The Kippered Herring Gang
| "The Kippered Herring Gang" | |
|---|---|
| The Goon Show episode | |
| Episode: no. | Series: 4 Episode: 19 |
| Written by | |
| Announcer | Wallace Greenslade |
| Produced by | Peter Eton |
| Music |
|
| Recording Number | TLO 48011 |
| First broadcast | 5 February 1954 |
| Running time | 29:26 |
The Kippered Herring Gang is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the nineteenth show in the fourth series. The show was recorded at 9pm on Sunday 31 January 1954 The recording was made at Aeolian I, 135–137 New Bond Street, London.
The first British public broadcast was on the Home Service on Friday 5 February 1954 at 9.45pm (except Northern Ireland). It reached a peak listenership of 2.3m.
The show's first repeat was the next morning at 8.45am, Saturday 6 February 1954, on the Home Service. It was listened to by 0.8 million.
Transcription Service Remake Synopsis
This is the tale of a criminal gang that has baffled police for more than 400 years — The Kippered Herring Gang. Neddie Seagoon, the world's highest paid idiot, is asked by Scotland Yard to look into their activities, but despite investigations and investigoontions, the Kippered Herring Gang struck again and again, three times. But the police have a dossier proving that their leader, Fred the Mad Houdini, has a record (and a gramophone). Police cats are hot on the kipper scent, and track them to Billingsgate. However, another group of cats lead police to Covent Garden, where Seagoon questions a mouth organ player, and forces him to admit that he plays a mouth organ. But will this be the breakthrough that Ned is searching for? When a gunman tries to shoot him over the telephone, Seagoon decides to take drastic measures and cuts off the gang's supply of kippered herring…
Music
- The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
- Max Geldray plays It Had to Be You (John Lindsay)
- The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Don't Ever Leave Me (Max Nesbitt / Harry Nesbitt / Rod Arden) / That's My Weakness Now (Bud Green (lyrics) / Sam H. Stept (music))
Technical
Originally recorded on TLO 42416 (Agfa FR tape stock at 15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House).[1]
Ted Kendall's Restoration
This programme (on Compendium Vol 14) came from an acetate disc cut from a domestic tape recording, probably taken from an AM transmission (from the same collection as 4/18). The opening and closing were missing. The closing for this show, 4/18 and 4/20 were taken from the recording of 4/15 issued in Compendium Vol 13, as this is the best surviving fourth series closing announced by Wallace Greenslade and crediting Larry Stephens, who drops out of the credits for 4/21 onwards.The opening was completed using material from other recordings in the same collection.[2]
References
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2018). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 14 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-7875-3266-3.
- ^ Kendall, Ted (2018). The Goon Show Compendium Vol 14 (Booklet 2). BBC Worldwide. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-7875-3266-3.
