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ATTENTION PLEASE!

Following the long service of our chairman, John Repsch, he has decided to take a break and pass the chair to somebody else.

We need your help!
We need a new chairperson to help steer the Society towards its main goal, to keep The Goon Show fresh and alive in people’s minds and habits and to spread the word to the world.
We need to keep the pressure on the BBC to broadcast shows, appeal to the public for more lost audio treasures, perhaps encourage theatre groups to perform scripts of shows the BBC no longer holds recordings of, and to help build our archive of everything Goon.
In addition, we need to keep membership growing, and to find a long-term solution regarding our archive.

If you are attracted by this role, please let the Secretary know. Alternatively, if you’d be interested in the secretary role, get in touch anyway. A reshuffle of roles could well be possible [Contact Form]
Please briefly outline your history with the Society and The Goon Show, and your ideas to ensure the GSPS thrives and fulfils its central aim to: ‘… perpetuate enjoyment of The Goon Show among its members and the wider public, by increasing their knowledge and awareness of The Goon Show, including its pleasures and its place in entertainment history.’

It’s your society, so why not become part of the team that runs it?

Please…
and thank you.

Regards, Richard Usher
Secretary (Acting Chairperson), GSPS

The 2025 annual GSPS member’s meeting is set for Saturday, 13th September. Once again, we’ll be gathering within earshot of the Spike Milligan Memorial Bench and the Lodge House which houses the Spike Milligan Archive. The venue, for the fourth year, is Stephens House and Gardens in Finchley, North London.

The event will run from 10.30am to 4.30pm, with a break for lunch in the Inky’s Café.

As well as our AGM, we are planning to have another quiz, a requested performance (or table read) of Tatter’s Castle (info), the initial Goon Show or Crazy People trial recording, and a chat with an author currently penning a brand new book on The Goon Show!

Oh, and bring along some of that lovely moolah you have stitched inside your mattress as we will be offering a variety of books, tapes and CDs for sale with the proceeds going back to society funds. Jane and Silé will also have new Spike related merchandise available, including the 2026 calendars! 

It isn’t necessary to book a place at this meeting. However, so we can judge how many teas and biscuits to bring in, it would be helpful to let us know you’re coming by sending a message through the form below.

Stephens House & Gardens
17 East End Rd, London N3 3QE

The venue is accessible for disabled visitors, and there are a few parking places can be reserved for those who might need one.

CAFE ON-SITE for coffee, tea and lunches.
BY BUS
Buses 13, 125, 143, 460 and 326 stop nearby.
BY UNDERGROUND
Nearest underground station: Finchley Central on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line. On leaving the station walk up to Regents Park Road, turn left and, at the A504 junction, turn left again into East End Road. The house is on the left.

The video of the Galton and Simpson Archive talk at the University of York’s Festival of Ideas (we’ve mentioned it more than once) has been uploaded to YouTube. It includes Richard Usher performing one of the scripts which was written for Peter Sellers’ appearances on Midday Music Hall in 1954.

Richard Usher’s performance of ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Two Raised Fingers’:

Gary Brannan’s full Galton and Simpson talk:

See also
This Week’s Goon Pod
A Goon-type Performance in York

Don’t miss this week’s edition of Goon Pod. In it, Tyler talks to “the Grand Poobah” of the GSPS, Richard Usher and the University of York archivist Gary Brannan.

As well as discussing the Galton and Simpson archive which Gary is working on, and scripts found in it which were written for Peter Sellers and as performed recently by Richard (more info), the topics ranged from the archives being collected more generally at York, including the GSPS’s, collection, and the strength and future of the GSPS.

The very same day as the podcast was released, the video of Gary’s talk and Richard’s performance was uploaded to YouTube. See it here.

The crowdfunding campaign to help secure the Galton and Simpson archive, as mentioned in the podcast, is here

Listen to Goon Pod on your favourite source of podcasts, or here

The 1963 Royal Variety Performance (with Steven Cockcroft) – Goon Pod

An annual tradition dating back to the year the Titanic went down – a useful metaphor to describe some of the subsequent acts who sank without trace – the Royal Variety Performance brings together entertainers from around the world to perform in front of faintly bored members of the Royal Family for charity.Arguably the most memorable and significant show was in 1963, when a group from Liverpool took to the stage and belted out four numbers for the Queen Mum. This was the height of Beatlemania, yet John, Paul, George and Ringo were still sufficiently awed by the occasion that John’s well-rehearsed spontaneous quip about jewellery was delivered with a rather nervous, impish grin.Harry Secombe bookended the television coverage and also appeared on stage with the cast of Pickwick, wearing a bald wig so wrinkled and skew-whiff that it looked like a piece of ham on the turn with barbershop sweepings. He also closed the show with a joke about the Fab Four that nearly brought the house down. And speaking of ham, Pinky and Perky showed up too.The likes of Steptoe & Son (including Paul’s future grandfather), Marlene Dietrich and Eric Sykes are still remembered today, but whither Susan Maughan, Los Paraguayos and Buddy Greco in the public’s collective memory? Certainly, Goon Pod listeners will be familiar with the work of Flanders & Swann, Tommy Steele and even – gah! – Charlie Drake, but how many of them recall Dickie Henderson?Steven Cockcroft, erstwhile co-host of Nothing Is Real, describes the event as the ‘British Ed Sullivan Show’, introducing a much wider audience at home to the Beatles and giving them a rather sanitised look at what all the fuss was about. As one viewer wrote in a letter to The Daily Mail: “It was possible, for once, to hear as well as see the Beatles. What a pleasant change to be able to hear the celebrated Mersey Sound without the inevitable accompaniment of adolescent hysteria that passes weirdly these days.”Join Tyler and Steven as they navigate this bloated extravaganza of singers, funsters, jugglers and dancers. Fans of Elvis Costello may want to tune in too for some shameless name-dropping and his familial connection to the show.

1. The 1963 Royal Variety Performance (with Steven Cockcroft) 01:44:36
2. Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974) 01:26:35
3. Sellers & Milligan Mixtape 01:22:39
4. The Silent Bugler 01:24:02
5. Only Two Can Play (1962) 01:24:37

Many members will be aware of The Footage Detectives programme on Talking Pictures TV, the show which features lots of archive clips recovered from days gone by, hosted by Mike Read and Noel Cronin.

Next Sunday, June 15^th, they’ll be running a Goon Show Special! Mike and Noel will share some interesting rare lost reels from the Goon Preservation Society, and there will be a special guest!

Who will the guest from the GSPS be? What will they show?

You can watch Talking Pictures TV on Virgin 445, Freesat 306, Freeview or Youview 82 or on the Sky digital satellite platform, channel 328.
Schedules are available at talkingpicturestv.co.uk
Programmes can also be streamed on catch-up at www.tptvencore.co.uk

UPDATE; If you missed the Goon Show Special, you can watch it here on the TPTV Encore stream (free account required)

On 8th June, Richard Usher will be performing material written for Peter Sellers by Galton and Simpson in Goon Show style.
There’s a link to book a (free) ticket in the text below.

UPDATE: and here’s a BBC news item

Press release

Missing Goon Show Sketches Unearthed in Galton and Simpson Archive
University of York discovers lost comedy gems tied to
Peter Sellers and The Goon Show

Previously unknown Goon Show material has been uncovered in the personal archive of legendary comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, held at the University of York.
The sketches were found in a folder marked ‘Peter Sellers Sketches’ and include script titles such as Sherlock Holmes, Cowboy Sketch, and Caine Mutiny. On closer inspection, the material – short, tightly written scripts likely no more than five minutes each – was clearly Goon Show content, written for Sellers to perform at his vocal best.
These sketches aired as part of Midday Music Hall, a variety programme on the BBC Home Service between 16th – 30th October 1954. Sellers was billed as ‘resident top of the bill’ for three weeks. The material includes themes and voices typical of Sellers, and one joke even appears three years later in a Goon Show episode. The Midday Music Hall sketches were broadcast in the middle of the Goon Show’s fifth series, at a time when the series was at its creative peak.
No episodes of Midday Music Hall are known to exist in the archive.
The discovery opens up new avenues of research on collaborative writing practices at Associated London Scripts (ALS), the writers’ agency founded by Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, Frankie Howerd, and Galton and Simpson. While it’s well known that ALS writers collaborated freely, this is the first tangible evidence suggesting Galton and Simpson may have directly contributed to Goon Show material.
To celebrate, the University of York will restage one of the rediscovered sketches – The Case of the Missing Two Fingers, a Sherlock Holmes parody – at the York Festival of Ideas on 8 June. Actor Richard Usher will bring the material to life for the first time in over 70 years to a live audience, complete with period-accurate sound effects: https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/2025/calendar/hancock-steptoe
The performance forms part of a wider campaign to secure and preserve the Galton and Simpson archive for future research, enjoyment, and appreciation, and the comedy community can help via donations to a special crowdfunding campaign at https://yustart.hubbub.net/p/galtonandsimpson
Gary Brannan, Keeper of Archives and Research Collections at the University of York, said: “As a fan of both Galton and Simpson and the Goons, I can’t wait to share these unknown gems with the comedy community. Who knows what else we’ll find? That’s why it’s really important to make sure we save the archive for future fans to enjoy and to secure the legacy of Ray and Alan.”

There has been sad news in the world of the GSPS this week. Mike Coveney, our founder and honorary vice-president, passed away on 26^th May. He was 92 years old.

The story of the society being formed after Mike met other fans in a pub after the recording of The Last Goon Show of All in 1972 is well known. You can read a description of the early days in Mike’s own words here.
Many more reports and articles by Mike are spread around this website, our newsletter archive, and the book Goons Show News.

Long time GSPS member and friend, Chris Smith has written this appreciation of Mike.

Another long-time member, Mark Cousins, also summed up Mike’s contribution:
Mike Coveney was quite simply a legend in the world of The Goon Show Preservation Society. He started the GSPS and ran it with Linton Culver for many years as it got off the ground, and was Chairman and President. We have a lot to thank him for.
Most importantly, Mike was a really nice guy and I have many fond memories of him during those early days of the GSPS, including going on the famous GSPS march to the BBC and visiting Spike’s house. They will live with me forever. God bless you Mike. You are still a legend!

Goon, but never forgotten!

The 28^th of May is designated National Goon Show Day. This year, it’s the 74^th anniversary of the first ever Goon Show being broadcast by the BBC.

Here’s today’s special offer:
To receive a quarterly magazine AND be able to buy our exclusive Encyclopaedia Goonicus, JOIN US TODAY, and get a whopping 25% off an e-membership. That’s only £6, it’s less than a single copy of the Radio Times !
Use the codeword: SPON

JOIN HERE

* Offer only available to new members signing up 28^th May – deadline – 4^th June 2025. Special offer membership is valid for only one year. This offer is not available to lapsed members or members renewing their subscription.

The current run of Series 7 Goon Show episodes being played in the Tuesday slot by the BBC has reached another episode which hadn’t previously had an airing in the digital era.

The show scheduled on Radio 4 Extra for this week, Tuesday 27th May, is Africa Ship Canal, which was the 22nd episode of Series 7. It was last broadcast by the BBC on the Home Service in May 1957. The script is a satire on the Suez Crisis of 1956, and so this is, perhaps, one of the most political episodes. Africa Ship Canal was included on Volume 6 of The Goon Show Compendium, so it’s not unknown to fans.

There’s another Series 7 episode which hasn’t been broadcast on any BBC station since its first appearance in 1957. That one’s the 24th of the series, a tale of dynamite and corruption in Birmingham City Council, The Missing Boa Constrictor. Will it be played during this run? We’ll know soon.
Update: we know now, it’s on the schedule for 10th June.

Every week, a Goon Show is broadcast four times on a Tuesday on BBC Radio 4 Extra. That episode is then available to stream on BBC Sounds for the following 30 days.

Useful Links:
The Goons on BBC Sounds
BBC Radio 4 Extra schedule

A note for overseas listeners – The BBC had announced that, from Spring 2025, BBC Sounds was going to be geo-blocked outside the United Kingdom. As a replacement, there would be BBC.com/audio and a BBC app for overseas listeners. The content carried on those was to be restricted to Radio 4 and The World Service. However, these changes have now been ‘delayed’ and, at this stage, no one seems to know what’s going to happen. However, the likely outcome is some sort of payment being charged to access the service outside the UK.

Our own Richard Usher will be performing rare Goon Show-inspired scripts in York on the 8^th of June. He’ll be bringing back to life sketches written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson for Peter Sellers to perform in Midday Music Hall in 1954. Midday Music Hall was a Saturday lunchtime show on the BBC Home Service, and Sellers was the ‘Resident Top of the Bill’ in October of that year.

The evening is part of the York Festival of Ideas, and it’s titled Innit Marvellous? The World of Hancock and Steptoe. The main feature will be Gary Brannan, the Keeper of Archives and Research Collections at the University of York, presenting an illustrated talk on the Galton and Simpson collection which was acquired by the University of York in 2024. The Sellers scripts were found in the collection.

Perhaps it’s of more interest to The Tony Hancock Appreciation Society and the Steptoe and Son Appreciation Society, but the Borthwick Institute at York houses the Goon Show Preservation Society archives too. We’re happy to lend support.

Admission to the event is free, but places have to be booked here.

The Borthwick Institute has ambitious plans for the Galton and Simpson archive. They’re fundraising to ensure that they can secure all of the material. If that’s something you can support, click here for more information

More on the GSPS and the Borthwick Institute