The GSPS will be represented again at the next Talking Pictures TV Festival of Film and TV Roadshow. This time it’s in the Midlands, on Sunday 13th September at the Redditch Palace Theatre.
Hopefully we’ll have our stand where visitors can come and chat to us, and maybe even buy stuff. And not only that, our own Richard Usher will be appearing on stage performing a couple of Goon-style sketches which were originally written for Peter Sellers by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
And not only that, Richard will be overshadowed on stage by a lady with a Goon Show connection. The legendary actress Britt Ekland, once married to Peter Sellers of course, is topping the bill.
For more information about who else is appearing, and how to get tickets, visit renownfilms.co.uk.
The first Goon Show was broadcast on the BBC Home Service on 28th May 1951.
Hello Folks! Calling Folks! Are you celebrating the 75th anniversary of our beloved show in style?
Sadly, it wasn’t possible to get an actual Goon Show arranged to celebrate the milestone (oh we tried folks, we really tried…), but there should be plenty going on to commemorate it in other ways.
One way the GSPS is celebrating the day is with the publication of the new (seventh) edition of Encyclopaedia Goonicus, our archive collection of documents and recordings which we make available to paid-up members of the society.
There’s also a new 75th Anniversary page on the website looking at some stories from that 1951 broadcast.
And to celebrate the anniversary, there’s a special discount offer on our membership fee to those of you who might be persuaded to join our society.
On yesterday’s episode of GoonPod, Tyler Adams marked the anniversary with six Goon Show fans having a round table discussion about our favourite show Find it on your usual podcast source or try here if you don’t have one.
I will be taking to the stage at the TPTV event in September with two performances of some long-forgotten Galton and Simpson mini–Goon Shows, and the mighty Hambledon Productions will soon be touring the UK with The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town.
Looking ahead, this year’s Annual Gathering will be taking place at Stephens House & Gardens in Finchley on Saturday 10th October, and we hope to see lots of you there.
A message from our editor has arrived. It says he’s been visited by the nice lady in her red van. What does that mean? You can imagine what you like, we choose to think that the June issue of the GSPS newsletter has entered the postal system, and it’ll be delivered to our members once they’ve found the Stolen Postman*.
In this newsletter issue, we’re celebrating the 75th Anniversary of our beloved radio show first hitting the airwaves. And there’s more than anniversary talk, just look at the crowded contents list above.
The Goon Show News newsletter is published quarterly and sent to all of our members. A sample copy can be downloaded here. If you’re not getting it, why not take advantage of the special offer now on and join the GSPS. You won’t be disappointed.
* A postman hasn’t really been stolen. It’s an attempted humorous reference to a Goon Show episode.
It’s time to get your tickets for the UK stage tour of The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town.
The work was written by Spike Milligan and Ronnie Barker. It was originally conceived to be a Goon Show revival project, however, Peter, Harry and Spike couldn’t get together at the time.
Many will remember the Phantom from its serialisation on The Two Ronnies TV show. Actually that was 50 years ago, so many more might not.
For those who don’t remember, it’s a Victorian London set spoof on the Jack the Ripper story. With the Milligan and Barker connection, expect surreal absurdism, clever puns, near-the-knuckle ribaldry, quick-fire jokes and wordplay.
Hambledon Productions, the theatre company which specialises in vintage comedy, have adapted the show and are touring it from September to November this year. Details of the tour and tickets are on the Hambledon Productions website.
A celebration of 75 years of the Goon Show being held on 28th May has come to our attention.
It’s part of the regular monthly series of WAM (Words Art Music) events held in St. Elvan’s Church in Aberdare. In the words of the organisers: Join us for a WAM | Thursday Night Radio Play Special, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary (to the day Minn) of the first ever broadcast of the iconic Goon Show. Expect madness, mayhem – and more!
We’re delighted that, after a break of three months, Tyler Adams’ podcast Goon Pod started a new series on 1st April.
If you haven’t listened to Goon Pod before, and I know that won’t be many of you, it’s a weekly show which looks at various aspects of The Goon Show. It could be a specific episode from the radio show, the music, movies or other projects involving one or more of the cast, or even some celebrity guest who can talk about a connection. The new series has started with a look at a Peter Sellers film which is now 50 years old, The Return of the Pink Panther.
Goon Pod can be supported through Patreon, where Tyler produces Goon Pod Film Club for subscribers, looking at the wider world of comedy.
"Round the back for the old cherry brandy!"Recorded in New York on 6 August 1963, this satirical comedy album brought together Peter Sellers, Anthony Newley, Joan Collins, Leslie Bricusse, Daniel Massey and Michael Lipton at the height of the Profumo Affair.The midnight session accommodated Newley and Massey, whose Broadway shows had only just finished. The idea had been conceived less than two weeks earlier while Newley and Bricusse were holidaying in Montauk and they were keen to capitalise on Britain's appetite for political satire.The recording became a celebrity gathering, attracting around 100 guests including Vivien Leigh, Sammy Davis Jr., Roddy McDowall and Peter Lawford. By 2am, according to one witness, Sellers and Newley were sharing Scotch from a thermos while cigarette smoke filled the studio. The entire session was completed in just three hours.They rushed to release the album before public interest in the Profumo scandal faded but some record labels – notably Decca – were sniffy about its content, with mockery of the Royal Family a particular point of contention. Sellers responded: "Only a prude could possibly be offended by it."The BBC banned it from radio play, although excerpts had appeared on television. Contemporary reviews ranged from praise to outrage, reflecting the record's deliberately provocative humour. The album remains a fascinating snapshot of Britain's early-1960s satire boom, when comedians and performers increasingly challenged the deference traditionally shown to politicians, celebrities and public institutions.Joining Tyler to talk through the LP is Brett Tremble, who can be found on Bluesky @agnes-guano.bsky.social
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first Goon Show broadcast in 1951, the GSPS will release a new, seventh, edition of Encyclopaedia Goonicus, on 28th May.
The Encyclopaedia gives access to the GSPS’s’s library of information and archive material in digital form on a memory stick. It’s available to paid up members of the society only.
In the late 1970’s, Spike Milligan toured his one-man show around the world. Twice. Spike Milligan Productions will be recreating those performances in Finchley on Thursday 28th May, the 75th anniversary of the first Goon Show broadcast.
Jeremy Stockwell recreates that evening of unique, absurd, surreal flights of fancy. Featuring stories, poems, gags, and Goonery; expect a roller-coaster ride through the life of Spike; a homage to the man who defined a golden age of British comedy.
Jeremy Stockwell, renowned for his brilliant and multi-layered embodiment of Spike, will once more conjure this iconic legend. Jeremy will be joined by Spike’s daughter Jane and the very talented Matthew Deveraux on keys. Together they will perform some previously unheard songs composed by Spike.
The venue is Avenue House at Stephens House and Gardens, N3 3QE. There will be afternoon and evening performances on 28th May. Tickets cost £22.50 and are available here.
Spike Milligan Productions are also celebrating Spike’s birthday on 16th April with guided tours of the archive at Stephens House. Tickets are available here.
The Tuesday Goon Show slot on BBC Radio 4 Extra has reached the tenth and final series. (Hopefully they’ll loop round to some earlier shows next.) With that comes what will be the first time two of the episodes have been aired on any BBC channel since their original broadcasts in January 1960.
They’ll be available to stream for 30 days after broadcast on BBC Sounds (for the UK audience) here
For the obsessives among us, other regular series episodes for which recordings exist still waiting for their Radio 4 Extra debuts are: 05/12 – Dishonoured, or the Fall of Neddie Seagoon 05/13 – Forog 05/26 – The End (Secret Senna-pod Drinker) 06/12 – The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu 06/13 – The Lost Year 06/15 – The Hastings Flyer–Robbed 08/11 – The Stolen Postman (all but Dishonoured have never been repeated on the BBC)
Grytpype-Thynne: Good news Moriarty, the March issue of Goon Show News has been posted out to the membership. Moriarty: Sapristi Grytpype, it’s still only February, or if you’re in the Chateau D’If, nous ne sommes qu’en février. The GSPS are spoiling us…
Issue 192, the March edition of the GSPS newsletter, is indeed on it way to our members, on paper and PDF.
This edition has two major stories. There’s an appreciation of Goon Show scriptwriter and GSPS Honorary President John Antrobus, who passed away in December at the age of 92, and the cheerier confirmation that King Charles III is continuing to be the patron of the GSPS.
We also look at music in the Goon Shows, a mystery from the first ever Goon Show (aka Crazy People) episode, and consider Spike’s contributions to The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine and the early TV programme Secombe Here. Plus there are many more snippets filling the pages.
The clickable Kick up the Archives feature from this issue is here.
The Goon Show News newsletter/magazine thingy is published quarterly and sent to all of our members. A sample copy can be downloaded here. If you’re not getting it, why not join the GSPS. You won’t be disappointed.
The Goon Show Preservation Society 