Round the Horne: A Compendium: A collection of rare material from the classic BBC Radio comedy
About this audiobook
A fascinating and hilarious collection of archive rarities - plus two restored episodes - from the much loved BBC radio comedy series
Starring Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee, Round the Horne breathed daring new life over the BBC radio airwaves from 1965 to 1968, a madcap mix of daring double entendres, captivating characters and bawdy badinage.
In this exhaustive collection of rare material, two complete episodes - Series 1, Episode 5 and Series 1, Episode 15 - are presented complete and remastered, alongside a cornucopia of previously unpublished segments from the series' original run.
In addition there's a host of rarities from the BBC Sound Archive and other sources, including the cast's appearance on Sounds Familiar and Kenneth Horne's autobiographical turn on The Time of My Life, both from 1968. These are followed by A Tribute to Kenneth Horne from 1969, Round and Round the Horne from 1977, and Horne of Plenty from 2004. There's also a selection of rarely heard interviews with cast and writers, two sketches in celebration of Much Binding in the Marsh, and more.
Content warning: the humour in this programme reflects the era in which it was broadcast and may not reflect current attitudes.
©2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd. (P)2017 BBC Worldwide Ltd.
About the author
Barry Took was born in London in 1928. An early career as a stand-up comedian and sketch writer led to his first radio script credit, for Beyond Our Ken. From there he went on to create Round the Horne with Marty Feldman, whilst on television he wrote for series including Bootsie and Snudge and The Army Game. Amongst a variety of later jobs in front of and behind the camera, Took wrote and presented Points of View on BBC1 and also chaired BBC radio’s The News Quiz. He wrote a number of books, including The Complete and Utter History of Round the Horne and his autobiography A Point of View. He died in 2002.
Marty Feldman was born in London in 1933. He left school aged 15 to become a jazz trumpeter, but fell into show business with a Marx Brothers-style stage act. His meeting with Barry Took in 1954 led to a prolific writing partnership on radio shows including Round the Horne and The Army Game. A move into television saw Feldman writing for The Frost Report and At Last! The 1948 Show. An on-screen appearance in the latter led to his becoming an overnight star; a sketch show for British TV was followed by success in America and numerous film appearances, including Young Frankenstein. He died in 1982, aged 49.
