A ukulele player is mistaken for a British spy and unwittingly foils a plot by German intelligence agents. Whitcomb, Ian (2012). Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Books. ISBN 978-1-4584-1654-4.

Insley, Jill (31 July 2010). "Work: A working life: The ukulele teacher: Strummer loving: Lorraine Bow was an events manager until she lost her heart to a 'four-stringed beast'. Now she runs her own business giving lessons, she tells Jill Insley". The Guardian. London. p.3. Richards, Jeffrey (2004). "Formby, George [ real name George Hoy Booth]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/33205. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)George Formby OBE (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904– 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he sang light, comic songs, usually playing the ukulele or banjolele, and became the UK's highest-paid entertainer. Magee, Sean (2012). Desert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-593-07006-2. Kershaw, Baz (2007). Theatre Ecology: Environments and Performance Events. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87716-9. You know, some of the songs are a bit near. But they'll take them from me in evening dress; they wouldn't take them if I wore baggy pants and rednose".

A group of art students help a reserved odd-job man pursue his interest in painting nude portraits. Other bikes that were used include a 350cc Ariel that had been flown to the Isle of Man, partly dismantled, in a de Havilland Dragon Rapide. [5] Stunts [ edit ] The ukulele expert Steven Sproat considers that Formby "was incredible... There hasn't really been a uke player since Formby—or even before Formby—who played quite like him". Much of Formby's virtuosity came from his right-hand technique, the split stroke, [6] [211] and he developed his own fast and complicated syncopated musical style with a very fast right-hand strum. [6] [212] [213] Joe Cooper, writing in New Society, considered that "Nobody has ever reproduced the casual devastating right hand syncopation, which so delicately synchronised with deft left hand chord fingering". [214] Legacy [ edit ] The statue of Formby on the Isle of Man Fisher describes "Leaning on a Lamp-post" as being "the most perfect expression of [Formby's] charm, at once dignified, touching and humane". He compares it to "Standing at the Corner of the Street" by Formby's father, and writes that Formby's "subdued interpretation" of the song may be because of his father's earlier tune. [61]Formby's biographer, Jeffrey Richards, considers that the actor "had been able to embody simultaneously Lancashire, the working classes, the people, and the nation". [1] Formby was considered Britain's first properly home-grown screen comedian. He was an influence on future comedians—particularly Charlie Drake and Norman Wisdom—and, culturally, on entertainers such as the Beatles, who referred to him in their music. Since his death Formby has been the subject of five biographies, two television specials and two works of public sculpture. Also described as a "hapless 'everyman' character who manages to prevail against overwhelming odds". [51] George Formby Discography". The George Formby Society. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014 . Retrieved 28 May 2014. The English comic, singer and actor George Formby (1904–1961) performed in many mediums of light entertainment, including film, radio and theatre. His career spanned from 1915 until December 1960. During that time he became synonymous with playing "a shy, innocent, gauche, accident-prone Lancashire lad". [1] MacFarlane, Thomas (2007). The Beatles' Abbey Road Medley: Extended Forms in Popular Music. Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4617-3659-2.

Come On George! (1939)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009 . Retrieved 10 March 2014. Keeling, Neil (16 September 2007). "Statue of Formby in place". Manchester Evening News. Manchester. Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Sweet, Matthew (2006). Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema. London: Faber & Faber. p.137. ISBN 978-0-571-21298-9. Pratt, Vic. "Turned Out Nice Again (1941)". Screenonline. British Film Institute . Retrieved 27 May 2014.Jones, Catherine. "From an LA junk shop to George Formby – one actor's journey". Liverpool Echo. Liverpool. Pratt, Vic. "Come On George! (1939)". Screenonline. British Film Institute . Retrieved 27 May 2014. Trouble Brewing (1939)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009 . Retrieved 10 March 2014. Formby was born blind owing to an obstructive caul, although his sight was restored during a violent coughing fit or sneeze when he was a few months old. [8] After briefly attending school—at which he did not prosper, and did not learn to read or write—Formby was removed from formal education at the age of seven and sent to become a stable boy, briefly in Wiltshire and then in Middleham, Yorkshire. [9] Formby Sr sent his son away to work as he was worried Formby would watch him on stage; he was against Formby following in his footsteps, saying "one fool in the family is enough". [10] [11] After a year working at Middleham, he was apprenticed to Thomas Scholfield at Epsom, where he ran his first professional races at the age of 10, when he weighed less than 4 stone (56lb; 25kg). [12] [13]