The Goon Show

Want to get an insight into the lives of the creators and performers?

• Spike Milligan
  Surviving Spike Here is how the Theatre Royal Windsor billed this new play: Surviving Spike is an intimate glance into the personal life of Spike Milligan by Norma Farnes - his agent, manager and confidante for 36 years - and the only person who ever really knew him. Encompassing the surreal comedy for which he was renowned, Spike's extraordinary life is seen through Norma's eyes as this play reveals the tormented character that hid behind the public façade.
  
  This brand new production is written by Richard Harris - best known for his classic theatre comedy hits Outside Edge, Stepping Out, Party Piece and The Last Laugh, as well as his numerous award-winning TV series including Shoestring, A Touch of Frost and The Last Detective.
  
  Starring as Spike Milligan and making his dramatic stage debut - Michael Barrymore, one of this country's biggest ever light entertainment stars (Barrymore, Strike It Lucky, My Kind Of People, Kids Say The Funniest Things). He will take you on an hilarious and emotional journey as the legendary comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and creator of The Goon Show. Joining him in an all star cast will be Jill Halfpenny (Eastenders, Waterloo Road and winner of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing) who will play the role of Norma Farnes.
  
  Tues 5th to Sat 16th Feb 2008
  Showtimes: Mon-Sat 8pm
  Matinee: Thurs 2.30pm and Sat 4.45pm
  Location:
  Theatre Royal Windsor
  Thames Street
  Windsor
  Berkshire
  SL4 1PS
  

  The West Yorkshire Playhouse had a new play written by Roy Smiles and directed by Michael Kingsbury
  - Ying Tong.
  It ran from October 22nd 2004 to November 20th 2004
  More specific details from their web site.
  It was staged in London from mid-February 2005 at the New Ambassadors Theatre.
  Originally listed as running from 24th February until 4th June - it finished early on 19th March.
  

• Peter Sellers
  "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" is the title of a film released in 2004.
  Starring Geoffrey Rush in the title role, this film portrays a view of Peter Sellers as a tortured individual. Some interviews have suggested that the film is overly harsh - but it does seem to reflect many of the tales in the various biographies.
  It was made to be first shown on TV in America and reached UK cinemas in late 2004 following a run in Australia.
  The Australian dsitributors web site: http://iconmovies.com.au/petersellers/
  BBC was also involved: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/2004releases/thelifeanddeathofpetersellers.shtml
  It was released on DVD in April 2005.
  

The information below comes from a variety of sources. Namely: Re-reading old script books, The Goon Show Companion by Roger Wilmut, the catalogue from the US Goon Show Preservation Society and listening to compilations of CDs, records and tapes. Some scripts are also here - gleaned from various sources over the years - a few of which I have been through and modified to include what I think I heard. If you have any others please let me know.

Where different sources have shown different titles for shows then they are (generally) all shown.

I hope that you find this useful, but more important is that you enjoy (or learn to enjoy) the fun within.

If you have been making your own listening easier by copying your purchased collection of tapes and CDs to computer playable files then you could copy this page and point the links to your own disk. (look for "file://" in the raw HTML file - remember that spaces in file names should go in as %20 (etc.)).

Sadly the primary performers are now dead (Peter Sellers in 1980, Michael Bentine in 1996, Harry Secombe in 2001 and Spike Milligan in 2002) but the archives are full of their material and it is often re-broadcast.
Below you can find a section that updates automatically to show when "Goons" are on UK TV or radio - thanks to Digiguide.
Still going strong - I think - is the chap (Ruxton Hayward) who was perhaps the inspiration for Bluebottle. See the photo below from BBC Spike Night.

Ruxton Hayward	Some other Charlie

At the foot of this page there are a few links - other fan sites, the Goons Online webring and some streaming Goon Shows.

Paul Webster

London, February 2002 [first version July 1999]

Download your own copy of DigiGuide

Date Broadcast dd/mm/yy	BBC Title [Alternative Title]	Qual.	Version	Notes	Script Book /CD	Script Text [CD]
	First Series
28/5/51	Crazy People				SB07
	Second Series
22/1/52	[no announced title]	C- / I	Orig	Opening and Geldray tune are missing
5/2/52	[no announced title]	D-C / I	Orig	Opening missing
	Third Series
11/11/52	Fred of the Islands
18/11/52	The Egg of the Great Auk
25/11/52	I Was A Male Fan Dancer
02/12/52	Saga of the HMS Aldgate
09/12/52	The Expedition for Toothpaste
16/12/52	The Archers
30/12/52	Where Does Santa Claus go in the Summer
06/01/53	The Navy, Army and Air Force
13/01/53	The British Way of Life
20/01/53	A Survey of Britain
27/01/53	Flint of the Flying Squad
03/02/53	Seaside Resorts in Winter
10/02/53	The Tragedy of Oxley Towers
17/02/53	The Story of Civilisation
24/02/53	The Search for the Bearded Vulture
03/03/53	The Mystery of the Monkey’s Paw
10/03/53	The Mystery of the Cow on the Hill
17/03/53	Where do Socks Come From?
07/04/53	The Building of the Suez Canal
14/04/53	The De Goonlies
21/04/53	The Conquest of Space
28/04/53	The Ascent of Mount Everest
05/05/53	The Story of the Plymouth Hoe Armada
03/06/53	Coronation Special Edition
	Fourth Series
2/10/53	The Dreaded Piano Clubber			Remade in Vintage Goons series
9/10/53	The Destruction Of England [The Man Who Tried to Destroy London's Monuments]	D-C / I	Orig	Geldray tune missing
16/10/53	The Ghastly Experiments of Dr. Hans Eidelburger [The Adventures of Fearless Harry Secombe][The Everest Project]	D-C / I	Orig
23/10/53	The Piano-Firing Cannon
30/10/53	The Gibralter Story
6/11/53	The Sound Barrier Airing Cupboard
13/11/53	The First Albert Memorial To The Moon			Remade in Vintage Goons series
20/11/53	The Missing Bereaucrat
27/11/53	Scradge [Scradje] [Operation Bagpipes]?			Remade in 6th series
4/12/53	Alemain [The Flying Saucer Mystery]?
11/12/53	Harry Not A Dog or The Spanish Armada[check?]
18/12/53	The Spanish Armada or The British Way[check?]
26/12/53	The Giant Bombardon	C	Orig	Remade in Vintage Goons series - 2 min excerpt only
1/1/54	10,000 Fathoms Down In A Wardrobe
8/1/54	10 Downing Street Stolen [The Missing Prime Minister]	C-	Orig	Remade in Vintage Goons series
15/1/54	Dr Jekyll and Mr Crun
22/1/54	The Mummified Priest			Remade in Vintage Goons series
29/1/54	The History of Communications Alternative Recording	C / I	Orig	Opening missing.
5/2/54	The Kippered Herring Gang			Remade in Vintage Goons series
12/2/54	The Toothpaste Mines [The Toothpaste Expedition]
15/2/54	The Case Of The Vanishing Room			Remade in Vintage Goons series
22/2/54	The Great Ink Drought Of 1902			Remade in Vintage Goons series
1/3/54	The Underwater Mountain The Greatest Mountain in the World	B	Orig-TK	Remade in Vintage Goons series	CD8
8/3/54	The Great Mustard and Cress Shortage The Collapse of the British Railway Sandwich System	C- / I	Orig	Remade in Vintage Goons series	CD23
15/3/54	The Silent Bugler Alternative recording	C+	Orig	Remade in Vintage Goons series
22/3/54	Western Story
29/3/54	The Saga Of The Internal Mountain	B	Orig	Remade in Vintage Goons series
5/4/54	The Invisible Acrobat
12/4/54	The Great Bank of England Robbery	C+	Orig	Remade in Vintage Goons series
19/4/54	The Siege Of Fort Knight			Remade in Vintage Goons series
	Fifth Series
31/8/54	The Starlings	A-	Orig-TK	Announcer Andrew Timothy; no music or audience. From Radio 4 repeat of Christmas 1989 with introduction by Spike.	CD31
28/9/54	The Whistling Spy Enigma Alternative Version	A	Orig-TK		CD7 CO1 LP10
5/10/54	The Lost Goldmine (of Charlotte) [Death in the Desert]	A	TSR		CD23 CO1
12/10/54	The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-on-Sea) Alternative version	A	Orig-TK		CD1 CD30 CO1 LP1 SB01,SB06, SB08 (LP) Goon Show Classics - BBC Records - REB 177
19/10/54	The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton) Alternative version	A	Orig-TK		CO1 SB01 CD12
26/10/54	The Affair of the Lone Banana Alternative version	A	Orig-TK		CD7 CO1 SB01
2/11/54	The Canal	A	TSR		CD23 CO1 SB01
9/11/54	Lurgi Strikes Britain Alternative version (TS Title: Lurgi Strikes Again)	A	Orig-TK		CD2 CO1 LP3
16/11/54	The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (Solved)	A	Orig-TK		CD8 CO1 SB06
23/11/54	The Last Tram (from Clapham)	A	Orig-TK		CD8 CO1
30/11/54	The Booted Gorilla (found?)	A	TSO		CD22 CO1
7/12/54	The Spanish Suitcase	A	Orig-TK		CD8 CO1
14/12/54	Dishonoured, or the Fall of Neddie Seagoon	B	Orig		CD30 CO1
21/12/54	Forog	A	TSO		CO1
28/12/54	Ye Bandits of Sherwood Forest	A	Orig-TK		CD15 CO2
4/1/55	1985 Alternative version	A	Orig-TK		CD5 CO2 LP11
11/1/55	The Case of the Missing Heir - The Rightful Heir [The Greenslade Impressions]	A	TSR		CD24 CO2
18/1/55	China Story	B- /I	Orig-TK		CD30 (not original performance), CO2 The Goon Show - Goon Again - EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 7062 (1968)
25/1/55	Under Two Floorboards A Tale of the Legion	A	Orig-TK		CD9 CO2
1/2/55	The Missing Scroll [The Lost Music of Purdom] [Alternate recording]	A	TSR	CD31	CO2
8/2/55	1985	A	Orig	CD31 Note - not necessarily right script or soundtrack - see show 4/1/55	CO2
15/2/55	The Sinking of Westminster Pier Alternative version Alternative version	A	Orig-TK		CD9 CO2
22/2/55	The Fireball of Milton Street	A	TSO		CD25 CO2
1/3/55	The Terrible Blasting Of Moreton's Bank - The Six Ingots of Leadenhall Street	A	TSO		CO2
8/3/55	Yehti Alternative version	A	Orig-TK		CD9 CO2
15/3/55	The White Box of Great Bardfield [Son of Houdini]	A	Orig-TK		CD10 CO2
22/3/55	The End (TS Confessions of a Secret Sennapods Drinker)	A	TSR		CD25 CO2
	Sixth Series
20/9/55	The Man Who Won the War (TS Title: [Seagoon MCC])	A	Orig		CD31 CO3
27/9/55	The Secret Escritoire	A	TSO		CD24 CO3
4/10/55	The Lost Emperor [The Tomb of Ghengis Khan]	A	Orig-TK		CD12 CO3
11/10/55	Napoleon's Piano (Transcription Services)	A	Orig-TK		SB01 CD2 LP4 CO3
18/10/55	The Case of the Missing CD Plates [A Strange Case of Diplomatic Immunity]	A	Orig-TK		CD4 LP7 CO3
25/10/55	[The Search for] Rommel's Treasure (Alternate recording)		Orig-TK		CD6 CO3
1/11/55	Foiled by President Fred [In Honour Bound] (Alternate - cut)	A /I	Orig		SB01 The Goon Show - First Men On The Goon EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 7132
8/11/55	Shangri-La Again [Lost Horizons]	A-	TSR		CD19 CO3
15/11/55	The [Great] International Christmas Pudding (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD2 LP3 CO3
21/11/55	The Hastings Flyer (check)			Original scheduled show not broadcast
29/11/55	The Sale of Manhattan (TS Title: The Lost Colony)	A	TSR		CD22 check CO3
6/12/55	The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu [Fred Fu-Manchu and his Bamboo Saxophone]	A-	Orig		CD25 SB03 CO3
13/12/55	The Lost Year	B	TSO		CD26 CO3
20/12/55	The Greenslade Story	A	Orig-TK		CD3 LP5 CO3
27/12/55	The Hastings Flyer - Robbed!			Check dates	CD30
3/1/56	The Mighty Wurlitzer	B+	Orig-TK		SB01 CD15
10/1/56	The Raid of the International Christmas Pudding [The Red Bladder]	C	Orig	???Wrong show???
17/1/56	Tales of Montmartre (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD10
24/1/56	The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD1 LP2(LP) Goon Show Classics Vol.2 - BBC Records - REB 213
31/1/56	The House of Teeth	A	TSR	Music cut	CD23 SB01
7/2/56	Tales of Old Dartmoor (Alternate version	A /I	Orig		CD - The Goons - EMI 7243 5 28597 2 6 LP - The Best of the Goon Shows - EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 1108 (1959)
14/2/56	The Choking Horror	A-	TSR		CD22
21/2/56	The Great Tuscan Salami Scandal (Alternate version)	A	Orig-TK		CD7
28/2/56	The Treasure in the Lake [The Treasure of Loch Lomond]	B	Orig-TK		CD3 LP5
1/3/56	Special St David's Day Programme	A	Orig-TK
6/3/56	The Fear of Wages	A	Orig-TK		SB07 CD20
13/3/56	Scradge [Scradje] (Alternate version)	A	Orig-TK	Remake of 4th series	CD7
20/3/56	The Man Who Never Was (Alternate version)	A	TSR
3/4/56	The Pevensey Bay Disaster	A	TSR	(rec. 20-11-55) Not broadcast at time because of a rail crash	SB01 CD19 CO3
	Seventh Series
4/10/56	The Nasty Affair at the Burami Oasis [The Bahrann Crisis] (Alternate recording) Rehersal	A	Orig-TK		CD4 LP8
11/10/56	Drums Along the Mersey	A	Orig-TK		CD12
18/10/56	Great Nadger Plague (Alternate recording)	A	TSO		CD20
25/10/56	The MacReekie Rising of '74 (Alternate recording)	A-	Orig		The Goon Show - Goon Again - EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 7062 (1968)
1/11/56	The Spectre of Tintagel	A-	Orig-TK		CD19
8/11/56	The Sleeping Prince [check - when was this broadcast]	B	Orig-TK
15/11/56	The Great Bank Robbery	A	Orig-TK		CD10
22/11/56	Personal Narrative[The Personal Narrative of Captain Neddie Seagon, R.N.]	A	TSR
29/11/56	The Mystery of the Fake Neddie Seagoons (Alternative version) [The Great Art Mystery, or . . . ]	A	Orig-TK	Commercial CD (BBC Goon Show Classics "You can't get the wood you know") has a few cuts from original.	SB07 CD10
5/12/56	What's My Line?	A-	Orig-TK
13/12/56	The Telephone (Alternative recording)	A	TSO
20/12/56	The Flea (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD2 LP4
26/12/56	Six Charlies in Search of an Author	A-	Orig		(LP) Goon..but not Forgotten - EMI/Parlophone - PMC 7037 - 1967
3/1/57	Emperor of the Universe [Bulldog Seagoon's First Case{?}]	A	TSO
10/1/57	Wings Over Dagenham (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD3 LP6
17/1/57	The Rent Collectors (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD3 LP6
24/1/57	Shifting Sands of Waziristan [India 1902]	A	Orig-TK		CD5 LP11
31/1/57	The Moon Show	A	TSR
7/2/57	The Mysterious Punch-up-the-Conker [The Leather Omnibus{?}] (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD9
14/2/57	The Sleeping Prince [check?]	A	Orig-TK
21/2/57	Round the World in 80 Days	A	TSR
28/2/57	Insurance, the White Man's Burden (Alternate recording)	B /I	Orig	Combined TSR tape with TSO version on EMI commercial CD release to create show that is very close to original version.	(LP) Goon..but not Forgotten - EMI/Parlophone - PMC 7037 - 1967
7/3/57	The Africa Ship Canal [The Great Trans-Africa Aeroplane Canal]	A	TSR
14/3/57	I'll Meet By Goonlight [Ill Met By Goonlight] (Alternate version)	A	Orig-TK		CD6
21/3/57	The Missing Boa Constrictor [The Birmingham Ring Road Construction{?}]	A	TSR
28/3/57	The Histories of Pliny the Elder	A	Orig-TK		CD1 LP1(LP) Goon Show Classics - BBC Records - REB 177
	Various
TS only	Robin Hood [and his Mirry Mon] (rec. 2/12/56) (Alternate recording) (Alternate recording) (Retakes)	A /I	Orig		The Goon Show - First Men On The Goon EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 7132 CD The Goons Vol. Two EMI 7243 5 34755 2 9
25/12/56	Operation Christmas Duff	A	Orig-TK	(rec. 9/12/56 for General Overseas Service broadcast only; not broadcast in UK until 25/12/86)	SB04 CD15
	Eighth Series
27/8/57	The Reason Why	B	Orig	The Goons plus Greenslade and Valentine Dyall. No audience. Prod. Jacques Brown.	CD17
30/9/57	Spon	B+	Orig		CD16
7/10/57	The Junk Affair	B / I	Orig	Most of Geldray tune missing	CD21
14/10/57	Firechief Seagoon [The Burning Embassy]	A	TSR		CD21
21/10/57	The Great Regents Park Swim	A	TSR		CD28
28/10/57	The Treasure in the Tower (Alternate recording)	A	TSR		CD17
4/11/57	The Space Age	A	TSR		CD28
11/11/57	The Red Fort [Rebellion at Red Fort] [A Tale of India] (Alternate recording) (Alternate recording)	A- /I	Orig		CD The Goons Vol. Two EMI 7243 5 34755 2 9 LP The Very Best Of The Goons-1 - EMC 3062
18/11/57	The Stolen Battleship [The Missing Battleship]	B	Orig		CD21
25/11/57	The Policy	A	TSR		CD28
2/12/57	King Solomon's Mines	A	Orig-TK		CD13
9/12/57	The Stolen Postman	A	TSR		CD28
16/12/57	The Great British Revolution	A	TSR		CD20
23/12/57	The Plasticine Man	A	TSR		CD17
30/12/57	The Bridge On The River(?) [African Incident]	C	Orig		CD18
6/1/58	The Thing on the Mountain	A	TSO		CD29
13/1/58	The [Great] String Robberies	B-	Orig-TK		CD11 SB03
20/1/58	The Moriarty Murder Mystery	A- /I	Orig-TK	Missed few seconds of start	CD13
27/1/58	The Curse of Frankenstein [My Heart's in the Highlands]	A	TSR		CD16
3/2/58	The White Neddie Trade (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD11
10/2/58	Ten Snowballs That Shook the World	A	TSR		CD21
17/2/58	The Man Who Never Was	A	Orig-TK		CD4 LP7
24/2/58	World War One (TS and script title: "______!") (Alternate version) (Alternate version)	A	Orig-TK		CD4 LP8
3/3/58	The [Great] Spon Plague (Alternate Version)	A	Orig-TK		CD11 SB03
10/3/58	The Tiddlywinks Theft [Tiddleywinks]	C	Orig		CD18
17/3/58	The Lampost(?) [The Evils of Bushey Spon]	A	Orig-TK		CD1 LP2(LP) Goon Show Classics Vol.2 - BBC Records - REB 213
24/3/58	The Great Statue Debate	A	TSO	Vintage [rec. date]Goons (spec. rec. for TS)	CD29
	Vintage Goons
6/10/57	The Mummified Priest (Alternate version)	A	Orig-TK	Remake of 4th series	CD12
20/10/57	The Greatest Mountain in the World	B-	TSR	Remake of 4th series	CD8 CD26
3/11/57	The Missing Ten Downing Street [The Missing Prime Minister of 1953]	A- /I	TSO	Remake of 4th series - In this series, TSO is the "original" version.	CD The Goons Vol. Two EMI 7243 5 34755 2 9 LP The Very Best Of The Goons-1 - EMC 3062
17/11/57	The Giant Bombardon (Alternate version) (Alternate version)[original?]	A-	TSR	Remake of 4th series	CD18
1/12/57	The Kippered Herring Gang	A-	TSO	Remake of 4th series	CD26
15/12/57	The [Case Of The] Vanishing Room (Alternate recording) (Alternate recording)	B	Orig-TK /I	Remake of 4th series	CD13
29/12/57	The Ink Shortage [Hansard Unexpurgated] (Alternate version)	C	TSO	Remake of 4th series	CD22
12/1/58	The Mustard and Cress Shortage [The Collapse of the British Railway Sandwich System]	A-	TSO	Remake of 4th series	CD29
16/2/58	The Internal Mountain	A	TSR	Remake of 4th series	CD25 SB04
23/2/58	The Silent Bugler	A-	1986	Remake of 4th series - 29/12/86 airing on Radio 4 was first UK broadcast.	CD17 SB04
2/3/58	The Great Bank of England Robbery (Alternate recording)	A-	TSR	Remake of 4th series - ???Wrong one???	CD26
9/3/58	The Dreaded Piano Clubber	A	1986	CD24 Remake of 4th series - 26/12/86 airing on Radio 4 was first UK broadcast.	SB04
16/3/58	The Siege of Fort Knight	A-	1986	Remake of 4th series - 27-12-86 airing on Radio 4 was first UK broadcast.	CD26 SB04, SB05
23/3/58	The Albert Memorial [The First Albert Memorial to the Moon] (Alternate recording)	B+	TSR	Remake of 4th series	CD26
	Ninth Series
3/11/58	The Nude Welshman{?} [The Sahara Desert Statue]	A	TSR		CD20
10/11/58	I Was Monty's Treble (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD6 LP10
17/11/58	The Million Pound Penny [The Story of a Crime-Type Murder]	A	Orig-TK		CD13
24/11/58	Pam's Papers [The Pam's Paper Insurance Policy]	A-	Orig-TK		CD24
1/12/58	The Mountain Eaters	A	Orig-TK		CD11
8/12/58	King Arthur's Sword [The Childe Harolde Rewarde]	A	Orig-TK		CD14
15/12/58	The Seagoon Memoirs (Alternate version)	A	Orig-TK		CD6
22/12/58	Queen Anne's Reign [Queen Anne's Rain]	A	Orig-TK		CD14
29/12/58	The Battle of Spion Kop	A	Orig-TK		SB02 CD14
5/1/59	Ned's Atomic Dustbin	B+	Orig	In most cases - differences among Original/TSO/TSR versions are modest, but in this case - the Original show has 25 lines not in TSO version, and TSO version has 45 lines not in Original. The combined version runs 33:15.	CD19 SB02, SB05
12/1/59	Who Is Pink Oboe?[The Spy]	B	Orig		CD16 SB02
20/1/59	The Call of the West[Captain Stingo, or Goon Law, or . . . ] (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD5 LP9 SB02, partial version in SB05
26/1/59	Dishonoured Again [I Knew Terence Nuke]	A	Orig		CD - The Goons - EMI 7243 5 28597 2 6 LP - The Best of the Goon Shows - EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 1108 (1959)
2/2/59	The Scarlet Capsule[Quatermass O.B.E.] (Alternate recording)	A /I	Orig		SB02 The Best of the Goon Shows (No. 2) EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 1129 (1960)
9/2/59	The Tay Bridge Disaster	A-	Orig		SB02 CD18
16/2/59	The Gold Plate Robbery [The Kleens of Blenchinghall]	A	Orig-TK		SB02 CD14
23/2/59	The 50 Pound Cure	B	Orig		CD16 SB02
	Tenth Series
24/12/59	A Christmas Carol [A Merry Christmas and Custard]	A	Orig-TK		CD15
31/12/59	Tale of Men's Shirts	A- / I	Orig?		SB03 CD - The Goons - EMI 7243 5 28597 2 6 The Best of the Goon Shows (No. 2) EMI/Parlophone LP - PMC 1129 (1960)
7/1/60	Ned's Chinese Legs [The Chinese Legs]	C	Orig	CD26
14/1/60	Robin's Post [A Story of Lord Seagoon]	A	TSR		SB03	CD26
21/1/60	The Spanish Doubloons [The Silver Dubloons]	A /I	TSR		CD29
28-1-60	The Last Of The Smoking Seagoons (Alternate recording)	A	Orig-TK		CD5 LP9

Back to top of Goon Shows listing

Date dd/mm/yy	Title [Alternative Title]	Qual.	Version	Notes	Script Book	Script Text
1951	Penny Points to Paradise			Not really "Goon" but has PS, SM and HS
1952	Down Among The 'Z' Men			Channel 5 - CFV 06172
1955	The Case Of The Mukkinese Battle Horn			No HS	SB05

Date mixture	Title	Qual.	Version	Notes	Script Book	Script Text
1990	The World Of The Goons			ECLIPSE 820 646-2
	Bluebottle Blues			Also on ... and ...
	I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas			Also on ...
	Teddy Bears Picnic
	The Ying Tong Song			Also on ...
	Bloodnok's Rock n' Roll Call			Also on ...
	Slow Coach
	Blues
	I Love You			Also on ...
	Eeh' Ah Oh Ooh			Also on ...
	Sally
	My Melanchoy Baby
	A Russian Love Song			Also on ...
	Whistle Your Cares Away			Also on ...
	Little Red Riding Hood
	The Raspberry Song			45 - Decca Y-11722
	Rhymes			45 - Decca Y-11722
1997	The Last Goon Show of All & at last the go on show			Double CD - ref: ZBBC 2014 CD. CD1 Complete show [recorded 30 April 1972] to celebrate 50 years of the BBC. CD2 Documentary for 40th Anniversary of the Goons. CD has slightly more content than the original broadcast.
1997	How To Win An Election (or not lose by much)			ref: 4 SPOKE CD18 ISBN: 1 86051 022 1 Originally published 1964. Sellers, Milligan and Secombe - written and devised by Leslie Bricusse
2000	the Spike Milligan collection			ref: HMV - 7243 5 27421 2 7 22 tracks
2000	Spike Milligan			ref: HMV - 7243 5 28598 2 5 20 tracks
1956	Decca 78		Bluebottle Blues I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas	ref: Decca - F 10756
1956	Decca 78		Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call The Ying Tong Song	ref: Decca - F 10780
1956	Parlophone 78		My September Love You Gotta Go OWW!	ref: Parlophone R 4251	Spike Milligan and Erik Sykes
1957	Decca 78		Eeh! Ah! Oh! Ooh! I Love You	ref: Decca F 10885
1957	Decca 78		Whistle Your Cares Away A Russian Love Song	ref: Decca F 10945
1957	The Goons		EP with 4 tracks Bluebottle Blues The Ying Tong Song I'm Walking Backwards For Christmas Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call	ref: Decca - DFE 6396 (Australia as Decca DFEA7500) 4 tracks		See above

Recording Quality
A – excellent
B – good
C – acceptable
D – poor
I – incomplete—music edited out

The recording quality refers to shows where recordings are known to exist, but I might not have heard them myself. Naturally, these ratings are selective - but the D and I rating is pretty undeniable! If you know of better quality ones then please say where they are.

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Goon Show Classics (1974 - REB 177)
7/25--The Histories of Pliny the Elder
5/3--The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea

Goon Show Classics Vol 2 (1975 - REB 213)
6/19--The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI
8/25--The Evlis of Bushey Spon

Goon Show Classics Vol 3 (1976)
5/7--Lurgi Strikes Britain
6/9--The International Christmas Pudding

Goon Show CLassics Vol 4 (1977)
6/4--Napoleon's Piano
7/12--The Flea

Goon Show Classics Vol 5 (1978)
6/24--The Treasure Of Loch Lomand
6/14--The Greenslade Story

Goon Show Classics Vol 6 (1979)
7/15--Wings Over Dagenham
7/16--The Rent Collectors

Goon Show Classics Vol 7 (1980)
8/21--The Man Who Never Was
6/5--The Case of the Missing CD Plates

Goon Show Classics Vol 8 (1981 - REB 422)
8/22--World War 1
7/1--The Nasty Affair At The Burami Oasis

Goon Show Classics Vol 9 (1982 - REB 444)
9/12--The Call of the West
10/6--The Last Smoking Seagoon

Goon Show Classics Vol 10 (1983 - REB 481)
5/1--The Whistling Spy Enigma
9/2--I Was Monty's Treble

Goon Show Classics Vol 11 (1985 - REB 565)
5/15--1985
7/17--Shifting Sands

Thanks to Tony Wills for the cover scans of the LPs above that I did not have myself.

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The Goon Show: Moriarty, where are you? - (ZBBC 1864 / ZBBC 1864 CD, 1996) [previously Goon Show Classics 1; ZBBC 1007, 1988]
5/3--The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea 7/25--The Histories of Pliny the Elder 6/19--The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI 8/25--The Evils of Bushey Spon
The Goon Show: Enter Bluebottle . . . - (ZBBC 1865 / ZBBC 1865 CD, 1996) [previously Goon Show Classics 2; ZBBC 1016, 1988]
5/7--Lurgi Strikes Britain 6/9--The International Christmas Pudding 6/4--Napoleon's Piano 7/12--The Flea
The Goon Show: I'm walking backwards for Christmas - (ZBBC 1866 / ZBBC 1866 CD, 1996) [previously Goon Show Classics 3; ZBBC 1047, 1989]
6/24--The Treasure of Loch Lomond 6/14--The Greenslade Story 7/15--Wings Over Dagenham 7/16--The Rent Collectors
The Goon Show: My knees have fallen off! - (ZBBC 1867 / ZBBC 1867 CD, 1996) [previously Goon Show Classics 4; ZBBC 1048, 1989]
8/21--The Man Who Never Was 6/5--The Missing CD Plates 8/22--World War I 7/1--The Nasty Affair at the Burami Oasis
The Goon Show: And there's more where that came from! - (ZBBC 1868 / ZBBC 1868 CD, 1996) [previously Goon Show Classics 5; ZBBC 1133, 1990]
9/12--The Call of the West 10/6--The Last Smoking Seagoon 5/15--1985 [beware that liner notes say that this is the show first broadcast 2/8/55. WRONG. That show would be 5/20. This is 5/15, the first version (without John Snagge), which aired 1/4/55.] 7/17--Shifting Sands
The Goon Show: Have a gorilla - (ZBBC 1869 / ZBBC 1869 CD, 1996) [previously Goon Show Classics 6; ZBBC 1149, 1991]
6/6--Rommel's Treasure 7/23--Ill Met by Goonlight 9/2--I Was Monty's Treble 9/7--The Seagoon Memoirs
The Goon Show: Ying Tong iddle-i po! - (ZBBC 1870 / ZBBC 1870 CD, 1997) [previously Goon Show Classics 7; ZBBC 1236, 1991]
5/1--The Whistling Spy Enigma 5/5--The Affair of the Lone Banana 6/23--The Great Tuscan Salami Scandal 6/26--Scradje
The Goon Show: You have deaded me again! - (ZBBC 1871 / ZBBC 1871 CD, 1997) [previously Goon Show Classics 8; ZBBC 1334, 1992]
4/23--The Greatest Mountain in the World [probably really from VG] 5/8--The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (solved) 5/9--The Last Tram (from Clapham) 5/11--The Spanish Suitcase
Goon Show Classics: What time is it, Eccles? - (ZBBC 1887 / ZBBC 1887 CD, 1997 [previously Goon Show Classics 9; ZBBC 1406; 1992]
5/18--Under Two Floorboards 5/21--The Sinking of Westminster Pier 5/24--Yehti 7/19--The Mysterious Punch-up-the-Conker
The Goon Show: You can't get the wood, you know - (ZBBC 1978 / ZBBC 1978 CD, 1997) [previously Goon Show Classics 10; ZBBC 1513, 1993]
5/25--The White Box of Great Bardfield 6/18--Tales of Montmartre 7/7--The Great Bank Robbery 7/9--The Mystery of the Fake Neddie Seagoons
Goon Show Classics [11]: He's fallen in the water! - (ZBBC 1602, 1994, or ZBBC 1602 CD, 1995)
8/16--The String Robberies 8/19--The White Neddie Trade 8/23--The Spon Plague 9/5--The Mountain Eaters
Goon Show Classics [12]: Shut Up, Eccles! - (ZBBC 1725 / ZBBC 1725 CD, 1995)
5/4--The Phantom Head Shaver 6/3--The Lost Emperor 7/2--Drums Along the Mersey VG/1--The Mummified Priest
The Goon Show [13]: It's all in the mind, you know! - (ZBBC 1892 / ZBBC 1892 CD, 1996)
8/17--The Moriarty Murder Mystery 8/10--King Solomon's Mines 9/3--The £1,000,000 Penny VG/6--The Vanishing Room
The Goon Show [14]: Needle Nardle Noo - (ZBBC 2115 / ZBBC 2115 CD, 1998)
9/6--The Childe Harolde Reward 9/8--Queen Anne's Rain 9/9--The Battle of Spion Kop 9/16--The Gold Plate Robbery
The Goon Show [15]: The Goons at Christmas - (ZBBC 2194 / ZBBC 2194 CD, 1998)
5/14--Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest 6/16--The Mighty Wurlitzer 7/S1--Operation Christmas Duff 10/1--A Christmas Carol
The Goon Show [16]: Goons and Guests - (ISBN 0563 558237 [cass] / 0563-558849 [CD], 1999)
8/1--Spon 8/18--The Curse of Frankenstein 9/11--The Spy, or Who Is Pink Oboe? 9/17--The £50 Cure
The Goon Show [17]: The Silent Bugler - (ISBN 0563 552875 [cass] / 0563 552921 [CD], 1999)
VG/10--The Silent Bugler 7/S2--The Reason Why 8/5--The Treasure in the Tower 8/13--The Plasticine Man
The Goon Show [18]: And More Guests - (ISBN 0563 553375 [cass] / 563 553421 [CD], 2000)
8/14--African Incident 8/24--Tiddleywinks VG/4--The Giant Bombardon 9/15--The Tay Bridge
The Goon Show [19]: Ned's Atomic Dustbin - (ISBN 0563 53547-4 [CD], 2001)
6/8--Shangri-La Again 6/10--The Pevensey Bay Disaster 7/5--The Spectre of Tintagel 9/10--Ned's Atomic Dustbin
The Goon Show [20]: The Fear Of Wages - (ISBN: 0563536292 [CD] 0563536284 [cass], 2002)
6/25--The Fear Of Wages 7/3--The Nadger Plague 8/12--The Great British Revolution 9/1--The Sahara Desert Statue
The Goon Show [21]: The Missing Battleship - (ISBN: 0-563-49479-4 [CD] ??????? [cass], 2003)
8/2--The Junk Affair 8/3--The Burning Embassy 8/8--The Missing Battleship 8/20--Ten Snowballs That Shook the World
The Goon Show [22]: The Booted Gorilla - (ISBN: 0563524669 [CD] 0563524618 [cass] , 2004)
5/10--The Booted Gorilla 6/11--The Sale of Manhattan 6/22--The Choking Horror VG/7--The Ink Shortage
The Goon Show [23]: The Collapse Of The British Railway Sandwich System - (ISBN: 0563527978 [CD] 0563527927 [cass] , Nov 2005)
4/24--The Collapse Of The British Railway Sandwich System 5/2--The Lost Goldmine (Of Charlotte) 5/6--The Canal 6/20--The House Of Teeth
The Goon Show [24]: The Case of the Missing Heir - (ISBN 1-8460-7194-1 [CD]), Nov 2006)
5/16--The Case of the Missing Heir 6/2--The Secret Escritoire VG/12--The Dreaded Piano Clubber 9/4--The Pam's Paper Insurance Policy
The Goon Show [25]: The Internal Mountain - (ISBN 978-1405677721 [CD]), April 2008)
VG/09--The Saga of the Internal Mountain 5/22--Fireball of Milton Street 5/26--The End or Confessions of a Secret Senna-pod Drinker 6/12--The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu
The Goon Show [26]: Bank Statement No. 349 - (ISBN 978-1408410455 [CD]), Aug 2009)
6/13--The Lost Year VG/11--The Great Bank of England Robbery VG/13--The Siege of Fort Night 10/3--The Chinese Legs
The Goon Show [27]: Check the Yukkabakaka Gauges! - (ISBN 978-1408427279 [CD]), Aug 2010)
VG/2--The Greatest Mountain In The World VG/5--The Kippered Herring Gang VG/14--The Albert Memorial 10/4--Robin's Post
The Goon Show [28]: The Indigestion Waltz - (ISBN 978-1408468555 [CD]), Apr 2011)
8/4--The Great Regent's Park Swim 8/6--The Space Age 8/9--The Policy 8/11--The Stolen Postman
The Goon Show [29]: We're In The Wrong House Again - (ISBN 978-144586106 [CD]), Apr 2012)
8/15--The Thing on the Mountain VG/8--The Collapse of the British Rail Sandwich System [aka The Mustard and Cress Shortage] 8/26--The Great Statue Debate 10/5--The Silver Dubloons
The Goon Show [30]: Well Known In Concentric Circles - (ISBN 978-1471331305 [CD]), Apr 2013)
5/12--Dishonoured or The Fall of Neddie Seagoon 5/3--The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-on-Sea), second performance (not transmitted) 6/15--The Hastings Flyer - Robbed 5/17--China Story, second performance
The Goon Show [31]: The Starlings - (ISBN 978-1785290695 [CD]), May 2015)
4/SP--The Starlings 5/19--The Missing Scroll 5/20--Nineteen Eighty-Five 6/1--The Man Who Won the War (AKA Seagoon MCC)

The list of "Goon Show Compendium" issues below is not complete - there are many more than shown here ... one day I might catch up

The Goon Show Compendium Vol 1: (ISBN 1405678003 [CD]), April 2008)
5/1--The Whistling Spy Enigma 5/2--The Lost Goldmine (of Charlotte) 5/3--The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-on-Sea) 5/4--The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton) 5/5--The Affair of the Lone Banana 5/6--The Canal 5/7--Lurgi Strikes Britain 5/8--The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (Solved) 5/9--The Last Tram 5/10--The Booted Gorilla 5/11--The Spanish Suitcase 5/12--Dishonoured, or the Fall of Neddie Seagoon 5/13--Forog
The Goon Show Compendium Vol 2: (ISBN 1405687746 [CD]), slipped to spring 2009 [tracklist below subject to adjustment because of original show schedules])
5/14--Ye Bandits of Sherwood Forest 5/15--1985 5/16--The Case of the Missing Heir 5/17--China Story * might not make it in 5/18--Under Two Floorboards - A Tale of the Legion 5/19--The Lost Music of Purdom 5/20--1985 5/21--The Sinking of Westminster Pier 5/22--The Fireball of Milton Street 5/23--The Terrible Blasting Of Moreton's Bank 5/24--Yehti 5/25--The White Box of Great Bardfield 5/26--The End
The Goon Show Compendium Vol 3: (ISBN 978-1408410448 [CD]), September 2009
6/1--The Man Who Won the War 6/2--The Secret Escritoire 6/3--The Lost Emperor 6/4--Napoleon's Piano 6/5--The Case of the Missing CD Plates 6/6--Rommel's Treasure 6/8--Shangri La Again! 6/9--The International Christmas Pudding 6/10--The Pevensey Bay Disaster 6/11--The Sale of Manhattan 6/12--The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu 6/13--The Lost Year 6/14--The Greenslade Story

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The books containing Goon Show scripts often contain lots of other interesting material - such as correspondance between the Goons, extracts from other works, photos from the time and line drawings of the characters. It is much more than the simple text scripts that you can find on this site.

SB01	The Goon Show Scripts, by Spike Milligan. London: The Woburn Press, 1972; reprinted New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1973. 5/3-- The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler (of Bexhill-on-Sea) 5/4-- The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton) 5/5-- The Affair of the Lone Banana 5/6-- The Canal 6/4-- Napoleon's Piano 6/7-- Foiled by President Fred 6/16-- The Mighty Wurlitzer 6/20-- The House of Teeth 6/10-- The Pevensey Bay Disaster
SB02	More Goon Show Scripts, by Spike Milligan. London: The Woburn Press, 1973 9/9-- The Battle of Spion Kop 9/10-- Ned's Atomic Dustbin 9/11-- Who Is Pink Oboe? 9/12-- The Call of the West 9/14-- The Scarlet Capsule 9/15-- The Tay Bridge Disaster 9/16-- The Gold Plate Robbery 9/17-- The 50 Pound Cure
SB03	The Book of the Goons, ed. Elizabeth Rose. London: Robson Books Ltd., 1974. Paperback 1998 ISBN: 0903895269 6/12-- The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu-Manchu 8/16-- The String Robberies 8/23-- The Spon Plague 10/02-- Tale of Men's Shirts 10/04-- Robin's Post
SB04	The Lost Goon Shows, by Spike Milligan. London: Robson Books Ltd., 1987;reprinted London: Penguin Books, 1988 7/special-- Operation Christmas Duff VG/09-- The Internal Mountain VG/10-- The Silent Bugler VG/12-- The Dreaded Piano Clubber VG/13-- The Siege of Fort Knight
SB05	Spike Milligan A Celebration - the Best of Milligan, Compiled by Roger Sawyer. 1995 (original) 1996 Virgin - ISBN 0 86369 929 4 VG/13-- The Siege of Fort Knight 9/10-- Ned's Atomic Dustbin 9/12-- The Call of the West (only part of script) FI/3-- The Case Of The Mukkinese Battle Horn
SB06	The Goons: The Story, ed. by Norma Farnes. London: Virgin, 1997 (and 2001 - ISBN 0 7535 0529 0) - also includes script for BBC 50th Anniversary - "The Last Goon Show Of All" 5/3-- The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler 5/8-- The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (Solved)
SB07	The Essential Spike Milligan, compiled by Alexande Games - published by Fourth Estate, London. ISBN 0-00-715509-3 1/1-- First show 6/25-- The Fear of Wages 7/9-- The Mystery of the Fake Neddie Seagoons
SB08	The Compulsive Spike Milligan, edited by Norma Farnes - published by Fourth Estate, London. 2004. ISBN 0-00-719333-5 5/3-- The Dreaded Batter-Pudding Hurler

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Version Notes
Beginning with the Fifth Series in 1954, Goon Show studio sessions were recorded simultaneously by the Light Programme and Transcription Service departments. At LP the show’s producer edited the recording for airplay a few days later (this version is abbreviated Orig here, so as not to be confused with commercial LP disc releases).

At TS, a staff producer edited the recording for overseas use (TSO here, but the O is for original), shortening the shows up to two minutes (generally excising topical comments that might confuse and jokes that might offend). Then, in the 1960s, TS mounted an extensive reissue series (TSR here) called “Pick of the Goons” for overseas radio stations (including 26 shows remixed into pseudo-stereo [TSR-S here]—thought by some to be a travesty in principle, and often irritating in practice. This is the series that has been played on many National Public Radio stations in the U.S., although confusion was caused when TS sent 20 shows from the TSO series to NPR labeled “Pick of the Goons” using numbers that would later be reused for their TS Reissue series.

The TSR shows evidently were reedits of the original recordings, since in many cases lines are present that had been cut from the original TS release. In general, though, TS again was on the lookout for topical comments and "politically-incorrect" jokes.
In recent years, demon audio engineer Ted Kendall has done near-perfect restorations of some shows, pulling together all extant sources to produce recordings that are sometimes even more complete than the original UK broadcast. These shows, some of which were broadcast on BBC and some released on CD, are marked Orig-TK here.

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Steaming (Ed: shouldn't that say Streaming) Goon Shows

• Kate Halleron - moving to new management October 2003?
• Trial streaming system - http://goons.fabcat.org

Other fan sites

• http://www.goonshow.org.uk
• http://thegoonshow.co.uk
• http://www.goon.org
• http://www.telegoons.org/goon_art.htm
• http://www.nylon.net/goons
• Robert Dickson's Goon Show Page - http://www.alphalink.com.au/~robertd/GoonShow.html
• AAWGoon's Goon Show information - http://home.cfl.rr.com/ruintherain/goonindex.htm
• Tom Smith's Goon Show recordings for sale
• Tony Wills updated Goon Show scripts
• Lee Inskip's Goon Show pages
• BBC - looking for the lost shows
• Mike Agers Spike Milligan Tribute Site
• Goon Show Guide - with some clips

Newsgroup

And this is where the story really starts ....
If you have a newreader configured news:alt.fan.goons Otherwise ... Web-based newsreader here

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© Paul Webster 1999 - 2013 - London
First version July 1999 - Last update 19-May-2015