Hari's Chick
Jun 11, 2005, 07:55 AM
Formby follows function
Louis Barfe Thursday 9 June 2005
Turned out nice again for Formby and his banjo-ukeleleBearing the Latin
epithet quid custodet ipsos custodes (roughly translated, this means "How does a
snowplough driver get to work?") in mind, it's worth asking who our
celebrities hero-worship. Why, other celebrities, of course. Frank Skinner paid a king
of rock and roll's ransom for Elvis Presley's shirt. Marilyn Manson was
obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson, hence the name, while Abi
Titmuss has a shrine to John Leslie's schlong, without which she'd still be
emptying bedpans in Geriatric Ward F.
Even so, it might come as a surprise to learn that George Harrison, known to
Beatles fans as the quiet one (and to me as the deceptively good one - All
Things Must Pass is, by several very long chalks, the best solo record by any
of the Fabs), was fascinated by the life and work of gap-toothed ukulele
ambassador George Formby, and a dutiful member of the George Formby Society.
Superficially, it's an odd match, but the parallels soon become apparent. In
his day, Formby was the highest-paid and best-loved entertainer in Britain.
In their day, The Beatles held the same position worldwide, and probably
still do posthumously. Both were Northern - Formby from Wigan, the Fabs from
Liverpool. Both were cheeky and irreverent. Both were banned by the BBC: in
Formby's case, the offence was caused by "When I'm Cleaning Windows", for The
Beatles "A Day in the Life". The Beatles inspired a generation to pick up
guitars, and if the pop kids of the 1930s didn't take to the uke en masse, they had
no adequate excuse. The ukulele is the most affordable musical instrument in
the world - a perfectly playable example can be had for a tenner and no home
should be without one.
No, Harrison loved Formby all right - the recordings for his final album
Brainwashed all begin with the uke.
Consequently, George on George (BBC Radio 4, Sunday into Monday 12.15am) is
likely to be, at worst, a diverting half-hour and at best, utterly
fascinating - all the better if you're a Beatle nut, a Formby fan and a practising
ukelelist, like what I am. The witty and knowledgeable Russell Davies presents,
and my already-high respect for him shot through the roof when I heard him
close his Sunday afternoon Radio 2 show with digs at meaningless sloganeering
and one of his absurder colleagues. What did he say? "This is Radio 2, where
different works, and the future's orange, so here's Dale Winton". Class.
Of course, other radio Georges are available. There's PC George Dixon in the
current adaptation of Dixon of Dock Green, and, of course, Big George Webley
(the man who wrote the theme for Have I Got News For You?) presenting the
breakfast show for BBC Three Counties Radio's Milton Keynes opt-out (sadly not
yet available on the web). Pugnacious and funny, he's a talk-radio
troublemaker, a stirrer in the best possible sense, and he does his homework -
something that John Prescott found out the hard way when interviewed by Webley
recently. When not on air, he's making a film about Beethoven and trying to
persuade Proms boss Nicholas Kenyon to stage a Prom concert comprising the best TV
themes from both sides of the Atlantic. Why that requires any persuasion, I
don't know.
www.louisbarfe.com
****************
Can anyone report on this for us? Pretty please? (on knees asking for tapes! tapes!)
Louis Barfe Thursday 9 June 2005
Turned out nice again for Formby and his banjo-ukeleleBearing the Latin
epithet quid custodet ipsos custodes (roughly translated, this means "How does a
snowplough driver get to work?") in mind, it's worth asking who our
celebrities hero-worship. Why, other celebrities, of course. Frank Skinner paid a king
of rock and roll's ransom for Elvis Presley's shirt. Marilyn Manson was
obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson, hence the name, while Abi
Titmuss has a shrine to John Leslie's schlong, without which she'd still be
emptying bedpans in Geriatric Ward F.
Even so, it might come as a surprise to learn that George Harrison, known to
Beatles fans as the quiet one (and to me as the deceptively good one - All
Things Must Pass is, by several very long chalks, the best solo record by any
of the Fabs), was fascinated by the life and work of gap-toothed ukulele
ambassador George Formby, and a dutiful member of the George Formby Society.
Superficially, it's an odd match, but the parallels soon become apparent. In
his day, Formby was the highest-paid and best-loved entertainer in Britain.
In their day, The Beatles held the same position worldwide, and probably
still do posthumously. Both were Northern - Formby from Wigan, the Fabs from
Liverpool. Both were cheeky and irreverent. Both were banned by the BBC: in
Formby's case, the offence was caused by "When I'm Cleaning Windows", for The
Beatles "A Day in the Life". The Beatles inspired a generation to pick up
guitars, and if the pop kids of the 1930s didn't take to the uke en masse, they had
no adequate excuse. The ukulele is the most affordable musical instrument in
the world - a perfectly playable example can be had for a tenner and no home
should be without one.
No, Harrison loved Formby all right - the recordings for his final album
Brainwashed all begin with the uke.
Consequently, George on George (BBC Radio 4, Sunday into Monday 12.15am) is
likely to be, at worst, a diverting half-hour and at best, utterly
fascinating - all the better if you're a Beatle nut, a Formby fan and a practising
ukelelist, like what I am. The witty and knowledgeable Russell Davies presents,
and my already-high respect for him shot through the roof when I heard him
close his Sunday afternoon Radio 2 show with digs at meaningless sloganeering
and one of his absurder colleagues. What did he say? "This is Radio 2, where
different works, and the future's orange, so here's Dale Winton". Class.
Of course, other radio Georges are available. There's PC George Dixon in the
current adaptation of Dixon of Dock Green, and, of course, Big George Webley
(the man who wrote the theme for Have I Got News For You?) presenting the
breakfast show for BBC Three Counties Radio's Milton Keynes opt-out (sadly not
yet available on the web). Pugnacious and funny, he's a talk-radio
troublemaker, a stirrer in the best possible sense, and he does his homework -
something that John Prescott found out the hard way when interviewed by Webley
recently. When not on air, he's making a film about Beethoven and trying to
persuade Proms boss Nicholas Kenyon to stage a Prom concert comprising the best TV
themes from both sides of the Atlantic. Why that requires any persuasion, I
don't know.
www.louisbarfe.com
****************
Can anyone report on this for us? Pretty please? (on knees asking for tapes! tapes!)