Product Description
'Spike Milligan: His Part in Our Lives' is a unique insight into the late Spike Milligan, one of Britain's best-loved comedians. Containing contributions from his many friends and colleagues, it sets out to present a 'living biography' bursting with their memories and impressions of the genius who helped them, inspired them, made them laugh or, quite simply, was their pal. The many aspects of Spike's complex character are covered in this book. His wartime experiences are recalled by his comrades, one of whom provides a rare glimpse into Spike's battle fatigue and its treatment. We have a chance to see Spike on stage pre-Goons, struggling to make the audience comprehend his type of humour which would later irrevocably change the world of comedy. His first great love, Maria Antonietta Pontani, tells how she still adores 'Terry'. Professor Anthony Clare takes a hugely revealing look at the Milligan psychology. Michael Parkinson, Barry Humphries, Richard Lester, Michael Palin and Joanna Lumley are some of the luminaries who share their thoughts, providing many funny and poignant moments. ... Read more

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A collection of sixty humorous and nonsense poems. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of Spike Milligan, comedian and former goon, playwright and actor. Milligan recalls his childhood in India, life in London during the depression of the 30s, war service and post-war days with the BBC. Dominic Behan has been a friend of Spike Milligan for over 30 years. ... Read more

Product Description
These four digitally remastered "Goon Show" episodes - "The Childe Harolde Rewarde", "Queen Anne's Rain", "The Battle of Spion Kop" and "The Gold Plate Robbery" - were originally broadcast in 1958 and 1959. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Audiobook? Umm... it's just a standard double CD of comedy
Not sure what drugs Amazon are on here calling so many of these Goon Show double CD releases audiobooks.

Regardless this is volume 14 of the BBC Radio released Goon Show series where episodes are thrown out somewhat willy nilly - ie not in the chronological order that they were broadcast originally. Which for pedantic anoraks like me is a bit of an annoyance!

The four episodes (two per disc) are as follows;

The Childe Harolde Rewarde - a pretty good episode this, with lots of over the top British humour.

Queen Anne's Rain - A bit of an anonymous episode in my book this one.

The Battle of Spion Kop - A bit of a mystery reference for most people, even those with an interest in military history. I'll let you listen to it and figure out which war they are talking about. Not their finest 1/2 hour.

The Gold Plate Robber - More of the same anarchic humour with musical interludes to break the show up into thirds. Nothing to broadcast home about.

Only for completists this one. ... Read more

Product Description
In tune with the current fashion for sequels, this is Spike Milligan's very own version of "Wuthering Heights". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

wuthering heights spiked
I was disappointed by this book. Spike's humor was more base than sophisticated. I thought it would be clever and witty but it was crude. ... Read more

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Product Description
The complete poems of Spike Milligan, consisting of three individual volumes now collected together ("Small Dreams Of A Scorpion", "Open Heart University" and "The Mirror Running") as well as a number of previously unpublished poems. All the famous funny and rude poems are there, as well as a number of darker poems written during the war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

More than the Goon Show
I was never particularly interested in the Goon Show.But one of Spike's silly poems stuck in my head, "On the Ning Nang Nong", from when my aunt used to read to us.I was learning about speaking and found this poem a good one for practicing different sounds.When I was trying to find this poem I came across "Hidden Words."I loved the poem called "Indian Boyhood."Yes, there is no refund for your childhood.Brilliant. ... Read more

Product Description
This second superb collected work of one of Britain's best-loved comedians is an excellent companion to the sensational original, 'The Essential Spike Milligan'. Spanning his 50-year career and incorporating a rich and varied range of material, this second anthology is as wonderfully unmissable as the first.When Spike Milligan died in 2002, he left behind one of the most diverse legacies in British entertainment history -- as well as a legion of devoted fans and admirers. His themes ranged from environmental issues to the war, from nostalgia to depression, and his prolific output covers some of the most evocative events of the twentieth century, in a style both twistedly comic and harrowingly honest.The huge success of the Spike Milligan anthology, 'The Essential Spike Milligan', has inspired a second raid on the original brilliant source. Milligan was arguably the most one of the prolific and mould-breaking comic writers of the twentieth century and this second anthology gives another opportunity to sample his finest writing.It includes more of the best from his war memoirs and novel Puckoon, his children's stories, poetry and drawings plus a wonderful collection from his voluminous correspondence from the 1960s onwards with such varied recipients as the House of Commons, the Director-General of the BBC, Private Eye and British Telecom. A compulsive read for all Milligan fans. ... Read more

Product Description
Spike Milligan reads 62 of his comic poems and nonsense verse, including "Timothy Nerp", "Tiger", "Little Jim", "Ying-Tong-Iddle-I-Po", "The Twit", "This is a Stickup", "Well Bread", "Lord Lovington-Ogden-Reees", "Fleas" and "Knees". ... Read more

Product Description
In "Goodbye Soldier" the central pool of artists, now rechristened the combined services entertainment, complete with Gunner Miligan, now rechristened Lance-Bambardier, makes its way across Europe, via romantic Rome and verneral Venice, to Vienna where Spike continues to demoralize the troops from the stage despite frenzied protests from Eisenhower, Churchill and Stalin. Hastily discharged from the army in Austria, he returnes to naughty Naples for an interval of connubial bliss on Capri with Balerina. Maria Antoinette Fontana: 'All except for Eva Maria who I was keeping in reserve'. Finally, farewell to Rome, goodbye soldier and the prospect of return to dreary deptford where 'fortune, overdraft, income tax, mortgages, accounts, solicitors, house agents' awaited. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The last part of Spike's six-volume war trilogy
Originally Spike Milligan intended his war memoirs to be a trilogy, but they eventually stretched to six volumes.This one is less funny than the earlier volumes (monty, His Part in my Victory is the funniest), but still has plenty of humour.Spike is travelling round Italy with a concert party and meets the exquisite Maria Antoinetta Fontana (Toni) and falls madly in love.Most of the book is about their romance, culminating in a magical holiday on Capri.Their romance is so hot I find myself wishing when I read it that they had got married, but they didn't.Maybe it was better like that, I doubt if Spike was an easy man to live with, and probably Toni would not have much cared for postwar England, how drab it would have seemed after Italy.He sent her flowers every year for the rest of his life, probably it was just as well they left it like that, a perfect italian romance.

Goodbye Soldier
His absolutely last (for the time being) war diary.Mostly concerns his relationship with Toni, an Italian ballerina, whom he met whilst a member of a travelling show in Europe.What happens to the relationship after he returns to England? We don't get told in this (last) war diary.A sad/happy/funny/touching account of part of Spike's life in 1946

Spike's War ends
This is another episode in Spike Milligan's wonderfully sad, poignant and hilarious series of war diaries. It's impossible to read any of these books (Hitler/Rommel/Mussolini/etc) without laughing out loud. And yet they arealso the most honest, forthright and real war diaries I have ever read. InGoodbye Soldier, Spike is finally discharged and has to sort out what he isgoing to do with his life after six years in the army. It's a bumpy road,full of disappointments and setbacks, but it ends with the formation of theGoons with Peter Sellars, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. Moreplease,Spike! ... Read more

Product Description
One of a series of digitally remastered collections of "Goon Show" episodes, including previously unreleased material. The episodes here are "Under Two Floorboards", "The Sinking of Westminster Pier", "The Yehti" and "The Mysterious Punch-up-the-Conker". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

1950's British comedy that was highly influential
With a style that bordered somewhat on having no style The Goon Show was broadcast on the radio in Britain and elsewhere from the 1950's onwards, being repeated relentlessly. I mean, I remember listening to reruns on the ABC network in Australia in the early 90's and for all I know they may still be playing it.

Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe combine to take their parts in four 1/2 hour episodes spread over two CD's here and this is a particularly strong volume of episodes. Under Two Floorboards is quite fun, The Sinking of the Westminster Pier is also a solid episode and The Yehti is really quite a good example of how the troupe could put together a solid half hour of comedy that was anarchic enough to add to the fun but also linear enough to have a viable plot. The collection ends with The Mysterious Punch-up-the-conker episode which is a fine way to round out this slice of now quite vintage, vintage British comedy. ... Read more

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Badjelly the Witch can turn children into sausages or chop them up to make boy-girl soup. She can turn policemen into apple trees or bananas into mice and she is the wickedest witch in all the world. Tim and Rose become lost in the great black forest, where they are captured by Badjelly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Madness most celebrated
For all Spike Milligan fans this is a must have! Don't expect to be able to read this easily to your kids, it is very warped with a keen sense of wit that Spike is loved for.

Long Live Bad Jelly:)
I adored this book as a child.It was just 'naughty' enough to make me giggle hysterically every time I read it.I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who has children.It would definately be a book your child will remember for always.

watch out
This book is quite scary to read at night.It has interesting words + pictures. Badjelly likes to eat boy-girl soup, and turn policemen into apple trees ,bananas into mice!She is the most wicked-to-much-witch.The auther has very good imagination .Witches often are cruel and ugly to look at,badjelly is the most cruel and ugly witch . I wonder how old she is or where she is now,maybe one day she'll jump out of somewhere and say"I'm going to get you !"It is one of the best book I've read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I'm in for the dreaded deading this time
The Goon Show, a now quite vintage British comedy radio show from the 1950's has been cited as highly influential by a number of later performers. Certainly anybody familiar with the work of The Goodies and Monty Python will see some of their lineage in the work of The Goons.

Released originally as double cassette collections (the BBC was a bit slow catching up with the times) these things are now available as double disc collections with two 1/2 hour episodes per CD. Alas at no point was it deemed worthwhile to put the episodes in chronological order. So anoraks such as myself at least have some pedantic point to complain about!

Regardless, the four episodes contained in Volume 8 show the performers of Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers in fairly consistent form delivering the scripts written by Spile Milligan and Eric Sykes (Sykes co-wrote three of these episodes) with verve and impeccable timing ably assisted by announcer Wallace Greenslade.

The four episodes here are fairly strong - The Greatest Mountain in the World gets things off to a good start, The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (solved) continues the quality and both The Spanish Suitcase and The Last Tram (from Clapham) are good examples of what this mob were all about. I seem to recall the last episode in particular being repeated a few times on ABC radio in Australia, so it must of been getting requested or been a favourite with the programme director.

Not a bad starting place for the newcomer to the Goons, and there are no profanities to be found anywhere but total newbies may find proceedings can be a little confusing with the relentless stream of consciousness style of comedy on display here. ... Read more

Product Description
In October 1972 the Goons reassembled to perform an hour-long show to mark the BBC's 50th anniversary. The show is included on these cassettes, together with the 1991 broadcast which celebrated the 40th anniversary of "The Goon Show", and interviews and other material. ... Read more