Alan Randall

Alan John Randle (10 June 1934 – 9 April 2005), known professionally as Alan Randall, was an English multi-instrumentalist and entertainer, who became best known for his impersonations of George Formby.

Biography Born in Bedworth, Warwickshire, he began playing music as a child, and learned both piano and vibraphone. He played many instruments in dance bands in the 1950s, including trumpet, trombone and drums as well as the vibraphone, which became his main instrument and on which he was recognised as one of the leading British exponents. In 1957, he appeared at the Windmill Theatre in London, and was booked to tour the country with emerging pop stars Tommy Steele and, later, Cliff Richard. As a musician and entertainer, he featured regularly in summer shows and pantomimes around Britain.

Randall was a lifelong fan of the Lancashire singer and entertainer George Formby. After Formby's death in 1961, Randall began interspersing his act with performances of Formby's songs, singing and accompanying himself on the ukulele-banjo.

He died in Nuneaton in 2005, aged 70, after suffering from motor neurone disease.