Classic Comedy: Tony Hancock

Back in the 1960s Tony Hancock was one of Britain's best loved entertainers - both on the radio and on television. His deadpan style of comedy still works well today.

Many of you may be familiar with "The Blood Donor", "The Bowmans" or "The Radio Ham" - but less well known are the series of commercials he did for the Egg Marketing Board.

Just remember, "Happiness is Egg Shaped!"

Tony Hancock - Egg Commercials - 1965

I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again

Before "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The Goodies" came the radio series "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again" (ISIRTA).

The show, starring John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Tim Booke-Taylor, David Hatch and Jo Kendall was a mix of sketches and comedy songs, some of which were resurrected on "At Last The 1948 Show", "The Goodies," and the "Monty Python" albums.

ISIRTA initially was a radio version of the "Cambridge Circus" revue, and was first broadcast as "Get Off My Foot."

ISIRTA ran between 1964 and 1973 (with a couple of specials in the years since). It also spawned a long-running comedy panel show "I'm Sorry, I Haven't Got A Clue."


Thanks to the magic of YouTube here are some prime examples from 1968 of "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again."


Bee Keeping Interview Sketch



The Ferret Song



The Ballad of Oliver Cromwell

The Goodies - Who?

It has been pointed out to you that some of you may not have heard of The Goodies.

Bloody philistines.

So for those of you outside the UK, or who are too young to have seen them originally, let me introduce you to The Goodies!

The Goodies are:

Tim Brooke-Taylor "The Posh One"

Bill Oddie "The Scruffy One"

Graeme Garden "The Loony Scientist"

The Goodies was a very popular comedy show on the BBC throughout the 1970s, and for one season on ITV in the 1980s. As well as the TV show they released a series of books, appeared in comic form, and had chart success with "The Funky Gibbon."

I suppose you could say that they were a bit like The Monkees. Only funny. And they wrote their own music too. So there!

Unfortunately, in the UK at any rate, the Goodies has very rarely been repeated since they defected to ITV, and it has only been in recent years that the episodes have started to appear on DVD.

Really the best way to try and describe them is to watch an episode, and thanks to the magic of YouTube we are able to do that for you!


Hype Pressure (1976)

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3

I have always thought in the back of my mind

Cheese and onions!

Last shopping day before. . . .

Well, today is the last shopping day before the most important event of the year:

MY BIRTHDAY!

Yes, I'm hitting the big 34 tomorrow, and am going to have to adjust my "that's still young" counter up another notch. This is something that most of us seem to do. Young is what you are, old is your parents, children is everyone more than five years younger than you.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the subject in hand (buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff, buy EXPENSIVE stuff). Sorry, don't know where that came from (PayPay accepted). Aaaargh!

The boy stood on the burning deck....

(apologies to Mrs. Felicia Dorothea Hemans)

The boy stood on the burning deck,
The flames they drove him crackers.
A spark shot up his trouser leg,
And set fire to his. . . .

or

The boy stood on the burning deck,
He waved to all the dockers.
He waved to his girl,
She was known as Shirl,
The one with great big. . . .

and finally

The boy stood on the burning deck,
His body was all a quiver.
He gave a cough, his leg fell off,
And floated down the river.

Virus Alert!

Please forward this warning on to all your friends. . . .



Hit send right now!

And the fat lady clears her throat. . . .