Indelibly associated with the ukulele and fun, nonsense songs, George Formby was one of the biggest stars and best-paid entertainers of the 1930s and 1940s. He came from humble beginnings in the north of England to become a king of the music halls, adopting the stage name Formby from the Lancashire town of the same name. A tiny figure, he initially planned to be a jockey, riding his first professional race when he was 10 and weighed under four stone but, after the death of his father in 1921, he changed course and headed for the music halls. A natural comedian, Formby is said to have played his ukulele on stage for the first time as a bet and the combination of his cheeky songs, folksy persona and catch-phrases like "Turned out nice again" and "Eeh, int it grand" made him a star. His biggest hits include Leaning On A Lamppost, When I'm Cleaning Windows, The Lancashire Toreador, Mr Wu's A Window Cleaner Now and Bless 'Em All, while he also starred in numerous films like Keep Your Seats Please, Let George Do It, Come On George and Turned Out Nice Again. He also had a social conscience, touring South Africa during the apartheid era but refusing to perform in front of racially segregated audiences. Formby died in 1961.
