'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!

Subject: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:00 AM

I've just got hold of the complete recordings of the UK radio show "Round The Horne" from 1965-1968. What a hoot! I've been laughing my head off which, with a cracked rib, is very stupid indeed...

What's wonderful is the huge amount of innuendo and concealed filth in it - absolutely in the old music-hall tradition - and I haven't even got to Rambling Syd Rumpo or Jules and Sandy yet.

Glorious! Now - back to crying with laughter... :-)

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:01 AM

Aren't these being broadcast on Radio 7 at the moment?

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:05 AM

I've no idea - I just acquired the complete recordings and I'm working my way through them now.

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Mr Red
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:13 AM

get the Palone dictionary too.

The scripts were a lot cruder than you would think at first.

Each time I listen I think - were they allowed to get away with - THAT?

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:22 AM

Well, in those days we laughed at so many things that today would be sniffed at. I used to love the Carry On films, Sid James in particular..and I remember 'Round the Horne' too..great programme..

We've lost a great deal in our humour these days, sadly. The world has become far more serious and yet far cruder in a much more unpleasant way.

Bring back open laughter and innuendo, I say!

Ooh! Missus!! ;0)

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:22 AM

Palone is Parlari for a girl.

Will, I heartily agree. I have the full set on CDs. There are some wonderful contemporary references. The very first show includes a spoof listing of forthcoming programmes, including 'an invitation to come dancing with Lord Boothby .... oh, I beg your pardon... an invitation to Come Dancing. With Lord Boothby in the studio this evening are ...' How they got away with that, given the height and depth of the Boothby scandal, Lord alone knows. And as for the reference, among a list of preposterous public events, to 'surreptitious beaver-wiping in the steam-room at Girton' ...

The single episode which outshines the rest for me is the musical version of Dr. Finlay's Casebook, which runs for a whole programme. The recording is a bit worn, but you can hear that the studio audience are on the point of hysterics from the very start. It's Series Two, Programme 7.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: GUEST,Paul Slade
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:43 AM

My favourite Round the Horne line comes from an episode where Julian and Sandy have set themselves up as lawyers: "We've a criminal practice that takes up most of our time!"

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 11:26 AM

Is this complete series available still on CD? If so which label?

Hoot

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 11:32 AM

Complete Round the Horne archive

Note the price... I got mine at a car boot.

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 11:50 AM

I have very happy memories of listening to Beyond our Ken and Round the Horne in the kitchen with my parents and sister on Sundays.

Also of listening on Sundays to filthy innuendos in I'm sorry, I'll read that again. I guess the BBC allowed these shows to be broadcast, either because senior management didn't understand the innuendos or because they agreed that anyone who did wouldn't be offended. (Was Radio Active, with reporter Mike Hunt, on Sundays as well?)

Kitty

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Sailor Ron
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 11:51 AM

My fav. one liner must be when Sandy & Jules tell Mr Horne "...we're just off to our club, the Royal marine Commando" !

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 12:11 PM

From "The Palone Ranger"

Kenneth Williams: "And this is Two-Gin Pete"
Kenneth Horne: "Don't you mean Two-Gun Pete?"
Hugh Paddick (butchly): "No, duckie, two gins and I'm anybody's!"

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 12:17 PM

I don't realy remember RTH too well but I do have the tape compilation of Kenneth Williams' 'Rambling Sid Rumpo' - Hilarious. Watched the televised edition of the last Goon show the other night though and apart from one or two moments that wasn't as funny as I remember it.

I'd take a break when I got to Rambling Sid if I was you, Will. I don't think the rib will cope:-)

Cheers

D.

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 05:15 PM

Thanks Will,

Looks like you got yourself a bargain.

Enjoy

Hoot

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Seayaker
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 05:20 PM

When Kenneth Horne wanted an estate agent

"Oooh 'allo, I'm Julian, this is my friend Sandy....We're Bona Homes"

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: bradfordian
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 05:24 PM

Will, one day I'll make a "lunge" for you----and we can sit down on the grass and eat it!!!!

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 06:04 PM

The James Bond episode.

Obviously sexy female voice - Will you come across?

Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing!

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Allen in Oz
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 06:59 PM

" Round the Horne" and don't forget " Beyond our Ken " with its Panel of Experts consisting , if my memory serve me correctly, of Ricky Livid the rock star who liked the backing, Arthur Fallowfield , who thought the answer lies in the soil, Fanny Hadddock the cook and Rife Hoverson the Scottish travel expert.

Halcyon days indeed

One of my happy memories re Round the Horne was when Sandy advised Mr 'Orne that his friend Jules had been badly stung, badly stung in Spain. Mr Horne asked was it a Man O War and Jules replied that he didn't know...he never saw him in uniform.

Allen in Australia

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: framus
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 08:22 PM

I liked the very laboured puns, usu about famous books.
That was an excerpt from "For whom the belt holes?".

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 02:27 AM

Rambling Sid: 'But now I'm bent for Brighton Camp...'

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 05:22 AM

Seamus Android and his guests !

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: MartinRyan
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 05:29 AM

Q.: "Who is your superior in British Intelligence?"
A.: "Almost anyone, really..."

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Michael
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 05:32 AM

One of my favourite Jules and Sand's was;- 'We're Bona Law' - where the aforementioned 'criminal practice' comes from.

Mike

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 05:43 AM

The Marine Commando Club, Paddington, got a lot of references in Jules & Sandy sketches. Did 'going commando' mean then what it does now?

Another reference to it - Brad Smallpiece, What's On In London: 'But I myself would plump for the display of camping equipment at the Marine Commando Club, Paddington.'

Valmai

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 05:51 AM

Wikipedia:

The earliest known use of the term in print occurred on January 22, 1985 when Jim Spencer wrote in the Chicago Tribune "Furthermore, colored briefs are 'sleazy' and going without underwear ("going commando", as they say on campus) is simply gross." A 1996 episode of the television sitcom Friends, "The One Where No One's Ready", has been credited with introducing the term "into the popular vernacular."

May have originated verbally in the Vietnam War.

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 09:50 AM

Doubt it; "commando" is very British. Americans prefer "ranger" or the euphemism "special forces."

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 01:49 PM

There were the great summary opening sketches... I seem to remember one about the stuck traffic lights ("Forever amber") and another about the incompetent manservant ("How green was my valet")...

Kitty

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: GUEST,alan Whittle
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 02:01 PM

We can't make it through this fireplace Carruthers!

Douglas Smith: That was an excerpt from the grate escape.......

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Surreysinger
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 02:28 PM

Have we slipped to the Goons here Al?

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 02:34 PM

I don't have a complete collection, but a Secret Santa a few years ago gave me the BBC 2-tape collection of "Rambling Syd Rumpo: 40 Warbles from Round the Horne's Doyen of Folk Singers" -- an absolute delight!

Need to sit down and listen to it again soon.

Linn

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 03:31 PM

Have we slipped to the Goons here Al?

Douglas Smith was indeed the announcer on Round The Horne. The equivalent for the The Goons was Wallace Greenslade.

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 06:38 PM

I think the Grate Escape joke was Goons rather than RtH. RtH did do Escape from Stalag Limpwrist (It's just a little camp).

Valmai

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: ChrisJBrady
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 05:26 PM

List of eps:

Round The Horne - S01 - E01 - The Clissold Saga - Part 1, The Millionaire
Round The Horne - S01 - E02 - The Clissold Saga - Part 2, The Aviator
Round The Horne - S01 - E03 - The Clissold Saga - Part 3, The Pantomime Horse
Round The Horne - S01 - E04 - The Clissold Saga - Part 4, The Archaeologist
Round The Horne - S01 - E05 - The Clissold Saga - Part 5, The Early Films
Round The Horne - S01 - E06 - The Case Of The Tap-Dancing Monk
Round The Horne - S01 - E07 - Edwin Braden Is Missing
Round The Horne - S01 - E08 - Who Killed The Amazing Proudbasket
Round The Horne - S01 - E09 - The Spy Who Came In With A Cold
Round The Horne - S01 - E10 - Famous People Are Turning Into Animals
Round The Horne - S01 - E11 - From Russia, With Love
Round The Horne - S01 - E12 - The Man With The Golden Thunderball
Round The Horne - S01 - E13 - The Eiffel Tower Is Stolen
Round The Horne - S01 - E14 - Pirate Radio
Round The Horne - S01 - E15 - The Rocket Site In Haiti
Round The Horne - S01 - E16 - Traffic Wardens In Outer Space

Round The Horne - S02 - E01 - Big Ben is Missing
Round The Horne - S02 - E02 - Big Ben Is Still Missing
Round The Horne - S02 - E03 - The Escaped War Criminal
Round The Horne - S02 - E04 - The World Cup Is Stolen
Round The Horne - S02 - E05 - The Nuclear Banana
Round The Horne - S02 - E06 - The Joke Thief
Round The Horne - S02 - E07 - Dr McKinlay's Scrapbook
Round The Horne - S02 - E08 - The Giant Mouse
Round The Horne - S02 - E09 - The Curse Of The Blackstumps
Round The Horne - S02 - E10 - The Portrait of Florian Thrust
Round The Horne - S02 - E11 - The Gaylords
Round The Horne - S02 - E12 - Dr Fu Man Chou En Ginsberg
Round The Horne - S02 - E13 - Moby Duck
Round The Horne - S02 - E14 - The Man With The Golden Thunderball - Transcription Service Episode
Round The Horne - S02 - E15 - The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

Round The Horne - S03 - E01 - The Plastic Max
Round The Horne - S03 - E02 - The Three Musketeers - Part 1
Round The Horne - S03 - E03 - The Three Musketeers - Part 2
Round The Horne - S03 - E04 - Lipharvest Of The River
Round The Horne - S03 - E05 - How The Bullet Proof Vest Was Won
Round The Horne - S03 - E06 - Trilby
Round The Horne - S03 - E07 - The Admirable Loombucket - The Sea Cruise
Round The Horne - S03 - E08 - The Admirable Loombucket - Lost Island Of Gonga
Round The Horne - S03 - E09 - The Gruntfuttock Saga
Round The Horne - S03 - E10 - Gaslight Son Of Flicker
Round The Horne - S03 - E11 - The Phantom Of Bogmouth Hip
Round The Horne - S03 - E12 - A Man Is Two Foot Tall
Round The Horne - S03 - E13 - Young Horne With A Man
Round The Horne - S03 - E14 - The Maltese Brass Monkey
Round The Horne - S03 - E15 - The Big Top
Round The Horne - S03 - E16 - The Muffplaster Saga - Part 1, The Discovery Of America
Round The Horne - S03 - E17 - The Muffplaster Saga - Part 2, The Boxer
Round The Horne - S03 - E18 - The Muffplaster Saga - Part 3, The Bullfighter
Round The Horne - S03 - E19 - The Palone Ranger
Round The Horne - S03 - E20 - The Head Of The BBC Who Came In From The Cold
Round The Horne - S03 - E21 - Cinderella

Round The Horne - S04 - E01 - Dr Doosweet BA
Round The Horne - S04 - E02 - Thoroughly Modern Willy
Round The Horne - S04 - E03 - Frankenstein's Monster
Round The Horne - S04 - E04 - The Knights Of Camelot
Round The Horne - S04 - E05 - Relatively Grand Prix
Round The Horne - S04 - E06 - Big Broads Don't Squeal
Round The Horne - S04 - E07 - The Celluloid Jungle
Round The Horne - S04 - E08 - Around The World In Ten Minutes
Round The Horne - S04 - E09 - Journey To Uranus
Round The Horne - S04 - E10 - Apache Story
Round The Horne - S04 - E11 - Escape From Stalag Limpwrist
Round The Horne - S04 - E12 - I Showed Them In Fleet Street
Round The Horne - S04 - E13 - Continuum Medicum Romanum
Round The Horne - S04 - E14 - Beau
Round The Horne - S04 - E15 - Bona Prince Charlie
Round The Horne - S04 - E16 - He, Son Of She

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: ChrisJBrady
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 05:38 PM

Then there was Beyond Our Ken ... and Stop Messing About (after Kenneth Horne died) ...

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Gurney
Date: 14 Apr 11 - 10:54 PM

Julian and Sandy could get innuendo out of the word innuendo. Bold!

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 05:22 AM

The BBC CD collection includes a programme called The Bona History of Julian and Sandy, presented by Maureen Lipman. It shows how J&S helped to change public opinion and make gay men accepted at a time when homosexuality was illegal and could hardly be discussed; J&S were lovable as well as being laughable, and certainly not a menace or a threat.

Interestingly J. Peasemould Gruntfuttock did not achieve the same result for delusional dirty old men, nor Rambling Sid Rumpo for folk-singers.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Gurney
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 05:18 PM

We do have regular requests for Rambling Sid songs here, though.
Perhaps they only appealed to the converted.

Oh. Wait a moment. If you follow that line of reasoning, who did J.& S. appeal to?   Ooooh!

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Barbara
Date: 15 Apr 11 - 07:15 PM

@commando
You do find that here on the US side of the pond, tho these days the youngers say "freeballing" (both sexes) or "free range"
Just thought you'd like to know.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Will Fly
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 04:21 AM

Freeballing, eh? So that's why kilt-wearing members of the Free Presbyterian Church in Scotland call themselves the "Wee Free"...

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 04:28 AM

On the subject of which, listen to Rambling Sid's 'Postlethwaite Lament' - one of his finest.

Valmai

Subject: RE: 'Round The Horne' - laughter hurts!
From: GUEST,bill S from Melbourne
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 04:59 AM

Must remember to change to Bill S from Adelaide

Favourite character among so many was Hugh Jackney
..
..
..
..
Hackney Wick

Years before I twigged that one. Still laughing at the innuendo in J&S I missed the first time round. Rambling Sid was way ahead of his time!
Happy days