| "Fanlight Fanny" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Clinton Ford | ||||
| B-side | "Dreamy City Lullaby"[1] | |||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Recorded | 1962 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Length | 2:49[2] | |||
| Label | Oriole Records - CB 1706[3] | |||
| Songwriters | George Formby, Harry Gifford and Fred E. Cliffe | |||
| Producer | John Schroeder[4] | |||
| Clinton Ford singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Fanlight Fanny" is a song written in 1935 by George Formby, Harry Gifford and Fred E. Cliffe, and recorded by Formby in May that year.[5][6] Another notable version was released in 1962 by Clinton Ford.
Song information
The original recording by George Formby was released on Decca Records (F5569) on 29 May 1935.[7] The song also appeared in Formby's 1939 film Trouble Brewing,[8] in which it bore an additional verse.[5] It tells the tale of a tawdry, West End-based woman of a certain age, full with alcohol and shoplifted goods, trying to earn a living in a Soho night spot, where she is "Fanlight Fanny the frowsey night-club queen".[9]
The version recorded by Clinton Ford in 1962 had accompaniment by the 'George Chisholm All Stars'.[3] It also, with permission, had added new words written by Ford.[10] "Fanlight Fanny" was Ford's third UK chart hit and his most successful single, reaching № 22 in the UK Singles Chart in March 1962. It spent ten weeks in that chart.[11][12] His album Clinton Ford, also known as Clinton Ford Sings Fanlight Fanny (1962), peaked at number 16 in the UK Albums Chart.[11][13]
Ford later recorded the Wally Lindsay-penned "Fanlight Fanny’s Daughter" (1963),[1] a track also released as a single, albeit with less success.[5] In 1968, on Ford's album Clinton The Clown (re-released in 1970 on Marble Arch Records), the song's character reappeared as "Fan-Dance Fanny", a renaming and re-recording which had a small change in lyrical content.[14] With the passage of six years, Fanny wore "dustbin lids on her chest" rather than her earlier "saucepan lids".[5]
Other uses
Formby's original version was used on the soundtrack to the 2008 horror film Chemical Wedding.[15]
References
- ^ a b "Clinton Ford". 45-rpm.org.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "UK Minor Hits of 1962". Addlong.co.uk. 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
- ^ a b "Clinton Ford - Fanlight Fanny / Dreamy City Lullaby (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "John Schroeder, Alaska Records, Pye, Oriole, Oriole American, Sounds Orchestral, Helen Shapiro, Status Quo, Mersey Beat". Johnschroeder.co.uk. 1961-12-04. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
- ^ a b c d "Clinton Ford With George Chisholm And The Inmates (3) - Clinton The Clown". Discogs.com. 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "Fanlight Fanny chords by George Formby (Melody Line, Lyrics & Chords – 108224)". Sheetmusicdirect.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "The George Formby Discography". Georgeformby.co.uk. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ Trouble Brewing. "Trouble Brewing - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "Fanlight Fanny-1935c by George Formby, with lyrics and chords for Ukulele, Guitar Banjo etc". Traditionalmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "Clinton Ford: Singer and entertainer whose versatility was both his strength and his weakness | Obituaries". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ a b Sharon Mawer. "Clinton Ford | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "Clinton Ford". 45-rpm.org.uk. 1931-11-04. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 207. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Clinton Ford: Fan-Dance Fanny (1968)". YouTube. 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ^ "Chemical Wedding (2008): Soundtracks". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
External links
- George Formby Songbook - Lyrics and music
- Link to both Formby's and Ford's versions
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