Quote: peter gazzard @ January 2 2010, 11:18 AM GMTHas anyone else heard a single John Inman recorded called Are You Being Served Sir?? It's quite funny.
I have it on my computer. I thought it was a lot funnier when I was a kid. I prefer Mike Berry's recording of Chanson D'amour from the final episode. Actually, I prefer the Lennon Sisters' recording of that song.
Blimey, how camp was that Christmas special?!! Descended into a musical panto! >_< Maybe the writers of Miranda will get 'inspired' by that and do a blued up version for their one next year.
Now I vaguely remember that hideous 2.4 brats doing a camp musical episode...? Maybe David can prick my memory...
The final songalong was embarrassingly dated but I enjoyed the rest of it enormously. It's certainly rare to get a few good belly laughs from a BBC comedy these days.
I found a vinyl LP by John Inman in a charity shop a few weeks ago,it was on the DJM label,went back to get it the next day and of corse it had gone,I do remember him releasing a single in 1975 called The Teddy Bears' Picnic which was a minor hit.
Over on another forum, there is a raging debate on the vulgar term 'pussy' and it's earliest use within UK comedy: I honestly can't recall hearing this very American term at all in my childhood of the late 1960s/early 70s, either in the school playground (which is where most rude words are first heard) or on TV comedy of the day.
It definitely never appears in The Goodies, other than an innocent reference to Twinkle the kitten (Kong). I can't recall it being used in the Python shows - over repeated viewings - or in Benny Hill or Carry On, which were obviously bawdy, but very British in their terminology... I doubt if the word 'pussy' in its vulgar sense appears in such parochially British works as On The Buses or Steptoe & Son, and even in Cook and Moore's 'Derek and Clive' tapes of the 70s, precedence is given to the much cruder c-word regarding this term.
It goes without saying that this term was never used jokingly in a vulgar way in the likes of Bless This House and other middle-class sitcoms like the Doctor... series, or Father, Dear Father.
Pussy Galore was obviously used in Goldfinger of 1964, but this seems to be a very American in-joke, added in by Broccolli, and this film was clearly designed to appeal to a US audience: very different from more typical Carry On fare at the local Odeon.
Imported US shows of the era like Hogan's Heroes, The Monkees, The Munsters, Love American Style and The Odd Couple were pretty restrained, and I doubt if the 'pussy' term was acceptable within mainstream Yank comedy of the period: I certainly don't recall hearing it within the context of these shows: more openly vulgar comedy came along a lot later, probably in big-screen US comedy films first.
However, there is no doubt that Mrs Slocombe's 'Pussy' was a long-running gag within AYBS?. My memories of this show is that it started off pretty tamely, and become increasingly vulgar as the 70s progressed - it had a long run 1972-85, discounting any sequels. Can any AYBS? fan pinpoint when Molly Sugden's 'pussy' references were first used: was it evident from the very first show, or was it shoehorned in later?
I really fancy Wendy Richard in this, she's probably my second favourite sitcom actress ever, after Elizabeth Montgomery (Bewitched).
Quote: Rico El Vista @ January 31 2011, 4:43 PM GMTCan any AYBS? fan pinpoint when Molly Sugden's 'pussy' references were first used: was it evident from the very first show, or was it shoehorned in later?
It became more frequent as the series progressed, but was a long-standing gag throughout the run. I've no idea without watching them just when the pussy was first mentioned, but I would be surprised if it was as late as Series 3.
Sounds about right, Aaron: this show definitely got more tasteless as the different series progressed! The early shows are seldom repeated, it's the later programmes with the 'pussy' references amongst other catch-phrazes that most people remember from this sitcom.
Pussy Galore was obviously used in Goldfinger of 1964, but this seems to be a very American in-joke, added in by Broccolli,
The name Pussy Galore was not added to the film as an in-joke. It was the real character name of the lesbian villian (lesbian in the book) made up by the author Ian Fleming in the 1950s.
I am not being anal, it's just that I am boning up on the Bond novels with a view to going on Mastermind with that as my special subject.
Are You Being Served? is still one of my favourites!
Fabulous site BTW!
Best of luck with your Mastermind endeavours, Stephen...a pretty wide-ranging subject there.
...Anyone remember Odd Man Out, an ITV sitcom vehicle for John Inman, at some point in the mid-70s? This was set in a Blackpool - or possibly Brighton, now I think of it - rock shop. It was a critical and commercial disaster and lasted for a very short run ... it wasn't long before his character returned to Grace Bros with his tail between his legs.
Going back to the show, I enjoyed the bits with the doddering 'young Mr Grace' (aged 92, if he was a day) being attended to by young women of considerable attributes, much to his excitement (a bit like Hugh Hefner today).
I also liked the bizarre automated display-contraptions brought in by the Arthur English handyman character, which usually ended up doing suggestive manouveres as they malfunctioned.
Are You Being Served? had everything that's frowned on today that can be best summed up as stereotyping - and it worked beautifully. It was written by writers who knew their craft in making people laugh at Mrs Slocombe's pussy and John Inman's campness.
Interesting AYBS related/unrelated fact: When I was in Australia a few years back I actually bought something from a department store called Grace Brothers.
Quote: Baumski @ February 2 2011, 12:16 PM GMTInteresting AYBS related/unrelated fact: When I was in Australia a few years back I actually bought something from a department store called Grace Brothers.
All of the Grace Brothers stores in Australia were bought out by a rival chain (Myers) and renamed several years ago, so they have become more synonymous with "overpriced tat". Only the removals and storage division of Grace Brothers still operates today. The original department store in Sydney was taken over by the government, which subsequently sold it to Chinese-Malaysian developers to make a hotel, which is called The Grace.
This is as good a place as any to post this tat, Are You Being Shagged: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D10xzvo-Hio
Quote: Rico El Vista @ February 2 2011, 8:35 AM GMTI enjoyed the bits with the doddering 'young MR Grace '(aged 92, if he was a day) being attended to by young women of considerable attributes, much to his excitement (a bit like Hugh Hefner today).
His replacement, "old Mister Grace", was rubbish. Too young and too over-the-top.
Quote: Kenneth @ February 2 2011, 12:38 PM GMTAll of the Grace Brothers stores in Australia were bought out by a rival chain (Myers) and renamed several years ago, so they have become more synonymous with "overpriced tat".
To quote the Dude "I did not know that".
Quote: Baumski @ February 2 2011, 12:16 PM GMTAre You Being Served? had everything that's frowned on today that can be best summed up as stereotyping - and it worked beautifully. It was written by writers who knew their craft in making people laugh at Mrs Slocombe's pussy and John Inman's campness.
It is a shame that humour is frowned upon today - although certain people are still using that type of humour. 
