The Search for Rommel's Treasure
The scene is 1942. The date is El Alamein in North Africa. Kapitän Moriarty: Herr General Rommel, where are you? Rommel (Secombe,...
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The Seagoon Memoirs
Chronicling a 21st century idiot's obsession with a 1950s radio comedy masterpiece.
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time capsule
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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Who dropped that piano? (Psst, tck, vung!)
Throughout its run, there were many Goon Show episodes that were inspired in part or in full by real events. ‘The Sinking of Westminster...
Have a gorilla
Despite several missteps, the Radio Times was determinedly ploughing on with its publication of a synopsis for each new Goon Show episode...
Happy birthday Michael Bentine
Goon Show co-founder Michael Bentine was born on this day in 1922, exactly a century ago. I think it’s fair to say Bentine is something...
My Wildest Dream
The same week as the third episode of the Goon Show’s sixth series aired (see ‘The Last Emperor’), producer Peter Eton roped in Harry...
The Lost Emperor, or Aardvarks Never Killed Anybody
During my research for this blog, I stumbled upon a number of scripts for sale via Neil Pearson Rare Books, an online shop linked, so it...
The Secret Escritoire
Episode two of the sixth series of the Goon Show aired on the Home Service at 8:30pm on 27 September 1955. Proof can be found on page 24...
Both Sides of the Microphone
The year is 1952. While television is quickly gaining in popularity, radio is still the main broadcast medium – reflected in the title of...
Third Division debuts
The issue of the Radio Times published on this day in 1949 carried a preview of a new series of shows on the BBC's Third Programme. No...
Happy birthday, Graham Stark
Today marks the 100th birthday of comic actor and Goon Graham Stark, born on this day in 1922. Stark first appeared on the Goon Show in...
More catchphrases
One thing I’ve noticed about what I shall call the Sykes era of Goon Shows is that there is a new propensity for catchphrases. The Goons...
The Man Who Won The War
The Goon Show returned for its sixth series on 20 September 1955, and began in true Goon fashion: with the now-infamous ‘Fred the Oyster’...
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...
Series six, and saxophones in Hyde Park
The sixth series of the Goon Show began on 20 September 1955, to considerable press fanfare. After the success of series five, the Goons...
What’s on the telly? Part five: Davy
In 1957, Harry Secombe was cast in his first lead film role in Davy. It told the story of a young entertainer who has to decide whether...
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...
What's on the telly? Part two: The Magic Christian
The Beatles were very open in their enjoyment of the Goons, and indeed Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers became friends with the Fab Four...
What’s on the telly? Part one of a few
Greenslade: This is the BBC Home Service. Sellers: Aaaaaach! What's on the telly? Greenslade: You will find the answer to that question...
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