Kick Up the Archives – January 2023

Happy New Year to all our readers!

Just when you thought it was safe to climb out from under your Christmas tree, here we are again with another selection box of gems from the depths of the internet, just waiting to satisfy your appetite for rare and hard to find goodies. So without further ado, off we go!


The Goon Show

We start with a brand new programme. This was on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday! Here it is, just in case you missed it. The first ten minutes are about…The Goons!
Archive on 4 – Annie Nightingale’s Age of Irreverence

A Profile on alchetron.com

Interesting collection of Goons-related records, discs and tapes
Go to www.6868.me.uk and search for goons

The Goon Show at GSMC Classics- Podcast – at www.listennotes.com

Advert: Florette Salad – Bags of Goodness  Music: The Goons – Eeh! Ah! Oh! Ooh! (so that’s what Prince Harry does now)

Now welcome to crazy song version corner!

The Bee Gees Sing The Goons – The Ying Tong song

Not to be outdone, Yes lead singer Jon Anderson does his version

Finally its the turn of the Muppets (scroll through to clip 8)


Peter Sellers

A Tribute To Peter Sellers

A Tribute To Blake Edwards


Another former Sellers car goes under the hammer
at www.carandclassic.com

1968 portrait of Sellers

The Best of British Laughs – Peter Sellers with Barry Took

A Profile at alchetron.com

Peter Sellers according to John Hester – at www.theargus.co.uk

Balham Gateway To The South – transcribed – at lproven.livejournal.com

Merrie Spaeth on Peter Sellers in The World of Henry Orient – on Facebook

For those interested in The Kings Theatre Southsea, where baby Sellers was carried on stage, here’s an interesting Facebook page

George Martin – A Painter In Sound. A 4 CD set including some tracks by Sellers as well as Bridge Over The River Wye and some tracks by Milligan and Bentine, Unchained Melody and a clip from a Goon Show.

PG Tips – The very first chimps TV commercial featuring the voice of…
on Facebook

Peter Sellers BBC TV film trailers from Christmas 1982

For those wanting to know how to get hold of The Ghost Of Peter Sellers, here’s a download site. Although there was a DVD release in the USA, there’s no DVD release in the UK


Spike Milligan

Nice piece on Spike at www.irishtimes.com

A Profile – at alchetron.com


Michael Bentine

A Profile – at alchetron.com

A great collection of cards including Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine
at www.moviecard.com


Harry Secombe

A Profile – at alchetron.com


And Finally…

If you’re not a member of The Goon Show Preservation Society, where have you been? 

For a ridiculously small annual subscription, you can join today and get access to the amazing Encyclopedia Goonicus, the only one-stop shop for all things Goon!
Simply open your wallet and say after me… “Help Yourself!” 

Born in 1972 as a direct result of The Last Goon Show Of All, the society celebrated its 50th birthday in 2022.

Finally, don’t forget to listen to the legend that is Tyler Adams’ GoonPod   Go on… you know you want to!

The Last Laugh Before TV-am (C4, 1985) Goon Pod

Broadcast on Channel 4 on 2nd December 1985, The Last Laugh Before TV-am was Spike Milligan’s attempt to bring his particular vein of humour to a new generation… although little about it suggested that Milligan had changed his approach since the early Q series.The show assembled a familiar Milligan blend of sketches, visual jokes, corpsing, unfinished ideas and rehearsed improvisation. The recently late Chris Langham, Emil Wolk and a young Mark Steel were among the supporting performers, while the alternative circus group Ra-Ra Zoo added an appropriately offbeat physical dimension to the show. There were also, because Spike, the Royal Corgis. Creaky old comedy sketch stand-by Mastermind saw Milligan as Magnusson, another routine had the Queen as a bit of cardboard and a third featured a banana down some underpants. A library skit featured some language which caused the entire edifice to sway as if ready to go down with all hands (Herbert Kretzmer, reviewing the show, considered this “pure, distilled Milligan”, arguing that the joke was driven by Spike's contempt for what he regarded as the absurdities of censorship. Hmmm.) Joining Tyler this week to chew over this oddity and discuss the wider television landscape at the time is podcaster, author and broadcaster Ben Baker.
  1. The Last Laugh Before TV-am (C4, 1985)
  2. The Seagoon Memoirs
  3. The 1963 Royal Variety Performance (with Steven Cockcroft)
  4. Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974)
  5. Sellers & Milligan Mixtape

That’s all for now. Watch out for more A Kick Up The Archives Specials coming to a screen near you! Now wash your hands!