Round The Horne

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Round The Horne was one of the most daring radio comedies of the 1960's - and all the more surprising, given the (on the surface) conservative appearence of the star, Kenneth Horne!
Written mostly by Marty Feldman and Barry Took, the show consisted of Horne acting as the central hub, around which the rest of the cast would perform sketches, songs and impersonations. In addition to Horne, the cast included Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee, and the announcer was Douglas Smith (who frequently became involved in more than just announcing!).
Many of the characters were regulars, appearing in every show (some, indeed, got a

whole show to themselves, such as J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock!).
The best known, (apart from the aforementioned Gruntfuttock) were probably the highly camp pair Julian and Sandy (played by Williams and Paddick), Rambling Syd Rumpo (Williams as a folk singer extraordinaire!), Seamus Android (Pertwee in a barely disguised impersonation of Irish chat show host and commentator Eamon Andrews), and the pair of Cowardian actors, Dame Celia Volestrangler and 'aging juvenile' Binky Huckerback.
The show, which began in 1965 as a replacement for Horne's previous show "Beyond Our Ken", came to a premature end when Kenneth Horne died in 1968.

The Recordings

The BBC has issued a number of double packs (in both cassette and CD) - each pack contains 4 half-hour episodes of "Round The Horne" (with the exception of Volume 1 which was a compilation of 'the best bits'). They are not in chronological order.
In addition to the 'Episode' releases there are a number of 'compilations' of some of the favourite characters and sketches - "Movie Spoofs', "Rambling Syd Rumpo" and two devoted to "Julian and Sandy". There is also a double pack of "Beyond Our Ken" episodes, which features many of the cast from "Round The Horne"! Finally, there is the audiobook version of Barry Took's excellent "The Complete and Utter History of Round The Horne".

Unless otherwise stated, 'clicking' on one of the pictures below will take you to the audio cassette listing on Amazon.co.uk