The Telephone
| "The Telephone" | |
|---|---|
| The Goon Show episode | |
| Episode: no. | Series: 7 Episode: 11 |
| Written by | |
| Announcer | Wallace Greenslade |
| Produced by | Pat Dixon |
| Music |
|
| Recording Number | TLO 52769 |
| First broadcast | 29 March 1954 |
| Running time | 30:29 |
The Telephone is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the eleventh show in the seventh series.
SHOW 163 (7/11):TheTelephone (CD 5,Track 11) Pre-recording: Sunday 9 December 1956, 1.15pm, Aeolian I. DLO 19660 (In the Mood played on piano by Peter Sellers).
Recording: Sunday 9 December I 956, 9pm,Aeolian I. TLO 17963.
First Home Service Broadcast: Thursday 13 December 1956, 8.30pm. Ratings: 1.9 million.
Repeat Monday 17 December 1956, 8pm, 4.1 million [Light Programme].
BBC Audiobooks' Synopsis: In this 'daring sex drama', a sensual, pleasure-loving devil wants a phone: Henry Albert Sebastopol Queen Victoria Crun. The job of installing it falls to Neddie, who arrives at Crun's house only to find out that he's moved to 17a Africa. And odd numbers are on the other side of the continent. At least, Seagoon will have two suntanned veterans of the safari to escort him - Bluebottle and Eccles …
Two pre-recording sessions took place:
- Wednesday 28 January 1959, 4.15pm/5.15pm. Aeolian Hall Studio 2 (TLO & C/DLO 76382, TLO 77924)
- Saturday 1 February 1959, 5.45pm, The Paris Cinema (DLO 76513/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).
BBC Audiobooks' Synopsis
In this 'daring sex drama', a sensual, pleasure-loving devil wants a phone: Henry Albert Sebastopol Queen Victoria Crun. The job of installing it falls to Neddie, who arrives at Crun's house only to find out that he's moved to 17a Africa. And odd numbers are on the other side of the continent. At least, Seagoon will have two suntanned veterans of the safari to escort him - Bluebottle and Eccles …
Music
- The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
- Max Geldray plays Ain't Misbehavin' (Harry Brooks / Fats Waller / Andy Razal)
- The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Singing the Blues (Melvin Endsley)
Technical
Originally recorded on TLO 17963 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House). This tape no longer exists, and the master tape of the TGS issue was destroyed in 1963. The recording of the show appearing on Compendium 5 needed to be compiled from the TGS disc and a domestic recording of the original transmission.[1]
Note
In this show Sellers developed a new character using the voice adopted by Kenneth Connor for the role of Sidney Mincing in Ray's a Laugh.
References
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2011). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 5 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 13. ISBN 978-1408-427286.
