I'll never understand why people are so down on his singing. It may not be clean or rich but it's warm and charming all the same. His little laughs in this one are guaranteed to bring a smile.

I'm Chinese and I love this song. And the Uke. Who cares? It's a funny song:)

George Formby - may his music live on forever. He is a legend not to be forgotten.

I was brought up on George Formby and Al Jolson. Our dad could play the uke like no one I know. Sadly dad's not with us anymore 😢 to hear this music

Simply a legend great uke player and his films and music puts a big smile on your face I love George 😊

What a great entertainer, when I'm feeling down listening to George Formby songs never fails to put a smile back on my face!

Omg. My dads a window cleaner,can remember my dad singing this when I was 5-7 years old and finally found it. Mission accomplished! (Happy thoughts)

He is a master at the uke - and If his songs don't put a smile on your face, not much will!

This cheeky bloke and his uke are absolute treasures. No question about it.

He was a really good comic actor. Earning huge money for these films too.

Love the way the orchestra join in

His eyesight getting better but his nose is getting flatter just awesome.

George Formby is the business. I have a ukulele of my own.

Mum and dad loved George Formby during the 2nd world war he was fun.

I watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and I couldn't get this out of my head.

How this was tied into the movie was masterful. It's how Peter knew his calls were being listened in on. In the late 70s if you heard this in the background of a phone call and then heard some bloke humming it 5 minutes later the chances of it being a mere coincident are nil. That movie is just so subtly yet masterfully crafted. I used to be a Robert Ludlum fan but as I grow a bit older I really have come to appreciate LeCarre and his ability to weave a plot. Nobody does it better.

James Herriot's Dog Stories brought me here just now. Watching Formby makes me feel happy.

Love these. Takes me back to times when I used to listen to George Formby with my dad.

This is from one of the greatest British movie's ever made,and has the famous scene were George fall's a sleep and dreams he beats up Hitler up,which at the time caused the great when Britain was great public to stand and cheer in the cinema's.

What a great song upbeat attitude please keep this music Going.

Originally it's a 1970's Cold War spy novel by John le Carre. Over 30 years ago there was a popular BBC miniseries adaptation of it, and recently there was a movie version, which is the one that features this song in one scene. It's easily one of my favourite films of the past several years.

This Mr Wu couldn't hold down a bloody permanent job. First he owns a laundry, then he's a window cleaner and later he becomes an air raid warden. Work shy Wu's what used to call him. GEORGE WAS A GENIUS!

Makes you proud to British. Bravo.Bravo

@godznuts I won't argue with you about his singing (although let's not forget, this is comedy) - but if you're questioning George Formby's uke playing skills then you've lost the plot - he is the greatest master of the uke ever to have lived and there's plenty of footage to prove it.

I'm a middle-aged Chinese guy and don't find this song racist as it isn't derogatory. It is just a funny enjoyable song about a Chinese window cleaner.

It's not racist - lots of Chinese people were in the laundry business in those days. It's stereotypical definitely but not racist. And George Formby definitely wasn't a racist. It's a pretty offensive accusation to make lightly.

Love George Formby style!!! All time great!

hes buried in warringtons cemetry with a big stage as his grave stone he was real good

My favourite :)

It's just awesome.

oh...he mostly certainly could play the ukulele!!!!! George was at his best in these days. He inspired a battle beaten public (London and the cities we bombed on a monthly basis) to look towards happier times. Thankfully they came. This music is happy 70 years later.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy got me here.

"All day long he wants to keep on running up the ladder", perhaps the finest double entendre ever.

I absolutely agree. It's such a wonderfully refreshing thing to see in today's entertainment world of clichés and tired plots.

I love this, it's like "Chinese Laundry Blues" and "When I'm Cleaning Windows" rolled into one epic tune :)

It was about giving our soldiers moral during WW2

'Outside line, sir.. someone rough.' - hysterical and tense bit!

I've been a fan of his for years. Little did I know that his old home, Beryldene, is about 1.3 miles away from my house. Got a little blue plaque on the wall outside the wall. Very nice to know my favourite performer also lived very, very close to where I live. My friend's great-granddad has a picture of him and George Formby. My friends great-granddad used to fix Georges Bentley because he was the only person qualified to fix those specific Bentleys in the area at the time. It's also cool to find that a friend has someone in his family who met Formby. Wonder if I'll make any more discoveries within the next few weeks? :3333

The way he puts that little chord slide-up in, at 2:35. Masterful!

I'd agree but with clarification: he is the greatest master of the banjo ukelee played in a quite specific style, that he made all his own.

Thrash that axe George! Brilliant stuff, before my time but still gotta love it

I have a CD of British wartime songs. In a later recording, Mr. Wu became an air raid warden.

I love the actor slightly broke character when hearing George play 0:55

He brought so much joy to people, especially during the Second World War. He was banned occasionally from BBC Radio due to his lyrics. It is interesting to hear him bend notes 30+ years before the late Eddy Van Halen. He also had an influence on a young physics and astronomy student who also craved a career in music. Brian May from Queen used his father’s George Formby uke banjo in 2 songs; Bring Back That Leroy Brown and Good Company.

widely mourned by millions - a true giant in his heyday and a virtuoso on his banjo-uke loved him since a kid and saw him on TV each and every week

Peter Guillam and George Smiley brought me here.

These songs are pretty difficult to sing. The melodies leap about all over the place. George had an excellent sense of pitch.and to play the ukelele at the same time as singing is very difficult. He was an excellent musician.

I think Garry Marsh is the only person I've heard pronounce Vacuum correctly !

I don't care if he's a vacu-yum cleaner.

1st hear, when I was a kid 70s, ,when on tv, back then,!

2.57 he just so one off his own a spirit you never see gain the one and only what a lovely personaltey you rock

I know the opening lines from Big Audio Dynamite's "Dragon Town."

One of the skills is his use of rhythm and phrasing

so cool

1st hear , was play early 70s , as a kid !!

Goes hard

So did I! Had to go looking for it :-D

Lovely teeth and lovely smile

Yep. Brilliant isn't he!

tinker tailor Soldier Spy brought me heree

It was purely a sarcastic comment . You reply is exactly the response I was looking for. Very well done !

@firevorm yES!! u R SOOOO RIGHT!!

I love the guy on the bass behind George toward the end of the clip -- he's having such a good time. But then, George almost always had that effect on both his listeners and fellow musicians. :)

XXX. Classic.

immortal.

play on bro, and my you live on forever.

@mkcwebmaster the absolute master!

@davidatownsend - I looked it up. it's spelled CAMI (according to Wikipedea).

Excellent taste in music brought me here.

1:20 He invented trolling? Love that facial expression.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

LOL @ 1:21 . I wasn't expecting that.

This was sampled in big audio dynamite's "dragon town"

the PlayStation eye toy starter game brought me here

Windas. Nice accent!

♥ =)

He was the biggest cinema box office attraction in Britain during world war two, so nuts to Hollywood and nads to Clark Gable &c. I'm sorry there wasn't more swearing in his films though.

@emergengy me too!

Da da da da da da da da.

George Formby is so funny why cant comedians now days try as hard as he did instead of all the vulgar language nudity and sex jokes

It was meant in Sarcasm , but thanx for the comment !

@mkcwebmaster I don't know about that. Ever hear of Roy Smeck?

Gimme two seconds.... Searching my desk... Nope, no fucks to give. Historical is the correct word.

@godznuts Formby was a comedy act. He didn't need a great voice. His charm was in his affable nature and his unrivaled skill on the Ukulele (as well as many double entendres which were risque for his era). Few people in the world have mastered the split-stroke and even fewer can reach Formby's level, his solo's are the stuff of legend in Ukulele circles. Some Ukulele circles in th UK get fed up with being linked to him just because of the Ukulele but none question his skills.

Brilliant! He was a great ukelele player. Quite a good article about him here - and mentions the story of the tour of South Africa in 1946 - when he would have been the biggest star in the Commonwealth. During the war he also used to play concerts for the troops at the front lines rather than away from them.

his mimics me think of the lololo man.

2:39 - The guy with the double bass thing on the left behind George. He was in It's in the Air right?

I know so was I ;)

@mkcwebmaster technically that would make them gammy knicks then eh! Rotten, yucky knickers ....

Gammy is a slang word with several meanings. I usually take the word as meaning mouldy or rotten or "yucky" but I can't think how that meaning could apply here. Knicks are knickers of course (in those days, probably big bloomers) - or panties as our American friends call them.

@superjules How many movies did Roy Smeck star in?

Yea!! 100 thumb up!!

Spike Milligan's revisitation of this song in the 'Hitler Sings' sketch is just hilarious... pure genius... (can't post the link though, it won't let me...)

Where can i download this song?

I thought he was about to break in to Kiss by Prince

@PilesDriver how is it?

John neighbour bring me here

@Flossferry i what way?

George has his own chapter in the Big Book of British Smiles

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.