Comments on: Pete and Dud

By: Ophelia Benson

Ophelia Benson — Wed, 28 Jul 2004 03:08:35 +0000

Bugger! Six days starting a week ago, apparently. Phooey.

By: Ophelia Benson

Ophelia Benson — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 22:47:38 +0000

Thanks Harry, I will. I’ve listened to the first two items, and will get to the rest just as fast as I can. I can’t talk now, he’s here.

By: harry

harry — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 21:57:29 +0000

Hey Ophelia, you should hurry up and listen (or record)—they only archive for 6 days at BBC7. Yes, I too like Brigstocke. His rants on The Now Show are hilarious, and I find Wembley-Hogg too funny to listen to! The archive issue is interesting. American production companies were remarkably foresighted in preserving archives of radio comedies and dramas, and some (Gildersleeve, Our Miss Brookes, The Shadow, etc) still sound pretty fresh to me. There are various subscription services—eg Radio Spirits, for american old time radio. But the BBC was APPALLING, and has lost enormous amounts of its back catalogue—even well into the 60’s, both radio and TV. The commercial TV stations in Britain were no better—I’m pretty sure, for example, that there is no remaining known footage of ‘DO Not Adjust Your Set’ (an early Python incarnation, with David Jason and the Bonzo Dog Band). The BBC even lost plenty of episodes of classics like Dad’s Army. And when they re-did Dick Barton, for radio, circa 1972, they didn’t bother to keep it, even though the whole reason they had to redo it was that they had lost the 40’s and 50’s originals. They put it out on cassette in the early 90’s after getting it from someone who had taped it illegally in Australia.

By: Des von Bladet, silly short leg extraordinaire

Des von Bladet, silly short leg extraordinaire — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 15:38:48 +0000

Sandriana says: (On a slightly related note, will the BBC please stop putting cricket on LW! Those of us in mainland Europe have to use all our bandwidth in listening online, and I can’t hear it in the kitchen) Well, I quite liked the good old days of Test Match Special on Radio 3’s FM service, with all that ghastly squeaking and honking relegated to medium wave, of course. But something tells me that overseas listeners, who don’t pay license fees, aren’t at the top of the list of priorities when frequencies are allocated, so there.

By: Sandriana

Sandriana — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 10:08:34 +0000

‘’Think the Unthinkable’’ is about management consultants and features Marcus Brigstocke, who may well be the funniest person on the radio at the moment- he also has a regular show in which he plays Giles Wembley-Hogg, a posh ex-public schoolboy on a gap year, visiting various third world countries and being as mindlessly arrogant and hilariously obtuse as only the British middle classes can. He also has a slot on Punt & Dennis’ ‘’The Now Show’‘, a satirical news show broadcast on Friday evenings. Highly recommended. I have BBC Radio 4 on 24 hours a day with occasional Radio 7 interjections: for me, as for many UKians, the BBC is the soundtrack to our lives, and more so when based abroad. When we see Aunty Beeb constantly under politically-motivated attack, by lightweights such as Messrs. Blair and Campbell, we’re not happy. (On a slightly related note, will the BBC please stop putting cricket on LW! Those of us in mainland Europe have to use all our bandwidth in listening online, and I can’t hear it in the kitchen…) I hope the plan for the entire BBC archive to be available online happens soonish; the BBC is in the process of working out a Creative Commons licence for it and it can’t be too soon for me.

By: dave heasman

dave heasman — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 09:36:10 +0000

“America doesn’t have radio archives” well, it does, you know. “The Big Broadcast” on WAMU replays sitcoms & drama series from the 40s for 3 hours a week. And what America has and the UK hasn’t is archived music broadcasts from about 1937 onwards – Basie, Ellington, Parker all have dozens of records taken from broadcasts.They were recorded from the radio by enthusiasts, using wire recorders. The BBC archives only date back to about 1953 and they’re very incomplete. There are some earlier recordings I recall of the “Radio Rhythm Club” but there are huge missing areas – like a year of Coleman Hawkins playing with Jack Hylton – that were not recorded at all.

By: Donald A. Coffin

Donald A. Coffin — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 04:25:10 +0000

For what it’s worth, “The World of Pete and Dud” is available as a CD. I checked several on-line sources, and all had it, for less than $20. (If this shows up more than once, my apolgies, but I don’t seen to be able to determine whether it has posted.)

By: Donald A. Coffin

Donald A. Coffin — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 04:24:30 +0000

By: Donald A. Coffin

Donald A. Coffin — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 04:21:10 +0000

For what it’s worth, “The World of Pete and Dud” is also available as an audio CD…so you can own it and listen to it to your heart’s delight. (I checked several on-line sources, and all had it, for less than $20.) Don Coffin

By: Donald A. Coffin

Donald A. Coffin — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 04:20:28 +0000

By: Another Damned Medievalist

Another Damned Medievalist — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 03:35:21 +0000

Well, Harry, if it makes you feel better, we probably go through about 6 hours of BBC7 a week, depending on how many funny quiz shows there are. Has anyone else been listening to “Think the Unthinkable” (I think that’s what it’s called)—it’s a show about a consulting firm called “Unthinkable Solutions” and is one of the funniest shows ever. It’s our regular fare, right after “The Masterson Inheritance.”

By: John Quiggin

John Quiggin — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 01:12:12 +0000

I recall a particularly funny and filthy Derek & Clive routine which was followed by the observation (from Peter Cook): “What I particularly liked about that one was that it had absolutely no redeeming social or cultural value*” * This was the standard excuse for nudity, obscenity etc in the days when censorship was still a live issue.

By: keef

keef — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 23:17:57 +0000

Here’s one American who certainly enjoyed Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore, mainly from their “Derek and Clive” LPs. I recently saw a BitTorrent of their sole movie “Around the Horn” but it appears to be a pretty moribund torrent right now—maybe it’ll pick up. Too bad I don’t support copyright infringement—I’ve never seen that flick. I have to admit that for an American who’s never been to the UK, I’m pretty fond of British comedy. Not just the usual suspects (Python, Fawlty, The Office) but the aforementioned Cooke and Moore, Goon Show, Beyond the Fringe and A Poke in the Eye with a Sharp Stick, TW3, Flanders and Swann, and more I’m not recalling right now. I just recently had the privilege of seeing some of the “Alan Partridge” shows featuring Steve Coogan, and they are howlingly funny. Let’s hope Coogan’s brush with Hollywood (as Jackie Chan’s sidekick in the recent “Around the World in 80 Days”) doesn’t reduce his humorosity. By the way, “Derek and Clive” are totally filthy. Disgustingly filthy. But funny. Unfortunately for Dudley Moore, Hollwood usually sucks the funny out of even [most of] the greats. Also, I’m sure the massive success of “10” and “Arthur” probably turned his head somewhat. For most humorous people, I think funny doesn’t mix with money. Keef

By: Ophelia Benson

Ophelia Benson — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 22:52:37 +0000

Yup, but it’s worth it being that old, to have seen them. Bedazzled is one of the funniest movies of all time.

By: bob mcmanus

bob mcmanus — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 22:19:43 +0000

“Some of us Americans were lucky enough to see Bedazzled before any of those awful Dudley Moore movies were made.” And some of us are old enough to have seen Beyond the Fringe and the English TW3…and that’s old