Coordinates: 53°33′31″N 3°04′00″W / 53.5586°N 3.0666°W / 53.5586; -3.0666

Formby
Red squirrel in Formby
Formby  Formby shown within Merseyside
Population	24,996
OS grid reference	SD293074
Civil parish	Formby
Metropolitan borough	Sefton
Metropolitan county	Merseyside
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LIVERPOOL
Postcode district	L37
Dialling code	01704
Police	Merseyside
Fire	Merseyside
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Sefton Central
List of places: UK • England • Merseyside

Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton^[1] in Merseyside, England. It has a population of approximately 25,000.

Historically a part of Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday book under "Fornebei" as Halsall, Walton and Poynton.^[2] The town's early recorded industry points to cockle raking, and shrimp fishing (in addition to arable ventures) last through into the 19th century.^[2] By 1872 the township and sub-district as of 1872 was made up of two chapelries (St. Peter and St. Luke), and contained Birkdale township, the hamlets of Ainsdale and Raven-Meols and Altcar parish.^[2][3] Formby was built on the plain adjoining the Irish Sea coast a few miles north of the Crosby channel where the sands afford shelter to the towns.^[2]

Formby is affluent^[4][5] with high owner-occupation and car ownership.^[5] Strong economic ties are retained with nearby Liverpool to which it acts as a dormitory town for some of its residents.^[6][7]

The greater area is a popular tourist destination during the summer months, with day trippers attracted to its beaches, sand dunes, and wildlife - most particularly the red squirrels. and Natterjack toads.^[8] The area is a conserved by the National Trust, and designated a site of Specific Scientific Interest.^[5][9]

History[link]

Erosion of sand on the beach at Formby is revealing layers of mud and sediment, laid down and covered in the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age, approximately 3,500 - 4,000 years ago.^[10] These sediments often contain the footprints of humans and animals (most commonly aurochs) from that period.^[11]

The common place-name ending -by is from the Scandinavian byr meaning "homestead", "settlement" or "village". The village of Formby was originally spelt Fornebei and means "village belonging to Forni".^[2] At that time Fornibiyum was a well-known Norse family name. He could have been the leader of the invading expedition which took possession of this coast. Until its closure in 1998, Oslo Airport in Norway was situated in a town called Fornebu.

It was from Ireland in about 960 AD that these Norsemen or Vikings^[12] first came to the west coast of Lancashire, first trading or raiding and then settling. Tradition says that the Viking invaders failed to defeat the native Anglo-Saxons on the coast of Formby, so they sailed inland, up the River Alt, and attacked from the rear.^[13] Dangus Lane, on the east side of the village, is sometimes called Danesgate Land, being connected by local traditions with this incursion.

Formby Hall is a Grade II listed building dating back to 1223. It has traditionally been the home of the Lords of the Manor. Much of the land around it is now a golf course.

Formby beach is the location of the first lifeboat station in the UK. Established as early as 1776 by William Hutchinson, Dock Master for the Liverpool Common Council. It was the first lifeboat station in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world. One night, two years previous, eighteen ships were stranded at the mouth of the Mersey drowning 75 people.^[14][15] The foundations of the last of the lifeboat station buildings remain on the beach.^[16] The last launch took place in 1916. Remarkably a film survives of this event.^[17]

Formby is home to RAF Woodvale, a small RAF station on the outskirts of the town.^[18] The airfield opened in 1941 and is a ex WW2 fighter station with three active runways, the main runway being a mile in length.^[19] Today it is used by RAF for light aircraft and fighter training, as well as a few civilian aircraft. The station was also home to Merseyside Police's helicopter,^[20] known as 'Mike One'.^[21] The RAF Station was also home to the last ever operational service of the British legend, the Spitfire. In 1957 the last Spitfire was to fly with military markings in British took off from RAF Woodvale on an operational mission.^[22] Woodvale is also home to the Woodvale Rally, one of the biggest shows on an active MOD station in the North West.^[23]

Holy Trinity Church is believed to be the only church in the country which holds a special service in which seasonal greenery collected by the menfolk of the parish and then twined into wreaths by the ladies is lifted into place as part of a service of worship in the run-up to Christmas.

Governance[link]

Until 1974, Formby was an urban district (Formby Urban District) within the administrative county of Lancashire. Since 1 April 1974, it has formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside.

From 1950 until 2010 Formby formed part of the constituency of Crosby, The MP for Crosby from 1997 until 2010 was Claire Curtis-Thomas, a member of the Labour Party, prior to her election the seat was generally considered to be a safe Conservative Party stronghold with Tory MP's elected at every election barring the Crosby by-election, 1981 where Shirley Williams of the Social Democratic Party was elected to represent the constituency. As a result of the Crosby constituency being abolished for the 2010 general election, Formby is part of the newly created Sefton Central constituency represented by Bill Esterson, a member of the Labour Party.

For elections to Sefton Council, Formby is divided between two electoral wards with three councillors each. Harington ward, whose councillors are Gillian Cuthbertson - Independent Conservative, Alf Doran - UKIP, and Denise Dutton - Conservative, and Ravenmeols ward, whose councillors are Catie Page - Labour Party, Barry Griffiths - Conservative, David Mcivor - Conservative.

Geography[link]

Formby Beach looking toward Liverpool

Formby is a coastal town roughly 7 sq miles (17 km²) and part of Sefton in the north west of Merseyside. The town is built upon the west of a large flat area of land called the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The town is 1.5 feet (0.5 metres) below sea level at its lowest point. Formby's highest point is within the sand dunes that separate the Irish Sea from Formby, sand dunes are ever changing in shape and formation so there is no fixed point.^[24] The River Alt runs in to the Irish Sea just south of Formby at Hightown.

The town is rurally landlocked; the land between Formby and the areas of Southport, Ormskirk and Liverpool is green belt land and is used for arable agricultural purposes. The areas around the urban fringe are drained by irrigation ditches and open areas get boggy in the winter months. Earth in urban areas is well drained, very loose and sandy.

The section of land between Formby and the coast is varied in vegetation, wildlife and terrain. This area includes pine forests: natural and man-made, sand dunes, marram grass, deciduous woodland, seasonal ponds and lakes. Large areas of this land are protected by the National Trust.

Formby is in a temperate climate zone, with mild winters and warm summers. Formby's biggest threat is global warming^{[citation needed]} as the town is built on a flood plain, being situated next to the coast and being below sea level.

Economy[link]

The main shopping area is locally known as The Village; here the town upholds an array of shops including a Boots, Dorothy Perkins and a New Look. These shops are located around the main shopping street of Chapel Lane and Brows Lane, there are also a number of coffee houses including Costa and Neros. The tree lined Avenue runs for about a third of a mile with shops either side for 325 yards of it. There are several other smaller shopping areas around Formby and Freshfield mostly convenience stores and some specialist outlets like independent Opticians Silver & Rose with both qualified Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians, and award winning independent booksellers, Pritchards. There are several other smaller shopping areas around Formby and Freshfield. Formby also has a main post office and two smaller post offices.

The town also has a several supermarkets including a Tesco, M&S Simply Food and Waitrose.

Formby has no major industries; however there is a small industrial estate on the outskirts of the town.

The most recent building to Formby is the new swimming pool and leisure centre.

Recent studies into the town show that between 10 and 30% of its residents commute to Liverpool.^[6]

Tourism[link]

Formby Beach

Formby has a significant tourist industry most notably between the warmer months of May and September.^[25] In particular it's popular with day trippers from Liverpool and other industrial towns in Merseyside and West Lancashire. There are two main spots along the Formby Coast which are particularly popular with the public.

The Lifeboat Road site is about 1½ miles from the town centre; there are three linked unpaved car parks with several routes cascading out in to the sand dunes and woods. The car parks are about 900 yards from the beach.

Victoria Road is north of Lifeboat Road and is busier due to the red squirrel reserve being here. From the junction of Larkhill Lane and Victoria Road is where the reserve begins and there is a charge to park from this point onwards. Parking is available adjacent to the reserve and at the end of the road there is a large unpaved car park for easier beach access, the beach from the car park is about 100 yards.

There is a privately run caravan park called Formby Point on Lifeboat Road, open between March and October. There are around 300 caravans on the park and 20 plots for touring caravans. There is a phone box on site, public toilets, a play area and until 1995 there was a small convenience store.

Transport[link]

The Formby Bypass (A565) was built over fifty years ago to take the major Liverpool to Southport route out of Formby and cut alongside the fringe of the town. The bypass is a dual carriageway with two roundabouts and two sets of traffic lights. It has been the scene of many accidents, some fatal and there are calls from some for the scrapping of a proposed motorway link as a result.^[26] The B5195 links Formby with Ormskirk and Maghull. Motorways are easily accessible, the M58 and M57 are both 8 miles from Formby.

With the town's major growth period around the early 20th century and Formby never really having any major industry, the road system followed an American style method of road building. Major roads in the town are wide and in an almost block formation with housing estates being built in to those blocks. The vast majority of residences have drive-ways for parking. Thus traffic congestion is rare in the town and usually only experienced in the town centre locally known as The Village.

There are two railway stations, the first being Formby railway station and the second less than a mile north, Freshfield railway station. Both are on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, which runs from Liverpool to Southport. Trains are frequent and are a popular way of commuting, especially to the city centre.

Bus services in the town are provided by Arriva, Stagecoach and Merseytravel. These include services to Southport, Ince Blundell, Liverpool, Southport and Formby District Hospital and Merseytravel's Formby circular routes.

The nearest airport is Liverpool John Lennon Airport which is 25 miles (28 minute^{[citation needed]} drive) away. Manchester Airport seconds that, which is 43 miles (1 hour 3 minute drive) away. Blackpool Airport is 39 miles (1 hour 20 minute drive) from Formby. Liverpool Airport is reachable using Liverpool's suburban railway network, Merseyrail.

London is under 2 hours away via train from Runcorn Station which is 25miles / 45 minutes drive from Formby, or from Liverpool Lime Street Station which is 13 miles / 33 minutes drive.

In addition to motorized transport, Formby is served by excellent cycle routes, mainly centring around the pinewoods along the coast leading to both Southport and Liverpool. There are also many cycle lanes on the roads leading to the larger conurbations to the north and south.

Education[link]

There are seven primary schools in Formby; Woodlands, Redgate CP, Our Lady of Compassion RC, St. Jerome's RC, Trinity St. Peters C. of E., Freshfield CP and St Luke's C. of E. Trinity St Peters C. of E. in Formby is the amalgamation of two former primary schools - St. Peter's and Holy Trinity - which closed down in July 2006. The school was formed as part of a major reorganisation of primary education in Sefton. In 2006 Our Lady of Compassion performed has the best results with a Key Stage 1 and 2 combined averages of 289, way above the national average of 242. Ravenmeols primary school closed as a school and is now used as the Raven Meols Community Centre.^[27] Formby has two large high schools, Formby High School and Range High School, both schools are high performers. With a national average of 45.8% of students gaining five or more A*-C at GCSE, Range scored 74% and Formby High scored 76% in 2006. Formby High School saw one of the biggest increases in grades in the country in 2006. After years of hovering around 50-60% mark the school increased 20% outdoing their rival Range.

Scouting[link]

Formby has a long tradition of scouting which began in the town in 1909. This was just over a year after Baden powell's legendary experimental camp on Brownsea Island in 1907. The first group aptly named the 1st Formby was set up at Holy Trinity Church Hall by Mr Murray Spense. There are currently 6 active groups out of the nine that were set up over the last century, especially since the 1960s housing estates expanded the town. Scouting still thrives in Formby today, recently celebrating Scouting's Centenary with a march to the beach and an outdoor ceremony. Scouts can be seen marching through the village every year on St George's Day when a service at Holy Trinity reminds scouts, cubs and beavers of the role of scouting and all members renew their Scout Promise. With the beach, sand dunes and pinewoods just minutes away from the town centre the scouts are able to access a wide variety of activities such as Orienteering, outdoor 'Wide' games, backwoods cooking, sports days and district camping events at 'The Paddock' field next to Formby Cricket Club. The scouts also help organisations such as the National Trust by planting trees and maintaining footpaths along Formby's changing coastline.

Wildlife[link]

To the west of the town lie pinewoods and sand dunes.^[28] The whole of the coastline here is managed as a Special Area of Conservation(SAC)^[29] for its important wildlife reserves by Sefton Coast Partnership. The pine woods at Victoria Road have been established as a National Trust reserve for the red squirrel, listed on the endangered species list. Formby is one of several sites in Britain where the red squirrel can still be found although it is now being threatened by the grey squirrel.^[30]

Formby is also famous for the presence of Natterjack toads. Formby is only one of a few sites in England where they will breed. Later in the evening the male's distinctive song can be heard and is known locally as the ‘Bootle Organ’. In spring the males gather at the edge of shallow pools in the dune slacks and sing to attract a mate. The Sefton Coast and Countryside Service are working hard to keep these pools from growing over so that that they are ready each spring for this annual event.^[31]

Sport[link]

This stretch of coast is famous for links golf courses such as Southport & Ainsdale, Hillside, West Lancashire, Hesketh and Royal Birkdale. Formby is home to another championship quality golf course - Formby Golf Club.^[32] However, the club, unlike its neighbour Royal Birkdale, does not have the capacity to host large events such as The Open Championship.^[33] Formby has a cricket club based down Cricket Path in Freshfield that plays in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition; this also has squash courts and a large AstroTurf hockey pitch.

The town also has a football team called Formby F.C. who play in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. They play at Altcar Road, behind Tesco just off the A565 Formby Bypass, having moved in the summer of 2002 from their town centre home at Brows Lane. That site is now occupied by Formby Pool which opened on 27 January 2007.

In addition a variety of youth sporting groups are based in Formby. These include Formby Junior Sports Club (FJSC) known locally as "Rourke's League" after Jim Rourke MBE (1912–2006)^[34] who founded the club on 2 January 1959.^[35] Jim continued to attend the club into his 90s.^[36] Over 600 children ranging in age from 5 to 16 years meet at Deansgate Lane Playing Fields to play football at various times throughout Saturday mornings during the football season. The club welcomes children of all abilities, there are no trials or criteria to meet; every member plays every week. The club also fields numerous representative teams in local junior leagues (e.g. the Craven Minor League).^[37] Formby is also home to Formby Dons Football Club, who operate 3 teams, playing their home games at Duke Street Park. In 2007, Formby Vikings Rugby Union Team was established to include a wide range of ages including a colts first 15 team.

Public Houses, bars, clubs and restaurants[link]

Formby has 8 pubs which are The Pinewoods, The Village Inn, The Bay Horse, The Royal, The Cross House, The Railway, The Freshfield and The Grapes. It has 2 social clubs which are the RAFA club and the British Legion Club. There are many restaurants in Formby, such as Zen Zero, Quo Vadis, Left Bank Brasserie, Sorrento, Don Luigi, The Gallery and The Balti House. Bars include Woodwards and The Gallery. Shorrocks Hill nightclub reopened in 2010.

People[link]

Various current and former Liverpool and Everton Football Club players have lived in the town, including:

• Steven Gerrard
• Alan Stubbs (who owns a bar in the Village)^[38]
• Neil Ruddock
• Emlyn Hughes
• Joe Cole
• John Toshack
• Stig Inge Bjørnebye
• Alan Ball
• Ray Clemence
• Stewart Downing

Other footballers include:

• • Alan Shearer, during his time at Blackburn Rovers
  • Wayne Rooney
  • Leighton Baines

• John Parrott, snooker player.^[39]
• Beryl Bainbridge, English novelist
• John Birt, former director of the BBC
• Edward Craig, philosopher and former cricketer
• Sir John Moores, founder of Littlewoods also lived here
• Percy French, Irish songwriter and entertainer is buried in Formby.^[40]
• Frank McLardy, member of the British Union of Fascists and Waffen-SS British Free Corps

The notable music hall entertainer George Formby, Sr. adopted his stage name when he was waiting for a train and saw a goods train on its way to Formby. His son George Formby, Jr. used the same stage name.^[41]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Grave of Percy French

• 

  Red squirrel feeding

• 

  Housing in Formby

• 

  Formby beach sand dunes

References[link]

External links[link]

History

• Formby Civic Society
• WW2 Defences in Merseyside and West Lancashire

Media

• Radio City (local radio station)
• Formby Champion (free local newspaper)
• Liverpool Echo (local newspaper)
• Formby Reporter (free local newspaper)
• Formby Times (free local newspaper)

Information

• City Relationships: Economic Linkages in Northern city regions. Liverpool City Region
• Sefton Coast Metropolitan Borough of Sefton's website]
• Profile of Sefton
• Formby station timetable from National Rail's Live Departure Boards

Community

• Formby Community Plan
• Formby Community website
• Parish Church of St. Luke: History
• Photos of Formby Point
• Photos of St. Michael Church just outside Formby in Great Altcar.
• MOD Film locations page.

George Formby, OBE (26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), born George Hoy Booth, was a British comedy actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian. He sang light, comical songs, accompanying himself on the banjo ukulele or banjolele. He was a major star of stage and screen in the 1930s and 1940s.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Formby was born at 3 Westminster Street, Wigan, Lancashire, as George Hoy Booth. The eldest of seven surviving children, Formby was born blind because of an obstructive caul. His sight was restored during a violent coughing fit or sneeze when he was a few months old.^[8][9] His father James Booth used the stage name George Formby, adopted from the town of Formby, Lancashire. He was one of the great music hall comedians of his day, fully the equal of his son's later success. His father, not wishing him to watch his performances, moved the family to Atherton Road in Hindley. It was from there that the younger Formby was apprenticed as a jockey when he was seven. He rode his first professional race at 10, when he weighed under 4 stone (56 lb; 25 kg).

The family next moved to Stockton Heath, Cheshire in a home on London Road. It was from there that the young George began his career as an entertainer.

Stage career[link]

In 1921, three months after the death of his father, Formby abandoned his career as a jockey and began appearing in music halls using his father's material. At first he called himself George Hoy, using the name of his maternal grandfather, who came from Newmarket, Suffolk, where the family was engaged in racehorse training. In 1924 he married dancer Beryl Ingham, who managed his career (and, it is said, his personal life) until her death in 1960. He allegedly took up the ukulele as a hobby and first played it on stage for a bet.

Formby endeared himself to his audiences with his cheeky Lancashire humour and folksy north of England persona. In film and on stage, he generally adopted the character of an honest, good-hearted but accident-prone innocent who used the phrases: "It's turned out nice again!" as an opening line; "Ooh, mother!" when escaping from trouble; and a timid "Never touched me!" after losing a fight of almost any description.

What made him stand out, however, was his unique and often mimicked musical style. He sang comic songs, full of double entendre, to his own accompaniment on the banjolele, for which he developed a catchy and complicated musical syncopated style that became his trademark. His best-known song, "Leaning on a Lamp Post" was written by Noel Gay. He recorded two more Noel Gay songs, "The Left-Hand Side of Egypt" and "Who Are You A-Shoving Of?" Over two hundred of the songs he performed, many of which were recorded, were written by Fred Cliff and Harry Gifford, either in collaboration or separately, and Formby was included in the credits of a number of them, including "When I'm Cleaning Windows". Some of his songs were considered too rude for broadcasting. His 1937 song, "With my little stick of Blackpool Rock" was banned by the BBC because of the suggestive lyrics.^[10] Formby's songs are rife with sly humour, as in "Mr Wu's a window cleaner now" where Formby is about to sing "ladies' knickers" and suddenly changes it to "ladies' garters"; and in 1940's "On the Wigan Boat Express," in which a lady passenger "was feeling shocks in her signal box." Formby's cheerful, innocent demeanour and nasal, high-pitched Lancashire accent neutralised the shock value of the lyrics; a more aggressive comedian like Max Miller would have delivered the same lyrics with a bawdy leer.

Film career[link]

Formby had been making gramophone records as early as 1926; his first successful records came in 1932 with the Jack Hylton Band, and his first sound film Boots! Boots! in 1934 (Formby had appeared in a sole silent film in 1915). The film was successful and he signed a contract to make a further 11 movies with Associated Talking Pictures, earning him a then-astronomical income of £100,000 (roughly USD 4 million in 2009 terms) per year, despite the fact that studio head Michael Balcon reportedly considered Formby "an odd and not particularly loveable character".^[11] Between 1934 and 1945 Formby was the top comedian in British cinema, and at the height of his movie popularity (1939, when he was Britain's number-one film star of all genres^[12]), his film Let George Do It was exported to America. Although his films always did well in Britain and Canada, they never caught on in the United States. Columbia Pictures hired him for a series, with a handsome contract worth £500,000, but decided not circulate his films in the US.

Formby appeared in the 1937 Royal Variety Performance,^[13] and entertained troops with Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) in Europe and North Africa during World War II. He received an OBE in 1946.^[14] His most popular film, still regarded as probably his best, is the espionage comedy Let George Do It, in which he is a member of a concert party, takes the wrong ship by mistake during a blackout, and finds himself in Norway (mistaking Bergen for Blackpool) as a secret agent. In one dream sequence he punches Hitler on the nose and addresses him as a "windbag".

For many years Fred Knight was Formby's chauffeur, driving him to the studios and music halls across the country. At that time Formby had a prestigious Lanchester car.

Formby suffered his first heart attack in 1952, during the run of his successful stage musical "Zip Goes a Million." He withdrew from the show, and confined his performances to occasional guest appearances on stage and TV. In July 1960, he scored a chart hit with "Happy Go Lucky Me" / "Banjo Boy", which peaked at number 40 in the UK Singles Chart.^[15] His final television appearance, broadcast in December 1960, was a 35-minute solo spot on BBC Television's The Friday Show.

Formby's wife Beryl died of leukaemia on 24 December 1960. In the spring of 1961 he planned to marry Pat Howson, a 36-year-old schoolteacher whom he had known since the 1930s, but he suffered a second heart attack and died in hospital on 6 March 1961. His funeral was held in St. Charles's Church in Aigburth, Liverpool. An estimated 100,000 mourners lined the route as his coffin was driven to Warrington Cemetery, where he was buried in the Booth family grave. Pat Howson was well provided for in Formby's will, but died in 1971 after a long legal battle with Formby's family, who contested the will.

Beryl Ingham: wife and manager[link]

Beryl Ingham was born in 1901 in Accrington,^[16] Lancashire. She was a champion clogdancer and actress, winning the All England Step Dancing Title at the age of 11. Later she formed a dancing act with her sister, May, called "The Two Violets".^[17] It was in 1923 while they were appearing in music hall in Castleford, Yorkshire that she met Formby. They married in Formby's birth town of Wigan, Lancashire the following year.^[18]

The couple worked together as a variety act until 1932, when she became his full-time manager and mentor, though she appeared in two of his films for which Formby was paid up to £35,000 per performance. It was Beryl's business skill that guided Formby to be the UK's highest-paid entertainer.

In 1946 Beryl and George toured South Africa shortly before formal racial apartheid was introduced, where they refused to play racially-segregated venues. According to Formby's biographer, when George 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) phoned to complain; Beryl replied "Why don't you piss off you horrible little man?"^[19]

Beryl continued to manage Formby's career until she contracted leukaemia, and died on 24 December 1960 in Blackpool, Lancashire. After her death, Formby publicly confessed that "My life with Beryl was hell".^[20] Two months later he became engaged to schoolteacher Pat Howson, 20 years his junior, declaring that he had achieved a happiness which had never existed with Beryl.^[20]

Playing styles[link]

Formby's trademark was playing the ukulele-banjo in a highly syncopated style, referred to as the 'Formby style'.

Among the several syncopation techniques that he used, the most commonly emulated stroke of Formby's is a rhythmic technique called the "Split stroke", which produces a musical rhythm easily recognised as Formby's. He sang in his own Lancashire accent. Other strokes in Formby's repertoire include the triple, the circle, the fan, and the shake. In his act, Formby often had several ukuleles on stage tuned in different keys, as in some solos it required an open string to be sounded, not possible when using Barre chords.

On Formby's last television appearance, in The Friday Show, he modestly told the audience that he could play in only one key. Research has shown that this statement is false, as Formby played transposed solos on songs such as "On the HMS Cowheel", a melodic solo on "I Told my Baby with the Ukulele", and many more.

Catchphrases[link]

Formby's best-known catchphrase is 'Turned out nice again!', but he also had a few others such as 'Eeh, champion!' or 'Eeh, isn't it grand!' or, when managing to escape from anybody, 'Haha! Never touched me!' Formby often exclaimed, 'Eeh! Well, I'll go to our house!' or, 'Mother!'

Tributes[link]

There is a bronze statue of Formby leaning on a lamppost on Ridgeway Street, close to the intersection with Lord Street, in Douglas, Isle of Man. On 15 September 2007, another bronze statue was unveiled in Formby's birthtown of Wigan, Lancashire in the Grand Arcade shopping centre.

Motorcycle[link]

A Norton International motorcycle owned by Formby, registration HVU 111 (Formby was superstitious, and insisted that all his motorbikes had the same three numbers in their registration, although he was not bothered which number), sold for £30,582 at an auction on 3 December 2007. The 1947 Norton International was one of several motorcycles owned by Formby, who starred in the film No Limit, a spoof of the 1935 Isle of Man TT motorcycle race, and had been presented to him during a visit to Norton’s Bracebridge Street factory in Birmingham in July 1947.^[21]

In popular culture[link]

This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivial references. (May 2012)

• In The Walt Disney 1949 animated feature, The Wind In The Willows, the character of "Cyril Proudbottom", Mr.Toad's horse friend, is based on Formby, both visually and as vocalised by J.Pat O'Malley.
• In an episode of the animated sitcom American Dad! entitled "Failure Is not a Factory-Installed Option", Avery Bullock, voiced by Patrick Stewart gets out a banjo and sings "The Window Cleaner" song in a Wigan accent.
• In the BBC comedy series The Day Today, a mock news story sees Formby playing Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" in a video which casts doubt on Dylan's legacy.^[22]
  • The Fast Show later referenced the scene, with Mark Williams playing a character called "Fred Halibut", who sang the song in a broad Wigan accent.
• Mark Williams had previously been seen doing his Formby impression in the 1980s BBC comedy show Alexei Sayle's Stuff, where he sang a song entitled "E=MC2" in grainy 'black and white'.
• In the ITV soap opera, Coronation Street one of the wards in the Weatherfield General Hospital is named after Formby.
• In a BBC TV series Goodnight Sweetheart, series 3 episode 6, Formby's achievements at entertaining the masses are recognised.
• In The History Boys by Alan Bennett when discussing the unconventional teaching methods employed by a teacher the headmaster remarks that the students "know all the words to 'When I'm Cleaning Windows'".
• Commercial radio adverts for a double-glazing company during the 1980s spoofed Formby's recording of "The Window Cleaner" using new lyrics, culminating in the firm's telephone number in place of the words "When I'm Cleaning Windows".
• The song "When I'm Cleaning Windows" was used in the mini game, Wishi Washi on the EyeToy for PlayStation2.
• The Thursday Next series of books by Jasper Fforde feature an octogenarian Formby as President of an alternative Britain; the character works to confront the traitorous politician Kaine.
• Formby is referred to in the Red Dwarf Series VIII episode "Krytie TV", in which Rimmer remarks that they are shown 'lousy B-movies' in prison in order to "sap our morale. Next week is the George Formby season!" He then does an impression of Formby, saying (in an accent similar to Formby's) "come and get your hanging rope while there's still some left." The novel Last Human also mentions him as the only thing potentially more ugly than the Snugiraffe GELF.
• In series 4, episode 6 of Skins, several of Formby's songs are included as background music. In the same episode, JJ Jones owns a ukulele and serenades his girlfriend Lara by performing "True" by Spandau Ballet, with the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.
• British comedian Eddie Izzard makes reference to George Formby (instead of George Foreman) in a fictional boxing match versus Muhammad Ali, in his live video Definite Article. Izzard pantomimes being punched while playing a ukulele.
• In the Distant War episode of the television documentary series The World at War, Formby is shown in a newsreel performing "Imagine Me on the Maginot Line"' for a small group of British soldiers. This newsreel can be seen on YouTube, along with other videos of Formby performances.
• In series 6, episode 1 of the British television show Dead Ringers, Formby was portrayed as the secret weapon of the popular British indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with the final scene going into a mix between "Leaning on the Lamp Post" and Arctic Monkey's song, "Mardy Bum". Jon Culshaw played Formby in the scene.
• In the 2011 film, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the song "Mr Wu is a Window Cleaner Now" is heard on the radio when a call is placed to Peter Guillam.

Selected songs[link]

• "Chinese Laundry Blues" (1932)
• "The Isle of Man" (1932)
• "With My Little Ukulele in My Hand" (1933)
• "The Window Cleaner"/"When I'm Cleaning Windows" (1936)
• "Leaning on a Lamppost" (1937)
• "Hi Tiddly Hi Ti Island" (1937)
• "The Lancashire Toreador" (1937)
• "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock" (1937)
• "Tan Tan Tivvy Tally-Ho!" (1938, written by Arthur Le Clerq)
• "They Can't Fool Me" (1938)
• "Mother, What'll I do Now?" (1938)
• "Our Sergeant Major" (1938)
• "Imagine Me on the Maginot Line" (1939)
• "It's Turned Out Nice Again" (1939)
• "Mr Wu's a Window Cleaner Now" (1939)
• "My Grandad's Flannelette Nightshirt" (1939)
• "Count Your Blessings And Smile" (1940)
• "Auntie Maggie's Remedy" (1941)
• "Bless 'Em All" (1941)
• "Mr Wu's is Now an Air Raid Warden" (1942)
• "You Don't Need A Licence For That" (1946)
• "Happy Go Lucky Me" (1960)

Filmography[link]

• By the Shortest of Heads (1915)
• Boots! Boots! (1934)
• Off the Dole (1935)
• George Formby Cavalcade (1935, highlights from first two feature films of 1934-35)
• No Limit (1935)
• Keep Your Seats Please (1936)
• Feather Your Nest (1937)
• Keep Fit (1937)
• Christmas Greetings of 1937 (1937)
• I See Ice (1938)
• Christmas Greetings of 1938 (1938)
• It's in the Air (1938)
• Trouble Brewing (1939)
• Come On George! (1939)
• Let George Do It (1940)
• Spare a Copper (1940), also known as Call a Cop
• Turned Out Nice Again (1941)
• South American George (1941)
• Much Too Shy (1942)
• Get Cracking (1943)
• Bell Bottom George (1943/44)
• He Snoops To Conquer (1945)
• I Didn't Do It! (1945)
• George in Civvy Street (1946)
• The Friday Show (BBC Television, 1960; restored 1994)

See also[link]

• Regal Zonophone Records

Box office rating[link]

For a number of years, British film exhibitors voted him among the top ten British stars at the box office via an annual poll in the Motion Picture Herald.

• 1936 - 4th^[23]
• 1938 - 1st^[24]
• 1940 - 1st (5th most popular star over all)^[25]
• 1945 - 9th^[26]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bret, David (1999). George Formby: A troubled genius. London: Robson. ISBN 978-1-86105-239-1. 

External links[link]

• George Formby at the Internet Movie Database
• George Formby biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• The Guardian: Naughty but nice (George Formby by David Bret)
• 'Ukulele king' Formby dies (BBC News)
• The George Formby Society
• Profile of George Formby Snr and Jnr
• George Formby's Gravesite
• George Formby Forum "the Resonator"
• "Mr Wu is a Window Cleaner Now" on YouTube

Frank Skinner
Skinner in 2008 at Wembley Stadium
Birth name	Christopher Graham Collins
Born	(1957-01-28) 28 January 1957 (age 55) West Bromwich, West Midlands, England
Medium	Stand-up, Television, Radio
Nationality	British
Years active	1990 to present
Genres	Observational comedy, Musical comedy
Subject(s)	Everyday life, Relationships, Current events
Influenced	Al Murray, Kevin Bridges
Notable works and roles	Packet of Three Blue Heaven Fantasy Football League The Frank Skinner Show Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned Shane Frank Skinner's Opinionated
British Comedy Awards
Best comedy entertainment personality (2001)

Frank Skinner (born Christopher Graham Collins on 28 January 1957 in West Bromwich)^{[citation needed]} is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."

He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.

Career[link]

Youth and early career (1957-1993)[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Skinner was born at Sandwell General Hospital, and grew up in a council house in neighbouring Oldbury. He was the youngest of four children born to West Cornforth-born former semi-professional footballer John Collins and his wife Doris. He has two older brothers, Keith and Terry, and an older sister, Nora. His father played for Spennymoor United before the Second World War, and met his mother in a local pub after Spennymoor had played West Bromwich Albion in an FA Cup game in 1937. Skinner attended Moat Farm Infant School from 1961 to 1964, St. Hubert's Roman Catholic Junior School from 1964 to 1968, and then Oldbury Technical Secondary School from September 1968.

He passed 2 O-levels in summer 1973 and took A-levels in English Language and Art, along with several O-level re-sits, at Oldbury Technical School Sixth Form. He subsequently took 4 A-levels (including English Language and Literature) at Warley College of Technology and graduated from Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University) in 1981 with a degree in English. This was followed by a Masters degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick in Coventry, the following year. After graduating, he spent three and a half years on unemployment benefit before finding work as a lecturer in English at Halesowen College. In 1987 he decided to give stand-up comedy a try on the side, before quitting his job in 1989 to pursue his comedy career full-time.^{[citation needed]} During this period a bout of influenza made him give up drinking, and he remains a high-profile recovering alcoholic.^[1]

Collins took on the pseudonym Frank Skinner when the actors' union Equity told him there was already someone of the same name on their books (their rules do not permit two members with identical names). He took the name from a member of his late father's dominoes team. Skinner had performed his first stand-up gig in 1987 and made his television debut a year later. In 1990 he co-wrote and starred in the comedy variety show Packet Of Three on Channel 4 but continued to see his reputation as a stand-up grow. He won the 1991 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, beating Jack Dee and Eddie Izzard.

1994-2005[link]

He often works with best friend and ex-flatmate David Baddiel, notably on the popular late night entertainment show Fantasy Football League, from 1994 to 2004 and on Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned from 2000 to 2005.

The duo also co-wrote and performed the football song "Three Lions" with the Lightning Seeds and the England national football team for Euro 96, and re-released it for the 1998 World Cup. The song reached #1 in the UK charts both times. In 2001, he released his autobiography "Frank Skinner by Frank Skinner", which became a bestseller. The accompanying TV show, "Frank Skinner on Frank Skinner", in which Skinner showed where he lived as a child and interviews with Skinner, his friends and family members, was recorded and shown on ITV in 2001.

In 1998, he took part in a documentary entitled A Little Bit Of Elvis. He paid over £11,000 at auction, for a shirt which he believed was worn by Elvis Presley at his famous 1956 Tupelo concert. Skinner visited the USA to find out if the shirt was the genuine article. After a slightly awkward conversation with Dave Hebler, Presley's bodyguard, it appeared the shirt did once belong to Presley, but it was not worn at the concert.

From 1995 to 1998 Skinner had his own chat show on BBC One, ending when the BBC refused to meet pay demands of a reported £20 million.^[2] After a short break the show found a new home at ITV in 1999, where it ran until late 2005. He has appeared in a number of self-written sitcoms, including Blue Heaven (1994) and Shane (2004).

In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.^{[citation needed]}

2006-present[link]

In 2005, Skinner announced he was going to leave behind his television work in favour of returning to the stand-up comedy circuit. A second series of Shane had been made, but not shown.

In February 2006, he received an honorary degree from the University of Central England, (now Birmingham City University).^[3] Skinner and David Baddiel covered the 2006 FIFA World Cup by podcast for The Times. The podcasts received a nomination for the 2007 Sony Radio Academy Awards.

In 2007, he performed a new live stand-up tour, his first for 10 years, starting at a warm-up gig at the Swindon Arts Centre, continuing through to the Edinburgh Festival for 2 weeks at The Pleasance, the venue where he won the Perrier Award, and a 69 date national tour including three sold out homecoming performances at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham in the Autumn.

In 2007, he ran a course at Osho Leela, a meditation and growth centre in Dorset.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2008 and in the light of senior broadcasting figures such as ITV boss Michael Grade and Sir Terry Wogan calling for TV to clean up its act regarding use of swear words, Skinner decided to experiment with removing swear words altogether from his stand up live act although stated that it would be a shame if 'clever swearing' was lost.^[4] He also stood in for an ill Paul Merton as a team captain on the 21 November edition of Have I Got News for You.^[5]

From March 2009, Skinner started to present the Saturday Morning Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio with his co-hosts Emily Dean and Gareth Richards who was replaced by Alun Cochrane in June 2011. The show is produced by Avalon Television. After an initial 12-week stint proved very popular with the listeners, Skinner's contract was extended until summer 2010.^[6]

Skinner was a guest on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 11 June 2010.

He is the host of Frank Skinner's Opinionated, broadcast on BBC 2 on Friday evenings.

Starting in late 2010, Skinner has a regular column in the newspaper The Times.

Skinner can play the Banjo ukulele and in 2010, he contributed Ukulele parts to a song by Fairport Convention called Ukulele Central which featured on their album Festival Bell. He is the host of a BBC4 Documentary, Frank Skinner on George Formby, which aired on 27 October at 9pm, in part of the show Frank visits ukulele pupils as well as visiting a George Formby convention in Blackpool.

Since January 2012 Skinner has been host of BBC show Room 101.

Personal life[link]

Skinner is a supporter of the Labour Party,^[7] and is a practising Catholic, fan of post punk group The Fall and supporter of West Bromwich Albion Football Club with an "all-consuming passion".^[8]

Skinner was a victim of the credit crunch after investing in AIG, losing millions of pounds as a result.^[9]

In September 2009 Skinner was awarded his second honorary degree, from the University of Wolverhampton.

Skinner stated in 2010 that he had not drunk alcohol since 1986.^[10]

During his radio show on 28 January 2012, Skinner announced that he was to become a father for the first time with his long term girlfriend Cath Mason.^[11] His son Buzz was born in May of 2012.^[12]

Publications[link]

Books[link]

In October 2001, Skinner's autobiography, Frank Skinner by Frank Skinner, was published.^[13]

In August 2009, he released a book centred on his comedy career - Frank Skinner on the Road: Love, Stand-up Comedy and the Queen of the Night.^[14]

In September 2011, The Collected Wisdom of Frank Skinner; Dispatches from the Sofa was published.^[15] It consists of his weekly columns for The Times, written from 2009-2011.

Stand-up VHS and DVDs[link]

• Live (5 October 1992)
• Live at the Apollo (1994)
• Live at the Palladium (14 October 1996)
• Live in Birmingham (16 November 1998)
• Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned - Live from London's West End (12 November 2001)
• Stand-Up! Live from Birmingham's National Indoor Arena (10 November 2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website

• Audio and transcript of conversation with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

• Frank Skinner at the Internet Movie Database

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