RADIO: THE GOON SHOW

by PETER TATCHELL (copyright 2010)

 goons Arguably the most influential radio series in British comedy, THE GOON SHOW began on the B.B.C. Home Service May 28 1951 under the title of CRAZY PEOPLE “featuring radio’s own Crazy Gang*, The Goons”.  

Starring Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine and Spike Milligan (with musical support from The Ray Ellington Quartet, Max Geldray and The Stargazers) and Andrew Timothy as the announcer, the scripts were written by Milligan and Larry Stephens (and edited by Jimmy Grafton). The seventeen episodes were made up of unrelated sketches featuring a handful of regular characters.

By the second series, the following January, the B.B.C. allowed the programme to be retitled THE GOON SHOW with the participants as before. The Stargazers left after the first six shows and Michael Bentine departed at series end (though remaining friends with the team, and in fact guest-starring in a fourth season episode).

By the third season, scriptwriting pressures caused Milligan to have a nervous breakdown and he was absent for eleven of the programmes (Dick Emery and Graham Stark took turns at filling in).

Series four saw the collection of sketches evolve into the familiar continuous storyline and Wallace Greenslade take over as the announcer.

None of the first four seasons of THE GOON SHOW was broadcast outside Britain and nearly all the original recordings were destroyed. All that survives are off-air acetate copies of two incomplete editions from series 2, an episode from series 3 and about half of series 4 (many of which were discovered in recent years).

However, from the fifth season (starting September 1954) the B.B.C. Transcription Service began offering the show to broadcasters in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and elsewhere. Eventually 107 editions were made available, plus specially-recorded remakes of 14 fourth season episodes. Most were slightly edited to remove topical references or material thought unsuitable for overseas listeners.

Happily nearly everything survives from this point onwards. These were the episodes of THE GOON SHOW repeated over the past half century and issued on LP, cassette and CD to fans in Britain and around the world.

By the mid-1950s, Eric Sykes began contributing to the scripts (either solo or with Milligan) and his work may be found in season five and at the start of season six. (Sykes, Milligan, Alan Simpson and Ray Galton had formed a scriptwriting co-operative called Associated London Scripts and were regularly supplying material to the B.B.C. and London’s recently-opened commercial television channels).

In 1956 and 1957, Sellers, Secombe and Milligan were signed by Decca Records to record eight studio vocals featuring their popular characters (originally issued as four 78rpm discs). (Prior to this, the trio had done two songs for Parlophone which for reasons relating the composer copyrights were not released at the time).

THE GOON SHOW concluded its run after a short tenth series (on January 28 1960). There were then two seasons of THE TELEGOONS (totalling twenty-six 15-minute remakes, using puppets and dialogue re-recorded by the cast) plus a handful of revival editions. The only newly-scripted edition was The (aptly titled) Last Goon Show Of All, produced for the B.B.C.’s 50th anniversary in 1972. (A Decca 45rpm single containing two new Goon vocals was also recorded in honour of the occasion).

Apart from the original 121 editions of THE GOON SHOW made available by the Transcription Service in the late-1950s, a “best-of” selection titled Pick Of The Goons was issued in the mid-1960s. This comprises 84 programmes , eight of which had not previously been available. Coupled with the final 21 editions of the original package, these are the 105 episodes which have been airing on A.B.C. Radio for the past thirty-five years.

As we enter the twenty-first century, over a hundred GOON SHOWs are available via radio or on commercial compact disc (many originally issued on LP or cassette). There have also been collections of scripts and cartoons inspired by the original plots.

Listed below is an itemisation of the episodes that are commercially available on disc or part of the packages made available by the B.B.C. Transcription Service.

*The original Crazy Gang was formed in the 1930s at the London Palladium when the double acts Flanagan & Allen, Nervo & Knox and Naughton & Gold appeared together in a succession of shows. They also appeared in several movies and (minus Allen) reformed in April 1947 for a number of productions at the Victoria Palace, eventually disbanding in May 1962. Beloved by the public and participating in many Royal Variety performances, they were renowned for their zany antics, good-natured fun and adlibbing.   (see Bud Flanagan’s MY CRAZY LIFE, Frederick Muller 1961 and Maureen Owen’s THE CRAZY GANG, Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1986)

THE GOON SHOW CHRONOLOGY

with Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine (series 1 & 2), Spike Milligan, Max Geldray, Ray Ellington

Series 1 (titled CRAZY PEOPLE):
Home Service Monday 7-45pm May 28 to July 23 1951, Thursday 8-00pm August 2 to September 20 1951
*** CINDERELLA: Light Programme Wednesday 8-15pm December 26 1951 (45 min)
Series 2: Home Service Tuesday 9-30pm January 22 to July 15 1952 (not Feb 12)
Series 3: Home Service Tuesday 9-30pm November 11 1952 to May 5 1953 (not Dec 23)
*** ROBIN HOOD: Light Programme Friday 8-15pm December 26 1952 (45 min)
*** CORONATION EDITION: Home Service Wednesday 9-30pm June 3 1953 (40 min)
Series 4: Home Service Friday 9-30pm October 2 1953 to February 12 1954,  Monday 8-30pm February 15 to April 19 1954
*** CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: Home Service Friday 1-10pm December 25 1953 (featured a Goons sketch)
*** ARCHIE IN GOONLAND: June 11 1954
*** THE STARLINGS: Home Service Tuesday 9-45pm August 31 1954
Series 5: Home Service Tuesday 9-30pm September 28 1954 to March 22 1955
Series 6: Home Service Tuesday 8-30pm September 20 1955 to March 20 1956 (Nov 22 episode delayed until Apr 3)
*** THE MISSING CHRISTMAS PARCEL (15 min segment): December 8 1955 (part of 1 hour broadcast)
*** THE GOONS HIT WALES (5 min segment): Home Service Thursday 9-00pm March 1 1956 (60 min)
*** CHINA STORY: August 29 1956
Series 7: Home Service Thursday 8-30pm October 4 1956 to March 27 1957 (Nov 8 episode delayed until Feb 14)
*** THE REASON WHY: Home Service Thursday 9-15pm August 22 1957 (repeat on Feb 14)
Series 8: Home Service Monday 8-30pm September 30 1957 to March 24 1957
Series 9: Home Service Monday 8-30pm November 3 1958 to February 23 1959
Series 10: Home Service Tuesday 7-30pm December 24 1959 to January 28 1960
*** THE LAST GOON SHOW OF ALL: R4 Thursday 8-00pm October 5 1972 (40 min)

* The BBC Transcription Service also recorded 15 remakes for overseas listeners only on …
Dec 2 1956 and Oct 6 & 20, Nov 3 & 17, Dec 1, 15 & 29 1957, Jan 12, Feb 16 & 23, Mar 2, 9, 16 & 23 1958

* The BBC General Overseas Service broadcast on shortwave a special edition (for troops) on … Dec 24 1956

 

TELEVISION VERSIONS OF GOON SHOWS

The Telegoons (15 min, b/w) (BBC-TV)
October 5 1963             The Ascent Of Mount Everest
October 12 1963           The Lost Colony
October 19 1963           The Fear Of Wages
October 26 1963          Napoleon’s Piano
November 2 1963       The Last Tram
November 16 1963     China Story
November 23 1963     The Canal
December 7 1963        The Hastings Flyer
December 14 1963      The Mystery Of The Marie Celeste – Solved!
December 21 1963      The International Christmas Pudding
December 28 1963      The Choking Horror

March 28 1964           Scradje
April 4 1964                The Booted Gorilla
April 11 1964              The Greatest Mountain In The World
April 18 1964              The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler Of Bexhill-On-Sea
April 25 1964              Tales Of Old Dartmoor
May 2 1964                  Lurgi Strikes Britain
May 9 1964                  The Personal Narrative Of Captain Seagoon R.N.
May 16 1964                The First Albert Memorial To The Moon
May 23 1964                The Whistling Spy Enigma
May 30 1964               Tales Of Montmatre
June 6 1964                 The Africa Ship Canal
June 13 1964               The Affair Of The Lone Banana
June 27 1964               The Nadger Plague
July 18 1964                The Seige Of Fort Knight
August 1 1964             The Terrible Revenge Of Fred Fu Manchu

Secombe And Friends (Associated-Rediffusion)
October 16 1966         The Whistling Spy Enigma (17 minute segment)

August 8 1968             Tales Of Men’s Shirts (Thames, 25 min)

December 26 1972    The Last Goon Show Of All (BBC1, 40 min)

 

The first four seasons of THE GOON SHOW were aired only in Britain … from series 5 the BBC’s Transcription Service began issuing episodes to radio stations around the world.

SURVIVING EPISODES of THE GOON SHOW

(A = in BBC Archives
TS = 1950s Transcription Service issue
PG = Pick of the Goons reissue
BCD = issued on BBC compact discs
ECD = issued on EMI compact discs
BC = issued on BBC cassette
s = featured in script books
c = featured in cartoon books)

2/1 untitled
2/3 untitled
3/17 The Mystery of the Monkey’s Paw
4/2 The Man Who Tried To Destroy London’s Monuments
4/3 The Ghastly Experiments of Dr. Hans Eidelberger
4/13 The Giant Bombardon (2 minute extract only) A
4/15 The Missing Prime Minister
4/18 The History of Communications
4/19 The Kippered Herring Gang
4/20 The Toothpaste Expedition
4/21 The Case of The Vanishing Room
4/23 The Greatest Mountain in the World A BCD8
4/24 The Collapse of the British Railway Sandwich System BCD23
4/25 The Silent Bugler
4/26 Western Story
4/29 The Great Bank Of England Robbery
*** The Starlings A BC
5/1 The Whistling Spy Enigma A BCD7 TS PG
5/2 The Lost Goldmine Of Charlotte BCD23 TS PG
5/3 The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-On-Sea) A BCD1 TS s1
5/4 The Phantom Head Shaver of Brighton BCD12 TS PG s1
5/5 The Affair of the Lone Banana BCD7 TS PG s1 c1
5/6 The Canal BCD23 TS PG s1
5/7 Lurgi Strikes Britain A BCD2 TS
5/8 The Mystery of the Marie Celeste A BCD8 TS PG
5/9 The Last Tram from Clapham A BCD8 TS
5/10 The Booted Gorilla BCD22 TS
5/11 The Spanish Suitcase A BCD8 TS
5/12 Dishonoured (or The Fall of Neddie Seagoon) TS
5/13 Forog TS
5/14 Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest A BCD15 TS
5/15 1985 BCD5
5/16 The Case of the Missing Heir BCD24 TS PG
5/17 China Story A ECD2 TS
5/18 Under Two Floorboards A BCD9 TS PG
5/19 The Missing Scroll TS PG
5/20 1985 (remake)
5/21 The Sinking of Westminster Pier A BCD9 TS PG
5/22 The Fireball of Milton Street BCD25 TS
5/23 The Six Ingots of Leadenhall Street TS
5/24 Yehti A BCD9 TS
5/25 The White Box of Great Bardfield A BCD10 PG
5/26 Confessions of a Secret Senna-Pod Drinker BCD25 TS PG
6/1 The Man Who Won the War TS
6/2 The Secret Escritoire BCD24 TS
6/3 The Lost Emperor BCD12 PG
6/4 Napoleon’s Piano BCD2 TS PG s1
6/5 The Case of the Missing C.D. Plates BCD4 TS PG c2
6/6 The Search for Rommel’s Treasure BCD 6 TS PG c2
6/7 Foiled by President Fred A ECD3 PG s1
6/8 Shangri-La Again BCD19 TS PG
6/9 The Great International Christmas Pudding BCD2 TS PG
6/10 The Pevensey Bay Disaster BCD19 TS PG c1
6/11 The Sale of Manhattan BCD 22 TS PG
6/12 The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu BCD25 s3
6/13 The Lost Year BCD26 TS
6/14 The Greenslade Story A BCD3 PG
6/15 The Hastings Flyer (remake of The Pevensey Bay Disaster) s1
6/16 The Mighty Wurlitzer BCD15 TS s1
6/17 The Raid of the International Christmas Pudding
6/18 Tales of Montmatre A BCD10 TS PG
6/19 The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI A BCD1 TS
6/20 The House of Teeth BCD23 TS PG s1
6/21 Tales of Old Dartmoor A ECD1 TS
6/22 The Choking Horror BCD22 TS PG
6/23 The Great Tuscan Salami Scandal A BCD7 TS PG
6/24 The Treasure in the Lake BCD3 TS PG
*** The Goons Hit Wales (5 min)
6/25 The Fear of Wages BCD20 PG s5
6/26 Scradje BCD7 TS
6/27 The Man Who Never Was TS PG
7/1 The Nasty Affair at Burami Oasis BCD4 PG
7/2 Drums Along the Mersey BCD12 TS PG
7/3 The Great Nadger Plague BCD20 TS
7/4 The MacReekie Rising of ’74 A ECD2 TS
7/5 The Spectre of Tintagel BCD19 TS PG
7/6 The Sleeping Prince TS PG
7/7 The Great Bank Robbery A BCD10 TS
7/8 The Personal Narrative of Captain Neddie Seagoon RN TS PG
7/9 The Mystery of the Fake Neddie Seagoons A BCD10 TS PG s5
*** Robin Hood and his Mirry Mon A ECD3 TS
7/10 What’s My Line TS
7/11 The Telephone TS
7/12 The Flea BCD2 TS PG
*** Operation Christmas Duff BCD15 s4
7/13 Six Charlies in Search of an Author ECD2 TS
7/14 Emperor of the Universe TS
7/15 Wings Over Dagenham BCD3 TS PG
7/16 The Rent Collectors BCD3 PG
7/17 The Shifting Sands A BCD5 TS PG
7/18 The Moon Show TS PG
7/19 The Mysterious Punch-Up-The-Conker BCD9 TS PG
7/20 Round the World in Eighty Days TS PG
7/21 Insurance, The White Man’s Burdon ECD2 TS PG
7/22 The Great Trans-Africa Ship Canal TS PG
7/23 Ill Met by Goonlight BCD6 TS PG
7/24 The Missing Boa Constrictor TS PG
7/25 The Histories of Pliny The Elder A BCD1 TS
*** The Reason Why A BCD17
8/1 Spon BCD16
8/2 The Junk Affair BCD21 TS
8/3 The Burning Embassy BCD21 TS PG
8/4 The Great Regent’s Park Swim BCD28 TS PG
8/5 The Treasure in the Tower BCD17 TS PG
8/6 The Space Age BCD28 TS PG
8/7 The Red Fort ECD3
8/8 The Missing Battleship BCD21 TS
8/9 The Policy BCD28 TS PG
8/10 King Solomon’s Mines BCD13 TS PG
8/11 The Stolen Postman BCD28 TS PG
8/12 The Great British Revolution BCD20 TS PG
8/13 The Plasticine Man BCD17 TS PG
8/14 African Incident BCD18 TS
8/15 The Thing on the Mountain TS
8/16 The Great String Robberies BCD11 TS PG s3
8/17 The Moriarty Murder Mystery BCD13 TS PG
8/18 The Curse of Frankenstein BCD16 TS PG
8/19 The White Neddie Trade A BCD11
8/20 Ten Snowballs That Shook the World BCD21 TS PG
8/21 The Man Who Never Was (remake) A BCD4
8/22 World War One BCD4 TS PG
8/23 The Great Spon Plague BCD11 TS PG s3
8/24 Tiddleywinks BCD18
8/25 The Evils of Bushey Spon BCD1
8/26 The Great Statue Debate TS
V/1 The Mummified Priest BCD12 TS
V/2 The Greatest Mountain in the World BCD27 TS PG
V/3 The Missing Ten Downing Street ECD3 TS
V/4 The Giant Bombardon BCD18 TS PG
V/5 The Kippered Herring Gang BCD27 TS
V/6 The Vanishing Room BCD13 TS PG c2
V/7 The Ink Shortage BCD22 TS
V/8 The Mustard and Cress Shortage TS
V/9 The Internal Mountain BCD25 TS PG s4 c2
V/10 The Silent Bugler BCD17 TS PG s4
V/11 The Great Bank of England Robbery BCD26 TS PG
V/12 The Dreaded Piano Clubber BCD24 TS s4
V/13 The Siege of Fort Night BCD26 TS s4
V/14 The First Albert Memorial to the Moon BCD27 TS PG
9/1 The Sahara Desert Statue BCD20 PG
9/2 I Was Monty’s Treble BCD6 TS PG
9/3 The Million Pound Penny BCD13 TS PG
9/4 The Pam’s Paper Insurance Policy BCD24 TS
9/5 The Mountain Eaters BCD11 TS PG
9/6 Childe Harolde Rewarde BCD14 TS PG
9/7 The Seagoon Memoirs BCD6 TS PG
9/8 Queen Anne’s Rain BCD14 TS PG
9/9 The Battle of Spion Kop BCD14 s2
9/10 Ned’s Atomic Dustbin BCD19 TS s2
9/11 Who is Pink Oboe? BCD16 s2
9/12 The Call Of The West BCD5 TS PG s2
9/13 Dishonoured (Again) (remake) ECD1 TS
9/14 The Scarlet Capsule ECD1 TS s2 c1
9/15 The Tay Bridge Disaster BCD18 TS s2
9/16 The Gold Plate Robbery A BCD14 TS PG s2
9/17 The 50 Pound Cure BCD16 TS s2
10/1 A Christmas Carol BCD15 TS PG
10/2 The Tale of Men’s Shirts A ECD1 TS s3
10/3 The Chinese Legs BCD26 TS
10/4 Robin’s Post BCD27 TS PG s3
10/5 The Silver Dubloons TS PG
10/6 The Last Smoking Seagoon BCD5 TS PG
*** The Last Goon Show of All A BCD* c1

THE REMAKES OF SERIES 4

(starting October 1953, the show was now being recorded on tape, instead of 16″ 33⅓ips discs)

None of these shows was issued overseas (by the Transcription Service) but BBC Archives kept an extract of show 13 and show 23 complete.

Amateur off-air recordings survive of shows 2, 3, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26 and 29.

Fourteen of the scripts were performed again in 1958, specifically for issue by the Transcription Service (all of these remakes survive).

4/1       The Dreaded Piano Clubber   remade as V12
4/2       The Man Who Tried to Destroy London’s Monuments   exists
4/3       The Ghastly Experiments of Dr. Hans Eidelberger   exists
4/4       The Building of Britain’s First Atomic Cannon
4/5       The Gibraltar Story
4/6       Through the Sound Barrier in an Airing Cupboard
4/7       The First Albert Memorial to the Moon   remade as V14
4/8       The Missing Bureaucrat
4/9       Operation Bagpipes
4/10     The Flying Saucer Mystery
4/11     The Spanish Armada
4/12     The British Way
4/13     The Giant Bombardon  A (2 min extract)   remade as V4
4/14     Ten Thousand Fathoms Down in a Wardrobe
4/15     The Missing Prime Minister   exists   remade as V3
4/16     Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Crun
4/17     The Mummified Priest   remade as V1
4/18     The History of Communications   exists
4/19     The Kippered Herring Gang   exists   remade as V5
4/20     The Toothpaste Expedition   exists
4/21     The Case of the Vanishing Room   exists   remade as V6
4/22     The Great Ink Drought of 1902   remade as V7
4/23     The Greatest Mountain in the World   BCD8   A   exists   remade as V2
4/24     The Collapse of British Railway Sandwich System   BCD23 exists   remade as V8
4/25     The Silent Bugler   exists   remade as V10
4/26     Western Story   exists
4/27     The Saga of the Internal Mountain   remade as V9
4/28     The Invisible Acrobat
4/29     The Great Bank of England Robbery   exists   remade as V11
4/30     The Siege of Fort Knight   remade as V13

VINTAGE GOONS – Transcription Service remake package, recorded during series 8.

Seven of these versions were included in the 1960s Pick of the Goons reissue package. (noted PG)

V/1      The Mummified Priest   BCD12
V/2      The Greatest Mountain in the World   PG original also exists
V/3      The Missing Ten Downing Street   ECD3 original also exists
V/4      The Giant Bombardon   BCD18 PG original also exists
V/5      The Kippered Herring Gang   original also exists
V/6      The Vanishing Room   BCD13 PG original also exists
V/7      The Ink Shortage
V/8      The Mustard and Cress Shortage  original also exists
V/9      The Internal Mountain   BCD25 PG
V/10    The Silent Bugler   BCD17 PG original also exists
V/11    The Great Bank of England Robbery   BCD26 PG original also exists
V/12    The Dreaded Piano Clubber   BCD24
V/13    The Siege of Fort Night   BCD26
V/14    The First Albert Memorial to the Moon   PG

 

 

Discography

all episodes originally released on LP (by Parlophone, EMI and BBC Records) have now been reissued on the following compact discs …

B.B.C. CDS

v1: Moriarty, Where Are You? (ZBBC 1864)
The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler
The Histories Of Pliny The Elder
The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI
The Evils Of Bushey Spon

v2: Enter Bluebottle (ZBBC 1865)
Lurgi Strikes Britain
The International Christmas Pudding
Napoleon’s Piano
The Flea

v3: I’m Walking Backwards For Christmas (ZBBC 1866)
The Treasure Of Loch Lomond
The Greenslade Story
Wings Over Dagenham
The Rent Collector

v4: My Knees Have Fallen Off (ZBBC 1867)
The Man Who Never Was
The Case Of The Missing CD Plates
World War 1
The Nasty Affair At The Burami Oasis

v5: There’s More Where That Came From (ZBBC 1868)
The Call Of The West
The Last Smoking Seagoon
1985
Shifting Sands

v6: Have A Gorilla (ZBBC 1869)
Rommel’s Treasure
Ill Met By Goonlight
I Was Monty’s Treble
The Seagoon Memoirs

v7: Ying Tong Iddle-I Po (ZBBC 1870)
The Whistling Spy Enigma
The Affair Of The Lone Banana
The Great Tuscan Salami Scandal
Scradje

v8: You Have Deaded Me Again (ZBBC 1871)
The Greatest Mountain In The World
The Mystery Of The Marie Celeste (Solved!)
The Spanish Suitcase
The Last Tram (From Clapham)

v9: What Time Is It, Eccles? (ZBBC 1887)
Under Two Floorboards
The Sinking Of Westminster Pier
The Yehti
The Mysterious Punch-Up-The-Conker

v10: You Can’t Get The Wood You Know! (ZBBC 1513)
The White Box Of Great Bardfield
Tales Of Montmatre
The Mystery Of The Fake Neddie Seagoons
The Great Bank Robbery

v11: He’s Fallen In The Water! (ZBBC 1602)
The String Robberies
The White Neddie Trade
The Spon Plague
The Mountain Eaters

v12: Shut Up Eccles (ZBBC 1725)
The Phantom Head Shaver
The Lost Emperor
Drums Along The Mersey
The Mummified Priest

v13: It’s All In The Mind You Know (ZBBC 1892)
The Moriarty Murder Mystery
King Solomon’s Mines
The £1,000,000 Penny
The Vanishing Room

v14: Needle Nardle Noo! (ZBBC 2115)
The Childe Harolde Rewarde
Queen Anne’s Rain
The Battle Of Spion Kop
The Gold Plate Robbery

v15: The Goons At Christmas (ZBBC 2194)
Ye Bandit Of Sherwood Forest
The Mighty Wurlitzer
Operation Christmas Duff
A Christmas Carol

v16: The Goon Show And Guests (ISBN 0563 558849)
Spon
The Curse Of Frankenstein
Who Is Pink Oboe?
The £50 Cure

v17: The Silent Bugler (ISBN 0563 55292)
The Reason Why
The Treasure In The Tower
The Plasticine Man
The Silent Bugler

v18: The Goon Show And More Guests (ISBN 0563 55342)
African Incident
Tiddlywinks
The Giant Bombardon
The Tay Bridge

v19: Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (ISBN 0563 535474)
Shangri La Again
The Pevensey Bay Disaster
The Spectre Of Tintagel
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin

v20: The Fear Of Wages (ISBN 0563 536292)
The Fear Of Wages
The Nadger Plague
The Great British Revolution
The Sahara Desert Statue

v21: The Missing Battleship (ISBN 0563 494794)
The Junk Affair
The Burning Embassy
The Missing Battleship
Ten Snowballs That Shook The World

v22: The Booted Gorilla (ISBN 0563 524669)
The Booted Gorilla
The Sale Of Manhattan
The Choking Horror
The Ink Shortage

v23: The Collapse Of The British Rail Sandwich System (ISBN 0563 527978)
The Collapse Of The British Rail Sandwich System
The Lost Gold Mine Of Charlotte
The Canal
The House Of Teeth

v24: The Case of the Missing Heir (ISBN 18460 71941)
The Case of the Missing Heir
The Secret Escritoire
The Dreaded Piano Clubber
The Pam’s Paper Insurance Policy

v25: The Saga of the Internal Mountain (ISBN 9781 4056 77721)
The Fireball of Milton Street
The End, or Confessions of a Secret Senna-Pod Drinker
The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu
The Saga of the Internal Mountain

v26: Bank Statement no. 349 (ISBN 9781 408 410455)
The Lost Year
The Great Bank of England Robbery
The Siege of Fort Night
The Chinese Legs

v27: Check the Yuckabakaka Gauges (ISBN: 978-1408427279)
The Greatest Mountain in the World (Vintage Goons remake)
The Kippered Herring Gang (Vintage Goons remake)
The First Albert Memorial to the Moon (Vintage Goons remake)
Robin’s Post

v28: The Indigestion Waltz (ISBN: 9781 4084 68555)
The Great Regent’s Park Swim
The Space Age
The Policy
The Stolen Postman

***  The Last Goon Show Of All + At Last The Go On Show (documentary) (ZBBC 2014)

E.M.I. CDs

volume 1 (CDECC 4 , 7 90796 2)
Tales Of Old Dartmoor
Dishonoured (Again)
Tales Of Men’s Shirts
The Scarlet Capsule

volume 2 (CDECC 6, 7 94587 2)
China Story
The Macreekie Rising Of ’74
Six Charlies In Search Of An Author
Insurance – The White Man’s Burden

volume 3 (CDECC 9, 7 95298 2)
The Missing No. 10 Downing Street
The Red Fort
Foiled By President Fred
Robin Hood And His Mirry Mon

The Goons (28597 2)
reissues of Tales Of Old Dartmoor, Dishonoured Again & Tale Of Men’s Shirts

The Goons – Volume 2 (34755 2)
reissues of The Missing 10 Downing Street, The Red Fort & Robin Hood

78rpm STUDIO VOCALS RECORDED BY THE GOONS

Parlophone
1955                Unchained Melody
1955                Dance With Me, Henry
(both vocals eventually issued on the EMI 4CD set A CELEBRATION OF SELLERS)

Decca
May 1956        The Bluebottle Blues
May 1956        I’m Walking Backwards For Christmas
August 1956   Bloodnok’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Call
August 1956   The Ying Tong Song
1957                Eeh! Ah! Oh! Ooh!
1957                I Love You
1957                Whistle Your Cares Away
1957                A Russian Love Song
1972                The Raspberry Song
1972                Rhymes
(all ten Decca vocals reissued on the LP/CD THE WORLD OF THE GOONS)

additional reissue

The Best of the Goons
One Day Music 2CD DAY2CD 115 (2011)
Tales of Old Dartmoor
Dishonoured
I’m Walking Backwards for Christmas
Bluebottle Blues
The Ying Tong Song
Bloodnok’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Call
Tales of Men’s Shirts
The Scarlet Capsule
I Love You
Eeh! Ah! Oh! Ooh!
A Russian Love Song
Whistle Your Cares Away

 

Books

The Goon Show Scripts s1
by Spike Milligan (Woburn Press, 1972)

More Goon Show Scripts s2
by Spike Milligan (Woburn Press, 1973)

The Book Of The Goons s3
by Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers (Robson Books, 1974)

The Goon Show Companion
by Roger Wilmut and Jimmy Grafton (Robson Books, 1976. Sphere ppk, 1977)

The Story Of The Goons
by Alfred Draper (Everest Books ppk, 1976)

The Goon Cartoons c1
by Spike Milligan (Michael Joseph/M & J Hobbs, 1982)

More Goon Cartoons c2
by Spike Milligan (M & J Hobbs/Michael Joseph, 1983)

The Lost Goon Shows s4
by Spike Milligan (Robson Books, 1987)

The Goon Show – The Story
(edited) by Norma Farnes (Virgin Books, 1997)

The Essential Spike Milligan s5
by Spike Milligan (Harper Collins/Fourth Estate, 2003)

Spike & Co.
by Graham McCann (Hodder & Stoughton, 2006)
 

SCRIPT COLLECTIONS

The Goon Show Scripts (Woburn Press, 1972)
The Dreaded Piano Clubber
The Phantom Head Shaver
The Affair Of The Lone Banana
The Canal
Napoleon’s Piano
Foiled By President Fred
The Mighty Wurlitzer
The Hastings Flyer
The House Of Teeth

More Goon Show Scripts (Woburn Press, 1973)
Battle Of Spion Kop
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
Who Is Pink Oboe?
Call Of The West
The Scarlet Capsule
The Tay Bridge Disaster
The Gold Plate Robbery
The £50 Cure

The Book Of The Goons (Robson Books, 1974)
The Terrible Revenge Of Fred Fu Manchu
The Great String Robberies
The Spon Plague
Tales Of Men’s Shirts
Robin’s Post

The Lost Goon Shows (Robson Books, 1987)
Operation Christmas Duff
The Internal Mountain
The Silent Bugler
The Dreaded Piano Clubber
The Siege Of Fort Knight
The Tree Maniac (not performed)

The Essential Spike Milligan (Harper Collins / Fourth Estate, 2003)
Crazy People (episode #1)
The Mystery Of The Fake Neddie Seagoons
The Fear Of Wages

OTHER RADIO SERIES BY THE GOONS

PETER SELLERS
The Starlight Hour
Home Service Monday 8-00pm November 22 to December 20 1948
Third Division
Third Programme Wednesday 8-00pm January 26 to March 2 1949
Ray’s A Laugh
Home Service Monday 7-30pm April 4 to May 30 1949 and Tuesday 8-00pm June 7 1949 to June 27 1950
Home Service Thursday 8-30pm September 21 1950 to July 26 1951
Home Service Thursday 8-30pm November 1 1951 to July 17 1952 (not Feb 7, 14)
Home Service Thursday 8-30pm December 25 1952 to June 25 1953
Home Service Thursday 8-30pm September 25 1953 to April 29 1954
Variety Bandbox
Light Programme Sunday 7-30pm (fortnightly) April 16 to July 23 1950
Paradise Street
Light Programme Tuesday 9-30pm June 2 to July 13 1954
Happy Holiday
Light Programme Thursday 8-00pm July 15 to October 21 1954
Calling Miss Courtneidge
Home Service Wednesday 7-00pm March 16 to May 4 1955
Finkel’s Cafe
Light Programme Wednesday 8-30pm July 4 to August 29 1956
Curiouser And Curiouser
Home Service Tuesday 8-30pm August 14 to September 18 1956

HARRY SECOMBE
Listen My Children
Home Service Tuesday 8-30pm June 1 to July 20 1948
Third Division
Third Programme Wednesday 8-00pm January 26 to March 2 1949
Welsh Rarebit
Light Programme Thursday 9-00pm January 26 to June 29 1950
Light Programme Thursday 9-00pm September 28 1950 to February 8 1951
Educating Archie
Light Programme Thursday 7-30pm September 18 1952 to February 12 1953 and Thursday May 21 to June 25 1953
Light Programme Thursday October 15 1953 to April 1 1954

SPIKE MILLIGAN
Hip-Hip-Hoo-Roy
Light Programme Wednesday 7-30pm October 5 to December 28 1949
Bumblethorpe
Home Service Monday 7-45pm November 12 to December 31 1951
Paradise Street
Light Programme Tuesday 9-30pm April 20 to May 26 1954
The Idiot Weekly
ABC RADIO Tuesday 7-15pm June 3 to August 18 1958
ABC RADIO Tuesday 7-30pm June 30 to September 22 1959
ABC RADIO Tuesday 7-30pm August 29 to November 20 1962
The Omar Khayham Show
Home Service Friday 9-30pm December 27 1963 to January 24 1964 and Tuesday 9-00pm May 5 1964
Milligna – Or Your Favourite Spike
Radio 4 Tuesday 6-15pm December 12 1972 to January 23 1973
The Milligan Papers
Radio 4 Wednesday 6-30pm January 28 to March 4 1987

MICHAEL BENTINE
Third Division
Third Programme Wednesday 8-00pm January 26 to March 2 1949
Come To Char-lee
Light Programme Thursday 7-30pm February 26 to May 14 1953
Three’s A Crowd
MELBOURNE RADIO 3DB September 9 1956 to March 3 1957
Round The Bend
Light Programme Sunday 6-30pm October 13 1957 to January 5 1958
Home Service Friday 7-00pm December 26 1958 to March 20 1959
Home Service Friday 9-45pm May 20 to August 12 1960
The Best Of Bentine
Radio 2 Sunday 12-30pm January 22 to February 26 1984
Radio 2 Sunday 12-30pm April 15 to May 27 1984
The Reluctant Jester
Radio 2 Tuesday 7-00pm September 7 to October 12 1993
The Reluctant Jester Strikes Back
Radio 2 Tuesday 8-30pm November 1 to December 6 1994

 

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