When The Goon Show went on the air in 1951, BBC executives were reluctant to fund it, and they hated the name. So they called it Crazy People. It was an apt description for a zany radio comedy with a ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Replicating well-known people on stage is fraught with difficulties. And when those people are notorious for hiding behind a small army ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. At this point the cleverness of Smiles' writing becomes apparent. Peter McKintosh's claustrophobic "studio" set ...

Ever heard of the Goons? No? Well, think Little Britain and its effect on the comedy landscape and you will have a small idea of the impact made by the four Goons. The Goons were an anarchic staple of ...

I have a lot to thank my father for, my pointy profile, my appreciation of the great outdoors but mostly my love of comedy. Although not a natural teller of jokes, my Dad as has glorious touch of ...

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The Goons' brand of sublime nonsense and weirdness has taken the airwaves of England by storm, and Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry ...

So this Englishman, Welshman and nominal Irishman walk into a pub… The pub’s the Grafton Arms in London’s Victoria, and there they create the Goon show (or ‘Go On Show’ as some fusty Beeb mandarin ...