What, what what did you what did you say?
I can't hear you. I can't hear you just a minute.
Thank you, get back in the water and we'll be up in a Flash.
Hello, and welcome to gun pod. My name is Tyler atoms.
And this week, I am joined by the actor comedian and writer
Chaz, early. Hello Chas.
Good morning. How are you?
I'm very well such as you know, Chaz early.
No no, no relation to Pam early of ghost.
Watch Fame, that is maybe not. Okay.
Okay yeah. So you and I got to talking
because your End of such a couple of previous guests of the
show? Yeah, absolutely.
Jeremy. Limb and Margaret came on Smith
very much. So.
And I suppose, one of the major projects that you were involved
with was a one-man show about Bill Hicks.
Yeah, I am myself in a and fella called Richard, Hearst, co-wrote
a show about bill when it was approaching the 10th anniversary
of his death, okay? And it was my thought to do some
sort of, you know, play put it on somewhere in.
Or something like that. And he said, no, this is an
Edinburgh show. So you wrote that and ended up
doing it for sort of four or five years and it went from a
kind of, you know, a shipping container.
Then you in Edinburgh, in its first year up to playing the
Apollo shaftesbury Avenue and we went to the Melbourne Comedy
Festival went to America with it was.
Yeah. So it would say it was pretty
well received considering that fans have Bill Hicks can be
quite touchy about. How you treat their, yeah.
So we, yeah, we did. Okay.
I think we didn't, we didn't annoy too many people with it
and it was looking at what bill would be saying ten years after
his death. When so much was the same as, as
the Trinity had passed away. How did you get on with the
smoking? Yeah, actually fine.
Weirdly, I mean, I did smoke on stage.
I had smoked as a student in a kind of a teenager late, teens
and early 20s. I'm glad I stopped doing it
after a while because I was getting through about 66,
cigarettes are shown for a kind of a, basically, a nonsmoker
that's, that's not brilliant, and obviously, not not
particularly great for the health or anything, but it was
just a question of lighting them are not not taking too many
drugs you know, just to just at the the occasional point so you
didn't look too like too much of a charlatan.
So was it being in Edinburgh over the years?
Is that where you met Jeremy? And my yeah, I mean it was a
little bit early. That is where L, I was doing,
various sort of Comedy things around, trying to sketch stuff
around London. And as I say, I had met Richard,
Richard directed me in a show and he was, you know, a group
called The Four Horsemen, which Jeremy Lin was involved in.
And they did some little TV pilot that I was involved in.
And Margaret was very much through the Edinburgh
connection, and she was doing a absolutely brilliant show called
the Congress of oddities. And obviously, she's gone on to
great things such Absolutely. And I've been in the band with
Jeremy as well. Jeremy and I were in a band
called The Dead Val. Kilmer's for a wild and
Jeremy's. Know my dad fell Kilmer's.
Yeah. It was, that was a result.
That was a result of a dream. A fever dream.
Probably after a very late night in Edinburgh and yeah, he's
Jeremy's a fantastic keyboard player can play absolutely
anything yet. Anything you want to any given
moment, so he was a great person to have on board.
He's coming back at you in a few weeks.
In fact, him and Paul Litchfield.
Yeah, pull. Yeah good.
Yes, and cyclists. Take the Trap.
They were doing stuff as the trap in Edinburgh around that
salmon with damage. And yeah, they were very high
point of every Edinburgh but I'm absolutely absolutely.
I'm just looking at because obviously you, you know, you've
done television as well. Yeah, I noticed one of your
earliest roles, very dear to my heart.
The murder of Roger. Ackroyd.
Oh yes Poirot. Yes.
I'm still gonna still get checks for 13 pounds 50.
Because he's been repeated in Albania or something like that
so yeah that was a great experience but that was a lot of
fun to do and you know working with mr.
Sushi. You had to actually worked with
before weirdly at Plymouth Theater Royal.
Okay. And he was he was a lovely man
and so was really Jackson who played Japanese?
Yeah, we had a jolly old time. Yeah, good.
That's fun. Yeah.
Okay. And so, as I say you and I got
in contact through the Jeremy and Margaret connection, and you
are a fan of the goons. That's so, so, so how did that
come about in terms of most people say it's through the dead
or pair? Yes.
Is that the case with you? It is very very much.
So I can't quite remember so I have here in my sweaty hands my
dad's copy of goon but not forgotten.
Yeah which was the year, my album released in 1912 and
having released in 1967 which has six Charlie's in search of
an author on side one and insurance.
The White Man's Burden which were going to be talking about
on side too and I can't quite remember if I got into his
record collection, put this on And discovered the goons first
there. I mean, that's where I would
have discovered the goons definitely first, but I can't
remember if it if I'd already been introduced heavily to spike
by that point, because I did dad watch queue and laughed
uproariously at it, and I would too even at a very young age,
even when there was some sort of quite adult humor in there.
And obviously, I knew Harry from these various Sunday afternoon
programs and is his various variety performances, and I
would have known. Because I would have watched The
Pink Panther films. Mhm.
When you don't know who but when it comes to our and you hear
them for the first time, I don't know if there's something that
is particularly appealing to her kind of seven or eight year old
or whatever I was when I first heard it but that didn't sort of
force this on me I went and found it and I listened to it
and I became slightly obsessed to the point of trying to type
out the scripts, you know, and all that kind of stuff.
And I wrote to spike with a gun show of my own which he very
kindly. Lee responded to and was very
nice. It was very nice about and all
that kind of stuff. So yeah.
He was, it was so very, very definitely very preteen, I found
the album and and it sort of left off from there.
And I was fortunate in that we had a very good library system
and it had a very good record section and you could find some
goon shows on there, and I think it was also during the era of
pick of the coons being on. Radio 4 ready?
Well, whichever jam it was so you could listen to some repeats
that weekend as well. So I've got plenty of sort of
C60 cassettes with a couple of random green shows on either
side as well which I would learn.
And of course at that stage you really had those 20 or 30 gun
shows at best, to listen, to whatever you could find on the
records. And, you know, whichever one you
were looking up to pick up on the radio.
Yeah, so yeah. So I was sort of quite obsessive
about those particular shows. In fact, even with the show,
we're going to talk about insurance woman's been, it's
only since the, since the Goon world is expanding so much and
the Lagoon show compendium CDs have come out that.
I've, I've heard bits of The music cues on a lot of the
shows. And yes.
Yeah. Because on this album there's no
internal girl drink, that's it the the album, The album's, the
pre BBC yeah, albums were absolutely that the music was
filtered, sure removed. And but, you know, that's all
people could get back in the 60s, it that's it.
And, and that was still very much, the case of a sea until
the BBC, official BBC releases. You know, we would still a lot
of shows that had seemed to have great huge chunks gouged out of
them even when needed first, get experience of them, I'm pretty
sure some of the replays on radio for would have had a lot
of not Elena. Guilty would have been there,
but I think that in a lot of firm, sort of things clipped
out, the questions of taste and things like that.
So yes, you put he says using a euphemism.
But yeah, so very early on really I was First then, then it
kind of slightly probably died off a little bit in my 20s and
30s. And obviously since the since
you've been able to get hold of so many gun shows it's become a
real Obsession again. For me, similar to me because
you know, you're a couple of years older than me but we're
more or less the same age our Tails.
Yes. And yeah I was I was obsessed up
until my 20s and then that died off.
And then I've come back to it really in the last four or five
years and hence this podcast. Absolutely.
And I always ask guests this question.
We one of these that would skip that fast-forward Ray and Max or
did you listen to It's geniusly weirdly I never used to?
So when I first got them I would always listen to it and
actually, in a lot of the show's early on I did quite like a lot
of shows I heard him. I did quite like the tunes that
girl dreams doing. I have to say that now partly
because I've heard them so often.
I will skip over. I mean I'm a big Ellington fan
and I really like the small quartet, you know, the quartet
or hmm, quintet format, particularly towards the end, he
was playing quite a lot of, you know, rhythm and blues.
And what would have, what would have been?
I suppose, a jersey take on rock and roll and I quite enjoy that.
That was again. That's my dad's ear as music.
The old Ray, I find a little bit more, it's a bit more variety.
But particularly if there's a tune that I don't know if it's a
song that I don't really have much knowledge of I'll I will
listen and you know I haven't heard that one before.
That's good. So there are things like 12 but
my shoe which I'd never heard before her Guild redo it and
occasionally he'll do something that like I'm six Charlie's he
does when the Red Robin comes Bob Bob coming along and Are,
you know, he's arrangement of that is quite Jolly, but I have
to say, in the main, I listen to them, I quite often, listen to,
in my car, I drive a lot between Devon and London and I will
generally skip over mainly because I'm just looking forward
to getting to the next bit of the, of the actual games.
Yeah. So, but now, I mean, they're a
very important part, I do, you know, I know there's a sort of,
I'm sure there are people who sort of listening in now I'm
going. Oh no.
You got to listen to the whole thing and but, you know, I'm
familiar with all of them. And I'm, I do Preciate their
contribution, but I must have met.
Now, I do tend to skip over them a little bit.
I listen to them more. I mean, I used to skip them
often but like, for example, the song that Ray performs in this
show today. Yeah, I reckon it's love.
Which was yeah, which he wrote himself.
And it's it's really catchy, actually, cause I haven't got a
clue when I count your kisses and Adam to me.
Sighs. I recommend without love love.
I reckon. It's love.
Love love. I recognize Love The Shining in
your eyes. I don't know how long a piece of
string is how many waves upon the sea.
It is an active particular when they've written.
I don't eat maxed actually read any of his contributions but he
does some songs by the written by Harry Edgington.
Fascinating thing is one of them, I can't remember what show
it's in but I I find that interesting because obviously
that's spikes old wartime friend and I find that really
interesting. So and as I say again reading
the companion was really no notes in the in the collection,
as the CD collection sits, there's often some context which
makes you really want to sort of go and ReDiscover the songs.
So. Yeah, I'm sorry actress.
Yeah. Harry Edgington.
Of course who inspired Yin Tong? Yuan Tong.
Yes indeed Jim Tom. Yeah and that's enough That's
another big thing that really got me into this Spike that sort
of developed my love for the goons was reading spikes.
Woman was, I did a degree in part of that, an element of that
one element of that was a practical element, which you had
to go and do yourself. So I adapted and recorded spikes
more war Memoirs for radio. All right.
So yeah, so that was a lot of fun to do.
I mean, if it wasn't for a broadcast or anything like that,
it's just to be used internally in that might in my University
drama department. But that was a lot of fun.
Brilliant. Okay.
Okay, so I got to play. I got to play spike is nice.
Excellent. I'm gonna, I'm gonna throw
something at you now. Sure.
Okay. Didn't you have not prepared for
this and so, you know, you might want time to think and maybe we
can come back to it at the end of the show.
But you may or may not know that I have a bit of a problem with
the what time is it? Eccles sequence?
That is, it's held up his fault. Yes.
Yeah, it's the default example that Documentaries and whatnot
will use to illustrate goon humor.
And although it's a very clever funny sequence, it gets
overused, in my opinion, a grand.
And I know that there are, there are people who are calling for
my head that's that heresy. But is there a sequence from any
goon show? Doesn't have to be between
Echoes and blue bottle? Just any sort of self-contained
sequence that you would put up As a better Exemplar of the
goons, there's a great one. In fact, the whole of the
section with Nettie and Echoes on the beach in Insurance, The
White Man's Burden, which will come on to.
I'm sure, I think that's an I think that's an excellent
section. I mean, and I really like Echoes
Standalone sections as well. I mean, I like him a blue
bottle, but equals is by far my favorite character and he is
Standalone sections when spikes on form are just so this
sodalite me and I think it's a, that's a really strong
Contender. There's a section in six
Charlie's as well wear em. Harry has to go up to the fourth
floor room, 3 to meet Crown, who has just sent him up there and
crumbs got there by skipping, a couple of pages in the book.
And again, that's another a really clever use of the medium
by think. What is it that I like to pour
myself. Who sent you up here?
You didn't and you've come to the right man, get into the clip
17. We're back where we started.
What do you send me up to the fourth floor?
For the get me good. You wait a minute.
To get up there before me. All right.
Get that cab. I've got a good mind to tell the
author. No, no, don't do that.
Game might have me killed up in a later chapter, don't I?
Look mr. Crumb Well, that time is
scrutinize you with an intense scrutiny before we get started
talking about insurance, The White Man's Burden and I just
wanted, if you can just indulge me for a moment.
Jazz what last week on the show? I played host to Chris Smith and
Chris was one of the leading Lights of the Goon show
preservation society. And he came on to talk about
that. Institution and the history of
it basically. And the show was very, very well
received and people. People really, really enjoyed
that episode, which is great. And I just wanted to say,
because during the course of the conversation, Chris mentioned,
very early meeting in a pub with Spike and members of the jsps,
and he said that It was actually, there was a journalist
there covering this meeting and and wrote an article for punch
magazine about the evening, okay?
And friend of the show and for my guest, John Williams, he
managed to find this punch article actually sent.
He sent it to me and I'm not going to read it all because it
is quite lengthy. But I just wanted to read out a
few extracts if that's okay, because it's quite interesting.
It's interesting in the sense that because it's from September
79, okay? And as you will hear, it's
amazing how people just didn't care about this stuff back then
seemingly and you'll you'll see what I mean in a minute.
Okay, so the the writer is Jonathan sale and the article is
is called the men in the goons, which is terrible terrible.
Yeah. But But it begins in 30 years
time. We'll bands of devotees gather
to listen to Dusty recordings of the man from the ministry, well,
listeners as yet. Unscheduled.
Bandy catchphrases from the Navy.
Lark, will we look back to the 70s as the Golden Age of some
others do have mm Happy Ever After and Robin's Nest.
Maybe some others do have them. The other two have been happy
ever afterwards the early. Yeah.
Terry and June wasn't it? Yeah.
It goes on any futurologist, who knows, on which side his slide
rulers. Buttered would give that a low
rating on the probability scale, but any Observer of the upstairs
room of the green coat boy Westminster on the second
Tuesday of the month? Would notice a gathering of the
fans of the Goon show a program dead and buried two decades ago.
They came from the greater London area from Kent and in the
case of one loyal lad from Guernsey there was a security
man at Vauxhall, Motors. And a music writer.
There are loads of school age. There was Mike company thus the
society's Chief steamer. He goes on to say spike Milligan
was walking through the door, it is the et al descending on a
Muslim. Playgroup Rod Stewart joining a
convoy of mods on a scooter trip to South End General Hague in a
school. Cadet forces.
Field Day Milligan began with apologies for his absence.
Over the last seven years, I've gotten it of a manager and when
your letters arrived she puts them under the Was for
Underpants it may well be true that any member of the cast of
Are You Being Served could launch himself into impromptu
one-man sketches that had me, not only forgetting, but quite
unable to move the pen on the notebook.
It could be that Larry Grayson is Able by the movement of his
eyes alone to parody to Dreadful effect.
A familiar character, I do not doubt the desert, Connor is
perfectly capable of producing an architect word play, without
having it written down in front of him with hyphens between the
syllables and phonetic. Creation where necessary it's it
goes on. In this vein.
Milligan says that there is no question of a goon Revival
sellers gets a million pounds for film.
He's not going to come along to the BBC for 75 quid and could
you speak up mr. Sellars does one of the audience
names an actor. Now connected with the queue
epics, does such-and-such have trouble remembering his lines.
He has trouble remembering himself.
He asked me today who he was, I gave him three guesses.
And he still got it wrong. I wonder who that is.
I wonder if that was Bob Todd or even David Lodge.
Yeah. Come loose, or maybe.
Yeah, Spike was serious about the whale should be saved over
population. Should be stopped and Michael
been team Banting. It seemed Warren Old etonian Tie
and said that he Milligan had no talent.
I don't believe that for a another way.
The appreciation society was Julie appreciative of loan, Of
this Rift between the stars and the tapes word, the cameras
flashed. And the books were offered for
autographs. It is taken 30 years for Spike
and Society to get to grips. Will he come again in?
Say, 20 years time. That may be difficult, but if
all else fails, I'll send a b. And so it's just interesting is
that the touch? It's like the goons is all but
forgotten, really? And it's just a small group of
men. Do the Beatles suffered from
this a bit in this one. Absolutely.
I mean, there was nothing like and I'm a massive Beatles fan
and I remember them releasing all the singles, again, in 1982
starting with madhu, and there was a big thing saying it's 20
years ago today. And I have a sinking don't 20,
you got 20 years, that's a lifetime and but but the not
that those singles didn't make some ripples in the charts but
there was nothing like the interest at the time I suppose
because people that lived through it, a lot of people who
lived through it was still relatively young, maybe they're
I don't know. There wasn't there certainly
wasn't the obsession but that that has really exploded.
But even there that I don't think with the Beatles, you
would have got quite the same sort of skating.
And look, I know he was 1 over this chat writing there but he
it feels like it started from a point of view of, you know, this
is this is ever to Daft and you know, why are we doing it?
Exactly. And they must have been up
there. Must always have been obsessive
about stuff. It just only I suppose, it's
only really in the last 20 or 30 years where it's become TV shows
and radio and kind of Pop Culture ephemera and before that
it would have been and spotters and cars.
And you know, who knows what? This is just off the top of my
head now. But do you think Star Wars?
Triggered, proper fandom. If you know what I mean.
Yeah, I suppose before that. It's hard to really see where
the obsessives were. I mean Doctor Who Doctor Who?
Maybe although even then I mean I think there were Doctor Who
had a lot of fans amongst children but you would have you
would have been more hard-pressed to find large
groups of older fans gathering together in the Kind of zealous
ways that they do now that, I mean, I went to, I went to
Longley in 82 for the 2008 III, sorry for the 20-year
convention, and it would still very, very largely.
It felt to me anyway. Like, you know, mums and dads,
shepherding, their kids around, as much as anything, as much as
the sort of, you know, t-shirt wearing books to be signed, you
know, rare video collecting obsessives that you sort of see
More now. Yeah.
And that's I'm not that. Sorry that's not a that's not a
judgment on their night. I'm just saying it felt like it
was a much more of a it was still kind of more of a
children's thing. But yeah, yeah.
That's a very good point. I think Star Wars probably was
one of those first where, you know, you really had to buy the
T-shirt, have the record. If I found a copy, I was going
through my dad's records to get bun-bun or forgotten.
And I found a copy of a double album of Star Wars.
Score. And I think it must have clips
of the of the dialogue and as well, right?
The John Williams album with a big picture of Darth on the
front, he's Daft helmet, and it's got a poster inside and
stuff like that. And I was thinking God, that's
probably worth about. That's probably where 50 Quid
now and have to let us. Yeah, I mean, I have to say Star
Wars obsession is something that because I was 7 or 8 and still
was came out and I was obsessed with style words, but that was
something that kind of really. He died out with my, with the
end of the first three films. I know there's a lot of people
of my age and I decided my age who, you know, will still go to
the launch of every Star Wars film and Camp outside and all
those kind of things. So weirdly weirdly that at, that
was a childhood childhood Obsession that sort of didn't
continue for me. I again, people people will be
reeling at this but I've never watched, I've only ever watched
the first Star Wars film. Okay.
The Originals. Yeah.
Because, you know, yeah. And that was about 55 years ago,
wound. And I didn't think much of it at
all. And so I didn't bother, I think
it is for. Yeah, I think it was one of
those things that you had to kind of find at the time or in
your Youth and then get terribly attached to it and at the time
it was so different, you know, it was it was like before that
or a Around that same time, my other Obsession just to give you
some sort of context. In terms of I bought.
I went to the film more than once and bought the book and
bought the soundtrack album and the comic book album as well was
Bugsy Malone. So that gives you that in Greece
was the next big one as well. So there was really nothing like
Star Wars at all. At the time.
I mean there have been science fiction films obviously and they
had been shooting Shoot Em Up films and heroes and heroines
but it really I think touched her a nerve and If you come to
it late I think sort of it's like people who are told how
brilliant with that I is and then watch it in their kind of
30s or 40s and sort of go. Really?
Yeah, I think you have to find it at a certain time in your
life, perhaps but yeah, interesting point cool.
Okay. So let's, let's get started.
Talking about insurance. The White Man's Burden.
Yes. Which is the 21st episode of The
seventh Series. Yeah, broadcast 28th of February
1957 and written by Spike and Larry Stevens.
Now, as we we both commented pre-recording there wasn't
because I do like to include historical context and talk
about what was going on in the world when the show's went out.
And there wasn't a huge amount on that day there was there was
some notable Births, most significantly the actor John
Tudor. Oh, you know, John Tudor.
Yes, of course. Yeah.
And do the right thing and Miller's Crossing a brilliant.
I mean, I love the Coen brothers and he's one of the one of the
yeah, company. I suppose.
Yeah. And most famously, obviously, in
The Big Lebowski, he said all the little girl that Cameo
turning that. Yes, indeed.
And of course, he was, Barton Fink.
Yes. Absolutely.
And he was in one of their best films O Brother.
Where Art Thou? Yeah.
And I'm also very fond of the film quiz.
Show. Yes.
Quiz show, dude. Yes.
Which refines. Mmm.
Yeah. He's very good at that.
He played the, the sort of the, the, the schlub.
Yes. Jody's the schmuck.
Yeah, it's very difficult to. I think that was an excellent
performance because it was so difficult for he wasn't, he was
a cow. To who you had sympathy for, but
he wasn't a sympathetic character now if you see what I
mean is, you know. So it was, it made for a very
much more interesting film and he was great in that dude.
Cindy Wilson of The B-52s was by our and her mother's beehive
because yeah absolutely sort of going down the scale of Fame
here. Phil Gould who was a member of
level 42? Yeah, of course.
Yeah. Ainsley harriott has been told
all the great in the good. Yes.
The day before the show went out Timothy spall was born.
Okay, the day after the show went out, nobody was born.
Well I'm sure somebody was born. Yeah the Cat in the Hat was
published dr. Zeus.
Hey, Lord. And the Everly Brothers
recorded. Bye-bye.
Love which obviously was a hugely significant song.
I mean I was a good time, wouldn't it?
57 was a good time? I mean, What's interesting about
insurance is that as far as I know and I could be quite wrong
about this, this is got one of its only.
It's got the one of the Moon shows only direct references to
Elvis in it. Yes.
In that Wallace, sings Wallace
the pelvis. They call him and put the hell,
put that pelvis back, says submit again in the background.
And of course, that's you know, Elvis Elvis was.
So it's a sort of, indirect reference, reference to Elvis
all Yo Wallace actually seen. See you later alligator, which
of course was still hanging in the comments, but at he was
really only. It was only really in 56 that he
became well-known Surrey British audiences.
So it but it was its this is such a really exciting time.
I mean things are changing so much and 57 I think.
And what we just had a new prime minister as well Harold.
MacMillan are just come in and it was things were starting to
turn the way of the young. Person a bit, I think.
And the goons might have been a little bit part about, you know,
I really do think that sort of anarchic and, you know,
anti-establishment kind of vibe even though it was done in a
very light-hearted way. I think that might have been
part of that kind of drag steady.
This is your old polish, the pelvis again.
Wilsonville hot modern Rhythm for you.
So let's get help with my latest recording.
See you later alligator. See you later.
Alligator crocodile you.
Mad fool Graceland Are you out of your mind?
Yeah and the day after the show was recorded Buddy, Holly and
the Crickets recorded. That'll be the day Stacy, I mean
for rock and roll it really wasn't.
Absolutely. You know you're right in the
heart of it aren't you in 50 early 57 you mentioned, Bill
Haley. Hmm the the night the show was
recorded Insurance. The White Man's Burden Bill
Haley was appearing in Kilburn. Lord.
Yes, he was he was doing a UK tour.
Obviously. Yes, right at the beginning of
the show, greenslade sings. See you later.
Alligator or sings is maybe a bit generous.
Yes. And I'd like to think that he
went home after that recording, and sort of buzzing.
Well and it said walked in and said mother because I imagine he
would call his wife mother. it's a mother and he's developed a
northern accent and you can imagine him saying like I sang
rock and roll tonight and they called me the pelvis and
everybody cheered and applauded everybody cheered and his wife
probably I don't know why I just got it in my head I've got this
Peggy Mount figure standing there with her arms crossed
regarding her husband with a basilisk glare rock-and-roll you
My boy. Yes.
And say ye that goon show the devil's work.
Something like that. What's really bothering him?
What's interesting is that. So obviously been all the, my
cap sister people. Don't let it get cold Wallace
less. Yeah, I've Regan twice.
It's a, it's a girl cat and she's named after Wallis Simpson
actually, but yeah, sorry if she makes some noise, you'll have to
excuse me. And I'll start that again.
You know, what's interesting? I think with that is that
obviously particularly in the fifth series, they've been an
awful lot of, you know, morning green sliders and, you know,
keep sending in your checks and all that.
But that kind of did sort of the Wallace greenslade fan club in
Wallace's head and sort of disappeared out of the show.
And this is sort of back to, you know, this is back to that era
that kind of our come on Wallace fans, let's hear you screaming
steady, girls steady? And yeah.
So that's As a sort of, little reference back to his, his, his
when they made, first made him really Central to the show in
the fifth Series. Yeah, and he was always game for
anything. Oh yeah, course on the show,
wasn't it? Yeah, very much.
So. And around the time that the
show went out. So Harry was in the middle of
filming Davey. The film David.
Yeah. Peter and Michael Banting.
A halfway through its. Yes.
It's the Catholic both appeared on the Eamonn Andrews.
Show gosh. Sadly it recording does not
exist. Yeah that is a shame and as you
say the show came out on goon but not forgotten LP which I
think's got a terrible cover. Yeah.
I think it did make me look at it.
I suppose it's very much of its era think it was released in 67,
but it's got to sort of floating head.
If you don't know, it's got two floating head pictures of Harry
and Peter and then they seem to be sort of half looking at
Spike, who's stood in a bath with a raincoat on.
And it is a bit weird, you would have thought they only got a
picture of all three of them together.
However it's different. It's certainly not one of the
typical ones of them all with their fingers in their ears or
lighting. Up the leaks or whatever.
So makes it, I'll actually the one of lighting up the leaks on
the back cover. But, you know, it's, it's not
brilliant but it's striking. It definitely made me pick it
out of my dad's record collection and have a look at
it. Yeah, as you say, it's the
B-side 26 Charlie's in search of an author, which is my all-time
favorite yet. Unfortunately, that I know
because I do you want to come on, but that's some acts Gaffney
has already bagged that. Yeah, well, I do it's quite
understandable because that's his favorite I did.
And I couldn't work out why that I don't think it was in his.
I don't think it was in your top 20 when you'd have the the
listeners top 29 August. And I find that remarkable.
I just think it's, it's absolutely, I think insurance is
a fantastic show. That's also in my top ten, but I
think six Charlie's, maybe it's just because it's the first one
I ever listened to, but I think it is absolutely the pacing, the
gags, the timing, The fact it's sort of got a vaguely coherent
plot and a punchline. I just think it works so
brilliantly, but I think Insurance runs it very, very
close. And it's as I say it's
definitely one of my top 10. Yeah.
From my memory, six Charlie's did get a number of, I mean
there was a huge number of votes.
Sure. That I received and I know that
that was it, that was probably in the bottling under the 20s as
I like that. Sure.
And apparently for the lp Spike,
Use those two shows. So I wonder what his criteria.
Yeah was for that but but both strong shows.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Now the title is a yeah problematic.
Yeah. Do you know anything about The
White Man's Burden which is oh yeah.
Poem by Rudyard Kipling? Yes it was.
I did. He coined the phrase that I
don't know, but I know it's about it.
Hit the it's the Assumption presumption.
That it is the job. It was the job of the white
European man to educate the poor and huddled masses.
That they discovered in other continents who possibly weren't
are like skin. Yeah, I mean to be fair that has
very little reference to this particular show but yeah it was
a, it's a terrible phrase, it's a terrible kind of idea that,
you know, we had to go and civilize all of These races,
whose land, we went over and laid claim to, and, and pillaged
etcetera, Etc. Yes, it gives gives the is very
much say that the British Empire was a benevolent, entity not
designed to enrich the British of course, but to improve the
lot of its subjects. Yes.
We're doing this for you, dear boy?
Yeah. Yeah.
It reminds me very much of that. Eddie Izzard.
Does that section where? I can't remember where it is.
He's talking about that, they first land, British settlers
first land somewhere. And he says, you know, and and
the locals that the natives say, This Is Our Land and we will
never end the British. Sailor says everybody flag
features plants his flag in the there's no, no, it's ours now,
you know, no flag. So yeah, it's that kind of
attitude. I feel that it's I mean,
obviously Spike was probably, he's taking the piss out of it
but it's that's That's the unfortunate connection.
I have to ask it. Are you a fan of Kipling?
I've never kept old. It's okay, go, I do love.
So I do like some of his poetry. I do just from an entertainment
value. Obviously, what you don't want
to look too deeply into what's going on underneath it, but, but
I'm a massive fan purely because of the film of The man who would
be king, yes. And, you know, and I really
oughta and classic. So one of my top 10 films of all
time, so I so indirectly. Yes, I wouldn't seek him out.
I wouldn't really want to spend a lot of time.
I wouldn't have him in my life, that much, but that's not a
skating thing. It's just not my, it's just not
my taste and, you know, the same with the Empire know.
There's, I think it obviously, did more bad things than good,
but I'm one of those people who feels like there's Nuance to
everything and while in general, it was, it was, it's a thing
that we shouldn't be very proud of.
There were certainly things that came out of it, that weren't,
you know, that, that had a positive effect, exactly.
Yeah, absolutely. Yes.
I mean, I don't really have never really read much Kipling.
I know the Jungle Book. Yeah, I know his son was killed
in the first World War. I know that Kim philby because
Kim philby is real name is Harold bernick named Kim after
the the boys spy in that Kipling novel.
Yeah, Kim. Yeah.
And the cakes of course guess obligatory reference to cakes
when you when you mentioned Kipling, I don't know who did
the 70s voice overs but they were some of the most soothing
things you could ever hear on television.
The old the old gentleman, who did the voiceover you don't
know. Who did those now?
Go on any idea, you'd know this. I can tell you the actor.
James Hater Hater. Okay.
Now, you know, when I was reading out that article
earlier, yes, out the, the, the rather unimpressed gentlemen,
you went to watch the yeah, Mike Gathering.
And you mentioned the cast of Are You Being Served now?
James James Hayter was for a short period, a member of the
cast of a being served here. Played.
He was essentially the mr. Granger character, when I've had
a rough departed. He was mr.
Tubbs. I think that would have been
after my, after my time of watching will faint famously.
Mr. Tubbs was in for maybe a series.
I think my friend Gary would be able to tell me about this but
he was also at the same time he was doing the Kipling.
Add rice overs. Yeah.
And Kipling the company. Did not want to be associated
with something as smutty and lewd as a being served so they
paid James hater. They basically agreed that they
would pay him what he would have been paid.
Yeah to appear in a big served not to appear good Lord.
So he as on top of his normal wage for for the Kipling
adverts. Well I'm sure he's very least.
He was delighted speaking. Speaking with an occasional
actor, getting something to getting some paid for doing
nothing. Is he It's one of the main AIMS
in life, so that's pretty good. Absolutely, absolutely, so.
Okay, finally, we start talking about the episode.
All right, we get, we get, yes. Obviously we get greenslade at
the beginning, then you get sellers on the old Joanna piano
of the grant. Oh yes.
Yes. We that haunting sellers theme
sounding, the death knell of all piano postal tuition courses.
We present this week's play entitled and we quote from this
suicide note Insurance, The White Man's Burden.
Next week I'm covering the film Hoffman.
Mmm, sellers film. Half wondering if you've seen, I
haven't actually, but sellers plays the piano, the character
that sellers plays plays the piano in that rather well.
So I gather the sellers could play well but whenever whenever
you whenever you play the piano the Goon show was always yes
slightly off-key yeah. These sort of four chords
basically and nothing else you know?
It was something that used to get again, used to get an awful
lot. It feels like there's something
you've got a lot in shows, in the fifth series, but you paid
sort of slightly disappeared from the show till then, and
then here he is, and I presume it's him playing underneath the
the Tom, the penguin singing, as well.
I would imagine. So yeah, yeah.
So we the scene begins with a flannel full, a child herself,
they did long name. In flannel.
Visiting the British Zoo now. What is the British Zoo?
So not the London Zoo. I don't know.
I mean the British to, I don't know, maybe it's just he just
wanted a generic name but yeah, London Zoo.
I would have thought and we have we have William make cobblers as
the Zookeeper. Yeah.
What do you think about mate for your favorite character of?
Yeah, I really liked him and he sort of always very hard done by
and I think it's a great voice. What's I think what's
interesting in this is that both, he and Jim sprigs who
comes up in a minute, get as much kind of air time in this
episode, as certainly, as blood mock probably is blissful as
well. So it's a real kind of, so it's
all the major characters, get a get a bit of time in this show.
But but mate and Jim Spriggs get get as much.
And I like I like with them and I think he's really good in.
This is where there's a there's a couple.
Of really good lines of is in this, you know, what do you call
that once at the piano or calls him appear in his mate?
He sings as well. Yeah name is all his own words
to and I think that this whole piano at the same penguin thing.
So I noticed that in a couple of earlier shows I was listening to
I was listening to mysterious punctuate the conquer earlier or
a couple of days ago and I think there's a let the penguin out
gag in that and I can't for the life of me work out how they do,
the penguin sound effect. I can't believe it when it's
obviously in this one, it's not an actual penguin because he saw
he sort of singing but it's like a, some sort of it's like
someone's got a strangulated balloon and a twisting it or
something that. Yeah, the amazing effect and you
get you could actually believe it was a penguin if yes, if it
wasn't singing. Yeah, he talks about kids,
taking the boa constrictors home hanging tiny laundry on them.
Yes. Which I gather was improvised on
the day. Of recording, because in the
scriptwriters Lions, okay? All right.
Yeah. Kids taking Lions own.
They might, this of Might, that of given the seed of the missing
boa constrictor, it will exactly.
Yes, because that, which I think is a brilliant show and it never
gets talked to. Yeah.
And that, that comes up in a few shows time.
And I've got to say, actually, this whole the second half of
the seventh series, probably more than anything except the
first half of the fifth series is What I consider to be
absolutely brilliant shows. I mean there's the odd sort of
the odd failure, but I just think there's so many good shows
from some sort of, from the flea onwards.
You know, there are there's, it's a really, they're on a real
hot streak here. Yeah, there's a few.
There's a little bit of what I would call filler.
I suppose radicals in 80 Days. Yeah, but yeah, but but, but you
are right. I mean, the rent collectors and
web server dag. Absolutely great.
I really like shifting Sands, it's what not dance, really
mention. Yeah, yes.
At the conquer. This show Insurance White Man's
Burden. I really I kill met.
My goon light. Yes.
And of course, you've got ends on Plenty the series.
And that's just been a one of the all-time greats.
So yeah. Yeah.
And yeah, and, and see you in the final full.
Yeah. Is Enchanted by the Penguins and
there's one called Jim one called Terrence?
Yeah, I bet he's over here. Yeah, so that American Milligan.
And as he say you've got Tom, the penguin, playing the piano
and and seagoing hits upon another ultimately fruitless and
and very soon forgotten making scheme to exploit Tom's Talent
which made me think a little bit little bit on the, you know,
that famous Warner Brothers cartoon about the singing frog.
No, dancing singing frog. Do not know that one a day and
this guy tries to exploit tries to make money off the back of
this frog that sings. Dances.
But the problem is the Frog. Only sings and dances.
When this guy is on his own, he can do it in front of an
audience. All right, now I don't think
it's very good, but yes, it's seeking decides that he's going
to try and I guess by the penguin Tom and he goes to the
curator of birds, which is he says, sprigs and sprigs looks up
in the penguin log. Yeah.
Which is a labored bag and and, and, and Spike.
Ad-libs, it's a live show is that One.
Yeah which I'm assuming means Larry wrote that.
Yeah, I think he would have been quite happy to give inverted
commas credit to any of the things he didn't like in the
script. This look, a look in this
catalog. I don't want a cat penguin.
Look in the penguin long, it's a lying.
I didn't write that one. He's which we skating about
Larry. And I I'm, I'm sad about that
because I feel like and I know John Morris has said in the past
you know that when that when Spike rights with someone they
tend to sort of bring his more ridiculous Flights of Fancy down
to earth a little bit more and that's that's generally speaking
quite a good thing and I think Larry is really sort of hard
done by because some of the absolute caulking Classics are
absolutely, you know, partly by his hand, at least spikes,
always route, always was rewriting his own history and I
think It's in subsequent years that he decided that no Larry
was. Yeah, just the tiniest whatever.
And what's interesting with this as well is that it's sort of
like the whole of the first five minutes or so.
Six minutes are setting up this whole I'm going to get this, you
know, I've seen this penguin, I'm going to getting on stage
and then as you say, it's completely forgotten and the
whole of the rest of the show has a quite tightly constructed
and almost in real time play out, you know.
It's one, it's one plot that sort of goes through almost in
real time. So it's just that, that sort of
first odd, five minutes. I wonder what how to spike make
the leap from Spigen Larry made the leap from there's a piano
playing penguin. That's a funny concept to
actually I'm going to try and ensure that I'm going to try and
show the British Channel. Well yeah because it because you
think about it I'm just I'm sure that the the concept the idea of
a piano playing penguin and see gun trying to make money off the
back of it would have sustained an entire A show.
Yeah, I think it could have done.
But yeah like to say the mint work because he because notice
told that the that Tom cost 20 pounds of Ned's, only got
eighteen Shillings. And then again mentions the
money in that the dimension of that immediately closes down the
entire penguin Direction. The show was absolutely.
Yeah. And you get the Moriarty
arriving at two wishes. Yeah.
Yes. And again they've, they've got a
say again because they offer Ned a bottle of water.
Yeah, samples. Yes, that has shades of shades
of immediately thinking of treasure in the lake.
Yeah. And he and this times when he
sort of drink sync with them as well, this quite often a thing.
You know, you know, they'll give him something to drink and it's
odd, isn't it? It's a sort of recurring Motif,
even if it's only sort of three or four times.
But yeah, I do like the fact that he's sort of quite a
connoisseur of it, though. What happens?
This is English Channel. 1902. Yeah, it's yeah, that's that's a
slight slightly different take than their usual one.
He's aware of what he's drinking this time, which is quite a good
thing. And I like I've grown up, I've
grown and I've grown fond de. I've said this many times.
I've grown a lot fonder of gripped by the Moriarty.
Now the Aged, I am now listening to the shows.
Again, I really like them. I mean again after Eccles, I
would say, then they are actually my favorites and it's
the scheming and also the sort of silly word play.
And, you know, the introductions.
And this one is a cat is a cracker as well.
Count Jimmy grip, labor exchange, Moriarty leaper
Supreme and all England crab Champion.
Absolutely no idea what he's doing with the crabs but I like
the it's an interesting audial image.
Labor exchange is such a drab. Yeah, it is Expression, isn't
it? It's just, it just conjures up
and I didn't an image. Didn't Eco didn't Spike called
sellers that and he star of stage screen and labor exchange.
Yes. Yes.
Divorce court or something. And then he talked about a sedan
one thing we have to protect that, you have to ensure the
English Channel and it's the joke all style of protection.
Hmm. And I that's always puzzled me.
Is it is that like Kind of like a joke, I assumed, but I
couldn't. Yeah, I don't know.
Could work that out of the way. So yeah, it's very odd.
I don't know what that means but obviously they're out.
This is another one of those with are going to trick in
Eddie. Yeah.
So they sell up the English Channel and then sell him
Insurance in case of catches fire.
Yeah. And there does always on the
make himself but he's always oblivious when he's being built
himself. Yes.
Decides it. Yeah, he decides he's going to
deliberately set the channel firing claim 48,000 pounds,
Insurance. Yeah, money highs himself to
Pepsi bankruptcy Bay gets a preference.
He gets such a gets repeated. Doesn't yeah.
That big part of that spikes wartime memory.
Obviously, he was, he was down on that part of the coast during
the war so that gets a lot of callbacks.
Yeah. And and then we reach the sea.
Seen that you are extremely fond of with between Echols and Ned.
I don't want to describe this, right?
So so Nettie describes himself as tramping through the foot
deep snow on the beach, to get down to the water's edge and
then he sees Echoes In A full-length bathing costume and
suntan oil and Spike is so brilliant here.
Because there's lots of little, a sort of goes off.
He Rambles off into little kind of He sings, you know, there's a
smaller on my face. I'm a member of the human race
is almost like being in love and so it does all these little kind
of musical and vocal and then sort of brings him back himself
back by saying, well, where was I?
Oh yeah. And I just think he's he's
really, he's so comfortable being a cause he can do these at
all kind of sort of slightly rambly bits and still bring it
back to to the to the script and to brilliant moments.
And I'm just so he tries to Instead, it's it's scorching.
Oh, my granddaddy phoned up this morning.
He said, out of bed load. It's a beautiful do.
Where is he? He was falling from Bermuda.
And who am I to argue? Dear grandson?
Actual sit down on his fossilized shooting stick?
Oh, that's an old gag but on you stick, thank you.
My good man. Now let me put you right before
you freeze to death. Hits someone in Bermuda but it's
winter over here, you're gone told me.
Look at the rude and on desktop monitor 130 degrees is the
moment I have a temperature, he must gonna do a doctor.
And with that remark, folks, Turkish of the crown bullshit.
No DC. Good was proven
a minute. Yes, you took the thermometer
into the hot water bottle of Always keep it in there if I
didn't. It would drop below zero one.
We preached at that and that just the whole section is really
interesting interplay and it's not just weirdly.
It's not just Echoes being an idiot.
It's sometimes Echols gets the kind of get to the position of
power over Neddy during it. And it's it's a really, really
nice exchange. And I think it's one that I
would play a tune on not going to That's because there's enough
or people just being introduced to the games because I think
there's enough in it in terms of Gags Just to sort of make them
laugh anyway and I think Spike does equals so brilliantly in
this section and it's yeah it's probably my favorite part of the
thing and then Nettie fires him from a what's the word
slingshot? Or whatever it is and you
father's catapult. Thank you.
Now couldn't find the word and he fires him into the English
Channel where he can, he nearly drowns for the whole of the rest
of the show? Well, yes, but you're busy.
The clever wordplay. Oh yeah, Echo Echoes reveals
that he works at a match fast. I'm sorry.
Yes. Thank you.
My friend to toll-free does it. What I would class as a clumsy
bit of music here. Okay, this is really a door.
Yeah. When he mentions matches.
So que siguen goes matches. Like, he's just remembered that
he needs matches. Yeah.
And there's a mute. There's a quick musical Sting
from the orchestra. Yeah.
But it's the musical sting which normally they used to signify a
scene transition or a lapse of time.
Yeah. And to me it sounds Priya, I
better get back to the match Factory matches.
I think it should be when he says matches it should be dead
dad. Uh, yes, absolutely.
You don't mean to be a more a more sort of shocked her record
matches but I love that Spike then also sings As Eccles pom
pom, pom pom, after it as well. Possibly for that.
Very reason possibly for that reason.
Yeah, well we did, we did meant, we didn't mention as well.
There's a slightly topical The sense that seigen asks Echoes if
he's the chancellor of the exchequer and that's another
brilliant line as well. Well, the chancellor of
exchequer know. I can understand.
I've often been mistaken for the chancellor.
No, I've just often be mistaken. Yeah, and I wondered what that
was about, because I thought it was obviously in my head.
There's obviously the chance was obviously, in the news.
Yeah. For some for some mess up or
something didn't seem to be necessarily And the time of the
recording, anything that the chancellor had done wrong, but
it was a gentleman called Peter thornycroft, okay.
Who just became Chancellor replacing Harold MacMillan who
was just becoming a Yeti. He was p.m. so he became
Chancellor in January and then he resigned the next year, along
with two Junior treasury ministers because of increased
government expenditure. So I don't really know much
about what he'd done at this time that Wisdom to be ridiculed
in a gun show, but the said there was two Junior treasury
ministers. One of them was called Nigel
Birch. The other one was someone called
Enoch Powell. Good Lord.
Yeah. Yeah.
Not the first time he would be forced to resign in disgrace.
Absolutely say. Yes, Sue equals has been
catapulted, out to sea and and he's, he's permanently drowning
and also. Another brilliant thing about
Spike playing, I called his soul.
I threw the rest of the most of the rest of the show.
We're here and go, huh? And he does it.
So brilliantly in each one is sort of different and he's doing
it from exactly the sort of, right part of the studio that
makes you think he is quite far away and in the sea, and it's
just so well done. It's so well done.
And the kind of interjections and pretty much everyone in the
rest of the cast for the whole arrested.
Show tells him to shut up. Shut up.
You brown fall that? Yeah, it's another Another
really nice Spike moment there. I love the, I love the fact that
very often they'll just ad-libbed the word Brown.
Yes, another way that ticket Brown Milligan is the chance to
say is new catchphrase. But and that makes I think
that's what makes sellers then. Say, shut up your brown fall,
but it is it. Excellent of excellent little
qualifying word. Brown is another one of those
drab words. Yeah, there's no.
See ya. We get many in Henry, turn up.
They are the lifeguards and they Here equals shouting help and
there's a bit of mint and hen business.
Yeah, I love the bit where Echoes actually, physically
climbs out. Yes, to shut to shout help.
That's another golden moment in the show.
I just think that's excellent. And again, that's another thing
you could play, too goon fancy. It's an ongoing fans or people
just being introduced against. It's again, a really clever use
of the medium. It's a great gag in and of
itself. Yeah, it's really well done.
It reminded me of my dad always used to tell a joke about,
because my dad was Irish. Tell a joke about an Irishman
who drowned in a vat of whiskey. Yeah, but he got out three times
to go to the toilet. Just, it just reminds me of
that. Yeah, so we then get re the re
number. I reckon it's love which I said,
as I said, was very nice and we return and see, goon is trying
to start a fire and he's got a Tinder Box and then you have
this. Yeah you have this rather
pointless arrival of blood not. Yeah.
I think it's a really it's sorted.
The Crowbar blood Mark in but it's also really weird in that
he doesn't actually try to rip me off himself.
Usually in this case I'm thinking things like the
pendency of a disaster. You know.
Someone's Ned's being set up by grip by Moriarty and then blood
Mark appears and also tries to get his own pound of Flesh and
in this one he doesn't he's almost an acceptable or
authority figure. Okay?
Turns a blind eye and Eddie dropping the Navy office in ten
thousand pounds. If you if he turns a blind eye
to Dropping matches into the into the ocean, into the English
Channel. I think the most interesting
thing about the blog section here and I also love, love
knock. But he says I'm the winner of
the golden Richard which I'm sure is not a phrase that we
want to get to you want to look too deeply into an interesting
little drop in there. Yeah.
So yeah. Another thumb introduction in
the style of the Moriarty. Introductions.
Yeah, there was a bit of an underwhelming bluebottle bit.
I guess. Don't know if you agree.
Yeah. Blue bottles briefly and it is
legs mistaken for tweaks. Yes.
And again, that's about it, isn't it?
ID doesn't really add to the plot.
An awful lot in this one but again it's a nice little
interjection to have a Min. Just going back to the blood
Knock 10. Yeah, another great thing about
this for me. See I didn't at the time when I
first heard this but I'd subsequently lived in beckenham
which is next to Each and he said, I didn't know you had a
deaf ear. I found it in the barber shop in
penge on the floor of a barbershop in penge.
So that's another thing I wanted to bring up about Spike.
Spike, grew up in broccoli or when he moved back to London, he
lived in broccoli. And I, and he always, always,
always mentions catford in all of his shows.
There's catford always get to allow wrapping and I'm from
catford. So, I was born in lewisham,
hospital, and I grew up in catford.
So that was another connection. I felt and just Hearing those it
will cut whenever you hear a little South Southeast, London
area being mentioned on the goons or On Cue.
It's another really it's I sort of perk up, you know, when I
hear those things. Well, Yap engines are very
unlovely. It is name, isn't it is?
It's actually drab. It's actually not a bad place
but it was a, it was a imagining, it was a pretty drab
place that matched, its name at the time.
But it's actually, it's not too bad now, sorry penge, if there's
anybody, from pendulous me, For the let you know it is quite
knows the scene shifts or the action shifts to the YMCA, Royal
Suite in his spell again YMCA. Yeah.
Drab Mariachis played the violin rather badly.
Yes and Fritz kreisler. Yeah, don't really mean.
I know of him. It's one of those things that
again I didn't hear this was cut out of the, of the version of
it. On the lp.
So I didn't hear this little section until years and years
later, I think he's Chrysler someone, that Spike really kind
of equates with those terrible sort of scratchy, mournful
violin obligor toes. Which he's I don't think he's
particularly fond of and I think that's why it gets a bit of
stick here. So you can find out the channel.
Won't catch fire because it's damp.
Yeah. And so he returns Don't Front
grip, Piper Marie out. Who tell them to wait until
summer when the channel will be a fair trial.
Exactly a fire truck. Then there's a wireless
broadcast of Minion, Henry rescuing Eccles at sea.
Insurance, The White Man's Burden part 3.
With Nettie, fobbed off coxswains, crown and Bannister
Paul Echols ashore. Thank you.
Thank you for pulling me out of the English Channel.
Another month out. They're not out ground of
starvation. It join me in the next line.
Yes, I'll help you any yes, yes. We've never got the boat out to
you. If we hadn't come back thousand
gallons of oil and the see the comet yes set fire to it to get
rid of it. And it's a very nice conceit.
It's a very clever way of ending it for him to get his vote for
his. Mature, what look my policy has
matured and it's not you know it's not buy something that's
been done by him but it all everything has fitted in so
beautifully and you don't often get this particularly later.
Period gun shows. You don't often get that, you
know, the the ends are tied up. You know, the whole story of
equals being out in the sea Min and hen of had to go and rescue
him in the Lifeboat. The only way that they could
make it calm enough as by pouring all this oil on the sea
and then they set fire to it to get rid of it.
It's just everything fits in so beautifully.
I I do love the construction of this and six.
Child is another one and you have to wonder if, that's why
Spike pick them. He probably, he felt that they
were very well contained. I mean not that they seem to be
a factor in the later choices that you made but they all seem
to have a very well constructed plot which is a soap.
Yeah. And because of the because of
the richness of the equal seen earlier.
Yeah we can assume that Spike was in a good mood and enjoying
himself. Yeah, I think so.
Yeah. And so perhaps he remembered
that short when he was choosing this.
Yeah, good point. There's I think the best joke in
the whole show was right at the end when Echols rather formally
thanks minion Henry. Rescuing.
Yeah. Owning he says he said something
along the lines of if it stayed out there much longer I'd have
died of starvation. I don't drown the starvation.
Yeah, drowned of starvation. That just makes it doubly good.
I just think the whole Echoes thing in that and and men and
hand as well. I mean men and had a very
Central so I'm not I'm not the world's greatest men in hen fam
and but in this they have a very again tightly.
Act, little scene that sets them up and the whole scene of them
building the Lifeboat is a very funny reveal and they're Central
to the plot but they don't kind of it's not one of those where
it feels like spikes written a massive, long scene to kind of
just get rid of some time with men and hence of rambling at
each other. So again, another reason why I
really like this is that you're right, that blue bottle, doesn't
really get much of a fair shot in this, but otherwise people
do, they all everyone gets a really good little scene that
sort of drives the plot along. Long.
And And then we end of course, with the very best goon show
theme tune, Lucky Strike. I'm sorry if you're going to go,
if you were going to go and add any more about the show itself,
but well I just wanted to mention that.
Yes, so seguin's it ends. Very abruptly seguin's policies
policy has matured because the the channel is on fire grip.
Pipe tells my reality to pack the Champions.
Yeah, that's a regular phrase around this time.
Isn't it supposed to have chain? Must have come in tins of that
time. But it's That they keep all
their belongings in them and then at gunpoint, they scalp a
leaving Ned with no money and and Ned.
Ned crestfallen mentions the show's title as sellers doing a
copy voice, tells them that his Brandy bottles at the stage
door, hence the hurrying of feet which yeah and what, you're
lucky strike. Yeah I think that's probably my
favorite theme tune. I think she means well, I just
think it's it. I don't know what it was.
That sort of would have out. I stood it in the next series
because yeah, it's sort of towards I think it's somewhere
in series. A I think you can only be the
producers coming in and wanting to use something different
because I mean, I think it's brilliant anyway but it does
also have the ability to one of the issues was they needed a
tune-up. They could draw out if they
needed to. And there is scope to do sort of
scope for soloists to sort of play in the middle of the tune
and at the end of it, if need be, but it's great, it's new.
And it's co-written by a real engine, of course.
Yeah. And as I've said before, as
well, it's weird that because it gets introduced to the show
halfway through Series 6. Yes.
So, it's not even like the beginning of no, no, seriously.
This isn't just the thought processes that that drove those
decisions are interesting to me, and you can't find out that you
can't seem to find about out about them anywhere.
And again, that how it sort of then disappeared and how the
sort of theme tune seem to chop and change so much from series,
8 onwards. Yeah.
But, yeah, so, that's that's another thing when I hearing
that kick in was always pleased me a great deal.
Yes, yes, So overall a brilliant show.
Yeah, I if I'm being honest it's not one of my favorites.
I enjoy it. It's probably in my if I had to
sort of ranked my top 30 shows it'll probably be in the yeah,
the late 20s. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely in
my top 20, possibly in my top 10 and I think part of it has got
to be of course, because it was one of the first to I ever
heard. So.
And as I say because it has that tight Construction And it's not
it doesn't have some of their more rambling moments in it that
you get in. Some of the other shows which
are often also great. But I think listening to them as
a sort of seven or eight year old that probably made it easier
for me to digest. And as I say both that and six
jars are still pretty high, on my list of all-time classics, go
and revisit them, Kim's and tons, go, and listen to them now
shut, it shows such as if, and I really do hope that you do.
Return because your knowledge and enthusiasm is clear.
Thank you. I'd love to keep you would.
If you were to return at some point in the future.
Yes. Would you what would you like to
cover? If you thought about if it was
another yeah, or film or something.
If it was a show, I think what would be quite interesting would
be to look at you Bandit of Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood.
And his Merrie Monarch I think the difference is between those
and how How is he? Rubbing her was another one that
I had on on vinyl in first men on the moon and that's was
paired with forward by French president Fred, which is not a
burning show and I think Robin Hood is an absolutely corking
show. I think it's a brilliant show
and it's a vast Improvement on the Bandit, which is also in and
of itself. Good.
It's got good gags in it and some good performances.
But I think the this sort of the Remake if you like is much
better and that might be an interesting.
Ting that Iris idea. But yeah, he burned it obviously
has Dennis Price. Yes, which I'd love a love a bit
of Dennis Price. Sorry, you're right.
You're right, you're right. Of course it is.
Yeah, but he's, he's had a bit of a rough end of the stick
from, you know, some of the people have written about the
show or whatever of said old, get his press sounds out of
place. And I disagree, I think he's, I
think he's dead right for it. I think is very funny.
Yeah, I was never a big fan of either you Bandit all Robin Hood
of okay on this. But but, so subsequently, I
suppose they were shows I didn't listen to as much as others, but
it would be good to for you to come back and compare the two.
But, but I'll wrap it. Is there anything else you want
to talk about before I do the formal wrap up or, you know, not
at all? Just, you know, it's so good
that you've got so many people tuning into this.
And there's, you know, there's still obviously a massive
massive interest in and love of the goons.
And just one thing I did want to mention is that my friend Casey
listen to it, as well as and I I've had a South African
colleague at work and she's moved on to other roles now.
But I'm in my day job, I had a graphic designer South African
colleague. Hello, Julie, if you're
listening and I happened to mention that one day, I was
going to the gym. I'm going to the gym.
And she said oh hello Jean and she's sort of 30 mid-30s South
African woman. And I said, my God, how'd you
know, the game shows and shit. We had them all the time and I
was growing up, my parents were obsessed with him and I really
love them. So it's really nice when you get
that kind of, you know, there are people everywhere who have
heard them and been affected by them and still love them and I
do love that so much so it's really really well.
Hello. Judy is Julie, yeah it is, yeah,
hello Julie. Which has listen has been
brilliant. Thank you so much.
I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
And until the next time. Bye.
All the best.
Which has listen has been brilliant.
Thank you so much. I really enjoyed it.
Thank you. And until the next time.
Bye. Bye.
All the best.