It's odd to think that 150,000 people thronged the streets for George Formby's funeral. Over the years his reputation has ebbed away to the point where for most younger people now he's a just a buck toothed goon with a ukelele in his hand. His tragedy was to epitomise the humour of the Northern factories and mills; as they vanished so did his fan base.

Formby himself however was not from that kind of background at all. His father (who also used the name George Formby) was a successful More...

It would be difficult to write a detailed, personal account of George Formby's life; especially so since those who knew him personally have long since passed away.

Given this difficulty, Bret should be applauded for his efforts, however the resulting book is thin on detail, relying a chronological account of appearances and recordings together with summaries of film plots.

There is absolutely no doubting George Formby's immense talent and success, however.