The Goon Show - surrealist cartoons in sound
A good laugh prolongs life. As we believe that having fun is indeed one of the pleasures of modern living, we asked Paul Owers to pay homage to his heroes in humour – The Goon Show
"His jacket was beautifully cut....and his trousers were torn as well!"
I sometimes wonder "what is a good example of 'mod' humour?" I have always been as interested in comedy as music and clothes. There seems to be very little emphasis on this method of enjoying oneself in all that has been written about the Mod lifestyle, yet almost everyone I have spoken to who experienced the 1960s-celebrity or otherwise-has mentioned something that I've been interested in since long before I ever heard of mods. Possibly readers under 30 may not have a clue or a care about what I'm writing, but I think many will agree it's well worth the research.
"Did you see the lovely brown paper suit he was wearing?"
The 1960s had Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Carry On films, Alf Garnet, Monty Python (at the end) and much much more, but for the most influential comedy of all we must look further back to the 1950s. Though television had been around in Great Britain since the 1930s (with a bit of interference that came to be known as 'the second world war') by the early 1950s radio was yet to be overtaken. Post war Britain had lost its Empire and rule of the waves but not its sense of humour! On the British Broadcasting Corporation could be heard a radio programme that was unlike anything ever heard before or since - THE GOON SHOW. The funniest, most innovative, surrealist and for it's time most daring comedy ever. This was the creation of Terence 'Spike' Milligan, my all-time hero, a man I wish I had met and a man who's memorial service I will always be grateful for the chance of attending. Milligan is my Greatest Briton, my greatest human being. An intelligent and passionate man, caring deeply for every form of life and though often portrayed as difficult, an exceptionally kind and thoughtful person. He was also the funniest man who ever lived.
"You must get new trousers, the wallpaper's coming off the knees!"
Spike's fellow Goons were the late Harry Secombe, probably better known as a tenor singer who hosted religious TV programmes on sundays, but in fact an immensely funny man, who like Spike was Knighted by The Queen in his later years; and Peter Sellers, known worldwide as a comedy actor in Hollywood films. Sellers, like Milligan was an incredibly complex man, prone to depression. Secombe was fortunate not to suffer as Spike and later Peter did. All three had served in the second world war, Spike and Harry in the Army and Sellers in the Royal Air Force. Early on there was a fourth Goon, the mysterious and multi-talented Micheal Bentine. His contribution to The Goon Show was brief though important, he left in 1952. The Goon show ran from 1951 to 1960. After the radio show was ended by Spike as he wanted to finish the show while still on top there were a few one-off broadcasts - some filmed for television - and a TV puppet show for children in 1963-The Telegoons, voiced by the three Goons. There was also 1972's 'last Goon show of all' to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The BBC. This was my first exposure to the Goons-aged 8- via an LP of that show provided by my Goon-mad Uncle. I was as hooked as no doubt he was in the late 1950s when the Goons were at their height and in the early 1960s when The Telegoons were shown and the radio shows were repeated and released on record.
"I'm going to sing Modern!"
At this time many other youngsters were also being influenced by The Goons-including many who would go on to be famous themselves, in particular The Beatles. I have spoken to many of the acts that have played for The New Untouchables, all of The Action, Ruperts People, The Creation, Downliners Sect and Yardbirds members, Zoot Money and Brian Auger all told me they were fans-Brian Auger in fact was pleased to be able to add a London date to his European tour as he could go to The BBC shop to stock up on Goons recordings. I read that Elton John had successfully bid for the original Goon show scripts when they were auctioned. The Beatles, especially John Lennon; were enthralled by producer George Martin having worked with The Goons on their musical comedy records. Jon-Paul Harper told me that The Action told him they used to record their own versions of Goon shows-they worked with George Martin of course. Listen to the strange voice at the start of the first track on The Beatles 'Revolver' LP; 'Taxman' and the crazy piano at the end of the very last track 'Tomorrow never knows' - totally Goons influenced. The mumbling at the start of The St Louis Union's 'English Tea' is extremely Goonish. The talking at the start of The Artwoods' cover of 'Keep Looking' reminds me of Peter Sellers. . . I have spotted traces of Goonery in Australian and New Zealand music from that time-BBC programmes were exported to the Commonwealth. Possibly the Ska Musicians of The West Indies heard it too, there is certainly a lot of humour in that happy music. I don't know what Jimmy Smith or Little Milton or Mose Allison would have made of it. The Surrealism of The Goons may have been partly responsible (along with the drugs) for British Psychedelia - particularly the bizarre imagery and echoes of Victoriana and Edwardiana. I can't think of any other comedy before the 1960s that could have influenced people in this way. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's act appears heavily Goon-derivative to me. Steve Marriott of the Small Faces actually appeared in a film ('Heavens Above') with Peter Sellers and sometime Goon co-writer Eric Sykes. Peter Sellers recorded versions of 'A Hard Day's Night' in the style of Sir Laurence Olivier as Richard III, 'Help' as an Anglican Vicar, and 3 versions of 'She Loves You'- Irish, Cockney and Nazi send-ups! The Goons were forever mocking the Nazis, a tradition in British comedy from 1939 to the present day.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you, they say!"
"You've proved them wrong, haven't you Ned?"
What was it then that was so revolutionary, that made the show so popular and influential? As a radio programme it could have just churned out jokes or a coherent story, but The Goon Show was a cartoon in sound. The sound effects were as funny as the jokes-even the musicianship-though of the highest standard-could be hysterical. Nothing had ever been heard like it. The Goons used the punch lines of absolutely filthy jokes, flatulence, sex, satire, politics, the class system, current affairs, but subtly and not blatantly. they could reduce audiences to hysterics without swearing or cheap and nasty wisecracks or sneering or putting people down. They pushed comedy to the absolute limit by 1950s Britain standards and the 'Go on show' was regularly threatened by The BBC with cancellation. It could appeal to the common man and the most educated. They lampooned literature, music, Hollywood films and British stiff-upper-lip behaviour. What we take for granted now was tantamount to treason in the 1950s. Long before The Beatles MBEs outraged retired Colonels, people in 'The Establishment' were taking umbrage to The Goons smoking OBEs and Statues of Queen Victoria and Gorillas and imitating the voices of Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II. Apparently Churchill enjoyed The Goons and though The Queen's opinion is unknown, Prince Philip nominated The Goons as Royal Champions (at Tiddleywinks!) and Prince Charles must be the most well-known Goons fan ever. He even made his own Goons influenced film, showing footage of his Navy helicopter flying upside down and speaking like Bluebottle - of whom we shall read about shortly.
"My card."
"But it's blank!"
"Business is bad."
The characters were unforgettable. Harry Secombe was Neddy Seagoon, pretty much playing himself in near enough his own voice. he was the central character around whom the action revolved, though unlike say Fawlty Towers, where Basil Fawlty is in every major scene; Seagoon could retire to allow other characters to take centre stage. Seagoon was usually portrayed as a gullible patriotic do-gooder, a hero but an oaf who is constantly beguiled into something utterly ridiculous. Spike Milligan portrayed several characters, notably Eccles, the cheerful idiot who is under no illusions as to his intelligence. His voice is a sort of Anglicized Goofy. Spike also voiced Count Moriarty, who is based on a Sherlock Holmes villain. Moriarty has a nasal French accent that becomes more depraved in the later series. Another Spike character is Miss Minnie Bannister-the only regular female in The Goons. Minnie is an extremely old lady, very dim-witted and confused but also prone to bursts of youthful singing and dancing. Her voice is very shaky, Spike would pinch and wobble his neck to produce her voice. He is also Jim Spriggs, who sometimes sings his lines. You know when he is about to appear as the other characters sing a line or two in his style. Peter Sellers played Major Bloodnok, an absolute cad and bounder, obsessed with the opposite sex and easy money. A coward and a drunk. Sellers based the character on officers he observed in WW2! Bloodnok's voice is a vaguely drunken vaguely elderly upper class one. Henry Crun is the companion to Spike's Minnie. He is also very very old and confused, though usually in charge of some invention or something he is completely unsuited for, like head of MI5! His voice is a refined British mumble. he gets very perplexed at Minnie's attempts to be 'Modern.' Their rambling conversations are works of genius, as are the conversations between Eccles and Seller's piece de resistance, Bluebottle, who has possibly the funniest and most distinctive voice of all the Goons. Bluebottle has a high-pitched voice, seemingly a little boy approaching puberty. He mispronounces words to hilarious effect. He aspires to be heroic like Seagoon and thinks of him as 'my captain.' Bluebottle's world is extremely childlike-he uses weapons of string and cardboard and can be bribed with sweets. Greed seems to be a trait of most of the characters, including Seagoon. Sellers is also Hercules Grytpype-Thynne, a suave villain who is usually teamed up with the more desperate Moriarty. He has an upper class refined voice which sometimes borders on the effeminate. Possibly he is gay but this would have been far too much for the BBC of the 1950s so it is only vaguely hinted at. There is also Willium Cobblers-known as 'mate' because he calls everyone that. He is an elderly cockney and rarely has many lines. Little Jim is an unintelligible child who rarely says anything but "He's fallen in the water!" Milligan believed and proved that if a line is used enough you can make people laugh at it. Audiences would be in stitches at Little Jim's catchphrase-usually preceded by a large splash. Jim is Eccles' nephew. He sometimes links the genius lunatic conversations between Bluebottle and Eccles.
"Here-I got an electric twit for Christmas!"
Some regular sounds are not voices but effects-the cartoon whoosh as a character travels towards money or food is among my favourites. When Seagoon or Moriarty complains that their nerves are stretched to breaking point we hear a banjo string snap. There is much splashing. The breaking window sound effect is always exactly the same, I don't know if it was created especially for the Goons but the same sound endures in comedy programmes to the present day-possibly a BBC in-joke? Milligan served in the second world war in The Royal Artillery, the cause of many an explosion. Explosions are heard in the Goon show with alarming frequency! Many of the sound effects are unforgettable. When Grytpype-Thynne orders Moriarty to 'unroll the scrolls and documents' there is a colossal clanging sound-like scaffolding collapsing. Bloodnok curses an attack of 'arctic mosquitos' and we hear dive bombers zooming past and machine gun fire. Some of the explosions represent Bloodnok's gastric problems-hinted at when he mentions curry-Spike and Sellers both had experience of India-quite exotic for the 1950s. "I can't send these to the laundry!" Exclaims the suffering Major. The BBC radiophonic workshop would go on to make the science fiction effects for Doctor Who, but for The Goons they produced noises that defied description-one of the most notorious being 'Fred The Oyster.' This is truly beyond my vocabulary. It has to be heard to be believed. Another favourite is Seagoon singing 'Land of Hope and Glory' and running. As his footsteps speed up so does his singing. This literally had me on the floor in hysterics, as did the piano-playing singing penguin, which features a sort of clockwork squawk and silent movie piano. Many things are stretched almost beyond endurance. Seagoon is instructed to go to an address and knock 5,000 times. He starts off knocking steadily and it increases until it sounds like a machine gun. The door opens and he breathlessly asks "teahouse of the august goon?" and the answer is "No!" so he has to go next door and start all over again! Perhaps this sort of thing also inspired 'pop-art music' i.e. the controlled guitar feedback as used by the British Beat groups of the mid-1960s, notably The Who and Small Faces?
"Give me back my teeth!"
Most of the characters seem to cope quite well with incarceration, injury (even death!) malnutrition, poverty and degradation. Eccles manages best, when his clothing is described it is usually utterly bizarre, both feet in one army boot, a coal sack around his body and a metal trilby with a sugar feather is one such description. Bluebottle is regularly blown up by bombs or grenades or dynamite, Henry Crun is prone to losing his false teeth, Seagoon drinks a toast with Grytpype and "We threw our glasses into the fire. I had to borrow a spare pair to find my way home!" By far the greatest decline though is that of Moriarty. In 1954-55 he is a deep-voiced aggressive confident villain, by 1958 he is an impoverished and demented whining wreck of a man, howling 'Owwww!' so often the Goons actually released a single of him singing 'You gotta go owwww!' Grytpype-Thynne shares Moriarty's gradual misfortune when they team up in the mid-1950s but maintains a veneer of respectability, even though he too is living in rubbish dumps with Moriarty and sharing the same suit. "Keep Still Moriarty-do want us both out of this suit?" He often announces Moriarty with some lunatic title "Le Compte Viscompte le Compte Jim Winds (Whooshing and Moriarty gibbering in panic)...Moriarty." Or some record that Moriarty has broken "May I introduce Mr Thin legs of 1923" "Correction-thin leg." "Leg?" "Yes-I only entered one!" The clothing of some of the characters is meticulously described with Mod-like obsessiveness, though it is rarely conventionally smart. ("I say! You in the Zinc cardigan!") Seagoon often has fob watches and expensive cufflinks and moneybelts but is usually swindled out of them by Major Bloodnok. Bloodnok is described as wearing a colourful ribbon on his uniform from which proudly dangles.... a penny. Bloodnok claims to have won the Victoria Cross (the highest medal in the military) but is always exposed as a coward, masquerading as an old lady or a chicken. He serves in strange regiments like the 3rd Royal Knees or Zsa Zsa Gabors 1st regular Husbands or His Majesty's own Army deserters! Women are not represented very often by The Goons. Of course there is Minnie Bannister, but she is old to the point of senility. Peter Sellers sometimes imitates younger female voices but there are no other regular female characters. A few guest actresses appeared in one-off roles, such as Maid Marion. In that episode The Goons have several fist fights, exclaiming "Biff!" "Zowie!" "Kapow!" "Socko!" "Splat!" 10 years before Batman did it!
"I've arranged it with one of the French governments...."
I would imagine that the optimism of The Goon Show, the identifiability of the very distinctive characters, the way-out sound effects and the brilliance of Milligan's writing must have struck a chord with British children of the 1950s who became the young adults of the 1960s and many of these went on to not only be Mods but be famous. I imagine it must be very difficult to appreciate if you are not British and don't take an interest in those times. I would hope everyone would find SOMETHING to laugh at, but it's a whole lot easier to like it if you have some knowledge of the 1950s and before as so much of The Goon show was of it's time and harked back to the days of The British Empire. Having said that, much of it is extremely clever and simple at the same time and classic and enduring. Also notable is The Goons love of music-though it would probably sound like 1950s pap to people now, there are examples of Jazz, Calypso, rock and roll, blues and even rhythm and blues in the shows. Sometimes The Goons themselves provide the music, Secombe a much sought after singer, Milligan a multi-instrumentalist and Sellers a genius at playing the piano and drums badly-his is the backing for the penguin. A harmonica player called Max Geldray would provide the first musical spot, hardly R&B but no doubt entertaining for the time. He would sometimes play small parts and be sent up by The Goons. He mentions his large nose and Seagoon says "Well Max, it keeps the rain off your tie mate!" The Ray Ellington Quartet play in the second musical spot. Their music can range from calypso to doo-wop, sometimes instrumental jazz. Ray Ellington was a black man-a real rarity for the BBC in those days-and though the subject of jokes, not the butt of them. Some of what The Goons say will be considered by uptight people to be racist, but Ellington almost always comes out on top in his characterisations of The Red Bladder (Bloodnok's Mortal Enemy from Ferozapore) Seagoon's mother (!) Chief Ellinga (who is sometimes paradoxically Bloodnok's assistant) and bit-parts like The 'Foreign' Secretary. He has a deep rich mid-atlantic voice, saying things like "Cor Blimey mate!" in a vaguely American accent! His voice sounds exactly the same whatever part he plays. Members of the orchestra sometimes join in and the very well-spoken BBC announcer Wallace Greenslade who links the scenes is also called upon to say mad lines-this from a man who read the news when not working on The Goon show!
"Are you the Chancellor of the Exchequer?"
"No, but I understand because I've often been mistaken."
"For The Chancellor?"
"No, I've just often been mistaken!"
So there you have it. If you want to hear Battleships being lifted by hand into an oasis, people being electrocuted by twigs, someone stepping out of the shadows and into the light (Clang! "Owwwww!") Atomic Dustbins going over Niagara falls (the 1990s band Ned's Atomic Dustbin took their name from a Goons episode) bagpipes being used as taxis, or being flattened by steamrollers, The House of Commons ('The finest political asylum in the world') suits being tailored in liquorice and people drinking the River Thames I suggest you go to WH Smiths and pick up any recording of The Goons! Suitable for children, adults and Mods.
[Published 9 October 2003]
| Comments: | |
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| Ali Goby | dec 6 2003 11:35PM |
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| Long live Minnie!!! Oooh Henry, I'm, falling to bits..., I'm a loose woman you know... | |
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| Greg Boraman | nov 25 2003 4:34AM |
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| "Stop talking rubbish man" "Dont be ridiculous - I make my living doing it" | |
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| Brian Phillips | okt 27 2003 11:37AM |
| http://hagar.home.mindspring.com | |
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| Wonderful summation of the Goons! By the way, I suspect that one of Minnie Bannister's famous lines ("We'll all be murdered in our beds!") was based on a character from "Bride of Frankenstein". A character named Minnie, in fear of the monster says, "We'll be murdered in our beds, for all o' me!" It should also be noted that all of the Goons had musical talent of one sort or another. Secombe sang, of course, Sellers played drums (and horrible piano) and Milligan, trumpet and guitar. There is footage of Milligan playing guitar with the Bill Hall Trio. He is wearing a VERY fake goatee and a moustache. | |
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| Bazden | okt 13 2003 8:00AM |
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| Patrick> Yeah that was some dance workout???? Ha Ha! Cool vocalisations to from yerself! A cracker indeed! All Irishmen walked across England to get there anyhow? (Just Kidding Patrick, Choccy etc) | |
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| Bill Luther | okt 13 2003 2:01AM |
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| VERY nice piece Mr. Owers! Bravo! | |
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| PLO | okt 12 2003 8:16AM |
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| Ah Splendid. You shall be Little Jim due to your age. I tried to get this going on BML but to no avail, I ask the readers on here-what scene people would you cast as The Goons? Here's a list off the top of my head-Seagoon-Welsh Paul. Grytpype-Parliament Paul. Bluebottle-Seccy. Eccles-Big Jon. Moriarty-Jimmy Von K. Minnie Bannister-Alison Goby. Henry Crun-me. Bloodnok-Bazden. Mate-Long John. Jim Spriggs-Trevor French. Any other ideas? Bob-if you might be available to do some singing in November or december please email me off-list. | |
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| Bob G | okt 12 2003 8:04AM |
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| PLO> I'm a huge fan of the Goons. Have been since childhood! And I'm under thirty! I once insisted that my English teacher play the entirety of my tape of '1985' to my GCSE English Lit group as we were studying George Orwell's '1984' It's great to be alive in Nineteen Eighty Five! | |
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| Big Roller | okt 10 2003 4:03PM |
| http://zootmoney.org | |
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| There's another well-know moddy Goon-ish musical reference on Zoot Money's second LP (recorded live @ Klooks Kleek)...after Brian Auger introduces the group, Zoot asks if the audience is listening, a reply comes off-stage from Auger in one of his Goon voices. | |
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| PLO | okt 10 2003 12:14PM |
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| Splendid-now what about the other Goons? What's everyone's favourite characters? Anyone under 30 into The Goons? Anyone disagree with what I wrote? (except about Spike's heritage) | |
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| Patrick | okt 10 2003 11:02AM |
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| PLO> Point taken Paul...but as far as I'm concerned Ireland was never part of the UK! We were just an occupied country.. | |
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| PLO | okt 10 2003 10:09AM |
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| Aaaaahhhhh....but isn't southern Ireland still regarded as being in the British Isles? And wasn't Ireland part of the UK when Leo Milligan was a Sergeant Major? (later to be a Captain) And didn't Spike live almost his whole life in England? Of Irish lineage he may be-partially so am I-but he's a Briton too as far as I'm concerned. I daresay he'd probably want to be thought of as either a citizen of the world or a denizen of Goonland! | |
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| Patrick | okt 10 2003 8:41AM |
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| PLO> Ah but the 'British' NCO was in fact an Irishman who worked for the British Army.... I agree that a Welshman or a Scotsman can be regarded as British, but not an Irishman I'm afraid...IMO I still chuckle over Margaret Thatcher calling Bob Geldof 'the greatest living Englishman' just after he was knighted...classic! And indeed, a recent newspaper article calling that brilliant Irishman Oscar Wilde an 'English' playwright...I'm sure he turned in his grave (very stylishly I imagine)... | |
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| Johnny Taylor | okt 10 2003 8:39AM |
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| Excellent article. I must confess I also liked the music, and when asked to put some Ellington on I would reach for Ray rather than the Duke. | |
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| Patrick | okt 10 2003 8:28AM |
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| Agree Barry...mind you a lot of funny things happen on the scene..I'm thinking in particular of the Temptations inspired dance routine at ABB's a couple of weeks ago...jaw ached from laughing! | |
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| PLO | okt 10 2003 7:22AM |
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| I remember reading how Spike, despite being born to a British NCO onto the regimental strength, living all his adult life in England and fighting in the British Army in WW2 had difficulty gaining a British passport. He went to The Irish Embassy where 'they poured a bottle of mackeson's down my throat, said they were very short of people and I had a passport in one hour.' Apparently the Australian Embassy said 'Jesus Spike! We'd love to have you over here!' and offered him a passport on the spot. Spike was apparently asked to swear an oath of loyalty to GB to which he replied 'I have lived here and in the Empire and paid taxes and fought the second world war and I am a personal friend of Prince Charles, how you can doubt my loyalty is beyond me!' I consider him a Briton as much as I consider a Scotsman or a Welshman a Briton-geographically if not politically! | |
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| Bazden | okt 10 2003 6:33AM |
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| PLO> Great Stuff, well done but Patrick is right! Myself and Max (creation) used to run a Mod inspired multi-media club called Traffic from 93 to about 96 and we used a lot of comedy and performance surrealism with acts like woody bop muddy, the bastard son of Tommy Cooper etc and indeed yourself and That Bloke Caspar turned in sterling live spots at The Atomic Kipper Happening! We would love to see more natural humour on the scene at events in the future! Watch out DJ’s the Jokers are here... | |
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| Patrick | okt 10 2003 4:29AM |
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| A Fine article Paul, only thing is that Spike was born in India of Irish Parentage and always regarded himself as Irish, he may not have therefore agreed with your assertion that he was your greatest Briton!!! :o) | |
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