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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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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...
I’d like to see them try that on television
By September 1956 the UK had experienced about a year of two television channels, ending the BBC’s post-war monopoly of the nascent...
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...
Gormenghast
Exactly 21 years ago (well, give or take a day) the BBC broadcast the first episode of Gormenghast, a four-part TV adaptation of Mervyn...
What's on the telly? Part four: The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show was one of my favourite programmes as a child – and, to be honest, it still is. The humour is so closely aligned with the...
What's on the telly? Part three: The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
Just over 50 years ago in November 1951, a star-studded comedy curio hit cinemas. The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins was directed by...
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...
Documenting Spike
Happy New Year to you, dear reader. What better way to soothe that Hogmanay hangover than with some documentaries about our beloved...
Happy birthday, Norma Farnes
A happy birthday to the late Norma Farnes, born on this day in 1934. Norma played a crucial role for decades in preserving the work of...
Interviewing Spike
In case this headline is misleading, no I have never interviewed Spike. I was about 15 when he died, and I'm not sure he would have had...
The Six-Five Special
On this day in 1957, viewers of BBC television were treated to an episode of the Beeb’s new rock ‘n’ roll programme, Six-Five Special....
‘The funniest show we’ve ever done’
A few days ago we explored the series five collaboration between Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan, which produced some of the best Goon Show...
Spike and Eric
Eric Sykes first met Spike Milligan briefly at the Grafton Arms, where everybody in entertainment met, seemingly. However, it wasn’t...
'Lo, he cometh to us!'
On this day in 1979, Monty Python's cult film Life of Brian premiered in the UK. There was a huge amount of ridiculous controversy about...
Paradise Street and other distractions
Writing the Goon Show couldn’t pay the bills on its own, as Spike Milligan was often to lament. So what else could an emerging talent get...
More YouTube gems
For your viewing pleasure, An Evening With Spike Milligan. And as if that wasn't enough, here's a tribute to his regular co-writer, the...
Recommended viewing: ‘I Told You I Was Ill’
Today’s my birthday, so I’m going to celebrate by recommending you all watch this lovely documentary about Spike Milligan, by his...
The Phantom Raspberry Blower
In 1971, Ronnie Barker starred in 1899: The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town. It was a short TV film written by Spike...
Going out with a mountain?
Some Goon music today. October 1961 saw the release of Milligan Preserved, a collection of songs and sketches that included a version of...
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