With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock

The sheet music for "With My Little Stick Of Blackpool Rock" is credited Words and Music by Harry Gifford and Fred Cliffe, copyright Lawrence Wright Music of London, 1964. The seaside town of Blackpool in the North of England has been a holiday attraction since the 18th Century, and has been especially popular with ordinary working people since the 1870s. It is famous for its rock, among other things.

George Formby sang this humourous ditty accompanying himself on the ukulele, but harmless though it seems, and although it nowhere comes close to rhyming "rock" with the obvious, the overzealous censor took umbrage to him strolling about the promenade with something small and sticky in his pocket, and in 1937 it was banned from BBC radio shows. It has to be said, this was not the first time Formby fell foul of the censor; previously his record label had ordered "With My Little Ukulele In My Hand" to be rewritten. Unsurprisingly, Formby made a live recording of the song for British Pathe at the Blackpool Winter Gardens accompanied by a pianist; it was actually the B Side of the less well known "Oh Dear, Mother". According to The George Formby Society, he made two recordings January 24, 1937 on Regal Zonophone, and also received a writing credit.