George Formby...

This year, English clown prince and uke virtuoso George Formby was inducted in to the Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Formby's career, I offer up this partial biography, excerpted from the website of the George Formby Society:

"The show business career of George Formby spanned exactly FORTY YEARS, beginning in 1921 until his death in 1961. During that period he appeared in 21 hit films, cut over 230 records, made hundreds of stage performances, appeared in two Royal Command Performances and entertained an estimated THREE MILLION Allied Servicemen and women during World War II throughout Europe and the Middle East. Although he never performed in the U.S.A. he did make personal appearances and was quite popular in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.


By 1939, George Formby was the most popular and highest paid entertainer in the British Isles and was estimated to be earning over £100,000 a year. The secret of his success was a unique combination of personality, natural ability and talent coupled with the driving force of his wife, Beryl as his Manager. With his natural human warmth and friendliness, George could hold a live audience in the palm of his hand as he sang and played the ukulele in his own inimitable style. He seemed to have the ability to make people enjoy what he did, and his audiences always called for more."

This reasonably priced boxed set has all the famous Formby songs like Swimmin' with the Wimmin, My Little Ukulele, The Window Cleaner, and Leaning on a Lamp Post. Check it out here: