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.
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1:31:44
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1:31:44
Curry & Chips
“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!
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1:24:33
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1:24:33
The Galton & Simpson Archive
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.
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1:23:38
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1:23:38
Bonus! The Simpsons (with Lord Of Adders Black podcast)
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!
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1:23:33
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1:23:33
The Lost Gold Mine (of Charlotte)
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
A podcast where we talk about classic comedy with particular focus on the work of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe & Michael Bentine. You'll also hear us discuss the likes of Monty Python, Hancock, Blackadder, the Carry On films, Peter Cook, Steptoe & Son and countless other comedy figures & fixtures from the postwar era.
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