On the Wigan Boat Express

"On the Wigan Boat Express" is a comic song written by Fred Cliffe, Harry Gifford and the comedian George Formby. Formby recorded it on 4 August 1940 for Regal Zonophone Records. It tells the story of a boat train express heading for Formby's hometown of Wigan in Lancashire. Like several other of Formby's songs, it maintains a running joke that Wigan is a seaside town rather than an inland, industrial centre with a “pier” on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It is filled with the sort of sexual innuendo that was a hallmark of Formby's songs.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Richards p.194

Bibliography