History Music / GeorgeFormby

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[[caption-width-right:350:Formby touring the British Expeditionary Force in France, 1940]]

George Formby [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever OBE]] (born George Hoy Booth, 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was a [[OopNorth Lancastrian]] singer-songwriter, comedian and film star who had his biggest hits in TheThirties. He often mixed comedy into his songs together with a healthy dose of innuendo. His signature musical instrument was the ukulele, or 'uke' for short.

* "Bless 'Em All" - apparently dates back to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI but was very popular during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII when it was performed by the likes of Music/VeraLynn and Gracie Fields as well as George Formby.

[[caption-width-right:350:George Formby with the British Army in France, 1940]]

It's nice to have a nibble at it now and again!''\\

'Til your fortune all goes wrong!\\

When I'm cleanin' windows!''\\

-->''Now I go cleanin' windows, to earn an honest bob,\\

--"When I'm Cleaning Windows"

* ''Keep Your Seats, Please'' (1936) - first appearance of "When I'm Cleaning Windows"

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII: The war started at the height of George's fame, and several of his post-1939 movies (''Let George Do It!'', ''Get Cracking'', etc) have a war theme as do some of his songs. He signed up for ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association - the organisation that provided entertainment for service personnel) and travelled extensively to entertain British troops in various locations ... sometimes ''very'' close to the front line. Footage of him performing "Imagine Me On The Maginot Line" for soldiers in France in 1940 can be seen in an episode of ''Series/TheWorldAtWar''. When not abroad, he entertained people in factories, theatres and even air-raid shelters in addition to serving in the Home Guard as a dispatch rider.

* ToiletHumour: Mildly used to the point where it's merely implied, as per this example from "Mr Wu's An Air Raid Warden Now":

so close to him, they say,\\

You ought to see it wobble when he's ironing ladies' blouses!

* PatrioticFervour: Sort of averted, as he made patriotic songs during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII but they were just as comedic as his usual fare. At this time, some of his films were about the war (''Let George Do It!'') while others (''Turned Out Nice Again'') were not.
* ThePeepingTom: Any of his songs about cleaning windows. For example:

He put the fire out but he didn't use sand!''

* The "Mr Wu" songs, including "Chinese Laundry Blues", "Mr Wu's A Window Cleaner Now" and the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-themed "Mr Wu Is Now An Air Raid Warden".

When I'm cleanin' windows!\\

* ToiletHumour: ''Very'' mildly used, as per this example from "Mr Wu's An Air Raid Warden Now":

* ChineseLaunderer: Mr Wu started out as owning a Chinese Laundry in Limehouse (a district of London where many Chinese immigrants settled in the 19th and early 20th centuries and where such laundries were associated with) but later moved on to greater things.

* RichardNixonTheUsedCarSalesman: Formby appears in the Literature/ThursdayNext novels, having led the British Resistance after the Nazi invasion (AlternateHistory) and, after the liberation, becoming President-for-Life of England. "The Window Cleaner" becomes the new national anthem.