March in Goonland
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The Seagoon Memoirs
Chronicling a 21st century idiot's obsession with a 1950s radio comedy masterpiece.
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Welcome, dear reader - pull up a bollard.
UPDATE: JUNE 2024
I am in the process of transferring this blog to Substack. You'll find me at theseagoonmemoirs.substack.com, where you can read for free and sign up to receive new posts (twice a week) direct to your email.
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On 28 May 1951, four young men took to the airwaves on the BBC's Home Service to launch their unique brand of comedy on an unsuspecting world.
In the mid-1990s, an even younger idiot was introduced to recordings of their broadcasts - and there began a strange obsession crossing decades and generations.
The Seagoon Memoirs is an attempt to channel this obsession into something creative, chronicle the show's history, development and legacy, and in some small way contribute to preserving this masterpiece of British radio comedy.
Listen to me waffle on about the Goons on the excellent Goon Pod here. Alternatively, listen to more interesting people on other episodes of Goon Pod, including Jane Milligan, Al Murray, Dirk Maggs, and the cast of 'Spike!', the new Milligan/Goon-themed play by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.
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Summer ’56 (part I): The Goons take over
With the top-notch musical gag that ended ‘The Man Who Never Was’ still echoing in the public’s ears, series seven of the Goon Show drew...
Bringing Spike's poems to life
Spike Milligan once lamented that the Goons would be seen as his only achievement, leading his obituary to read: “Wrote the Goon Show and...
The Golden-Voiced Goon
On this day in 1955, mayhem came to Morecambe... Harry Secombe headlined a show at Morecambe's Winter Gardens, billed as "The...
Baffling the journalists
We’re rapidly approaching the 71st anniversary of the first Crazy People broadcast, on 28 May 1951. As the Goons and producer Dennis Main...
May the 4th be with you
The franchise mash-up we all want to see. Long, long ago, on a radio show far, far away... Starring: HARRY SECOMBE as NEDDIE SKYWALKER...
Secombe Here: The summer of '55
The fifth series of the Goon Show ended with ‘The End’, appropriately enough, broadcast on 22 March 1955. From there, our intrepid heroes...
Problematic synopses
As the Goon Show’s popularity increased, the Radio Times decided to publish episode synopses and character/cast lists along with each...
A Christmas quiz and custard
This post marks my 200th on this blog. To celebrate, I challenge you all to see if you are as nerdy about the Goons as I am. Post your...
Curry, chips, and more batter puddings
Trawling through some of the Goon-related material available at Neil Pearson Rare Books, I stumbled upon a copy of a script for 'The...
A mound of batter puddings
A few days ago I wrote of the Terror of Bexhill-on-Sea: 'The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler'. You'll remember the predicament that Neddie...
The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk
In yesterday’s blog about ‘The Affair of the Lone Banana’, I skipped over a joke that I’ve come to find rather troubling. I’ll attempt to...
A variety summer
The life of a comedian in the 1950s was a tough one. For our intrepid Goon Show stars, the Sunday night recording of each episode was a...
Richard Attenborough
On this day in 2014, the great actor Richard Attenborough died. Brother of Sir David, he was born in 1923 and starred in films such as...
Chinese Wanderers 200, Arsenal nil
As a lifelong Arsenal fan, I have long been intrigued by the numerous references to my team littered throughout Goon Show scripts....
Naming episodes
Warning: This is a nerd-rant. File this under ‘I don’t wish to know that’. A few days ago I wrote of Roger Wilmut’s Goonography. I’m...
Two honorary Goons
I was alerted by this tweet from the Goon Show Preservation Society (GSPS) of the passing earlier this year of two honorary Goons. Marcel...
Ominous rumblings
The year is 1951. Four young men, all former members of the armed services, are drinking in The Grafton Arms, near Victoria Station in...
The Highly Esteemed Goon Show
Hello, and welcome to a rather ridiculous and ambitious project. My name’s Nick, and I’m a Goonaholic. During lockdown I rediscovered...
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