The Africa Ship Canal

"The Africa Ship Canal"
The Goon Show episode
Episode: no.	Series: 7 Episode: 22
Written by	Spike Milligan Larry Stephens
Based on	Suez Crisis
Announcer	Wallace Greenslade
Produced by	Pat Dixon
Music	Orchestra: Wally Stott Geldray: Once in Love with Amy Ellington: Wrap Your Troubles in Drums
Recording Number	TLO 24413
First broadcast	7 March 1957 (1957-03-07)
Running time	33:29

The Africa Ship Canal is an episode from The Goon Show. It is the twenty-second show in the seventh series.

A pre-recording session took place Sunday 3 March 1957, 5pm. at The Camden Theatre, Camden Town, London (DLO 24413/A (Crest of a Wave)). The recording for transmission was created later that same Sunday, also at The Camden, at 9pm (TLO 24413).

The first Home Service broadcast was the following Thursday at 8.30pm 7 March 1957, its ratings were 1.9 million.

The show was repeated:

• Monday 8pm, 11 March 1957, on the Light Programme to 1.9 million listeners.
• Thursday 8.30pm, 9 May 1957 on the Home Service to 1.1 million listeners.

Transcription Service Synopsis

A new canal is to be built across Africa – for aeroplanes! But once again, Moriarty and Grytpype-Thynne are determined to defy authority, in the shape of Neddie Seagoon, the Engineer-in-Charge. Their plan is simple. They will bury the canal and restore the Moriarty Zeppelin Service to full schedule again. Whether they succeed can be heard in this edition of The Goon Show.

Music

• The BBC Radio Orchestra was conducted by Wally Stott
• Max Geldray plays Once in Love with Amy (Frank Loesser)
• The Ray Ellington Quartet plays Wrap Your Troubles in Drums (George Shearing)

Technical

Originally recorded on TLO 24413 (15 ips ¼" tape recorded at Broadcasting House). This tape no longer exists, and the version of the show included on The Goon Show Compendium Vol 6 was compiled from the TGS disc, the POTG tape and a domestic recording of the original transmission.

Show Notes

• The ending of the original transmission was unusual, in that the credits were read, not over music, but over the menacing sound of an advancing crowd. Recordings of the original transmission fade into continuity as Greenslade finishes speaking. TS added a clean version of Lucky Strike for the TGS issue, and used the end credits from 7/24 for the POTG issue – the POTG versions of these two shows were mastered on the same day.

• The Africa Ship Canal included Harry performing a selection of his popular vocal hits (including his signature tune, Falling in Love with Love) in a tale which was inspired by the situation at the Suez Canal from which British forces had withdrawn in December 1956 and – with Israelis also forced to leave the area – was to re-open the following month