At Last the Go On Show
| "At Last the Go On Show" | |
|---|---|
| The Goon Show episode | |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Dirk Maggs |
| Production code | SLN122/91LF5392 |
| Original air date | 0 March 1991 |
| Running time | 68 mins 51 secs |
At Last the Go On Show was a radio documentary first broadcast on BBC Radio 2 at 1pm on Monday 27 May 1991.
The documentary celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the first broadcast, on Monday 28 May 1951, of the Crazy People, the show that became The Goon Show.
The documentary featured contributions from many of the Goon Show's creators, including Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine, Eric Sykes, Dennis Main Wilson, Charles Chilton, Graham Stark, Angela Morley (Wally Stott), and the voice of Peter Sellers.
The documentary was researched and compiled by Michael Pointon, Ted Kendall, and Dirk Maggs. The show was produced by Dirk Maggs.
The BBC had a unique opportunity to gather together many of the people who created The Goon Show, though unfortunately, not all of them due to their early deaths. The 'survivors' were able to give their insights and experiences in context with clips from the various shows.
As a result of much lost. or more accurately w:wiped material, their restoration depended on inveterate collectors, from home-tapists to fans within the BBC keeping their own copies made from the original tapes and discs. When these recordings came to light they were passed on to Ted Kendall and The Goon Show Preservation Society. From the trove of collected works Ted was able to restore many full shows, and even clips for this documentary which contained rare rehearsal material, retakes, sound effects plus additional material from Spike himself.
The interviews, conducted by Michael Pointon and Dirk Maggs, included a marathon recording session in Spike's living room during which time Spike said he had never talked so much about the Goons in so long. Unfortunately, a similar session with Eric Sykes was less successful due to a faulty tape recorder, as a result of which Eric's contribution was much more limited.
Regardless of the calamaties that befell the production team the documentary served to introduce the Goons to a new generation of fans, and also be a wonderful reminder to the fans who grew up with them.
