The Goon Show Preservation Society
Over 50 years of bearing a torch and a sockful of custard for the most innovative radio comedy of all time!
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:
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
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 15th, 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
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 26th 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 28th of May is designated National Goon Show Day. This year, it’s the 74th 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
* Offer only available to new members signing up 28th May – deadline – 4th 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 June 2025 issue of Goon Show News is being posted out, physically and electronically, this week.
Included in this issue:
News of some rare Harry Secombe scripts
The Super Secret Service – and other recently recovered movies
Some 1950s newspaper articles
Looking ahead to the Peter Sellers Centenary at the BFI
Reviews of Goon Shows performed on stage
A shameless front cover advertisement
and much more.
The newsletter is published quarterly and sent to all of our members. If you’re not getting it, why not join the GSPS. You won’t be disappointed.
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 8th 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
Review by Duncan Gray
Another stage version of the Goon Show appeared in mid-April, down south (well, it was for me). In deepest Cumbria, Penrith Players staged their versions of three classic episodes in one show, The Canal, The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler and The Treasure of Loch Lomond.
Why were Penrith Players performing Goon Shows? The director, Tash Binder, explained that she had the power to choose something for this slot in their programme, and she went with the comedy she’d loved since childhood.
This show wasn’t an attempt to recreate the radio studio. The cast had the freedom of the stage, and beyond, to play out the action. There were a couple of microphones on show, but it was only the announcer who used one as part of his act. The set centred on an old sofa, with props placed strategically around,
including telephones and a hostess trolley fashioned into a portable gas stove. There was a special effects station with equipment and a laptop for grams on a table to the side. Each character also had a hat, surely helping audience members less familiar with the Goons.
And what of the cast? Ian Baker played Greenslade and Grytpype-Thynne, while sharing the FX duties with director Tash. The penny dropped in a mug effect, for one, was used a lot. For Neddie Seagoon, they had a high-energy little Welsh bubble called Vic Brunetti. You’ll guess which one he is in the photos. Neil Gander played Henry Crun, Bloodnok, Willium, and was a particularly good (though taller than you’ve ever imagined) Bluebottle.
The final member of the cast was (gasp, splutter) a female-type lady actor. Jess Crumback-Nyahoe was Minnie Bannister of course, but also played Eccles, Moriarty and Throat. She took the extra parts of Laird McGool and Valentine Dyall too. Let’s face it, a genuine Man in Black voice was always going to be a step too far. With both those characters having exchanges with Eccles, Jess had a lot of hat stacking and quick swapping to do.
The production boasted live music too. Links and the Bloodnok theme came from the cast playing kazoos. Musical interludes were included, just as in the original broadcasts. A young lady called Raven Kitching sang classics such as Stormy Weather and Paper Moon, accompanied by Mark Stewart on piano. The show finished on a song too, the cast performed I’m Walking Backwards for Christmas.
Was it all worthwhile? Absolutely. The production stayed true to the original scripts, I even caught a couple of lines which are missing from the commonly available versions. There was occasionally a fluffed line or corpse, but that just added to the authenticity. The cast had fun, the audience had fun, my non-Goon Show following companion laughed all the way through. It was great to see these scripts getting an outing, let’s have more of the same.
The Penrith Players production runs until Saturday 19th April. Go seek tickets at penrithplayers.org.uk.
See also our review of the Stockton Heath Methodist Dramatic Society production of Six Charlies in Search of an Author
Photos courtesy of Penrith Players
The Goon Show Preservation Society 