BORN in 1875 in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Cheshire, as James Booth, George started his stage career at the tender age of 13, singing in the rough pubs around Wigan.
As half of The Brothers Glenray he entertained crowds but found applause turning to laughter as their voices started to break.
They changed their act to include comic songs and costumes, and changed their name to Formby after noticing goods trains with the wagon labelled to go to the small Merseyside town.
George made his first record in 1907 and moved on to perform in pantomimes in 1918. The painful chest complaint he'd had since he was a child was eventually to be the death of him in 1921.
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