As a birthday tribute to the late, great Michael Bentine, who would have celebrated his 101st Birthday on 26th January, the secretary of the GSPS, Richard Usher, presents his own performance of Bentine’s wonderful sketch ‘The Most Haunted House in Britain’, as featured in his show ‘The Best of Bentine’
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A GSPS Advertisement
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, we present the latest episode in our thrilling advertising campaign, written for cinema, television and radio. It’s appearing exclusively on this website for reasons of budget. Sadly, we don’t have enough pictures of Queen Victoria to pay for cinema, television or radio.
Eccles: Hallo dere! Thank you for landing on our GSPS website on the Wibbly Wobbly Web! ‘ere Bottle I think I could get a job as an announcer.
Bluebottle: Wait a minute my good man. You haven’t heard the dulcet tones of me, John “Snagge” Bluebottle… “Good evening viewer. This is the BBC Light programme and this is Jim Bluebottle wearing it”
Eccles: But it doesn’t suit you!
Neddie: I think I should have a turn and welcoming potential new members to this illustrious Goon Show Preservation Society website… “My lords ladies and gentlepong…. In the blue corner… The Goon Show Preservation Society… and in the red corner… your bank account.” There… I rest my case.
Grytpype: You can’t rest your case there!
Neddie: And why not?
Grytpype: Because it comes up at the assizes next Thursday!… Seagoon vs Mrs Ethel Quotts
Neddie: It’s all lies! It was two other people called Tom! How can I clear my name?
Grytpype: Just hold this stick of dynamite and follow the bouncing ball on Moriarty’s increasingly balding head
Neddie: I must join the Goon Show Preservation Society.
Grytpype: There… That didn’t hurt did it?
Neddie: No. And what value for money, at quids twelve and fifty crisp new pence… It says on this stick of dynamite you just handed me.
Bluebottle: Can I be the one that holds the dynamite my captain?
Neddie: Of course little spotty Herbert…There you are.
FX: Sound of boots accelerating at high speed
Neddie: (distant) The pleasure is all mi…
FX: Huge explosion
Blubottle: You rotten swine. You deaded me!
Wal: At this juncture, I must point out that this was all in a good cause and no idiots were harmed in the making of this commercial
Neddie: Ah! Well that’s alright then
Bluebottle: ‘ ere what about me. I’ve just had my trousers turned inside out.
Neddie: But you’re not an idiot, are you?
Bluebottle: No
Neddie: Well, that’s all right then! Exits left!
with thanks to Mark Cousins
Click here for details of Goon Show preservation Society membership
#MilliganPoetryOdyssey on Twitter
There’s a celebration of Spike Milligan’s poetry running on Twitter during January. Organised by Craig McLeish, it includes delightful short video readings of Spike’s verse. For those of you who use that platform, it’s easiest to find them with a search for #MilliganPoetryOdyssey
There’also s a full list here on the Seagoon Memoirs website.
Here’s an example:
Another Spike Documentary on TV
After Spike Milligan: The Unseen Archive was broadcast on the Sky Arts channel last month, there’s another Spike documentary showing on TV this coming week. It’s on BBC4 this time and the programme is Spike Milligan: Love, Light and Peace, which is scheduled for Wednesday 11th January at 9pm. There’s also a repeat scheduled on the same channel on Sunday 15th at 1030pm.
This programme was first shown in 2014. The write-up says:
A very personal portrait of the truly unique comedy genius of Spike Milligan, as told in his own words and featuring exclusive home movie footage. With contributions from those who worked with him, lived with him and were inspired by him.
The iPlayer link is https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04tt1yj
A New Year Message
As we enter 2023, here’s a New Year message from the Goons.
Wal: Now that Mr Claus has delivered his presents and is taking a well-earned rest, I am reliably informed that The Goon Show Preservation Society would like to wish a Happy New Year and custard to all their readers.
Neddie: That’s it Wal, give them the old posh chat there.
Grytpype: I say Neddie, what’s your New Year’s resolution?
Neddie: To be an all round better person.
Bluebottle: But you’re already all round! Hehehe!
Moriarty: Get that child out of here!
Neddie: What did you get for Christmas, little spotty lad?
Bluebottle: Well a few years ago my mum bought me an electric twit for Christmas, but there was a stick of dynamite in it and it blew me backwards…
Eccles: For Christmas?
Bluebottle: No, out of my underpants!
Neddie: Oh, nasty!
Bluebottle: Anyway, this year I wrote to Santa and asked him for world peace and goodwill to all men.
Eccles: And what did you get?
Bluebottle: I got a sock full of custard and a clip round the ear from my mum!
Eccles: I got a clip round the ear from Sabrina.
Bluebottle: Why was that, you naughty man?
Eccles: She turned round too quickly!
Bloodnok: They don’t make ‘em like that anymore!
Wal: If you’ve just landed on this page and are wondering what on earth is going on, then I am empowered to remind you that this IS The Goon Show Preservation Society and you get what you pay for! So… join today!
FX: Kerching. Penny in mug.
Mate: And a very Happy New Year and all mate.
Wal: Ta. Next dance please.
As conveyed to the GSPS
by Mark Cousins
Happy New Year from the Goon Show Preservation Society.
A Quiz for Christmas
Here’s a challenge to fill a little time over the festive period. This quiz first appeared in our Newsletter no. 121. There were wonderful prizes to be won, but the closing date was 31st January 2008, so it’s too late to enter now.
How many can you get without checking Google, Bing, Ask Jeeves or the Encyclopaedia Goonicus? Make a note your answers, then check the answers page linked at the bottom of this page. How did you do?
1. Name the producer of the Ying Tong Song.
2. Who produced A Christmas Carol? (Besides Charles Dickens!)
3. In A Christmas Carol, what was the name of the character played by ‘Mate’?
4. Which Goon Show scriptwriter was born in 1923 and died in 1959?
5. George Martin was the producer for which record label?
6. Grytpype’s voice was inspired by that of which film actor?
7. With which street was a certain fireball associated?
8. Spike’s full name was . . .?
9. In which series did Eric Sykes collaborate?
10. What was the title of the Goons’ first attempt for an audition at the Beeb?
11. How many ingots were there in Leadenhall Street?
12. A song, which may well have been the inspiration for Monty Python’s Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, contains the phrase “When you’re standing on the gallows at the dreaded break of day”. Name it.
13. In which song does a character express dislike at being “drownded, nutted, deaded and wetted”?
14. Name the town in which Spike was born.
15. Ying Tong Song reached No.2 in the Top 20 in 1957. True or false?
16. Who wrote the Peter Sellers biography “the Mask behind the Mask”?
17. Who was born in Dan-y-graig Terrace?
18. Besides producing Goon Shows, Charles Chilton devised and wrote an anti-war musical called . . .
19. Name the series’ first announcer.
20. In which film is a priceless Ming vase bought at Woolworths?
21. Who played ‘Dr Longdongle’?
22. What does Longdongle do with false teeth?
23. In one episode, The Goons merged with another popular comedy show. Which?
24. In Tales of Old Dartmoor, Her Majesty’s prison is moved where?
25. Which episode was recorded without an audience?
26. It included a character, the Duchess Boil de Spudswell, who sounded like which celebrated figure?
27. In which show does Valentine Dyall insure Neddie against being embedded in concrete?
28. What was Wallace Greenslade’s fan club called?
29. Minnie Bannister played Maid Marian in Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest. True or false?
30. George Orwell’s 1984 inspired which episode?
31. A train crash in November 1956 caused which episode to be postponed?
32. In which show does Neddie insure the English Channel against catching fire?
33. Colonel Chinstrap of ITMA was an influence on Major Bloodnok. True or false?
34. The Africa Ship Canal was inspired by the closure of which waterway?
35. What was the first name of Sellers’ mother?
36. Spike is believed to have acquired his name from which jazz trumpeter?
37. Name the scoutmaster who was an influence on Bluebottle’s character.
38. What was the name of the 3-piece band in which Spike played before The Goon Show?
39. Which Goon had a shaving act?
40. Name Bentine’s captain/professor character.
41. Complete the phrase: “A fair trial and a fair…”
42. In whose esteemed watering hole did The Goon Show blossom?
43. Who ran London’s Windmill Theatre?
44. Which Goon started with a stage act based on a broken chair back?
45. Sellers was descended from a famous eighteenth century bare-knuckle fighter. Who?
46. Despite a bad start with them, Jacques Brown later produced some Goon Shows. He had previously produced an equally crazy programme called…
47. What do the letters KOGVOS stand for?
48. On what date was Crazy People first broadcast?
49. Which rising took place in ‘74?
50. How many episodes were there in the tenth and final Goon Show series?
The Other Woman in the Theatre
We’ve heard news of another piece of Goon Show connected theatre which is about to hit the stage. Featuring the story of Wally Stott, the Goon Show’s musical director, the play is being staged at the Acorn Studio – Titchfield Festival Theatre, Faversham PO14 4BG, from Mon 23rd to Sat 28th January.
more details here
We’re pretty confident we know who the other woman will turn out to be….
Goon Show News no. 179
To all members, check your postboxes, mailboxes, inboxes, matchboxes and any other boxes you have on your person. The December issue of our newsletter is on its way to you now.
Spike Milligan: The Unseen Archive on TV
There’s more Spike Milligan due to appear in the media very soon. The latest programme, to be shown on the Sky Arts channel, is a new documentary made by the Welsh independent company Yeti Television. It will feature never-before aired: film, interviews and scripts from the inimitable comedian and poet.
Its first broadcast will be on Wednesday 7th December at 9pm. There will be a repeat on Tuesday 13th December at 11pm, and hopefully it will continue to be available.
NOTE – Sky Arts is available on Freeview TV, Channel 11. A Sky subscription isn’t necessary.
There is also going to be a preview showing at the BFI in Southbank, London, on Saturday 3rd Decenber, details here.
Phil Edgar-Jones, Director, Sky Arts, commented: “Spike’s work has been pivotal in shaping British comedy and now we have the opportunity to showcase these brilliant, unearthed works on Sky Arts. Through letters, home videos and those who knew him well, we’ve gained a new insight into who this comedy legend was. We’re thrilled to be working alongside Yeti Television to bring this previously untold story to life.”
The programme description reads:
In this documentary, we delve into a treasure trove of recently unearthed archive to tell a brand new story of Spike Milligan. Film, scripts, letters, objects, photographs, recordings, art – they all come together to paint a portrait of a comic genius. But one plagued by crippling mental illness, insecurity, and an enduring lifetime struggle to reinvent what comedy could be.
The archive takes us on a surreal and revelatory journey into Spike Milligan’s brain. Key pieces of archive will be jumping off points to explore a part of his character or specific chapter in his life. These range from an unpublished play called The Snow Goose that Spike returned to again and again after it was rejected by the BBC; home movies of sunny afternoons in the paddling pool; through to a simple annotated envelope that read:
“I went into the now overgrown garden in 127 Holden Rd. I found this little toy… I broke down and cried. I feel I wanted those yesterdays with the children to come back.”
The Spike Milligan Show on BBC Radio
As part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations, several restored shows have been getting an airing.
We’ve already looked at Peter Sellers on Hancock’s Half Hour (here). Next up for Goon fans is The Spike Milligan Show, which will be on Radio 4 Extra at 1030 on Sunday 6th November 2022.
The original broadcast of this show, which was just called ‘Spike Milligan’, was on Sunday 29 July 1973 on BBC Radio 2. Click here for the programme info (and stream after the broadcast) on BBC Sounds.
Another restored show which the BBC have played was an alternative and slightly longer version of The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea, (series 5, episode 3) which was played on Radio 4 Extra on Tuesday 18 October 2022. It’s available to stream here, for one month only.
The Goon Show Preservation Society 