Read on below for information on recordings, or jump here for books.
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To get the best listening experience of the Goon Show, we recommend investing in some of the commercial recordings which are on the market.
There’s a long history of commercial recordings being available. The first shows you could buy were on LPs issued by Parlophone in the 1960s and by EMI into the 1970s. Cassette tapes were the thing through the 1970s and 80s, and CDs began to appear in the 1990s. There’s a full list in The Encyclopædia Goonicus if you’re interested in researching the history.
We’ve reached a period of history where even CD recordings are becoming harder to source. Digital downloads and streaming services are where it’s at, Buddy (as Minnie Bannister would say).
The best way to build up a comprehensive collection of Goon recordings to be proud of is the Goon Show Compendium series. There are still a few CD box-sets around, but they’re all available to download in audiobook form.
See the compendiums here
An alternative is the BBC double CD series which has been going since the 1990s. There are still a few new copies available, and many more on the second hand market.
The CD listing is here
The Goon Show Preservation Society 