Round The Horne

My dad introduced me to this series via some BBC audio releases and it is up there with the funniest shows ever - surprised not to find a thread already devoted to it, so I've started this one!

For anyone who is unfamiliar, it ran in the mid 1960s and was a follow up to an earlier series fronted by the same chap, Kenneth Horne who holds the risque anarchy together like a syrup-voiced glue.

It also stars Kenneth Williams (in a variety of guises including half of Julian and Sandy and the great Rambling Syd Rumpo - he wrote in his diaries that working on this series was the only time he was happy), Bill Pertwee from "Dad's Army", Betty Marsden, Hugh Paddick (the other half of Julian and Sandy - best known to modern comedy fans as one of the actors in Blackadder the Third) and a riotuous audience for almost every episode.

If anyone gets the chance i would strongly recommend listening to some of these.

I'm pretty sure that I've got some somewhere, but never got around to listening. I'll try and dig them out.

Can't believe there's only 2 posts on Kenneth Horne. Listening to an early episode on iPlayer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00j05w2/Round_The_Horne_Series_1_Episode_2/

It is so well written and has aged very well. Have a listen - starts at about 3 minutes.

Read his biography earlier on this year. He wrote these and lots more is his spare time whilst holding a top full time job for a big glazing company.

Either the earlier or later series were called Beyond Our Ken.

I heard them when they were on orginally and a bit like Carry On I laughed at the silly things I understood and the silly voices of the things I didn't understand - such as Julian and Sandy and Rambling Sid Rumpo.

Undoubtedly one of the most influential British comedy shows of all time ever. Possibly.

Quote: Chappers @ November 8 2010, 11:03 PM GMT

Either the earlier or later series were called Beyond Our Ken.

View original

Earlier.

Quote: Badge @ November 8 2010, 11:13 PM GMT

Undoubtedly one of the most influential British comedy shows of all time ever. Possibly.

View original

Couldn't agree more.

Quote: Badge @ November 8 2010, 11:13 PM GMT

Undoubtedly one of the most influential British comedy shows of all time ever. Possibly.

View original

'I know'

Quote: Chappers @ November 8 2010, 11:03 PM GMT

Either the earlier or later series were called Beyond Our Ken.
Rambling Sid Rumpo.

View original

"In Hackney Wick there lives a lass,
whose grommets would I woggle,
Her gander-parts none can surpass
and her posset makes me boggle!"

I picked it up on BBC7 and loved it. Horne is a terrific straight guy and he had diverse writing team which included established comic writers as well as up coming comedians like Marty Feldmann.

I didn't know Hugh Paddick was in Blackadder. I believe his cousin is Lib Dem maverick cop Brian Paddick.

Quote: youngian @ November 9 2010, 2:32 PM GMT

I didn't know Hugh Paddick was in Blackadder. I believe his cousin is Lib Dem maverick cop Brian Paddick.

View original

Yeah with Kenneth Connor in Sense and Senility. And Brian and Hugh are distantly related.

Round The Horne was written mostly by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, then best known for episodes of Bootsie and Snudge, an Army Game spin-off. Very funny and the format was the same as Beyond Our Ken which was written by Eric Merriman - a hero of mine whom I met later and who turned out to be less than a ray of sunshine. I used to say I knew three comedy writers Eric Merriman, Eric Notsomerriman, and Eric Miserable F****** B******.
Nontheless he wrote some great radio shows including a summer replacement for Beyond Our Ken called The Tommy Steel Show.

I have met Andrew Merriman (son of Eric) a few times now and he has been completely charming and happy to talk, so unlike his dad then! His book on Hattie Jacques really stood out amongst all the run of the mill comedy biogs.

'Round the Horne' was, in its day, the funniest thing on radio in the UK. It was also funnier than anything on TV.

There are no words to describe adequately how much better it was than its comedic competition.

It wasn't uniformly excellent though: the first few shows were decidedly mediocre.

There is a new CD of the series out:

See Amazon product listing
[p=http://www.play.com/Books/AudioBooks/4-/15159472/Golden-Age-Of-BBC-Radio-Comedy-Round-The-Horne-Series-1-Part-1/Product.html]
[h=505492]

Of course, it's still on BBC 7 if you don't fancy parting with your cash!

Quote: Oldrocker @ November 9 2010, 1:25 PM GMT

"In Hackney Wick there lives a lass,
whose grommets would I woggle,
Her gander-parts none can surpass
and her posset makes me boggle!"

View original

Was that Kenneth Williams? I love his silly voices from his radio career. And Willo the Wisp. Never mind the silly face, what a fantastic silly voice.