Comedy Archeology - Funny For Your Ears: The Album

I mentioned a little while back in this here ongoing saga of Funny Stuff That Is Funny that I liked the Goon Show. It wasn’t just the Goon Show - I’ve always had a strong fondness for audio comedy. It probably started with these…

Monty Python Albums
Monty Python as a whole has been a big influence from the TV series through to the films (and probably deserves a post all of its own really) but these hold a real soft spot for me. For those of who might not remember, the comedy album was a big thing back in the day. In the 70s in particular, this was the only way to consume a lot of comedy post-broadcast in an age when repeats were infrequent and video recording was pretty much non-existent. It wasn’t just the audio of the series, though - nope, this was brand new stuff recorded especially to be put down on a vinyl disc and piped directly into your ear.

As with the TV show, the Python lads liked to play around with the audio format itself. Their fourth album, The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief, was pressed with an additional groove on one side meaning that it was record with three sides. The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (which is a great title for an album anyway) has the framing device of being presented live from a screening at a grotty cinema during which the cast regularly talk over segments from the film, thus thwarting anyone who bought the album to re-listen to classic routines from the film.

These were the gateway comedy albums (copied onto cassette for me by a friend of the parents who had them) for me and lead to me consuming many more including but not limited to:-

Not The Nine O’Clock News - The Memory Kinda Lingers
The title song for which I really didn't realise was a rather rude one until I was a little older (one of the joys of comedy - discovering comedy you;re a bit too young for and then discovering all the rude bits you didn't know were right there until you go back and listen/watch/read again)

Ben Elton - Motormouth
The first stand up audio that I really got into. I haven’t listened to it for years so can't tell you if it stands up today but I will always have a soft spot for it.

The Secret Policeman’s Ball
Monty Python. Rowan Atkinson. Billy Connolly. Pete and Dud. Some music. What’s not to love about it?

Of course, there was plenty of other audio too. Radio gave me the Goon Show but also plenty more besides..