Show 18
| "Adventures of Handsome Harry Secombe" | |
|---|---|
| The Goon Show episode | |
| Episode no. | Series 02 Episode 01 |
| Written by | |
| Presented by | Wallace Greenslade |
| Produced by | Peter Eton |
| Music |
|
| Editing by | Jimmy Grafton |
| Production code | SLO 1768 |
| Original air date | 20 January 1952 |
The series 2 shows didn't have episode names per se, but for ease of reference using the show number is to differentiate them.
The show had now changed its name from Crazy People to The Goon Show, featuring those crazy people…
Show 18 (aka Adventures of Handsome Harry Secombe) is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the first show in the second series. The show was recorded at 7.45pm on Sunday 20 January 1952 The recording was done at Aeolian I, 135–137 New Bond Street, London.
The first British public broadcast was on the Home Service on Tuesday 22 January 1952 at 9.30pm (except Wales and the West). It reached a peak listenership of 1.8m.
Technical
Originally recorded on SLO 1768 (33⅓ rpm, coarse-groove 16" disk recorded at Broadcasting House).
One of two shows copied, in the 1970s, from paper tape held by Spike Milligan. This is obviously recorded through a microphone, as a woman's voice can be heard protesting that she has "pressed the button". This may have been Anne Hayes, then Mrs Sellers, as it was known that Sellers' possessed a Soundmirror tape recorder that used paper tape. Buzzy hum and distortion are rife here… [1]
Sketches
- Handsome Harry Secombe (pursues Lo Hing Ding): Handsome Harry is tasked to help Inspector Thud find a kidnapper.
- Triumphs of Engineering: Captain Pureheart builds the Suez Canal but then explains how he doesn't want his canal filled with water.
- Broadcasting in 1999: The crew look into the future to see what has happened to various popular shows.
- Major Bloodnok's Quest for the Abominable Snowman: The Major gets out of jail and gets to take charge of the new weather stations on Mount Everest.
Music
- Harry Secombe sings Longing for You.
- The Stargazers sing I Never Was Loved by Anyone Else
- Max Geldray plays Three Little Words
- The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Boum!'
References
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2017). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 13 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 27. ISBN 9781785298776.
