Goon Pod Goon Pod

It is June 1970. Ted Heath is days away from becoming British Prime Minister. Mungo Jerry are riding high at the top of the charts. And popular television personality Simon Dee's career is just about to collapse in a spectacular fashion.



How ironic then that Dee should co-star in the film we're discussing this week, playing a popular television personality!



Doctor In Trouble was the last of the Doctor film series, which by 1970 had fully committed to aping the Carry Ons. As well as Dee, Harry Secombe is one of the principle cast, and the star is Leslie Phillips playing Dr Tony Burke, who somehow manages to stow away on a luxury cruise liner and spends much of the voyage trying to evade the clutches of Master-At Arms-Freddie Jones!



Oh, and Robert Morley's in it too.



Secombe is brilliant, as you would expect, and Dee (although not given a huge amount to do) puts in a fairly creditable performance. Leslie Phillips is, well, Leslie Phillips and how did we forget to mention that the peerless Irene Handl pops up too?



Joining Tyler this week is writer, director and actor John Hewer. John has been behind some tributes to and revivals of classic British comedy performers and shows, including The Bed Sitting Room, Tommy Cooper and Steptoe & Son.



They talk about the history of the Doctor series, the sad decline of James Robertson-Justice, the rise and fall of Simon Dee, problematic gay stereotypes from around this period, seventies posh nosh and consider the prospect of a nude Welshman on the film set!



You'll really dig it!

"All trams have been melted down and made into
melted-down trams."




In 1952 London's last tram rolled into the depot. Two years later the Goons decided to mark the occasion with a show - better late than never!



At the London Pleasure Transport Board, Redundant Tram Department, Inspector Ned Seagoon receives a phone call informing him that there’s still a tram at large on the Highgate-Kingsway route, and, indeed, the tram map still has one flag pin stuck in it, for a number 33.



Driver Henry Crun refuses to move the tram unless he is afforded a proper last tram ceremony. Seagoon has to negotiate with the corrupt Chairman of the Country & Town Planning Society who agrees to the ceremony, but on the cheap.



Writing was credited to Spike Milligan & Eric Sykes but it seems fairly certain Eric took the lion's share of work that week.



The Last Tram (from Clapham) is a real gem of a Goon Show - well structured, well-paced, with some interesting one-off characters, a nice pay-off and the odd unusual choice of sound effect (such as the otherworldly harp).


Joining Tyler to talk about it is our Welsh-language correspondent from Down Under, Andy Bell!


As well as chatting about the show they discuss Britain's Rudest Man, the length of Alan Ladd, the Telegoons version of the show, Spike in Australia, the history of London's tram network and... Menace Strain Bullshine?



Andy can be found on Twitter/X: @obelloz

"In ye year of Grace, Mary and Uncle Fred, 1190, Wallace
Greenslade, an itinerant announcer, was bounde for Nottingham when ye coach was stoppd inne Sherwood Forest by Robin Hood who did persuade himme to join hys
bande as second sackbuttist and part-time dustman. Greenslade did don Lincoln Green and did assiste ye outlaws in their recklesse adventures."

(Radio Times listing for 'Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest', December 1954)

This week Tyler and guest Chas Early look at the Robin Hood-themed episodes of The Goon Show - Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest from Series 5 and the special from 1956, Robin Hood, as well as some brief chat about the earlier Christmas Pantomime of Robin Hood from Series 3 which only exists now in script form.

All three shows share some similar dialogues and scenes and each featured special guests: Charlotte Mitchell in Ye Bandit; Dennis Price and Valentine Dyall in the 1956 Robin Hood; and Dick Emery & Carole Carr back in 1952.

There's a lot to unpick so splug yourself on a gillikin spike and tune in!

"One small brown pot containing... another small brown pot."

With its memorable cover, photographed by Angus McBean and voted Number 25 in the NME's list of Genuinely Disturbing Record Sleeves, Milligan Preserved was released in late 1961 and featured a series of songs and sketches written and performed by Spike Milligan, with assistance from the likes of Valentine Dyall and Graham Stark.

It was produced by George Martin and as such our guest this week is Jason Kruppa, host of Producing The Beatles podcast. Jason is a big fan of the record and shares a lot of interesting background information.

The LP includes three tunes which were originally featured in Goon Show episodes – interestingly, all were shows from Series 8 and all were broadcast between January & February 1958.

There's also some joyful flights of nonsense such as Another Lot, Word Power and Underneath It All (coming to you live from a nudist colony) and aside from the occasional jarring note (we're looking at YOU, Hit Parade!) the album stands the test of time.

All together now! "Sideways, through the sewers of the Strand..."

This week's guest is a man more used to asking the questions - the writer and broadcaster Clive Anderson.

A former barrister, Clive turned to comedy and wrote for the likes of Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones before gaining radio & television fame as the host of top improvisational comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway?

He then went on to present a series of chat shows and interviewed some of the biggest stars on the planet, including Spike Milligan, and it's this that we take as our starting point.

Clive talks about his career and many of the shows and people he's been involved with, including WLIIA, Loose Ends, If I Ruled The World, Peter Cook, Tony Slattery, John Sessions, Graeme Garden and Keith Allen.

He also talks about his reaction to the Brass Eye segment claiming he'd been shot dead by Noel Edmonds, remembers seeing Harry Secombe miming on stage and shudders as he recalls *that* interview with the Bee Gees.

"Excuse me, what is the price of sliced ham per portion?"



And so this enigmatic enquiry opens the first episode of Series 7 of The Goon Show - and to launch the new series of Goon Pod Graeme Lindsay-Foot returns to talk about it!



Broadcast in October 1956 as the situation in Suez was worsening, it was a busy period for the Goons - The Ying Tong Song was riding high in the Hit Parade, Son Of Fred was showing on ITV and Harry had a song in the charts. Producer Pat Dixon was too busy to helm the first couple of episodes of the new series so former producer Peter Eton agreed to briefly return. There were also tensions between co-writer Larry Stephens and the BBC.



As well as discussing this and the show itself, Graeme & Tyler touch on Morecambe & Wise, Bob Dylan, Little & Large, George Harrison, Anita West and others!



Plus: Goons in rehearsal, Bentine vs Dawson and the best Goons theme tune!