard his old Records and I Couldn't find anything wrong with them and I Wonder how the BBC in those days would React to some of the Songs nowadays
Lord Reith was far too far up his own arse at the BBC - setting a standard for all who followed - now everybody is up everybody else's arse. Not for nothing is it called the Bugger Boys Club. Formby had a glorious sense of humour that would offend no one. To take umbrage one had to be severely repressed, depressed and from the South... la meme chose, n'est pas? I know little of these things but I am told his technique on banjo was outstanding.
There used to be a BBC Radio 4 series called, 'Come, Listen To The Band'. They made one episode entitled, 'Come, Listen To The Banned', in which they played pieces of music which had formerly been banned by the BBC. Believe it or not, the Ted Heath Band hit, 'June Is Busting Out All Over' was forbidden because of the unintentional innuendo in the title. The movie and song, 'Anything Goes' was also forbidden from broadcast. They really did become far too restrictive in some ways. Unfortunately, the opposite is true nowadays, where anything goes, no matter how blatantly 'unconventional' or sordid it is. A clearly defined balance between the two extremes is needed, if the whole of society wants to avoid 'going down the pan' in the ways in which numerous historical empires deteriorated and then imploded.
George formby was a god back in the day .wonderful comic entertainment .and no one but but no will ever play bangolele like that ever again .the songs were tongue cheeks only adults understood the double entendres!as a child of the 1940s i loved him . Bbc are cretins !
Many people don't realise how influential George Formby was. Some of the songs he wrote were way ahead of their time such as Relax, which was covered by Frankie Goes to Hollywood nearly fifty years after its first release, while Pink Floyd took the riff to Money from a Formby song.
My late father went into a record store asking where the classical music was (Beethoven and Mozart) and the staff behind the counter said "All the George Formby records are over there" 🤣
Thanks Beeb for making it that much more fun! Nothing like banning something to jolly it up. Formby's father (Geo. Formby Sr.) was an absolute genius as well; completely unique. Thanks for posting this!
and to think of the trash tht comes out of BBC these days.. the poor entertainers then had to sifle thheir talent even though they werent being vulgar....those stiff upper lips at BBC really did them a great injustice...I remember frankie howerd taking a jibe at them in his shows
George Formby made a massive contribution to the allied forces, during WWII. As an entertainer, he would often perform under fire, or even during bombing raids. He entertained Russian troops, and was awarded the Order of Lenin, by Stalin himself. George will always be remembered. A nice bit of northern fun. Rest In Peace, George.
being banned by the bbc is almost a bagde of honour . well done george .
How very true. The songs or (videos) that were banned by the BBC in the 1980s practically guaranteed them going to No. 1. Look at George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" or the video to the Beastie Boys's "Fight for Your Right (to Party)".
David Harrison jeremy clarkson would be proud 🤣
Yes, almost a 'bagde' of honour. A 'badge' of honour.
.
What would the BBC make of a song I fancy recording , it's called 'Brexit at Tiffanys ' 😄
Formby's songs were like vocalised cheeky seaside postcards of the day.
Exactly.
Yes!
Great comment 👏👏👏👏👍🏴
That's true about some of his songs. On the other hand, most of them were perfectly proper, and suitable for any audience. His performance skills were superb, musically, comedically, and he was a pretty accomplished actor. He understood his audiences.
George Formby was too suggestive but Jimmy Saville had the full support of the BBC.
Wasn't just Seville there had been management as well as other so called celebrates. Can you imagine Saville and Glitter on the same shows
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@@justintime1307 they were! A lot!!
See there it is you can be a deviant pervert you just have to keep it secret then it's fine by BBC standards
Yes, the filthy swines. Right under the noses of the BBC. A total farce...
I grew up listening to George, loved every minute of him. He has given me good memories that i am really grateful for in these times of woe!! Cheers George and may your memory live on!!
And yet, one of the Queen Mothers favorite performers.
I am 59 and tonight is the first time i ever knew “My little stick of Blackpool Rock” was a naughty song 🤣.
He really meant his little willey!
What a star !!!...no special overdubs & and. special effects...George and his uke ...sheer BRILLIANCE !!!
What often gets overlooked is he was a fine player.
I loved George Formby it was all innocent fun compared to what is on T.V ,now
Agreed
Totally agree!
Seriously, so you think climbing a ladder to watch folk having sex is innocent fun, I'd call it a hefty fine and a couple of months in prison, lol.
Absolutely 👏👏👏👏👍🏴
He was a walking seaside postcard master of the double entendres.
Beatle George Harrison was a big fan of George Formby.
A national asset.
George Formby is an amazing performer! It strikes me that anyone who never warmed to him never liked Music Halls,Benny Hill, Fish and Chips, mushy peas, or much of anything else that is quintessentially British. The people that banned him were so busy crawling around looking under other people's beds that they forgot how to have fun, and wanted to take fun away from the rest of the people as well! Bless George, Bless Benny, and all the other fine folks with the courage and the talent to get up on stage and give the world laughter!
the bbc should try banning the filthy mouthed un funny so called comediums today
No; some of his songs were banned under censorship laws. So he, as did a number of other performers, made second versions of those banned records, which were suitable for broadcast. Many recordings simply had words changed. This can sometimes be heard when two lines don't rhyme... but you can work out what the original words would have been. Much better than using a bleep. Other performer's music which was banned include 'Anything Goes' and 'June Is Busting Out All Over'. The latter was only banned because of the unintentional double entendre in the title.
Lord Reith, who set up the British Broadcasting Company, as it was first called, believed in high moral standards, to his organisation adhered to those standards. Without that adherence, the BBC would likely have never existed.
Unfortunately, broadcasting has become far more permissive over recent years, and that has had a noticeable deleterious effect upon the general public behaviour of audiences worldwide. What would have been carried out privately among certain groups of people has been thrust into public view and earshot, whether everybody likes it or not. Millions of people of all ages today do not wish to be entertained by such material.
It's fine, in theory, to have equal rights and Political Correctness, but the two do not go together, and never have done so.
Those large numbers of people who try to live a decent life with no intentional double entendre and no offensive language or behaviour are being effectively prejudiced against by portrayal of such things in the media. In many cases, their only acceptable choice is to refuse to watch or hear broadcasts which they find to be unacceptable. Sadly, things are often broadcast without warning, so they are forced to see or hear things which they would never choose to use for entertainment; things which are ordinarily no part of their lives.
If a Jewish or Moslem person were forced to eat unclean meats, when there is plenty of other food around, would you think that the person doing the forcing was being reasonable with them? If you disliked touching a particular item and you were forced to carry that item, would you feel well respected by the person who forced you to carry it? If you hated a certain genre of music, and someone forced you to hear it randomly, day and night, would you think that the people who inflicted that unacceptable sound upon you was being fair and honourable? No, of course not; you would perceive those three cases as being unfair, disrespectful and detestable. The same reasoning applies to broadcasting standards.
It's really nothing to do with mushy peas, fish and chips or being quintessentially British. It's about honouring the other person and trying to respect their beliefs, moral values, rights, culture, likes and dislikes. Even lord Reith liked being British, and may well have enjoyed fish and chips. But he also respected the values and rights of other people. Better to aim for a high standard than to try to cater for the lowest common denominator. Almost everyone can be entertained by aiming high, and almost nobody would be offended in any way. That important point has been largely forgotten by many modern entertainers and the media, whether online, broadcasted publicly or in physical formats.
I've always loved George Formby since I was a child, and being innocent, could never understand the fuss being made - conducting an orchestra with a stick of Blackpool rock instead of a baton I found hilarious. grubby minds will see grubby innuendos.
The lyrics were meant to be innuendos to those who understood, whilst sounding (and being) a bit of harmless fun.Nothing to do with being grubby minded at all.Christ! you must've led a sheltered life.
@@cyborgbadger1015 Interestingly, people got away with innuendo without censorship previously because of this precise argument, it is harmless fun vs. clearly there is more to it than that. I remember reading something to the effect that a woman said to W S Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) Sir, what an utterly filthy and shocking joke, I was appalled by the performance, and he replied something like, Madam, that was certainly not what I intended by it, but if you saw it and such an interpretation occurred to you, then that says more about your mind and morals than mine. And so such a situation, a public argument, where people had to acknowledge understanding a filthy joke in order to try to protest against it and seek cleaner, censored comedy, meant that people got away with a lot in comic operetta, music hall and so on by pretending it was just innocent and no one wanting to be seen to complain loudly (and of course still others enjoyed the innuendo while pretending not to understand). E.g. in Iolanthe, Gilbert wrote (what the character actually said): "When tempests wreck thy bark, And all is drear and dark, If thou shouldst need an Ark, I'll give thee one!"; (Woman hiding in the bushes): "What was that?"; (a Lord, also hiding and eavesdropping, replies): "I heard the minx remark, She'd meet him after dark, Inside St. James's Park, And give him one!" Some directors still try to sanitise this today by having the characters mime kissing at this point in the hope audiences don't think of the more obvious...
Exactly….. to the pure - all things are pure!
@@cyborgbadger1015 cringe comment
@@LilyKittyCatto not if you actually understood it, which in your case, I seriously doubt. How old are you 12?
my first musical hero .....and I STILL love GEORGE...wonderful.
George Formby was well ahead of his time - I appreciate his songs and films and I'm American.
How could Anyone be OFFENDED by George Formby?
vjab1108 Back in the 1940's, people were prudish and easily offended. It was still a Victorian society in most ways but had already come a long way from the days when a woman would be considered indecent if she showed an ankle! It was a different country then.
Eric Furey I thought you called them tossers. Have you changed whatever you use for a mind?
One week ago you lodged that insult at me ... I don't normally engage with trolls, but I was somewhat puzzled by your motives and attempting to be civil, before I realised that you are, indeed, a troll. The one thing I can be certain of though, is that my mind is somewhat more developed than yours will ever live to be. Trolling is a psychological issue, often caused by deep-seated insecurities, typically arising from issues in early childhood. You will, of course, decline my suggestion to seek remedial therapy, though I am sure your enjoyment of life would significantly improve if you did. I am now deleting this thread from my system, so troll back if you wish, but you would be better off trolling to the wall.
Eric Furey Thank you Doctor.
@@ericfurey1669 Eric, the teenager trying to be clever and condescending.
I was kid during the George Formby days and I used to enjoy his films and on the Radio he was very popular during the war.
This man is really really talented I want to check out some more of his work
George Formby - holder of the Order of Lenin, awarded for entertaining Russian troops, during World War Two. Not just a great entertainer, but also a very brave man.
My Dad, one of the first half dozen tv cameramen back in the 1930s tells a lovely story of the prudery of the Beeb. The microphones in those days were carbon granule type which would fail to work if they got wet. The announcers, often after a few G&Ts would splutter into the mikes causing problems so, the engineers would put a condom over the mike element to spittle proof it. The problem was that the Beeb wouldn't accept the cost for those on expenses so they had to be paid for out of the engineers pocket.
Absolute Legend. R.I.P. George.x.
I loved watching his movies with my brother and grandma
I apprenticed in Canada, my Journeyman was from London and moved to Canada in the 60's. He used to sing George Form by songs all the time. He had a great voice, and was hilarious when he was drinking. ( which all the time) lol. Good Times! 😉
George Formby lived in Westminster Street, Newtown, Wigan ... next door to my auntie and across the road from my grandma. Happy days
There is a plaque on the wall of Central Park Way stating that George was born at Westminster Street. I didn’t know that area was Newtown. My brother thinks he lived somewhere else in Wigan but doesn’t know where.
Wow thanks! I lived on Ormskirk Road, Newtown years ago, and never knew George was born just round the corner!
His songs remind me of Chuck Berry's "My Ding-A-Ling".
"With my little ukelele in my hand." Utter filth: the horror, the horror! [Swoon]
Thank you for explaining all the jokes. I never got them before, me being incapable of recognising double entendre. Thank you BBC.
There is no one bigger than Elvis,but before American TV banned him saying he was Satan's servant,and he was first this and that and so on,but our George was from the 40s the biggest movie star in Britain,and before Elvis was the first to be banned by the pompous BBC,God bless you George, the king of the being real, and with million pound smile🙌🙌🙌
I love George Formby but I'm also a huge fan of Elvis. He certainly was the first in many aspects, but there's no need to diminish his effect (which you certainly couldn't anyway) because you admire another. It's the BBC that should be the target here.
+jane crossland that is one monumental sentence.
I never thought of "my little stick of Blackpool rock" as anything but just that, "Stick of Blackpool rock". 😂😂😂
me neither
Seaside postcard fun, you can't beat it
The BBC miss the total irony of their line "radio is for everyone" because the very act of censorship precludes those who would wish to listen, thus excluding them from the collective "everyone" and making their actual claim bogus. Given some of the total drivel put out by them these days, there are quite a lot of people who would be perfectly happy to listen to some harmless innuendo from the likes of George.
In conclusion, the BBC is not for everyone and never has been and it sure as hell isn't for me anymore. I sold my TV in disgust and got a refund on my licence and have never looked back.
So you don’t like the commercial channels either? Fair enough, but why single out the BBC in your criticism?
BBC.. were and still are.. vankers
Yeah, so does that mean because some people want to hear "my coochie pink, my butthole brown" then anyone turning on the radio while they're cooking breakfast must risk their children saying "what does that mean, Mummy?"
Those censors had dirty minds imagining all those naughty things from dear old George. Shame on them.
I love the fact the Beeb only allowed him back on air after the King told Lord Reith that George was one of his wife's favourite acts!! George was like Max Miller, the comedian who said he never told a rude joke, he always stopped short and it was the listener who finished it! To the innocent, there was always an innocent answer (like George's little stick of Blackpool rock, a hard sweet confection....or was like it the Tower, a euphemism for the Male member? You decide, if you're innocent and know no different, the former, if you're an adult with humour, perhaps the latter!) Another dubious line was Mr Woo in the Chinese laundry, see how his eye flickers as he irons ladies' blouses, or the honeymooning couple spotted by the window cleaner, who exclaims he'd rather have the Groom's job than his own.....! Perfect seaside postcard humour, later immortalised in the Carry On films, naughty but nice!!
George is a legend the songs are simply superb... Love him
Considering recent disclosures of all the shenanigans regarding paedophilia etc etc.,that the BBC closed their eyes and ears to, this shows just how hypocritical and corrupt the Corporation was (and is).
alan thomas In which ways are the BBC currently “hypocritical and corrupt”? I'd like to see a list.
majordendrocopos apart from the obvious RICK MAYALL JILL DANDO MIKE SMITH etc not going do the full list WHO DID THOSE 3 PEOPLE WORK FOR And where are they now? They are all connected to the BBC and they are all dead even though they were all in perfect health apart from the WORD KITTY ? ? 🤷♂️
But Saville and his cigar...
God bless you George - rip
Absolutely Fantabulous Jamming session with style and a Banjo 💯💯🏆🏆🙏🙏
"The kids all 'round me flock". Indeed, George. Indeed.
eeeeeeeeeee3 i song this manny of times in all diffrent ways .but this classic buy are george formby is pure gold .
Or he could have meant just a stick of rock
haha he could of but he didnt , the twinkle in his eye told you that
He knew what he was doing. He played the part of a harmless idiot but it was all an act. His father had the same or similar act on the music hall stage.
A stick of Blackpool rock is sweet in blackpool its very lovely wish the seaside there was nice tho
My Nanny would bring us home Blackpool Roll each time she came come from England. There were lots of Ditties the English sang that were funny. My husbands Gran would sing a song about a chimney sweep that said something about ‘I haven’t been around since I don’t know when but I’ll be up your flue next week.”
@@mimsicle1 😂
How could you not love George Formby he's part of my history ❤
George’s music was very clever.... and very funny. Listen carefully to Chinese Laundry Blues. Brilliant lyrics, who could be offended? At the time he was a massive star and rightly so. On top of this he was an amazing uke and banjolele (he played a cross between a uke and a banjo) player. Just listen to his solo passages! There was no one really at the time to touch him or even now today. Even more amazing is that he was largely illiterate, had very poor writing skills, could sign his name but that was about it. Famously managed but his wife Beryl who looked after all his business affairs till she died in the early 60’s. A very good upload, thanks,
She's Got Two Of Everything is a great song of his. Always makes me chuckle!
George Formby Never Gets Old!!! 😎👍
It wasn't called "Aunty" for nothing. I think there was also a class thing . Guys like Formby were lower class and, therefore, automatically "vulgar". There was a whole working class humour based on double entendrse. Consider all the saucy seaside postcards that were in vogue in the 30's. One of Orwell's essays "The Art of Donald McGill" analyses them. Well worth a read.
Max Harbig I think that humour itself is classless, but the class system was very powerful back in 1950's Britain. Less so now thankfully.
Rasputin That’s how it was. In America in the 1940's a white man could kill a black man without fear of prosecution. Things are a bit better now but still not good.
Aunty has become a Granny.
Rasputin, I think you need to read up about his tour of South Africa. He and his wife Beryl toured South Africa shortly before formal racial apartheid was introduced. Basically, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into and didn't like it when they found out. While there they refused to play racially-segregated venues. When Formby 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) telephoned to complain; Beryl replied "Why don't you piss off, you horrible little man? Malan had the tour manager shot dead.
♢
I watched some George Formby films on TV when I was a kid. I had no idea there was innuendo and double entendres . Lord Reith and his pals must have had very overactive imaginations. It's easy to forget how puritanical and self righteous people were. My Gran loved George Formby and also Benny Hill.
From George formby to jimmy saville , slippery slope !
It's funny reading the comments, and a lot of folk use the word innocent, it wasn't innocent by any means, if you read between the lines and understood what he's talking about the songs are actually quite bawdy, but yeah done in an innocent kind of way, I guess that was the fun, the nudge and the wink, very British and of it's time. But what a lot of folk miss is what an amazing songwriter he is, and very talented player. 5-10 years ago there was a fad for the Ukulele and my daughter ending up with one, so I had I learned some of his songs, and was just blown away by the chords for When I'm Cleaning Windows, very clever and pretty unique, and listening to his playing style it's very polished.
I am crying with laughter,grew up listening to this stuff and never heard of political correctness god bless you George formby stick it to the man.
He did a private show for the royal family and they asked him to sing the full version of when I'm cleaning windows with all the mucky bits left in they loved it very innocent humour compared with modern day stuff and boy could he play that uke
What a star even now
Better then the rubbish you hear today
George rocked! : )
One that did get past the censors was "I wonder who's under her balcony now", a very clever ditty about oral sex.
He was a great little man xx
I love the fact there was a ‘Dance Music Policy Committee’.
Actually, these days he's banned by the BBC for being a privileged, non-disabled, white, heterosexual, cis male who was socialised in the context of the violence of patriarchy.
River Huntingdon
When he toured South Africa he refused to play to segregated audiences and when the National Party leader telephoned him to complain, George's wife Beryl told him to piss off.
herringfly You are wrong. George Formby is not currently banned by the BBC.
I would also like to confirm for you that the BBC does not currently have a George Formby ban, the last one having lapsed in 1937
+herringfly Are you saying George had a low oppression score by today's standards?
Your obsessions just make you boring.
Nothing has changed today except the BBC is now full on 1984.
Then, before then, since then - BBCrap!!!
Try to be more subtle and sophisticated when you post a comment.
Love this man!! Super Class!!
Somebody had a very dirty mind at the BBC , I never made that connection as a child although I did wonder why he was not on the radio at the time .
All these experts, none of them old enough to remember George, how come they know so much about him, his music and his life.
I have seen several similar videos, articles etc. and have always reached the conclusion that there was something wrong with the people who decided these were "dirty" songs. To me they were, and are, just amusing songs.
it's all very innocent compared to the ''music'' of to-day
It had to start somewhere. The music of today wasn't written last night.
Loved his songs great
George Formby was a great entainer and he made Blackpool sadly missed today R.I.P George
Few people realise that George Formby was totally oppressed by his wife. She used to tell him what to wear, what to sing and how to behave. She kept most of his money, giving him just a small allowance to keep him from being entirely penniless.
Not totally oppressed: his mistress lived next doot to my mate's Granny. After the war Formby was slighty out of favour, so he went on a world tour. In South Africa - where he insisted on playing to mixed audiences - his wife was presented on stage with a bunch of lowers by a little black girl. Formby leant down and embraced the little girl, which the audience responded to enthusiastically. Next day D F Malan, one of the architects of arpartheid, rang to complain. George's wife took the call, and responded 'why don't you piss off, you horrible little man'. Couldn't have put it better myself.
Rockin Atheist
and rationed him in the bedroom
You just couldn't make it up. Time to stop funding the BBC now.
Lynda Slade You must really love TV adverts!
Lynda, I totally agree, £150 Tax, that is conned out of us, for these talentless, BBC buffoon's !!!
Erm, wasn't this a BBC program? How do you presume to know about this subject without that very broadcaster having an educational bent? If you would rather not know about these things, go ahead and switch off. But don't stop me or anyone else
Chimera XDX Of course not, what a nasty accusation.
Lynda Slade because of Geore Formby? He wasn't that bad!
People might not realize the two songs With Me Little Ukulele In Me Hand, and My Ukulele, are two completely different songs. In 2 different keys and time signatures. This isn't the first time I've heard that the second song is a retitled version of the first one. I have all his songs on CDs. He is an absolute treasure to listen to. 💖🤓💖
My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock aka My Ding A Ling, but George was more subtle
WHAT !
George Formby....Riske !
Never thought about him that way. Not my parents, not my neighbours, not anybody that I've met.
Could it be that the very people who want to ban it, have the filthy minds.
What about 'The Maginot line'. Reputed to be a propaganda song & an uplift to the troops during the 'Phoney war'.
Risque
George knew he would get publicity from these songs and especially after they banned his music, good on him for going against the grain!
How Narrow Minded was the BBC and thank God that times have changed as I've heard his old Records and I Couldn't find anything wrong with them and I Wonder how the BBC in those days would React to some of the Songs nowadays
my old man used to see him play,he said he was way more risky live,good ol' boy
Lord Reith was far too far up his own arse at the BBC - setting a standard for all who followed - now everybody is up everybody else's arse. Not for nothing is it called the Bugger Boys Club.
Formby had a glorious sense of humour that would offend no one. To take umbrage one had to be severely repressed, depressed and from the South... la meme chose, n'est pas? I know little of these things but I am told his technique on banjo was outstanding.
What a coarse and vulgar person you are - all those lavatorial comments. Hmmmmm...
Good old George
The BBC, & EE Enough said..
LOL George Formby RIP..
George formbie and Norman wisdom my favourites ❤
There used to be a BBC Radio 4 series called, 'Come, Listen To The Band'. They made one episode entitled, 'Come, Listen To The Banned', in which they played pieces of music which had formerly been banned by the BBC. Believe it or not, the Ted Heath Band hit, 'June Is Busting Out All Over' was forbidden because of the unintentional innuendo in the title. The movie and song, 'Anything Goes' was also forbidden from broadcast.
They really did become far too restrictive in some ways. Unfortunately, the opposite is true nowadays, where anything goes, no matter how blatantly 'unconventional' or sordid it is. A clearly defined balance between the two extremes is needed, if the whole of society wants to avoid 'going down the pan' in the ways in which numerous historical empires deteriorated and then imploded.
George formby was a god back in the day .wonderful comic entertainment .and no one but but no will ever play bangolele like that ever again .the songs were tongue cheeks only adults understood the double entendres!as a child of the 1940s i loved him .
Bbc are cretins !
It's all in the mind...........
he was a wonderful great human being . Thank you for uploading . please enjoy my film
Many people don't realise how influential George Formby was. Some of the songs he wrote were way ahead of their time such as Relax, which was covered by Frankie Goes to Hollywood nearly fifty years after its first release, while Pink Floyd took the riff to Money from a Formby song.
He was a Vaudevillian and a good one.
People seem to forget that Aunty was even forced to ban a song called "Radio Times" which was it's own listings magazine.
Just as well this body of censors can't hear or see what passes for amusement today! 😮
My late father went into a record store asking where the classical music was (Beethoven and Mozart) and the staff behind the counter said "All the George Formby records are over there" 🤣
Well not much moral high ground when savile was walking the corridors of the BBC
Savile only got away with it for as long as he did cause he had dirt on some powerful people
In George's day right up to the early 60's you couldn't say bloody or hell or God on the BBC now anything goes...
So it was OK for the BBC to broadcast 'My Ding-a-Ling' in the 1970s?
and walk on the wild side lou reed !
Good god. If the BBC thought Formby's "With My Little Stick Of Blackpool Rock" was rude, I hope they never heard "It Serves Me Right" ...
From then till today.
The BBC only banned the outspoken.
Sorry don't think u can call it dangerous I grew up on these songs still love to this day
Great talent, loved by millions, we can’t have that. BBC was a monopoly I guess and obviously knew what was best for the public.
Thanks Beeb for making it that much more fun! Nothing like banning something to jolly it up. Formby's father (Geo. Formby Sr.) was an absolute genius as well; completely unique. Thanks for posting this!
Great man.
Frankie also said when you want to come Well done George and your Blackpool rock
Prince ( 1988 ) Song “Rock hard in a Funky Place” The Black Album
george was banned, Saville was awarded. BBC at it's best.
and to think of the trash tht comes out of BBC these days.. the poor entertainers then had to sifle thheir talent even though they werent being vulgar....those stiff upper lips at BBC really did them a great injustice...I remember frankie howerd taking a jibe at them in his shows