Goon Pod

At first glance you may be forgiven for thinking this fairly obscure 1962 British film was one of those forgettable ‘let’s put the show on right here!’ teensploitation flicks full of popular music acts of the day, bland and generic enough to offend nobody other than crusty old colonel-types who objected to young people being seen to have fun. But this film, the feature directorial debut by Richard Lester, was something a little different, with an eye for visual flair to differentiate it from the formulaic British musical films which had preceded it. Lester pretty much determined that he had to make the absolute most of what he was given to work with and we see in the film the earliest knockings of what would later become known as the music video; and he would use these techniques to greater effect a couple of years later in A Hard Day’s Night. There was also actual proper comedy, not in abundance but any dads in the audience would have been reassured by the presence of Derek Nimmo, Mario Fabrizi, Frank Thornton and Hugh Lloyd – not to mention the soothing tones of Deryck Guyler as ‘The Narrator’. Lester employed cartoonish, one might almost say Goonish flourishes throughout the film: fast motion, reverse spooling, the aforementioned omnipresent narrator who’s in on the joke and there’s even a custard pie gag. The pairing of just-about-still-relevant pop stars Helen Shapiro and Craig Douglas as the film’s colourless leads was necessary to draw the target audience but by 1962 how many teenagers were still into Mr Acker Bilk, Chris Barber or even Chubby Checker? The Beatles’ heavy footfall was a creak on the stair and within months this sort of music would be swept away as Merseybeat and beat groups in general bestrode the Hit Parade. Joining Tyler to discuss “the whole swingy parade [which] goes like a good-humoured bomb” (The Daily Mirror) is Andrew Hickey, host of A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs who believes it is a standout film of its genre, but says the credit is largely owed to Richard Lester and his unique directorial style. He discusses the musical and cultural climate in Britain at the time, the origins of Trad Jazz, the early career of Lester and how films like this were usually largely cinematic landfill, plus talks about his show and plans for the future. (Recorded February 2025 and first heard on Goon Pod Film Club)

The year is 1656 in Ninfield, Sussex. Grytpype-Thynne and Moriarty arrive at the stately home of Lord Neddie Seagoon, seeking shelter for the night. As he shows them to their room, Lord Seagoon notices that the seats of their trousers are burned out... a ghastly indication of the dreaded Nadger Plague!This is definitely one of those Goon Shows where you have to ask yourself, how did they get away with it? This week Tyler and returning guest Sean Gaffney discuss all things nadgers - plagues and otherwise. It's definitely a rather unsettling episode with a gothic undercurrent and a couple of ideas which prefigured Harry Potter by a good forty-odd years. There's a witch, an apothecary, talking clocks and gas-stoves, treasure chests, lantern slides and even early homeopathy!They also discuss the death of Son Of Fred, The Telegoons, Bernard Levin getting chinned on live telly, Lady Docker and Liberace!

Over the course of his relatively short film career Peter Sellers appeared in a lot of movies but this week we are looking at those film projects that he was at one stage attached to and were either never made or made withouthis involvement. Joining Tyler is actor Patrick Strain and the two of them consider such 'might have beens' as The Alien, God Ha Ha, Arigato, I'm All Right Jack 2 and The Phantom Vs The Fourth Reich. They also wonder how different 10, Topkapi and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes - among many others - might have been had Sellers starred in them.

This week a bit of a diversion. MJ Price of Quite A Boast podcast - all things Reeves & Mortimer - joins Tyler to talk about his love of the Goons and considers what sort of influence or impact (or otherwise) they may have had on future comedians, specifically Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer. Later the chat turns more generally towards R&M and their body of work, including Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Smell of Reeves & Mortimer, Bang Bang It's Reeves & Mortimer, Shooting Stars and Catterick (with dishonourable mentions to Randall & Hopkirk Deceased and that Ulrika special).They muse on how different generations of comics and comedians tended to flit into and out of each others' orbits and turn up in each others' shows and this is a tradition which applied equally to the Goons as it did to Reeves & Mortimer. It's a fun chat about a pair of comedy legends who crop up all too infrequently on Goon Pod but whose humour and inventiveness chimes with that of Milligan (although he would never have acknowledged that at the time!)You can find Quite A Boast here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL11Ba_QI4Z2_rczxZtu83mE7L4ZW6npL_&si=66WgrMaYtKOT0jEl

Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Norman Cohen and starring Jim Dale, Arthur Lowe and Spike Milligan. It is based on Milligan's best-selling first volume of war memoir of the same name but differs markedly in several respects. It was adapted by Milligan, Cohen and Johnny Byrne; Byrne said of the film: “We want to get away from the idea that Milligan is a clown. He is a clown but first of all he is a human being. As this is a film about the early Milligan, Milligan was more of a human being than a clown at that time.”The casting of Jim Dale as young Spike was inspired, and he received a BAFTA nomination. While the film prioritises comedy, it occasionally crowbars in a clunky 'war is hell' narrative and it struggles to find the right tone. Nevertheless it is a serviceable 90 minute 70s British comedy with a host of familiar faces such as Bill Maynard, Tony Selby, Geoffrey Hughes, Pat Coombs and Windsor Davies.Joining Tyler this week to discuss the film is comedy writer Matt Owen who can be found at https://www.mathew-owen.co.uk/

The Life & Death of Peter Sellers caused something of a stir upon original publication in 1994. Rather than being a dispassionate account of the actor's life and work it leaned in quite heavily on his failings as a man and the author himself wasn't afraid to offer his personal views. That author, Roger Lewis, joins Tyler this week as the book is out in a brand new edition to coincide with Sellers' centenary this year. Roger has written a new afterword: The Centennial Sellers and Steve Coogan supplied a foreword. They discussed Sellers' strengths and weaknesses, his films, the Goon Show, people he worked with and fell in and out with and tried to nail down what it was about his self-destructive melancholy private personality that so absorbed Roger early on in the writing of the book. Alexander Walker comes in for a bit of a kicking too! There's also quite a bit about the film of the book and speculations about what Sellers might have done had he lived beyond 1980. Added to this, Roger talks about his previous book on Charles Hawtrey which is being reissued next year and the book he is currently engaged upon: Victoria Wood, and the women in comedy who influenced and shaped her unique talent.

“I like the Pickwick score, it’s robust and British. I’ve often been offered parts in American musicals but I’ve always turned them down. No matter how good they are, I always feel they are not part of us. That’s why I waited and thought of this idea of making a musical of ‘Pickwick.” - Harry Secombe, 1963.And so the idea was realised, based on the 1837 Charles Dickens novel The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, better known simply as The Pickwick Papers. Harry got the idea for the musical while on holiday in the Bahamas, inspired by the success of Oliver! The writer Wolf Mankowitz agreed to turn it into a musical but faced the considerable challenge of condensing the 250,000words and loosely-linked anecdotes from the original novel into a workable stage production. He eventually decided to use the Pickwick-Bardell breach of promise action as a basic skeleton from which to hang the two-act musical adaptation. Pickwick premiered in Manchester in summer 1963 and as well as Secombe as the titular rotundity featured the likes of Anton Rodgers, Julian Orchard, Hilda Braid, Peter Bull and Norman Rossington among the cast.It swiftly transferred to the West End and two years later opened in the United States. Some of the original British cast reprised their roles (obviously including Harry) but Charlotte Rae came on board as Mrs Bardell and a young scapegrace called Davy Jones took up the part of Sam Weller. The story is he was spotted and signed up for The Monkees during this, and was subsequently replaced by the great Roy Castle. An original cast recording was released on LP in 1963 and in 1969 the BBC broadcast a 90-minute colour adaptation of the musical, adapted for the screen by James Gilbert and Jimmy Grafton. It reunited Secombe with Roy Castle and Julian Orchard and introduced us to Hattie Jacques as Mrs Bardell, Aubrey Woods as Mr Jingle and Robert Dorning as Tupman.This week returning guest Tim Worthington talks all things Pickwick but as you would expect with someone like Tim the conversation is wide-ranging and he pulls many a thread from the tapestry of sixties popular culture!

"What's become of that crispy bacon we had before the war?"Yes, this is that episode. 'Fireball' doesn't perhaps get the love it deserves, as it contains a fairly strong plot (by Goon Show terms). Henry Crun believes the sun is on fire, ergo the world is coming to an end and soon his fellow villagers are drawn into the drama. Seagoon is dispatched to see the Queen, a dissenting lad climbs a 200-ft ladder with a bit of bread on the end of a toasting fork and a rocket is constructed out of wood, brown paper and string, the idea being that it will transport the villagers up to the sun with buckets of water to put it out. Still with me? Joining us this week is Jeff Walker, host of Podcasto Catflappo - a podcast all about Filthy, Rich & Catflap.

This week Goon Pod welcomes Gavin Sutherland, conductor, musician, composer, arranger and general music nut with a passion for both the high-brow and the not-so-high-brow. As well as all that he's involved in podcasts such as The Peggy Mount Calamity Hour and has just released an album of old TV tunes, idents and ephemera: 'The Next Programme Follows Shortly'.Gavin has long been a fan of the Goons and thanks to his job and connections has met a number of former musicians who have played on the Goon Show, as well as, most notably, Angela Morley. Gavin talks about Angela fondly and describes how she was much in demand for her musical arrangements. He and Tyler talk about some music heard in the Goon Show over the course of the series, some of it highly memorable, while some of it merely a useful example of dependable linking music. It's a hugely enjoyable conversation which will appeal to comedy and music fans alike!

In 1966 Jonathan Miller's BBC Television adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic children's story caused something of a moral panic, even before it was broadcast. Amidst much foot-stamping, harrumphing and letters to the Editor the point was very much missed - yes, it was to be screened after nine o'clock in the evening and was not aimed at children but not because it contained questionable material (or, as some believed, 'X-rated filth'!). The writer and performer Bob Fischer first saw Miller's Alice In Wonderland about twenty-odd years ago and was immediately drawn in. It was a snapshot of the time it was made despite the period trappings, an example of early psychedelia with offbeat performances, thought-provoking visuals (inspired by Victorian photography), and an overall dreamlike undercurrent set to music by Ravi Shankar. All of it conveyed the torpor of an endless summer.Miller eschewed actors in animal costumes and was blessed with a stellar cast including Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Brambell, Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Leo McKern and even Malcolm Muggeridge, not to mention the girl at the centre of the film, Alice herself, played by Anne-Marie Mallik. Bob & Tyler immerse themselves in the film and discuss its background, the controversy, the casting, story, score and much else besides. Bob throws in the odd Alan Bennett impression and wonders if 1966 AIW could in some ways have inspired both The Prisoner and The Rutles, and even draws some parallels with Revolver, released around the time the film was in production. Bob is @bobfischer.bsky.social‬ and as well as writing for the Fortean Times, Electronic Sound and Doctor Who Magazine is one of the people behind Mulgrave Audio and Summer Winos and tours with Scarred For Life.

In May 1991 At Last The Go On Show was broadcast on BBC Radio 2, designed to celebrate the Goon Show's 40th anniversary. It was a stunning documentary that still sounds fresh and relevant today and two of the three men behind it - Dirk Maggs and Ted Kendall - joined Tyler and Graeme Lindsay Foot to discuss how it all came about and the challenges they faced. Ted (who it turns out wanted to be a racing driving before getting into audio engineering) talks about bringing together the clips and sequences which proliferate throughout and the techniques employed to improve their quality. Dirk recalls interviewing Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine and the marathon session putting everything together. Graeme looks back at it from the fan's perspective and recalls GSPS get-togethers from years gone by. They also talk about the series of restored shows that aired the following year and the necessary cuts needed in a wide-ranging and thoroughly enjoyable conversation.

John Antrobus is 92 years old and still going strong! He is the last living link with the Goon Show inasmuch as he co-wrote (with Spike Milligan) two shows from the eighth series and would later go on to collaborate with Milligan on a regular basis - mostly notably on The Bed Sitting Room.Fifteen years Milligan's junior, young fresh-faced Antrobus joined Associated London Scripts soon after its formation and worked with all the older hands - including Johnny Speight, Galton & Simpson and Eric Sykes. It was an education!A fine comedy writer and playwright, John is long overdue a proper appreciation and joining Tyler this week to bend the knee is Mike Haskins. Mike recalls interviewing Antrobus for some Radio 4 documentaries and examines his career with particular emphasis on his relationship with Spike.

“At least 53 ‘bloodies’ in half-an-hour last night. This is definitely not British sir! I suggest you study the British working man more!"So thundered a disgruntled viewer in 1969 after watching an episode of the Johnny Speight & Spike Milligan sitcom Curry & Chips. One notes with interest it was the word 'bloody' which triggered him, as opposed to any of the other bad language with which the series as a whole was replete. Starring Spike Milligan in brownface as Kevin O'Grady, Curry & Chips is chiefly set in the factory of Lillicrap Ltd, a supplier of novelty goods managed ineptly by Arthur Blenkinsop (Eric Sykes) with jumped-up mini-tyrant shop steward Norman (played by Norman Rossington), Kenneth (played by Kenny Lynch) and Young Dick (Geoffrey Hughes) among the workers. Much of the 'humour' was racist in tone, with Kevin subject to regular verbal abuse by his colleagues, although he usually gave as good as he got. There were also swipes at religion, class, politics, sexuality and pretty much any topic that confused, enraged or affected the grumbling Lillicrap staff.It has been suggested that Milligan and Speight hoped that the series would produce audience empathy for immigrants and put a mirror up for the working classes to see their own prejudices reflected back at them. Nice try, lads. Joining Tyler is John Williams, co-host of World Of Telly, who brings his considerable knowledge of the British television landscape in the late sixties to great use, explaining the background and build up to the show, the backlash and eventual cancellation. Curry & Chips was a pretty bloody (that word again!) awful programme but not completely without a few laughs - thanks chiefly to Spike - tune into our chat to find out what had the pair chuckling once or twice in between the wincing and sighing!

Over a long and rightly celebrated career Ray Galton and Alan Simpson were careful to file away, log and generally archive much of their written output, correspondence, contracts and other ephemera. Now York University's Borthwick Institute for Archives is attempting to secure the collection for the nation and the Institute's Gary Brannan joins Tyler to talk about the G&S archive and the fund-raising campaign - appropriately titled 'Innit Marvellous'.More information here: https://yustart.hubbub.net/p/galtonandsimpson/Among the tantalising discoveries in the Galton & Simpson archive are several short sketches featuring Goon Show characters which were specifically written for Peter Sellers to perform on a long-forgotten radio variety show in late 1954 - literally days before the first episode of Hancock's Half Hour was broadcast. One of these scripts was brought back to life and performed at the York Festival of Ideas recently by actor and voice-over artist Richard Usher, who is also acting Chair of the Goon Show Preservation Society.Richard joins Tyler and Gary to talk about these scripts and the conversation ranges from Galton & Simpson's career to the importance of archive preservation. Richard talks about how he believes the GSPS can evolve to remain relevant and Gary discusses other collections the Institute currently holds.

There is absolutely no connection between the Goons and the Simpsons so what on earth is this special bonus episode all about? Well, my very good friends Ian and Michael over at the Lord Of Adders Black podcast - celebrating all things Blackadder - joined me to share our love for The Simpsons and talk through our favourite episodes! (Their podcast is really good - find it here: https://shows.acast.com/lord-of-adders-black )Great comedy is great comedy and while it's fair to say that few people could describe most post-2000 Simpsons content as 'great comedy' the stuff that came before remains sublime. I'm not sure what a Venn diagram of Goon Show fans and Simpsons fans would look like but hopefully it's more or less a circle. So indulge me for this special bonus episode with Michael & Ian where I get a rare chance to gush about comedy from the 1990s!

How young Ned Seagoon journeys by steam packet to the Americas to find the Lost Gold Mine and how, after being foully tricked by several desperadoes, he eventually triumphs. The action takes place aboard the S.S. Filthmuck, in a New Orleans dustbin, near the desert town of San Fairee Ann, and in a dried-up gulch near Hammersmith.Sandwiched between The Whistling Spy Enigma and The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-On-Sea, this episode of The Goon Show is an often overlooked gem from early on in Series 5. It's a cracking yarn, invoking Treasure of the Sierra Madre-type themes as Neddie tries to retrieve the map of a gold mine he lost to Grytpype-Thynne and Moriarty. Much double-crossing and map-tearing abounds, and we even get the opportunity to discuss 1830s pornography!Returning guest Paul Abbott is co-host of The Big Beatles & Sixties Sort Out and the podcast can be found HERE: https://linktr.ee/bigsort

One of the few actors who could genuinely command respect and admiration from Peter Sellers, Irene Handl is mainly remembered now for her multitudinous 'mum', 'gran', 'landlady/charlady' and general 'dotty old dear' roles in films and on TV. She and Sellers appeared together in films, on record, on stage and on television. Perhaps the pairing is most well known from the 1959 film I'm All Right Jack, in which they played Mr & Mrs Kite. That same year saw the release of the LP Songs For Swinging Sellers which includes two tracks featuring Handl - The Critics and Shadows On The Grass, which she also wrote. Poignantly the two were reunited in 1979 on the LP Sellers Market, on the track The Whispering Giant and Sellers' death a year later upset Handl terribly - she said she never got over it. Clearly the two had had a unique friendship and understanding of each other that few others could equal. This week we welcome back Donna Rees to discuss the work they did together and Irene Handl in particular. She was a fascinating figure: not getting into acting until relatively late in life; the daughter of well-to-do parents with servants; a woman who never married yet received regular marriage proposals as she travelled the world in her twenties; a published novelist and huge fan of Elvis Presley and owner of many chihuahuas; she quite liked pornography, hated ET and her favourite actress was Yootha Joyce. And she pretty much worked with everyone.

Commissioner Dreyfus had for years wanted to see his infuriating underling Inspector Jacques Clouseau dead and buried and for a while, with the death of Peter Sellers in 1980, it seemed like the shambolic Sûreté shamus had indeed been laid to rest...... Until somebody had the bright idea of filming two new movies back-to-back trading on the Clouseau character - after all, the Pink Panther film series had been a massively successful franchise, why spoil it all just because the main actor was dead?First was Trail Of The Pink Panther which featured out-takes and deleted scenes from previous films, which was bad enough. Then Blake Edwards ran out of old footage so hit upon the idea of introducing a brand new character for the second feature, Curse Of The Pink Panther. This bumbling new detective, Clifton Sleigh, would be tasked with finding the missing Inspector Clouseau, and in the course of which would be just as hapless and hilarious and hopefully be seen as the heir to Sellers. In fact, the idea was to make six more films with Sleigh! I know right? It didn't quite work out. Jon Auty from Behind The Stunts joins Tyler to pick over the bones of this thoroughly-flogged dead horse and while acknowledging one or two genuine titters and some pretty impressive stunt work there's little else of any merit. Ted Wass, as Sgt Clifton Sleigh, tries to make the most of what he's given to work with (including an inflatable woman) and there's some fun to be had spotting familiar faces including Michael Elphick, Bill Nighy and - appearing as Turk Thrust II - Roger Moore. But the fact remains that it's a lame film that should never have been made and really should have been the final nail in that particular coffin. Yet amazingly it wasn't! (That's a story for another time)Jon talks about the various stunt coordinators involved with the film including Joe Dunne and Roy Alon and Behind The Stunts can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/behind-the-stunts/id1547078357

When Adam Faith and chums decide to make a fake Loch Ness monster they set off a chain of events too hilarious to describe. With a script by Terry Nation, What A Whopper! is a serviceable British comedy film of the early sixties slightly let down by rather colourless leads but lending solid support are the likes of Sid James, Wilfred Bramble, Charles Hawtrey and - you guessed it - Spike Milligan, who plays a tramp fishing on the bank of the Serpentine.Returning guests Tilt Araiza and Gary Rodger from The Sitcom Club mull over Scottish stereotypes, Terry Scott's potty mouth and rubber salmon. Also:Recasting Adam Faith as Harold Steptoe?Is Sid James the Paul Eddington of dirty old men?How does the film compare to Psycho?Is Terence Longdon a young Tommy Cockles?Who thought casting Freddie Frinton was a good idea?Is it a sort of sequel to What A Carve Up?And who brought along Eccles cakes?Tune in to find out the answers to all this and more!

Issued on BBC LP in 1979, The Rent Collectors is still often overlooked which is a bit unfair. Although given of a slight plot - not unusual for a Goon Show! - it has some marvellous set pieces and gags and an interesting guest performer in the shape of actor Bernard Miles. It also heralded the first official appearance of Little Jim whose catchphrase has delighted audiences ever since (it says here). We talk about Miles' appearance (which was very much last-minute), Sellers' ATV Saturday night specials scripted by Eric Sykes in which he portrayed the likes of Bloodnok & Willium, and we touch on Aldous Huxley, Marilyn Monroe and General Gordon (what a party THAT was!)This week's guest is performer and podcaster Ciarán Moffatt who posits that the episode is possibly two unfinished shows bolted together. Later the discussion turns to talk of inflatable dolls and manatees... something for everyone folks!