I was the last one up on stage with my dad Max Geldray at the very end of the show, Peter bent down to shake my hand, I wish I was older to appreciate the experience at the time, I was only 7 yrs old, but I have very vivid memories of that whole trip from the USA to the UK with my Dad, mom and sister. We were there for about a week, I especially remember the after party for the show, I remember I had a headache at the end of the night and wanting to leave, Princes Margaret felt sorry for me while she was chatting with my dad and mom, but at 7 yrs old I didn't know who the Royal family were being from America, now at 57 yrs old it blows me away, life is strange...I miss my old Dad, brings tears to my eyes when I see him in this video..LONG LIVE THE GOONS!!!
My Norwegian mother never understood why we were laughing so hysterically at the Goon shows ! That was a special time !!! I hope you are all still making people laugh, wherever you are, dear sweet batty men !❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thanks for posting this clip. I can still recall lying in bed at night when I was only about 8 or 9 listening to The Goon Show on the radio in New Zealand, before black and white TV became available. Those original shows were hilarious and always welcomed. It was completely nuts and crazy good fun, in a typical British humour way. The format was unique and the three comedians each went on to have great solo careers. This video is for nostalgia, aimed at people like me. And I am very grateful to be able to see it and recall those wonderful days of growing up, when the world was a much different place. 👍😎🇳🇿✨🌹
No matter how many times that I watch this, I always chuckle, chortle and guffuckingfaw! I turned 74 in June this year. I heard my first Goon Show in 1955 or 1956. Blew my mind!
Fascinating to see The Goons performing and all the supporting cast too - all now gone - as they would have done,. when I listened to them on a crackly radio in the 1950s.
In America, he's known almost exclusively for his movie work. But I don't think you can fully comprehend his genius without knowing Grytpipe-Thynne, Henry Crun and of course, Bluebottle.
I've said it elsewhere before, but even the thought of The Goons makes me feel warm inside. It's not just because of their brilliance and their place, especially Spike's, in the pantheon of British comedy. It's that they so clearly loved each other and were immensely happy as they worked together.
It's clear that they had great fun doing the show, and I have found that it really carries you along even when you don't get the references or you can't quite make out the dialogue.
I am 75 now, grew up in London, Balham, ..The Gateway To The Show...Thanks to Peter S putting my wonderful little town on the map. No electricity, just gas light, and a strange looking acid battery to power the radio, Many foggy, wet, snowy dark nights, lit up with smiles and laughter due to this wonderful radio show, where your Imagination was tested and explored..Great Show, Great Time to be alive and well living in London, when we didn’t have to lock our door at night, .I also remember this Show was followed by Journey Into Space, which we thought was impossible...Ha Ha....that was even a bigger joke, as look at us today. Thank You...to the BBC.
Typo error, Recording by Mr Peters Sellers, should read. BALHAM The Gateway To The South.. On the tube Northern Line between, Clapham South, and Tooting Bec. Surrounded by three wonderful Parks called, Commons... Clapham Common, Tooting Bec Common, (Go for a swim in the open air Lido), and Wandsworth Common. Also British Railway Line to Clapham Junction and Victoria. Indoor pool at Balham also, in its day, had two live Theaters, Three Cinemas, Trams and Buses. sadly a wartime bomb broke a main water pipe and drowned many locals that used The TUBE as a shelter. Full of History is Balham, a place to remember.
This has taken me back to the 1960’s when l was a teenager. I loved them then just as much as l love them now, they were my heroes and they still are. Just let your imagination run riot. Thank you for the best laughs ever.❤
Loved it! Brought back memories of listening on the CBC at noon, when I was twelve or so….a very long time ago! My Dad had English parents, so he loved that humour…the word play etc. marvellous.
"Eccles, stand on my shoulders and pull me up." "Okay... [grunting noises] I'd like to see them do that on television." (From The Histories of Pliny the Elder)
Love Peter Sellers. I know he suffered from depression and substance abuse problems, but I have to believe watching this video, and the expression of pure pleasure on his face when performing with his friends that these were some of his happiest moments. Long live the Goons.
As a young boy, I always had to be home every Sunday before 6;00 p.m., to listen to the dreaded Goon Show, on my Chrystal-Set, [Bet youngsters nowadays haven't a clue what that was!!] Still love the Goons, and I have 63 episodes on MP-3 CD's!! Made by the BBC, Australia- many years back. This show was great.. Loved seeing the team laughing and relaxed - especially Peter and Spike as both suffered from depression at times..
One of my favorite bits is when the rest of the orchestra pulls out their conducting wands and taps the music stands. Brilliant stuff. Also, love Secombe singing "Falling in Love with Love."
Actually i was thinking that, some things were meant to just listen to and have your imagination envision what is going on. Although, with Sellers and his visual slapstick comedy, you'd miss all of his exaggerated parody of a tympani player. That was hilarious. The whole group participating there do a lot of visual gags that one would miss just having audio version.
Just brilliant!! Even in this age of inane & banal comedy...this simple formula just works perfectly. RIP Peter, Harry, Spike, Andrew, Max and Ray. All gone but none forgotten
I think Peter Sellers was the best guest star ever on The Muppet Show. Pure anarchy. Kermit asks Sellers out of sheer frustration, "Who is the real you, Peter?!" To which Sellers replied, "There used to be a real me, but I had it surgically removed."'.
Loved the 'mind pictures' these good folks projected to me in the fifties, it was thirty minutes of escape on a Sunday afternoon, that has kept me sane for sixty nine years, thank you lads!
I recall being excited and couldn't wait to watch this. It started and after about two minutes I, for some unknown reason, had a dizzy spell and passed out. My parents came to my aid and switched off the tv and I missed the whole performance ...until now. Thank you.
@@Revelian1982 What I don't get is when a character utters a completely banal line like "Where are you?" It is immediately followed by howls of laughter from the audience. In fact, any noise or word they say is immediately followed by almost fake manic laughter.
@@pmonkeygeezer6212 That's exactly how I feel. I imagine, as it's the last show after a number of years, most of the lines are catchphrases or throwbacks to beloved characters accumulated over the years. The problem is that if you don't get the in-jokes, as we don't, you end up lost and confused, completely perplexed at what everyone in the audience and on stage is pissing themselves laughing about.
I n 1956 I was in show business and spent lots of hours on the road travelling from town to town , we used to listen to the goons all the time…..no bad language here just pure comedy ……I miss these times and these men of comedy so much ….2022 now and there is nothing like it now mores the pity…
I am an American born way after the Goon Show's heyday who recognizes with glee the comedic genius of these men, and their huge influence on generations of performers everywhere. Especially Sellers, likely the funniest man of all time. though his cohorts were quite outstanding themselves.
I’m 36 years old, a huge fan of Monty Python, and until the documentary on Netflix have never heard of The Goon Show. Thank goodness for the internet or I might’ve missed so much genius, and more importantly, so much legendary history.
I'm not old enough to have heard the Goons the first time round, but I got a complete education from my Dad. They were like Monty Python and The Young Ones (and every bit as seminal): they took comedy to new places. Not everybody went along for the ride, but if you did it was a game changer. If you want to listen to more Goon Shows, try to find the one when the musicians' union went on strike and Milligan did all the music himself. God bless them all.
born in 74, was aware of a lot of stuff super early which was lucky so got the tail end of the 70's and early 80's where a lot of these era guys gradually check out. I was lucky to get a lot of the stuff and some of the later appearances from Peter Cook and Kenneth Williams, often two great staples of talk show entertainment. You could just let them run and run and with minimal prompting and they'd go off on one and be super entertaining. Billy Connolly and Robin Williams could do the same thing. Just let them off the hook and watch what happens. Cook and Moore at their peak were like this, they'd play off each other so fast and knew each other so well. I had the longest time trying to figure out the Goons, as I was initially a Goodies fan, and then a Python fan and then undrestood Pete and Dud/Derek and Clive. But it took the longest time to figure these guys out. Some of their references are a bit out of date as are D&C but I can relate them easier. But just to see them. Sellars is the Gold Standard for voice impressions other than Mel Blanc. I'm not kidding. The man's a fucking voice genius. But then you add in Secombe and Milligan and jesus it's off the charts. They work with each other so well and reconnect so well. I love how Spike hangs back a bit and find the right moment to inject some crazy shit. I'm going to keep undrestanding these guys. I'm so impressed Harry Secombe and his timing and ability to crack up the others, I feel he's sometimes over shadowed by Milligans eccentric crazy and Sellars' voice acting, but he's just the same. It's a great little collective and I'm going to explore it more and more. These guys are nuts and super surreal.
Utterly unique! Used to love listening every week. My dad gave me book of their scripts.You either loved it or thought it silly and unfunny. 3 of us mates shared a house. One used to read the scripts with me, we'd stagger about doubled up with apoplectic laughter and the other guy would come in and listen to us, shake his head saying, "I just don't get what you see in this"
Fond childhood and teen memories of listening to the Goon Show. They were 👏 amazing. I loved every episode. ♥️ There will never be another Good Show. Irreplaceable.
In the mid-50's, I heard the Goons for the first time - does anyone remember a sketch with a pier in it? Anyway we hunkered down beside the radio and were in stitches/hysterics! In memory, nothing touches the brilliance of those programmes.
"Ohhhh twas the month of February in 1955 When the valuable floating pier at Westminster suddenly took a dive... On board the sinking pier Fred Harding was having his tea When the icy waters closed over his head and he screamed... "Oh deary me!" But 600 Westminster firemen with hook and ladder and line, worked with tigerish courage Sank the whole lot before 9! And oooooh!" That was from Series 5, episode 21: "The Sinking of Westminster Pier". Also a firm favourite of mine too =D
They're making you a peer, Neddy. A pier? Right, I'll get down the end of it. No, no, p-double e-r, not p-i-e-r! [splash] I've fallen in the wet-type water! Yes, you're a very short peer, Neddy.
Thank you for uploading a wonderful reminder or a great show that I still to listen to (on casstte) and love. It leaves today's attempts at comedy in the dust. inane but great and all its creators where great talents, outside the show.
love that pudding joke!!!! My kids and I used to never miss "tuning in to listen" Although we never got ALL the in-jokes in South Africa.....Oh that Ying tong song!!!" It's my computer password.
I once attended with my husband, a live concert performance of Harry Secombe singing with his wonderful voice. I had been thrilled, not just to get much sought after tickets but to get a front row seat. Harry came on and sang his heart out, but I may as well have been at the back of the theatre because he stood the whole time, through every song, right at the edge of the stage, which was at least a foot higher than our front row seats and because of his size, we could only see from his waist down. If we had seats further back our view would have been perfect. I learnt a life lesson that day…somethings may look perfect but in reality they are not and may be far worse than things that seem mediocre.
About the radio series, I loved the English version of the Orson Wells panic, when the Goon Show had sighted a flying saucer, and people called in to the BBC to report that they'd seen it! It lands, our party goes up to it, the door opens, and I think it was Bluebottle who exclaims "Daddy!"
Spike as PM addressing the house " Gentlemen. There is consternation in the whole of the civilized world, AND America." One of my great regrets is that i am now nearly totally deaf and even with Hearing Aids can't hear properly. So i make do by rereading the scripts. Fabulous show.
I have always loved the goons,I am 70 years old,in this mad and crazy world we need this humour,there is nothing that is has intelligent and funny as these comedians incredibly funny ime in tears laughing, fANTASTIC
Growing up in 60's and 70's Durban cut off from the rest of the world the radio was an escape into fantasy. Limited tv came only late 70's. Modern listeners won't understand how funny, sometimes naughty and crazy it sounded to us then in a world that was still very regulated by proper conduct.
I used to listen to the goon show with my son and his friends from early grade school and loved them... and particularly loved Peter Sellers. It was so sad to lose his comic genius at such an early age
Got one of their collections. Mates Dad turned us on to the goons as tiny kids, we used to watch the puppet show on tv on Saturdays in Manchester, according to my old memoir cells.
Splinge meligna , Barry seafront, petrov sells were an incredible triumvirate.. not forgetting Mike bentine... Don't think Ellington gets enough credit for his work.. Nor Andrew Timothy... Salute to the memory of the goons...
love watching these comedy shows, my father loved 'The Goons', as i always have. Same with nearly all comedians, comedy shows from '60's '70's just about all comdians before present time, who feel they only be funny using swear words. hey check out how to funny with a bit of class.
7, 8 years old, listening to the Goon Show on my crystal radio set in bed in Canada. I barely had a clue what they were talking about, and no idea how the whole thing was produced. Well, at least I have an idea now how it was produced.
their level of humour was ahead of its time you either got it or you didn't i used to tune in on my dads danset radio on goon show night and although i was only 7 i my sister and i used to laugh our socks off my dad would say its stupid as he didn't get it at all. But it didn't matter because we did FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY