Alan Randall (1934-2005)
Michael Rhodes
<<June 10, 1934 - April 9, 2005
Musical entertainer whose finest achievements were forever dwarfed by
his uncanny impersonation of George Formby>>
A JAZZ musician and brilliant multi-instrumentalist, Alan Randall
became famous for his uncanny impression of the Lancashire music-hall
comedian and singer George Formby.
Although he was renowned for his own expertise on the vibraphone,
piano, trumpet and trombone, it was his recreation of Formby's
near-the-knuckle stage act that brought Randall appearances in Royal
Variety Shows, more than 300 radio and TV broadcasts, cabaret on the
QE2 and the starring role in Turned Out Nice Again, the hit stage
musical of Formby's life. He appeared with Perry Como and Liza
Minnelli in Las Vegas and played in concerts with Cliff Richard and the
Rolling Stones.
Alan Randall was born in 1934 in Bedworth, Warwickshire. He claimed
that he had been a fan of George Formby since he was 3, when his
parents had bought a radiogram but had only eight records, including
two by Formby. As an infant Randall would shout "George" to demand
to hear the records, with which he sang along. His uncle bought him a
ukulele when he was 4, and he began singing along to Formby records at
school concerts.
At 19 he played the vibraphone and piano with the Gerry Allen Trio on
ATV's daily magazine show, Lunch Box, and toured the US. In 1957 he
returned to Britain and began a solo career at the Windmill Theatre,
London. Spotted by Lew and Leslie Grade, he toured Britain with variety
stars and singers such as Cliff Richard and Tommy Steele. But Randall
did not sing on stage, he said, "because no matter what I sang I
always sounded like George Formby."
Randall said his biggest mistake was to become identified as the Formby
tribute singer at the expense of his "true talent with the vibraphone
and piano". He was described by The New Yorker as "one of the
world's best musical acts", and his successes included a solo
performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal
Festival Hall televised by the BBC.
The Formby fame began in the late 1960s when he needed a "front
cloth" number while the stage was cleared of his vibraphone and
piano, ready for the next act. The performance achieved such a
reputation that he was rarely asked to perform his own musical act
again.
With his toothy smile and cheeky grin, not to mention the voice and the
ukulele-playing, Randall became indistiguishable from Formby himself.
Even Pat Howson (Formby's fiancée after the death of his famously
irascible wife Beryl) and Formby's relations thought it must be
recordings of the man himself. After Formby's death in 1961 Randall
did much to keep his name alive with concert appearances and his own
recordings of Formby songs such as When I'm Cleaning Windows, With My
Little Stick of Blackpool Rock and Leaning on a Lamppost.
Although performers such as Lonnie Donegan, Roy Hudd, Clinton Ford and
Peter Goodwright all used Formby numbers in their act, it was Randall
who tactfully modernised some of the lyrics, and it was largely due to
him that a Formby revival began in the 1980s. Pat Howson became a close
friend of Randall and gave him many of Formby's possessions, regalia
including his OBE, and a collection of his orginal test-pressing
recordings.
In 1974 Randall co-wrote with Ray Seaton an acclaimed biograpy of
Formby, and with the TV comedy script writer Vince Powell he wrote the
musical Turned Out Nice Again: The George Formby Story which toured the
UK. He also featured in the closing scene of the historic Beatles
reunion video for their last hit single, Free as a Bird.
He continued to appear in concert in Britain and the US throughout the
two past decades and in 1984 appeared on the same bill with Eric
Morecambe at the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, on the night that the
comedian died of a heart attack after coming off stage.
Randall is survived by his wife Mary, and a son and a daughter.
Alan Randall, musician, entertainer and impersonator of George Formby,
was born on June 10, 1934. He died on April 9, 2005, aged 70.