George Formby was quite good...

Megii

Can't help admiring the accurate rapid fire uke strumming on this clip - see the solos at 2.30 and also at 5.30 - his tempo is pretty rock solid all the way through too - respect!

Megii

I'll get me coat...  ">

xSkarloey

Taught the uke by Peter Sellers's dad apparently.

And Sellers did a near perfect George Formby impersonation...

octatonic

I like his grill.

johnnyurq

This was on the songs that were banned on BBC4 last night, he got banned for double entendres in his songs.

He obviously had some skills and who knows he may have been a shredder if born later on. 

richardhomer

A big inspiration to George Harrison apparently.

equalsql

I used to love his films when I was a young kid. I was always enthralled with his very fast, syncopated strumming technique, so much so that my parents ended up buying me a ukulele, so he was definitely the 'seed' that kicked off my interest in the guitar.

axisus

He was well known as being a very accomplished player.

EricTheWeary

axisus said:

He was well known as being a very accomplished player.

IIRC he was an open tuning player, hence there are usually a few ukes on stage, so his fretting hand was keeping it simple. I assumed banjoleles had metal stringsbut wiki says nylon like a regular uke,

Emp_Fab

I think that song wasn't about a stick of Blackpool rock....  I have a sneaking suspicion he was singing about his knob.  Still.... his timing was flawless.

randomhandclaps

People always say that his Blackpool rock was a euphemism for his knob but that's ridiculous.  He was born it Wigan so clearly he must have been singing about someone else's knob. B-)

Megii

I am appalled to discover that I have inadvertently posted a clip containing such disgusting and obscene lyrics, albeit cunningly disguised using the means of "double entendre" - please forgive this dreadful faux pas, dear gentle readers of this forum...   "> 

frankus

I love George Formby, for rhythm playing I'd probably see him above Nile Rogers and Nuno Bettencourt.

It's worth nting that most of his film appearances are dubbed mostly because he didn't want people seeing how he played those amazing rhythms.

breakstuff

Now that's the first time I've ever heard George Formby and Nuno Bettencourt mentioned in the same sentence.

frankus

strange he was the first person I thought of ... well second, after the obvious quoting Hendrix, in Make Love not War...

Gagaryn

The natural fore bearer of My Ding A Ling...

Danny1969

The Jake Bugg of his day 

Handsome_Chris

"It may be sticky but I never complain, it's nice to have a nibble at it now and again

 Every day wherever I stray the kids all round me flock."

Pervert

Bellycaster

This guy was no slouch either.

Fretwired

Emp_Fab said:

I think that song wasn't about a stick of Blackpool rock....  I have a sneaking suspicion he was singing about his knob.  Still.... his timing was flawless.

@Emp_Fab .. spot on .... Formby was OK ...

Emp_Fab

I tried very hard to find the clip from the Fast Show where Mark Williams does his George Formby routine singing "You filthy motherf....", but failed.