What's My Line?

"What's My Line?"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: 7 Episode: 1
Written by	Spike Milligan Larry Stephens
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Peter Eton
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: The High and the Mighty Ellington: Mr. Sandman / I Ain't Got Nobody
Recording Number	TLO 52769
First broadcast	29 March 1954 (1954-03-29)
Running time	30:29

The Seagoon Memoirs is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the seventh show in the ninth series.

SHOW 162 (7/10): What's My Line? (CDS,Track I) With John Snagge [uncredited] Pre-recording: Sunday 2 December 1956, 12.45 noon/4pm,The Camden Theatre. DLO 17361 & DLO 17361 /A. Recording: Sunday 2 December 1956, 9pm, The Camden Theatre. TLO 17361. First Home Service Broadcast Wednesday 5 December 1956, 9.15pm.Ratings: 1.9 million.Rl:64. Repeat Monday I O December 1956, 8pm, 3.4 million [Light Programme]; Saturday 23 May 1992, 1.02pm [Radio 2 in Comedy Hour:the Radio 2 Comedy Season]. BBC Audiobooks' Synopsis: Great span of nukes! It's What's My Line? meets The Goon Show ... Mr 'Eddie Neecroon' reveals his gift for melody and 'The Famous' Eccles plays the telephone in 'E' flat. However, Major Bloodnok is missing and needs the number of a good tailor because he's in a phone box. Naked. In Alaska. Now that's some long distance call. Fortunately, Eccles and Neddie are hot on the Major's trail. The Major's mime starts in India, in 1883, and outnumbered by naughty tribesman. Bloodnok teaches them a lesson and Bluebottle blows his bugle (and does himself an injury). But will Eccles ever play the telephone again? Music Max Geldray plays C-Jam Blues (Duke Ellington);The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Roll 'Em Pete (Pete Johnson/Joe Turner),

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).

Transcription Service Synopsis

'To open the scene, take a knife and cut along the dotted line. Inside you will find the Great North Road in an icy blizzard.' This is how Spike Milligan describes the setting for the start of the latest unexpurgated edition of Seagoon's memoirs. Listeners can, in fact, buy a copy (in a plain sealed envelope) at any local Second Class Slipper Bath.

Music

• The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays I Kiss Your Little Hand, Madame (Ralph Erwin (music) / Fritz Rotter (lyrics))
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays The Late Late Show (Murray Berlin (music) / Roy Alfred (lyrics))

Technical

Originally recorded on TLO 72138 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House).

The TLO 72138 master tape no longer exists, and the version of the show included on The Goon Show Compendium Vol 10 was compiled from the TGS disc, the POTG master tape and domestic recordings of both the original transmission and the 1964 repeat.