By George! Formby uke set to fetch £30k | Instrument to be auctioned this week

By George! Formby uke set to fetch £30k

Instrument to be auctioned this week

comedyOne of George Formby’s banjo ukulele’s is to be sold off – with auctioneers expecting it could fetch £30,000

The Gibson UB3 banjolele is going under the hammer this Friday at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire.

It was previously owned Bill Logan, the president of the George Formby Society, who bought it at a sale at the Formby family home in  Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, soon after the star’s death in 1961. Logan later sold it on to another member of the group, Terry Wallin

The George Formby Society say of the item being auctioned this week: ‘Formby owned 19 instruments and it is known that this one was little used either in his films or on stage.’

His instruments have sold for a huge range of prices. In 2008,  Queen star Brian May brought one for £72,000. The following year another of his banjoleles went for a relatively modest £780.

Here's the story of George Formby being banned by the BBC:

Published: 26 Jun 2017

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