The Call of the West

"The Call of the West"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: 9 Episode: 12
Written by	Spike Milligan
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	John Browell
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square Ellington: You Had Better Know It
Recording Number	TLO 76074
First broadcast	20 January 1959 (1959-01-20)
Running time	32:26

The Call of the West is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the seventh show in the ninth series. At the time Spike was struggling to write scripts due to the deterioration of his mental health. Larry Stephens and Maurice Wiltshire were asked by John Browell to help Spike out. They did so, and wrote the script for this show.

Three pre-recording sessions took place at three locations:

• Wednesday 10 December 1958, 4.15pm. Aeolian Hall Studio 2 (DLO 71859)
• Saturday 13 December 1958, 4.15pm, The Paris (DW 71274)
• Sunday 14 December 1958, 4pm, The Camden Theatre (DLO 72138/A)

The recording for transmission was created at 8pm on Sunday 14 December 1958, at The Camden Theatre, Camden Town, London (TLO 72138).

The first Home Service broadcast was the next day at 8.30pm on Monday 15 December 1958, its ratings were 1.1 million.

The show was repeated:

• Wednesday 9.31pm, 17 December 1958, on the Light Programme to 2.3 million listeners.
• Friday 9.30pm, 6 March 1964 on the Home Service in Vintage Goons, to 0.5 million listeners.
• Friday 9.30pm, 20 August 1965 on the Home Service in Let's Laugh Again, to 0.2 million listeners (the broadcast was affected by a fault on the reproduction equipment).

Transcription Service Synopsis

"It is 1867 and, dead on time, the harbour of Boston is a hive of inactivity as English immigrants bring their shattered bank accounts to the New World." That is how Spike Milligan sets the scene for the start of an adventurous journey by wagon train across the rolling plains of the Wild West. You will hear how Lieutenant Hern of the United States Cavalry came to the rescue of the stricken wagon train in time to foil the dastardly plan of the Indians.

Music

• The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Manning Sherwin (music) / Eric Maschwitz (lyrics))
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays You Had Better Know It (Billy Strayhorn / Duke Ellington)

Technical

Originally recorded on TLO 76074 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House).

Originally recorded on TLO 76074, this master tape no longer exists, but it was lucky that this masterpiece among Goon Shows exists not only as TGS and POTG master tapes, but in the nearly complete and unedited B copy of the TS line recording. which emerged from a private collection in 1990. These, together with domestic recordings of the original transmission, result in a composite version of some 33 minutes in length, including a nearly complete performance of the playout, Bohemia After Dark. Some technical problems are present on the TS line tape, which also happens to be the best sounding copy. Kendall used this tape as the basis of the restored vversion of the show, and he corrected the technical faults as far as was possible.

Script

The Call of the West (transcript)