THE NoRTH- WEST GEORGE FORMBY Newsletter 58 Vol. 5, No.lO April2000 Specially Produced for George Formby Fans by Stan Evans, The Hollies, 19 Hall Nook, Penketh, Warrington, Cheshire WAS 2HN Tel or Fax 01925 727102 -2- l Welcome to Newsletter No.58 and once again we are pleased to report that all the meetings are prospering very well. The sale of Newsletters is rising each month which is a good sign and more calls have been coming in for ukes, tapes and songsheets. Great! ******************************************************************** war Front - Charles & Eve Stewart sent in a couple of post cards from the war front from "The Boys" of the George Formby Company, C/o O.C. E.F.l. Entertainments, GHQ B.E.F. on the 17th March 1940. They were sent by Harry Wheeler who was the pianist in the band and addressed to his friend Harold. (Harold's daughter, Christine kindly sent them in) Dear Harold, Just a P.C. to let you know that we are doing fine and everything has gone well up to now. We are very sorry you are not with us because you would have enjoyed it. By the way if you receive this before Wednesday you will be interested to know that we will be on the air. You will recognise our speciality "Solitude''. We hope you are OK and we are looking forward to being together again as we really have missed you over here. SECOND CARD - 25th March 1940 - Still going strong in France. The weather is mixed. We are getting a good reception here and "The George Formby Boys" are a treat to play with. We wish you were here with us- we could have knocked em cold! Still we can't grumble -we will be dragging you along next time if the chance comes again. Yours, Harry Wheeler. Our thanks to Mrs Christine Lancaster, of York, for giving us the opportunity to publish the cards. ******************************************************************** LlandudDO- The Annual Llandudno Extravaganza is to be held during Sat and Sun the 29th and 30th of April and Monday 1st of May and as usual Dennis Lee will be performing with Kevin Blanchfield and Ray Davies in the street where a stage is set up for them. Stan & Les Watkinson will be parked a few hundred yards away on a caravan park at the Transport Rally and we have been invited to perform there in the large marquee. Mind you I don't suppose that Ray will have time to play at the Extravaganza because be is having an extravaganza of his Happy father own. After waiting umpteen years to have their first child Ray Davies the Davies family are now expecting their second. -3- The Formby Story Part 47 by Stan Evans r· What a strange world it was for George. Throughout his 37 years of marriage he'd left all the business and l financial arrangements to Beryl to the extent that I doubt if he knew what a cheque book was. He'd never had the need to sign a cheque and as evidence of this I looked through George's Suitcase to find that every · cheque book stub was in Beryl's handwriting. But now, after the loss of Beryl, his safe and secure business world bad fallen apart. Having had dealings with members of George's family I found that there was certainly a lack of trust in outsiders who entered their family orbit. Even the Good Samaritan would be treated with great suspician. It may have stemmed from GF senior who knew what hunger was and had to protect himself from anyone stealing his possessions from him. From tales I have heard however, George's mother, Eliza, was of a more generous nature. With this trend running through the Formby family, George would naturally be suspicious of outsiders looking after his affairs. He wouldn't entertain the idea of hiring a financial manager because of his lack of trust, plus the fact that he would pick up on the amount of cash stored in the house. So the answer was to bring in a new wife who could be trusted and Pat Howson fitted the bill perfectly. A few weeks after Beryl's death George announced that he was to marry Pat and they were to live at White Lodge, a Georgian mansion at Lea, nr Preston. George gave Pat a diamond engagement ring. According to the female members of the family, George was making mistakes. He bought a new smoke green Bentley car, GF 1, without Beryl's guidance, and they told him that green was not a Formby colour and therefore he would have no luck with it. Although, with Pat at his side, be appeared to be a very happy man, he was certainly a very lonely soul within. He was a very good actor and could raise a smile at the drop of a bat. But the strain was telling on him and he found difficulty in walking without taking pills to calm him down. At a dinner at Pat's borne in Preston he complained of stomach pains. A doctor was called and he was immediately taken into St Joseph's Hospital. After the news broke 100 letters a day poured in and all but the immediate family and Pat were allowed to visit him. Two 10 year old boys arrived with fruit and were disappointed to find that they were not allowed to see him. More Next Month. - 4- l Michael Daly writes ... My late grandfather, who was a Beat Bobby in Birkenhead from 1901 to 1925 used to relate a story to me about George Formby Senior, who was George Formby's father. My Grandfather's beat covered Hamilton Street, Birkenhead, upon which was sited The Argyle Theatre. One night when the crowds had gone, and Grandfa­ ther was standing outside the theatre, who should come out of the stage door but George Formby Senior. Apparently they had a chat and a smoke, and Formby Senior's comment to my Grandfather as he departed- walking- off down the street was, "And tomorrow sees another day and another town." Funnily enough my Grandfather had a similar conversation with Harr-y Lauder, who said, "We've a long way ahead of us yet constable!" Lord knows how many cigarettes my old Granddad smoked with celebrities of the variety stage. I wish I'd spent more time listening to him but it's a sad fact of life that when you are ready to listen they've gone. Michael Daly. ********************************************** ********************* Spare a Thought for Margaret Royle Ever pleasant Margaret, who sits on the door to greet all - ~. ..... the Pcnyffordd members with a cheery smile, has been ,w. ..,iii!Ml~d'~ feeling down in the dumps lately and things have gone .. · worse since she had a fall at home. Although Margaret is moving about a bit she doesn' t seem ~ to be able to shake the blues off. So, in your quiet moments give our Margaret a few happy thoughts in the hope that she is soon back to her usual self. Thank You. We wish you all the very best Margaret and look forward to seeing you back at the meetings. P.S. l hope Cliff is keeping you eutertaiued with his jokes. ********************************************************************* George & Gracieatacharity function Des Redfern accompanied Warring­ ton's own Gracie Fields look and singalike, Ethel Guest who, nearing her 80s, can still reach the high notes and burst a few ear drums. Ethel will be with us at the Blind Society on Thursday 30th March. Any others interested in coming can give me a ring. - 5- Setting Up P.A. Equipment by Dennis Lee Some Tips on Amplification Systems. When the North Wales Branch was inaugurated nearly 7 years ago I kne\ absolutely nothing about sound systems. After a great deal of trial and error an1 many hours of picking the brains of experts I thought it might be useful to pass on some of what I have learned. Much of what follows will be self-evident and l hope l will be forgiven for stating the obvious. INITIAL SETTING UP Throughout your concert most performers will need to ap­ proach your system operator with their backing tapes. It makes sense therefore to place your operating system to one side of the room away from the stage. This avoids any interference with a performer on stag at the time. It is preferable to have one dedicated person operating the equipment. Over : period of time this person will become expert in recognising each players individua requirements. Feedback (whistle sound) is caused by the speaker sound being picked up by th microphone, so to avoid feedback the microphones should be on a level or behin1 the speakers, never in front. Speakers should be sited well off the floor or on stands if necessary. Each speaker will be connected to its own output at the rear of the amp. I find th best configuration of equipment to be: Tape deck output to minidisc input Minidisc output to amplifer input. If you do it this way remember when playing : tape you must remove disc and press the red record button on the minidisc prior t• pressing the play button on the tape deck. All wires should be routed to tak account of safety considerations. Ensure the next performer gives his tape/disc to the operator in plenty of time an1 is sat next to the operator ready to go on. This leads to smooth mnning of th concert. Any tape should be wound on to the appropriate starting point.