The Mummified Priest (VG)

"The Mummified Priest (VG)"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: Vintage Goons Episode: 1
Written by	Spike Milligan
Based on	The Mummified Priest
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Charles Chilton
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: It Had to Be You Ellington: Little Darlin'
Recording Numbers	T1/AG/2966 TLO 65468
First broadcast	22 September 1958 (1958-09-22)
Running time	31:12

The Mummified Priest is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the first show in the Vintage Goons series and was based on the series 4 episode 17 sho 'The Mummified Priest'. There was a pre-recording rehearsal show at 4.30pm Sunday 6 October 1957, but the show was actually recorded later at 8.30pm. Both the pre-recording and recording was done at The Camden Theatre, London.

The first British public broadcast was on the Home Service on Monday 22 September 1958 at 8.30pm. It reached a peak listenership of 1.5m listeners.

Story

From ancient Egypt , land of monolithic pyramids and Karnak's fallen temples, comes this gripping story of the discovery of a long-dead Egyption priest's tomb. It all started one day in 1889 in the British Museum and it finished... but hear for yourselves the strange unfolding of this tale.

Music

• The BBC Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays It Had to Be You (Isham Jones (music) / Gus Kahn (lyrics))
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Little Darlin' (Maurice Williams)

Technical

Originally recorded on T5/AG/2966 (Agfa FR tape stock at 15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Channel 5 St. Hilda's, Maida Vale). This tape survived intact at TS but was cut about in the making of the PotG. Unfortunately the cuts were not kept, and these have been restored from the Vintage Goons disc. Comparing the sound of this show with the others in the series indicates an extreme 'presence' lift had been applied on recording, making the sound very 'toppy' and aggressive. This has been cut back on the restored version found on Compendium Vol 9 and CD Volume 12 'Shut up, Eccles!'.