Our world is truly blessed because of Spike Milligan. He did it all by himself, without regard of anyone else. Humanity is blessed, for here is the master of comedy. We will never forget him.
More than a genius! I had the pleasure of meeting Spike at a book signing in London many decades ago. Not only did he sign a few books but was gracious enough to have his picture taken with me that i still treasure. I'll never forget that moment. RIP Spike
For all the people who have left thumbs down, you must lead a very sad life. Spike is one of the icons of comedy. That is COMEDY one thing that is missing in 2020 sadly. Comedy without using smut or sexual inuendos which is what 'comediens' use nowerdays. God bless Spike!!
How wonderful this was . how very sad because half of the people in the audience are no longer with us….I was 15 when I discovered The Goon Show, I was with a travelling show and on the road most of the time and we used to listen to the goon show…Ho,! What days they were and how we laughed…I am 81 now and this still makes me laugh …loved it.THANK YOU.
I have an old cassette tape of Spike talking about his time during the war. True stories that are hysterical. Such a wonderful sense of humour. I notice there are over 300 dislikes on here. If Spike were still around he would be happy these people don't have a sense of humour as the little sh*ts lives must be so miserable.
One of the most adorable things about Spike Milligan is that he had no idea how funny he was. I was born in 1955 so I was too young for WW2. But Puckoon was one of the funniest books I have ever read. And I remember being in hospital to have my wisdom teeth out, and waiting for a pre-med and reading Adolph Hitler - my Part in his Downfall. The junior doc at London's Royal Free hospital in Hampstead made me promise I'd give him the book when I'd finished it. He'd never anaesthetised a patient before who was reading a book and laughing her head off
From his war memoir 'The battle for Catford bypass was temporarily halted yesterday when the British army requested the return of their bullet'. The first time I ever laughed out loud reading a book. We miss you Spike, we need your like now more than ever. Thank you.
Anyone giving this the “thumbs down” have no sense of humour… SPIKE IS THE GUV’NOR of all modern comedy. His timing, delicious writing and genius is timeless…
"Silence when you speak to an officer!" Classic Milligan :-) The books he wrote about his war experiences were some of the funniest I've ever read and I still revisit them from time to time.
The same here, Gail. I re-read them every couple of years. But at the same time as being hilarious they are extremely sad. Poor old Spike used his humour to fight the madness of what was going on around him. More than once he lost the battle.
The Godfather of modern and alternative comedy, Spike and especially The Goons can make me laugh aloud when listening to them. A true genius. Much missed, with Sellers and Secombe. :)
The flawed conflicted genius that was Spike.. I'm one of those extremely lucky people to have met him on a couple of occasions, and every second in his company was a true pleasure knowing that I was in the presence of a rare gem of a human being.. I even got to play rugby against him in a tournament at Rye when he was in his 80th year..
A plane was in an emergency state and the PA came on ..' this is your captain speaking, 'if passengers would like to look out of the right hand window of the plane, you will see a small yellow dingy in the sea below ...I'm speaking to you from that dingy'.
all but one disliker were so completely drunk they got the buttons mixed, the last was an eskimo who pissed himself laughing and the icicle so formed landed on the wrong button. he tried to pick it up to correct his mistake, but it tragically melted and fused his keyboard.
The best laugh I have had for a long time. Spike was/is a hero of mine from the days that I was a student in England in 1970's. He is a legend. Love the man.
Spike was one of a whole swag of comic genius personalities over the last 50 years or so. Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Eric Morecambe, Ronnie Barker, etc. Why is the world not coming up with anyone to follow in their footsteps? Comedy today is reduced to gutter humour and relies on shock value rather than real humour to make people laugh. "I haven't planned anything, so nothing can go wrong" is so simple, yet Spike has his audience rolling with laughter from such a simple statement. RIP Spike; and stand-up comedy.
There have been a few comedy greats that have come along since the likes of Spike Milligan and the others you listed, but none that will have the lasting effect of the previous generation’s. I think the days of the anecdotal comedian are almost gone - now the entertainment industry is dominated by “observational” comedians, those with a political agenda (the legacy of the “Red Wedge”) and female comics who spend most of their act talking about their private parts. Also, millennials and Gen Z are over sensitive to comics making fun of them, so comedians have to follow PC guidelines to become TV stars and everyone knows that “woke” comedy just isn’t funny.
For me you can add Billy Connolly - ie, comedians who can make you laugh until you are in physical pain (spine-side splitting). Morecambe & Wise, the two Ronnies, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Ronnie Barker and of course the legendary Spike Milligan. It's not great being old but it's totally fine loving the funniest men on the planet. Happy Saturday one and all. xxxx
My band I used to play in "The Steam Arm & Leg Show" we played at his an evening with, he bought us a bottle of Champagne each and told us we were all crap. Praise indeed from this wonderful man. I remember it was a few days after we played with Mr Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. I used to have so many friends then, what ever happened to them all. Acker xxxx
I was supposed to be directing a shoot for TV commercial starring Spike on location at his home. On the way there we decided to phone to let him know our ETA. The phone rang three times, then a voice said "This is the real Spike Milligan and not an answerphone at all!" We eventually recovered enough to say what time we expected to arrive, to which he replied "Good, good. How many of you are coming, only we only have two cups!". We shot two commercials (for which we had no scripts - we didn't dare! - so Spike improvised as only Spike could - it was hysterical!), and then we shot an interview with him during which he spoke about his brother, who he claimed was much funnier than him: "He was asked by one of his neighbours 'Why do people take an instant dislike to me?' so my brother said 'To save time!' " . That day was one of the most joyous experiences of my life. Sadly I no longer have the footage we took - but I remember so much of it, and those memories are utterly priceless.
only 2 cups, indeed, did you count them, you know spike there could have been 3, and myself i have saved everyone lots of effort and instantly disliked myself for them, now they can go on with their buisness of stealing my tea cups, i do wish i had met spike, i just know he and me would have gotten along like spike and me do. though i wasn't part of it, that never bothered either of us as we didn't know each other, what a great friendship we had. ahhh spike i will always love him and miss him too, spike give me a wave sir whereever you are,.. nice.now♒⛵☔ im all wet. iv fallen in the water
I saw Spike live at the Oxford Apollo in 1982, and I have never laughed so much in my life. I was literally praying for him to be not funny just for 5 minutes so I could recover. After 3 encores he and his team were finished, but no one in the place left, we cheered for another 10 minutes and so Spike came out and sat on the edge of the stage and did another 15 minutes of hilarious stories. After this we popped round to the stage door, and got in for signatures and a chat (and he shared his wine with us all). All in all, a comedy legend, and a lovely chap. RIP Spike.
Part of my life from the age of 5, back in the 70s listening to the Goon Show on the radio with my dad. Loved this, and so nice seeing Harry Secombe. Two legends who died a year apart ❤️
My mother and I used to listen to The Goon Show, and sit there in fits of laughter! My father could not see ANYTHING funny in it! He had a sense of humour, but he just could not 'get' the Goons' humour!
An absolute genius of modern comedy, Month Python based their talents upon him. I had the pleasure of meet him for a week when he did a week in Leeds. He was playing the Grand Theatre with Jeremy Taylor who I knew from the folk scene. A very quiet and humble gentleman.
He was so funny...even the captions under the photos in his books are so hilarious I had to have a lie down...too exhausted to read anymore...marvellous performer especially Brunilda in Q6...
I am an American, my first view of Spike was his cameo in Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973). He killed it. Later on I came to understand why that was so effortless for him
Spike Milligan was a total nutter !!! .....this man was a gem ,worth his weight in gold . Never will a comedian be so bloody funny as our spike , i miss his comedy . Thanks spike 👍,rest in peace .
As a kid on the long drive to a holiday to Wales, the Goon Show was on the radio, l then found Spikes war memoirs and read all of them into my 20's. He was a part of my life & influenced my sense of humour. What a brain, wit & great story teller. One of a kind. RIP Spike, you told us you was ill!
A Star studded audience, worthy of one of the 20th century's greatest humorists. I spotted his old mate Sir Cumference, Clive James (a recently departed Aussie), Bill Wyman, Peter O'Toole, Joanna Lumley, even Rolf Harris and some whose faces I recognize but can't recall their names. RIP Spike, we'll never grow tired of your unique wit.
This masterpiece of Spike's (after Masefield) never ceases to crack me up: "I must go down to the seas again To the lonely sea and the sky I left a pair of socks there I wonder if they're dry" No human has given me more joyous mirth than Mr Milligan. He is sorely missed.
A baby sardine,saw it’s first submarine,and was scared as he looked in a peephole ,oh come ,come .come ,said the sardines mum,it’s only a tin full of people
I now live on the east coast of CanAda and my socks have still not dried. On a serious note. When we first found our daughter who had been given up for adoption because my good lady and I were to young to marry when after fifty years we found her, at our first meeting as we walked along the seafront I started to recite I must go down to the sea again, She finished the whole poem. I was gobsmacked! She said I love Spike Milligan I learned this for a school project. She was was my daughter and poor mom rolled her eyes, I'm out numbered she said.
OK, so let me say one more thing: one mark of a civilized society is that it not just allows but encourages and protects people with this kind of eccentric brilliance.
Although rather belated I thank you most sincerely for uploading this wonderful example of true comic genius. I've listened to his brilliance since the days of the Goons in the 1950's. He may have been a mad man, bless him, but you need to be in this ever increasingly surreal mad world. R.I.P Spike
Saw magic Spike in PERTH WA.He came on the circular theatre stage and I wondered how on earth he could sit there and survive? He absolutely rocked the whole theatre from beginning to end!A comic genius RIP. Spike ❤️
Comedy genius, simples. I still laugh out loud watching him and he always turns on my comedy tears. Had the pleasure of Spike visiting us in our primary school he sat us down and read his funny poems the whole class was in hysterics. One of my earliest and fondest childhood memories. R.I.P Spike.
"I haven't organised anything this evening....so nothing can go wrong". THAT is quintessential Spike humour, the slightly peculiar way of looking at language and logic in ways that are both logical in one sense yet hilariously 'odd' at the same time. Genius is a word thrown around so often it's lost its meaning, as have so many other words ("epic", anyone?). Spike clearly WAS a genuine comic genius. Thanks for uploading this. Spike and Barry Humphries have brought me so much joy and laughter through my life, so it's always a pleasure to see something I've not seen before that features either of them.
I have been a fan of Spike Milligan since the early fifties when my father and I used to listen to the Goon Show on the steam radio in Australia. The ABC had wisely paid for the episodes with no limit on the number of times they could be broadcast and so I was able to listen to them again and again in later years. RIP Spike.
Spike reminded me of my grandad who was a funny man (not in spikes league obviously) and about the same age. All his WW2 stories where funny, we only found out after he died some of the horrors he actually faced and Spikes books really struck a cord with me. Rip Spike Rip Grandad
....hello everyone - I'm pleased that you're all enjoying this , which was uploaded from my rather worn VHS video ...wot I bought from a shop - not taped off the telly ! Someone complained about the sound , so I looked on e-bay for a good VHS recorder to re-upload it with via my £9.99 Aldi video digitising gizmo...and found a lovely one for just £30 with hi-fi sound - BUT it got trodden on during delivery, there was even a footprint on the box as it had obviously been used as a step in the back of the van ! Nevertheless, it still loaded up the tape despite the little door hanging off - but when I pressed 'play' it chewed up the start of the videotape ...so I'm afraid this upload will have to do for now . Why not turn the sound up ...or watch it via your television rather than a silly bloody little i-phone ?! Thank you and goodnight.
I remember listening to the Goon show on the radio as a youngster, the stories created such wonderful pictures in my mind. As a young adult and a much senior one now I still appreciate and admire his talent.
His insanity masked a thoughtful and clever mind that sparkled with irreverence and common sense. Not for Spike, the grind of blind obedience, the suffering of fools or the pomposity of the elite. His was the mind of a child both naughty and full of wonder and not afraid to express his ideals.
a genius in one word could only be the explanation of this magnificent, brilliance not like any other who's been on the public media. his genius would be too taxing for the human brain at times and would have to be rested under medical attention he was way beyond the exceptional in a class which could only be his own , unique in every way far beyond anything to have come close to his talent.
I was a fan as a kid - in my 60's now - read all his books, and admired him always for being the imperfect human he said he was. Original and irreplacable.
All the Celebs in the audience are looking for the camera but Spike doesn’t.He signed his book,at a book launch in Sydney,’Depression and how to survive it’ he looked like he was just about to pass but he had done for years.I said “I’ve got all your books” and he said “I’m not signing all of them too.Utter legend…RIP Spike😎
Aged about 16 (1972) My friends and I used to hang around on the stairs of a Portsmouth department store called LDB. We had seen a notice that Spike would be visiting that day so kept a look out for him. On our way back from the stores cafe to the stairs, Spike walked towards us, I asked him to sign one of my cheques that were printed with animal pictures, as he was signing it a asked if he had signed one of these before, he replied with 'My boy, you would not believe the things that I have signed in my life' That was not particularly funny but the fact he was wearing a pair of ladies knickers that he had taken off a display on his head was :-) I still have that cheque somewhere.
I love him forever. He wrote to mei here in Canada.I had wtitten a word of praise to him and the the other goons. He wrote back to me explainng that he was a busy and would have to make his letter short...He wrote three pages to me.
I LOVE HIM - HE WAS MY TEENAGE YEARS, THE jokes of one Goon Show would last us the whole week in the office in the ‘50’s. He wrote little letters from the Fairies to his Daughters, and hid them in the garden - He lives in my Heart for ever🌟💗🌹🙏🏻
Brilliant! So glad I saw this again. I suppose the reason it has not been repeated on TV like the Connolly and Dodd audiences is the presence of the wobble-boarding Australian with the criminal record in the front row. Spike was a true genius let us rejoice in his memory.
Thank you for uploading, for everyone to view. It was great to watch this show again. Spike Milligan was a unique - and great - comedian and writer. His books and TV series had a significant and lasting impact on my own sense of humour. His jokes and sketches didn’t always work, but the majority did (for me) and brilliantly highlighted his troubled genius. As a Republican, rather than a Monarchist, I especially enjoyed it when he called Prince Charles “a grovelling little shit” (when he received his lifetime achievement award).
A great comedian , Poet , script writer .. a true great & legend … looking back at the audience though .. notorious entities , Harris for instance !!!! little did we know
I always like Spike's humour. His books, his part in the war and more. I loved his comment from years ago when asked by Gay Byrne "Do you miss your dad, is he dead" And he answered "I hope so we buried him last week"
Spike Milligan THE master of comedy, made me laugh my whole life to this day. RIP Spike, you are still much loved and missed ! A British great 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
He’s such an era sensation that many would never understand Spike or his barking mad humor so would give a dislike. However, to listen to the Telly Goons in the old days on a Sunday (I think) was a laughable treat; Mum could have her Archers and the Mrs. Dale’s Diary or something, but I had the wireless on early for the tubes to warm up ready for the offbeat humor of those guys, while my parents were still entertaining, and Spike was such an offbeat legend in those flower power days. This was a shadow of what he was, but my oh my, he wasn’t that bad for his age. It’s a Marmite thing; love it, or you don’t.
When comedy was funny , Spike was brilliant , Ken Dodd, Eric Sykes, Peter Cook, Peter Sellers, Bob Monkhouse The era of that kind of genius comedy has gone.
Legend…. Got to sit next to Spike and his Mum at lunch one day and he was magic. We are having lunch with his daughter Laura hopefully in a couple of weeks to celebrate her birthday. She is as funny and mad as her Dad ever was - lunch will be interesting as well as unscripted.
I had the honour of photographing this legend. He took the pi$$ out of me all night during his show - but apologised and thanked me for being a sport at the end of the evening. After the show, he went to the office of the nightclub to sign copies of one of his books. He told the line of people to wait - and then proceeded to walk to the near end of the line and talk to a disabled lady in a wheelchair before everyone else. So much greatness in this man. Rest in peace Spike, and yes - we knew you were ill.
So many famous faces there. Harry Secombe, Rolf Harris, Peter O'Toole, Clive James, Joanna Lumley and so many others. Love you spike and hearing my dad roaring at your Goon shows. May eternity be kind to you Spike.
Working at a Sydney TV station in mid seventies, I came across a small reel of 16mm B&W news film. It was an interview with Spike, on the steps of Woy Woy town hall. Spike was laying horizontal on the steps. When asked by the lady reporter why he was horizontal, he replied that Woy Woy was an above-ground cemetery! The only time I ever laughed harder was when John Cleese gave that little car "a damn good thrashing" with a tree branch.
I come from sligo in Ireland and live not far from where spikes dad was born. And I can totally get his humour the people from that aera are. So witty and. Funny. Great banter off the cuff
Had a bit of trouble with the vernacular but enough to get a big laugh and having a lot of his music made it more understandable. A real natural comedy treasure from any time and any country. Quite the mischievous spirit embodied. I rediscovered him and his very large recordings when I looked up what in my youth in America was Very big, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor On The Bed Post Over Night" high octane tempo great song. Never knew for most of my life what the lyrics "If tin whistles are made out of tin? What are Fog Horns made of?" fit in the tempo but the sounds didn't add up to words, at least English, The accent made no "cents" to me at all until computers came about and I could download the lyrics!.....Oh! Kind of a "Musical Interlude" (ref. Eugene O'Neil and Groucho Marx, animal crackers) But I digress....
His books are brilliant. He was probably always funny, but with typical humility of his generation, he was profoundly affected by his experiences with 8th Army during the war. His books downplay his role, are full of grim humour but paint the picture with plenty of gaps for the imagination. It was tough. He came back humbled by the sacrifice of ordinary men. So much of his comedy, as bizarre as it often is, is full of love for his fellow men and women, of his audience.
Went to see Spike in Southsea theatre with my friend. She laughed loudly at spikes jokes. She had this outrageous laugh, which everyone laughed at. Spike stopped looked up at her and said you'd better come down here, you're doing a better job than I am...
I once had a brief moment in passing with this man - my friend Anita & myself - whilst standing waiting for a bus in our school uniforms - down Balmain Rd (in Rozelle Sydney Australia) Mr M himself was driven past in his large- quite flashy - car - and - I was shocked and pointed to him and must have excitedly shouted "Look - its Spike Milligan!" - the legend himself leaned quite far out the passenger side window and pointed at us - and shouted "Look - its a schoolgirl!" One of the funniest things I have ever heard or seen - and one of my favourite moments!
Watched this several times a year for years. Spike is a hero of mine, well more so his brilliant sense of humour. My elder brother and I loved the Goon show, and it definitely shaped our sense of humour. I became terminally ill with pulmonary fibrosis, among a host of other ailments including non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis and cellulitis, kidney stones, 4 attacks of anaphylactic shock, hospitalised for all of them. My brother said maybe I should apply to the Guinness book of World Records as the most unluckiest man in the world or the sickest, makes no difference. Spike is still sadly missed, the Spike is dead, long live the Spike ❤❤
Thanks for putting this on, for years Ive used the 'I got off at Bexhill, it wasnt easy, the train didnt stop there' and still laugh, he was an uncomfortable genius, which makes him apart from most
This guy is one of the funniest men ever. My favourite comedians are Miligan, Peter Sellers and Ronnie Barker. I really wish I'd been born around 1950.
Our world is truly blessed because of Spike Milligan. He did it all by himself, without regard of anyone else. Humanity is blessed, for here is the master of comedy. We will never forget him.
Thats the nervous breakdowns he suffered,trying to a new script for the goon show each week
More than a genius! I had the pleasure of meeting Spike at a book signing in London many decades ago. Not only did he sign a few books but was gracious enough to have his picture taken with me that i still treasure. I'll never forget that moment. RIP Spike
For all the people who have left thumbs down, you must lead a very sad life. Spike is one of the icons of comedy. That is COMEDY one thing
that is missing in 2020 sadly. Comedy without using smut or sexual inuendos which is what 'comediens' use nowerdays. God bless Spike!!
Spike was a British hero.
who cares what negative people think.
Where are the thumbs down?
I've gone back through lots of the comments and haven't seen any.
Fortunately all the goon shows are on youtube...
A comedian that doesn’t need smut to try to be funny, Spike is legendary.
One of the funniest men I've ever known. Wicked and quick witted sense of humour. Only Spike could make people laugh the way he did. Sadly missed.
What a wonderful man. I was lucky enough to have him and Eric Sykes as my landlords when I rented the basement in their offices in Bayswater.
Eric had a reputation for bring grumpy or even nasty. What was your experience of him?
@@kessmarl Not grumpy but got frustrated because of his deafness.
What a fantastic thing.
How wonderful this was . how very sad because half of the people in the audience are no longer with us….I was 15 when I discovered The Goon Show, I was with a travelling show and on the road most of the time and we used to listen to the goon show…Ho,! What days they were and how we laughed…I am 81 now and this still makes me laugh …loved it.THANK YOU.
Rolf Harris gone 😮
This was a very important man in the history of English speakers. Proud to have read every one of his books.
You don't every one of his books. I've got some.
I'm 36 years old this year and I will always find Spike to be my comedic hero. I only wish I could get more of his TV shows on home release.
I have an old cassette tape of Spike talking about his time during the war. True stories that are hysterical. Such a wonderful sense of humour. I notice there are over 300 dislikes on here. If Spike were still around he would be happy these people don't have a sense of humour as the little sh*ts lives must be so miserable.
How can anyone dislike this?
Because he went to war to give us freedom of choice.
One of the most adorable things about Spike Milligan is that he had no idea how funny he was. I was born in 1955 so I was too young for WW2. But Puckoon was one of the funniest books I have ever read. And I remember being in hospital to have my wisdom teeth out, and waiting for a pre-med and reading Adolph Hitler - my Part in his Downfall. The junior doc at London's Royal Free hospital in Hampstead made me promise I'd give him the book when I'd finished it. He'd never anaesthetised a patient before who was reading a book and laughing her head off
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
From his war memoir 'The battle for Catford bypass was temporarily halted yesterday when the British army requested the return of their bullet'. The first time I ever laughed out loud reading a book. We miss you Spike, we need your like now more than ever. Thank you.
Anyone giving this the “thumbs down” have no sense of humour…
SPIKE IS THE GUV’NOR of all modern comedy. His timing, delicious writing and genius is timeless…
has no sense of humour
@@nigellangridge1975 dont think i saw any thumbs down
@@nigellangridge1975 do see Peter U stinov
"Silence when you speak to an officer!" Classic Milligan :-) The books he wrote about his war experiences were some of the funniest I've ever read and I still revisit them from time to time.
Gail Mackinnon yes part of our lives Gail I agree ,Ms uk😀
The same here, Gail. I re-read them every couple of years. But at the same time as being hilarious they are extremely sad. Poor old Spike used his humour to fight the madness of what was going on around him. More than once he lost the battle.
Yep. I don't think Spike ever knew just how funny he was. I loved him to bits.
@@mariafelices8000
O,,,!o
@@probablygraham ppĺpppppp⁰⁰¹¹¹
The Godfather of modern and alternative comedy, Spike and especially The Goons can make me laugh aloud when listening to them. A true genius. Much missed, with Sellers and Secombe. :)
And Tony Handcock!
One of a kind with a true and genuine talent - comedy at it's best!
The flawed conflicted genius that was Spike.. I'm one of those extremely lucky people to have met him on a couple of occasions, and every second in his company was a true pleasure knowing that I was in the presence of a rare gem of a human being.. I even got to play rugby against him in a tournament at Rye when he was in his 80th year..
Wow!
My favourite joke of his is ' This is your captain speaking. We are travelling at thirty thousand feet which is not bad for a cross channel ferry'.
A plane was in an emergency state and the PA came on ..' this is your captain speaking, 'if passengers would like to look out of the right hand window of the plane, you will see a small yellow dingy in the sea below ...I'm speaking to you from that dingy'.
119 people have had their sense of humour removed. This man was a complete and utter comedy legend. RIP spike.
must live in upminster essex
Methinks you might be wrong there - maybe they didn't have one in the first place !
He's a complete lunatic, very clever in totally beguiling way.
223
all but one disliker were so completely drunk they got the buttons mixed, the last was an eskimo who pissed himself laughing and the icicle so formed landed on the wrong button. he tried to pick it up to correct his mistake, but it tragically melted and fused his keyboard.
The best laugh I have had for a long time. Spike was/is a hero of mine from the days that I was a student in England in 1970's. He is a legend. Love the man.
Spike was one of a whole swag of comic genius personalities over the last 50 years or so. Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Eric Morecambe, Ronnie Barker, etc. Why is the world not coming up with anyone to follow in their footsteps? Comedy today is reduced to gutter humour and relies on shock value rather than real humour to make people laugh. "I haven't planned anything, so nothing can go wrong" is so simple, yet Spike has his audience rolling with laughter from such a simple statement. RIP Spike; and stand-up comedy.
The Political correctness brigade has ruined comedy
There have been a few comedy greats that have come along since the likes of Spike Milligan and the others you listed, but none that will have the lasting effect of the previous generation’s.
I think the days of the anecdotal comedian are almost gone - now the entertainment industry is dominated by “observational” comedians, those with a political agenda (the legacy of the “Red Wedge”) and female comics who spend most of their act talking about their private parts.
Also, millennials and Gen Z are over sensitive to comics making fun of them, so comedians have to follow PC guidelines to become TV stars and everyone knows that “woke” comedy just isn’t funny.
For me you can add Billy Connolly - ie, comedians who can make you laugh until you are in physical pain (spine-side splitting). Morecambe & Wise, the two Ronnies, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, Ronnie Barker and of course the legendary Spike Milligan. It's not great being old but it's totally fine loving the funniest men on the planet. Happy Saturday one and all. xxxx
My band I used to play in "The Steam Arm & Leg Show" we played at his an evening with, he bought us a bottle of Champagne each and told us we were all crap. Praise indeed from this wonderful man. I remember it was a few days after we played with
Mr Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. I used to have so many friends then, what ever happened to them all.
Acker xxxx
and I was fortunate enough to have been brought up with the Goon Shows on the radio !!! n o tv back then it was wonderful !!!!!
Me too ,never stopped enjoying it
My step dad got me into the Goon Show on Saturday afternoon on the radio it was the greatest.
I was supposed to be directing a shoot for TV commercial starring Spike on location at his home. On the way there we decided to phone to let him know our ETA. The phone rang three times, then a voice said "This is the real Spike Milligan and not an answerphone at all!" We eventually recovered enough to say what time we expected to arrive, to which he replied "Good, good. How many of you are coming, only we only have two cups!". We shot two commercials (for which we had no scripts - we didn't dare! - so Spike improvised as only Spike could - it was hysterical!), and then we shot an interview with him during which he spoke about his brother, who he claimed was much funnier than him: "He was asked by one of his neighbours 'Why do people take an instant dislike to me?' so my brother said 'To save time!' " . That day was one of the most joyous experiences of my life. Sadly I no longer have the footage we took - but I remember so much of it, and those memories are utterly priceless.
Wow! What a priveledge. Fantastic story, and wow, lucky you.
only 2 cups, indeed, did you count them, you know spike there could have been 3, and myself i have saved everyone lots of effort and instantly disliked myself for them, now they can go on with their buisness of stealing my tea cups, i do wish i had met spike, i just know he and me would have gotten along like spike and me do. though i wasn't part of it, that never bothered either of us as we didn't know each other, what a great friendship we had. ahhh spike i will always love him and miss him too, spike give me a wave sir whereever you are,.. nice.now♒⛵☔ im all wet. iv fallen in the water
Rt
000vv .? 😢😮😮😮😮n...)...😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
....😅..😅.
I saw Spike live at the Oxford Apollo in 1982, and I have never laughed so much in my life. I was literally praying for him to be not funny just for 5 minutes so I could recover. After 3 encores he and his team were finished, but no one in the place left, we cheered for another 10 minutes and so Spike came out and sat on the edge of the stage and did another 15 minutes of hilarious stories. After this we popped round to the stage door, and got in for signatures and a chat (and he shared his wine with us all). All in all, a comedy legend, and a lovely chap. RIP Spike.
Part of my life from the age of 5, back in the 70s listening to the Goon Show on the radio with my dad. Loved this, and so nice seeing Harry Secombe. Two legends who died a year apart ❤️
My mother and I used to listen to The Goon Show, and sit there in fits of laughter! My father could not see ANYTHING funny in it! He had a sense of humour, but he just could not 'get' the Goons' humour!
An absolute genius of modern comedy, Month Python based their talents upon him.
I had the pleasure of meet him for a week when he did a week in Leeds.
He was playing the Grand Theatre with Jeremy Taylor who I knew from the folk scene.
A very quiet and humble gentleman.
He was so funny...even the captions under the photos in his books are so hilarious I had to have a lie down...too exhausted to read anymore...marvellous performer especially Brunilda in Q6...
I am an American, my first view of Spike was his cameo in Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973). He killed it. Later on I came to understand why that was so effortless for him
Spike Milligan was a total nutter !!! .....this man was a gem ,worth his weight in gold .
Never will a comedian be so bloody funny as our spike , i miss his comedy .
Thanks spike 👍,rest in peace .
As a kid on the long drive to a holiday to Wales, the Goon Show was on the radio, l then found Spikes war memoirs and read all of them into my 20's. He was a part of my life & influenced my sense of humour. What a brain, wit & great story teller. One of a kind. RIP Spike, you told us you was ill!
Penny
A Star studded audience, worthy of one of the 20th century's greatest humorists. I spotted his old mate Sir Cumference, Clive James (a recently departed Aussie), Bill Wyman, Peter O'Toole, Joanna Lumley, even Rolf Harris and some whose faces I recognize but can't recall their names.
RIP Spike, we'll never grow tired of your unique wit.
Dennis Nordern, Roy Hudd, Lyndsey De Paul
@@jaredthebrown And Lionel Bart
Who's Sir Cumference?
@@danwoodhouse9290 Harry Secombe inherited that nickname from The Goon Show.
This masterpiece of Spike's (after Masefield) never ceases to crack me up:
"I must go down to the seas again
To the lonely sea and the sky
I left a pair of socks there
I wonder if they're dry"
No human has given me more joyous mirth than Mr Milligan. He is sorely missed.
There was a young man from Bombay,
On a slow boat to China one day,
Got trapped at the tiller by a sex-crazed gorilla,
And China's a long way away!
@@algrigg9039 "Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
I'll draw a sketch of thee.
What kind of pencil shall I use?
2B or not 2B?"
A baby sardine,saw it’s first submarine,and was scared as he looked in a peephole ,oh come ,come .come ,said the sardines mum,it’s only a tin full of people
People who live in glass houses.
Should pull down the blinds
When removing their trousers.
I now live on the east coast of CanAda and my socks have still not dried. On a serious note. When we first found our daughter who had been given up for adoption because my good lady and I were to young to marry when after fifty years we found her, at our first meeting as we walked along the seafront I started to recite I must go down to the sea again, She finished the whole poem. I was gobsmacked! She said I love Spike Milligan I learned this for a school project. She was was my daughter and poor mom rolled her eyes, I'm out numbered she said.
OK, so let me say one more thing: one mark of a civilized society is that it not just allows but encourages and protects people with this kind of eccentric brilliance.
True. Such brilliance was rarely encouraged in Ireland, Spike's father's country. Same today. Only mediocrities flourish here.
Except the pc BBC who ruined humour
What a great talent. What entertainment he gave us, and inspired us showing us the tremendous goodness in humanity. Yet how sad too. Thank you Spike.
Although rather belated I thank you most sincerely for uploading this wonderful example of true comic genius. I've listened to his brilliance since the days of the Goons in the 1950's.
He may have been a mad man, bless him, but you need to be in this ever increasingly surreal mad world. R.I.P Spike
High art. I am glad I once saw him on stage. I cannot remember it without smiling.
Saw magic Spike in PERTH WA.He came on the circular theatre stage and I wondered how on earth he could sit there and survive?
He absolutely rocked the whole theatre from beginning to end!A comic genius
RIP. Spike ❤️
Just great comedy Such a genius, thank you Mr. Milligan.👍❤🤣😂
Comedy genius, simples. I still laugh out loud watching him and he always turns on my comedy tears.
Had the pleasure of Spike visiting us in our primary school he sat us down and read his funny poems the whole class was in hysterics. One of my earliest and fondest childhood memories. R.I.P Spike.
Lucky children
"I haven't organised anything this evening....so nothing can go wrong".
THAT is quintessential Spike humour, the slightly peculiar way of looking at language and logic in ways that are both logical in one sense yet hilariously 'odd' at the same time.
Genius is a word thrown around so often it's lost its meaning, as have so many other words ("epic", anyone?). Spike clearly WAS a genuine comic genius.
Thanks for uploading this. Spike and Barry Humphries have brought me so much joy and laughter through my life, so it's always a pleasure to see something I've not seen before that features either of them.
.... "what's worn under the kilt?"
"Nothing... it is all in good working order..."
The gentle genius of comedy, loved the bones of the man. Brilliant
we'll never forget his "grovelling little bastard " comment to prince charles during his acceptance speach! 😂😂😂
@Steve Lange he was accepting some award at one of these showbiz dinners a few years ago, i'm sure you'd find it on youtube?
m.ruclips.net/video/TkOAUht3G5o/видео.html
'No chance of a knighthood then?'
I have been a fan of Spike Milligan since the early fifties when my father and I used to listen to the Goon Show on the steam radio in Australia. The ABC had wisely paid for the episodes with no limit on the number of times they could be broadcast and so I was able to listen to them again and again in later years. RIP Spike.
I bought the script books of the Goons aged 12, and never looked back. His wit was special.
Spike reminded me of my grandad who was a funny man (not in spikes league obviously) and about the same age.
All his WW2 stories where funny, we only found out after he died some of the horrors he actually faced and Spikes books really struck a cord with me.
Rip Spike
Rip Grandad
....hello everyone - I'm pleased that you're all enjoying this , which was uploaded from my rather worn VHS video ...wot I bought from a shop - not taped off the telly ! Someone complained about the sound , so I looked on e-bay for a good VHS recorder to re-upload it with via my £9.99 Aldi video digitising gizmo...and found a lovely one for just £30 with hi-fi sound - BUT it got trodden on during delivery, there was even a footprint on the box as it had obviously been used as a step in the back of the van ! Nevertheless, it still loaded up the tape despite the little door hanging off - but when I pressed 'play' it chewed up the start of the videotape ...so I'm afraid this upload will have to do for now . Why not turn the sound up ...or watch it via your television rather than a silly bloody little i-phone ?! Thank you and goodnight.
Hi Steve. When was this show screened?
1996
When British and Irish genes are mixed this is the comic genius you get as we have seen with many others down the years, a true legend
I love Milligan but he did nothing for Ireland and he never saw himself as Irish and we don't consider him to be Irish.
I remember listening to the Goon show on the radio as a youngster, the stories created such wonderful pictures in my mind. As a young adult and a much senior one now I still appreciate and admire his talent.
His insanity masked a thoughtful and clever mind that sparkled with irreverence and common sense. Not for Spike, the grind of blind obedience, the suffering of fools or the pomposity of the elite. His was the mind of a child both naughty and full of wonder and not afraid to express his ideals.
a genius in one word could only be the explanation of this magnificent, brilliance not like any other who's been on the public media. his genius would be too taxing for the human brain at times and would have to be rested under medical attention he was way beyond the exceptional in a class which could only be his own , unique in every way far beyond anything to have come close to his talent.
Barking mad but what a man. Can't believe dislikes. The man was a genius!
"My Hero"what a Legend, what a genius!🔊👍😎❤
only 219 out of 3200.Only 14% of comments are dislikes.Not bad for "barking mad"
@@michaelgillard3499 has
@@elaineday4429 hast
Dislikes will be from so called 'woke' leftists. No humour.
In his 80’s here, his mind as sharp as ever……….total genius.
When comedians were intelligent, creative, and funny. A generation still in possession of their souls.
Weve still got a couple left
Spike was a genius
I was a fan as a kid - in my 60's now - read all his books, and admired him always for being the imperfect human he said he was. Original and irreplacable.
@@nevetsmahgnirtle8961 he and the goons changed my life....I got it but my father and brother didn't...A Huge Chasm..
they had been through hell, life not handed to them on a plate.
All the Celebs in the audience are looking for the camera but Spike doesn’t.He signed his book,at a book launch in Sydney,’Depression and how to survive it’ he looked like he was just about to pass but he had done for years.I said “I’ve got all your books” and he said “I’m not signing all of them too.Utter legend…RIP Spike😎
Pathetic aren't they these so called celebrities
I really enjoyed Joanna Lumley in AbFab 😊
Aged about 16 (1972) My friends and I used to hang around on the stairs of a Portsmouth department store called LDB. We had seen a notice that Spike would be visiting that day so kept a look out for him. On our way back from the stores cafe to the stairs, Spike walked towards us, I asked him to sign one of my cheques that were printed with animal pictures, as he was signing it a asked if he had signed one of these before, he replied with 'My boy, you would not believe the things that I have signed in my life' That was not particularly funny but the fact he was wearing a pair of ladies knickers that he had taken off a display on his head was :-) I still have that cheque somewhere.
PLAYDEALS that is a great story ..
Typical Spike. I remember the stairs in the Landport Drapery Bazaar.
Dear Spike - pure genius. How we all miss him.
(He is funniest when he can't stop laughing at his own jokes )
Wonderful - thanks a million for uploading this! As a kid, and even now, I figured him as one of the top funniest men on the planet!
Miss you Spike. The eternal being must've wanted your unique & quirky sense of humour all to itself.
Look at the respect and reverence with which those two former enemies treat each other, Spike and Hans.
I love him forever. He wrote to mei here in Canada.I had wtitten a word of praise to him and the the other goons. He wrote back to me explainng that he was a busy and would have to make his letter short...He wrote three pages to me.
I LOVE HIM - HE WAS MY TEENAGE YEARS, THE jokes of one Goon Show would last us the whole week in the office in the ‘50’s. He wrote little letters from the Fairies to his Daughters, and hid them in the garden - He lives in my Heart for ever🌟💗🌹🙏🏻
Thank you Steven Rutter for posting this, brought back a lot of 80's memories for me... nostalgia right!
Thank you so much for this, never seen it before in my 84 years, tears of laughter almost every line.
keep laughing Bill x
Hope you are well Bill. Spike was a genius.
Brilliant! So glad I saw this again. I suppose the reason it has not been repeated on TV like the Connolly and Dodd audiences is the presence of the wobble-boarding Australian with the criminal record in the front row. Spike was a true genius let us rejoice in his memory.
If they wanted to repeat it they could easily edit the Harris clips, but Bill wyman is allowed 🤔
Thank you for uploading, for everyone to view. It was great to watch this show again.
Spike Milligan was a unique - and great - comedian and writer. His books and TV series had a significant and lasting impact on my own sense of humour. His jokes and sketches didn’t always work, but the majority did (for me) and brilliantly highlighted his troubled genius.
As a Republican, rather than a Monarchist, I especially enjoyed it when he called Prince Charles “a grovelling little shit” (when he received his lifetime achievement award).
What a legend…Spike was my beloved Dads love and my exceptional memory of my childhood ❤️❤️❤️
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
A great comedian , Poet , script writer .. a true great & legend … looking back at the audience though .. notorious entities , Harris for instance !!!! little did we know
I always like Spike's humour. His books, his part in the war and more.
I loved his comment from years ago when asked by Gay Byrne "Do you miss your dad, is he dead"
And he answered "I hope so we buried him last week"
Sniveling little bastard to Prince Charles completely ended me !🤣
😖The world is a poorer place without him in it. Thank God for RUclips clips, priceless! Laughter is the best medicine ever😄
awesome thanks for sharing , what a bright spark he was, such a clever guy too
Spike Milligan THE master of comedy, made me laugh my whole life to this day. RIP Spike, you are still much loved and missed ! A British great 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Well sort of he was born in India his father was Irish his mother was English
Jme Milligan does that make him Indian?
He’s such an era sensation that many would never understand Spike or his barking mad humor so would give a dislike. However, to listen to the Telly Goons in the old days on a Sunday (I think) was a laughable treat; Mum could have her Archers and the Mrs. Dale’s Diary or something, but I had the wireless on early for the tubes to warm up ready for the offbeat humor of those guys, while my parents were still entertaining, and Spike was such an offbeat legend in those flower power days. This was a shadow of what he was, but my oh my, he wasn’t that bad for his age. It’s a Marmite thing; love it, or you don’t.
When comedy was funny , Spike was brilliant , Ken Dodd, Eric Sykes, Peter Cook, Peter Sellers, Bob Monkhouse The era of that kind of genius comedy has gone.
WildPhotoShooter genius being the word
I’d rather sit with my bollocks in a hot chip pan than watch the comedians on telly these days.
Don't forget Tony Hancock.
@@ER-gw2xzI find modern tellys too thin to sit on.
Spike's type of humor is best observed running wild rather than in captivity.
A good man. I rarely belly laugh, because it upsets the tortoise, with Spike, I can't help it (sorry Rhu).
Definitely one of a kind. Effortlessly funny. His wartime memoirs are an absolute hoot.
An amazing man,a true comedy legend.RIP Spike.
Legend…. Got to sit next to Spike and his Mum at lunch one day and he was magic. We are having lunch with his daughter Laura hopefully in a couple of weeks to celebrate her birthday. She is as funny and mad as her Dad ever was - lunch will be interesting as well as unscripted.
I had the honour of photographing this legend. He took the pi$$ out of me all night during his show - but apologised and thanked me for being a sport at the end of the evening. After the show, he went to the office of the nightclub to sign copies of one of his books. He told the line of people to wait - and then proceeded to walk to the near end of the line and talk to a disabled lady in a wheelchair before everyone else. So much greatness in this man. Rest in peace Spike, and yes - we knew you were ill.
Danial oDonnoalnbg 24:55
/why can't I get Danial o Donnald
dont you just love this man rest in peace spike. i saw him many years ago never stopped laughing
Same here, missed half the show through laughing.
Only Spike could take the horrors of war, transform them into absurd crazy ass comedy for the world to enjoy. ❤️
So many famous faces there. Harry Secombe, Rolf Harris, Peter O'Toole, Clive James, Joanna Lumley and so many others. Love you spike and hearing my dad roaring at your Goon shows. May eternity be kind to you Spike.
Rolf Harris 😮
Working at a Sydney TV station in mid seventies, I came across a small reel of 16mm B&W news film. It was an interview with Spike, on the steps of Woy Woy town hall.
Spike was laying horizontal on the steps. When asked by the lady reporter why he was horizontal, he replied that Woy Woy was an above-ground cemetery!
The only time I ever laughed harder was when John Cleese gave that little car "a damn good thrashing" with a tree branch.
That’s true about Woy Woy, my parents live at Umina and it’s still the same 😂
Thank you so much for posting this, it was both very funny and extremely touching. I loved the poetry and the song.
I come from sligo in Ireland and live not far from where spikes dad was born. And I can totally get his humour the people from that aera are. So witty and. Funny. Great banter off the cuff
A comic genius, light years ahead of the muppets that we call comics today.
The Muppets have never claimed to be comics
Wonderful wonderful Spike Milligan,pure comic genius.
This man was sent from God with a mission to make people laugh and laugh they did rip spike
"Amen. Or if you prefer... a woman?" Sublime. No equal to this man. None.
What a star, still sharp as ever, they sadly don't make them like that anymore .
Happy memories of Spike RIP great Irishman and comedy genius
Had a bit of trouble with the vernacular but enough to get a big laugh and having a lot of his music made it more understandable. A real natural comedy treasure from any time and any country. Quite the mischievous spirit embodied. I rediscovered him and his very large recordings when I looked up what in my youth in America was Very big, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor On The Bed Post Over Night" high octane tempo great song. Never knew for most of my life what the lyrics "If tin whistles are made out of tin? What are Fog Horns made of?" fit in the tempo but the sounds didn't add up to words, at least English, The accent made no "cents" to me at all until computers came about and I could download the lyrics!.....Oh! Kind of a "Musical Interlude" (ref. Eugene O'Neil and Groucho Marx, animal crackers)
But I digress....
His books are brilliant. He was probably always funny, but with typical humility of his generation, he was profoundly affected by his experiences with 8th Army during the war. His books downplay his role, are full of grim humour but paint the picture with plenty of gaps for the imagination. It was tough. He came back humbled by the sacrifice of ordinary men. So much of his comedy, as bizarre as it often is, is full of love for his fellow men and women, of his audience.
What I love about this is the modesty of it. Nothing flash or elaborate.
Went to see Spike in Southsea theatre with my friend. She laughed loudly at spikes jokes. She had this outrageous laugh, which everyone laughed at. Spike stopped looked up at her and said you'd better come down here, you're doing a better job than I am...
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
Thanks for sharing ... love it!
Anyone with a healthy brain should enjoy the wonderful Spike Milligan reminiscing....poetry and a sweet song.
He seems almost subdued compared to his younger days.
I loved him in the Goons AND his war books left me in stitches of laughter
I was laughing from the first line...and never stopped.
well never mind have a wee
I once had a brief moment in passing with this man - my friend Anita & myself - whilst standing waiting for a bus in our school uniforms - down Balmain Rd (in Rozelle Sydney Australia) Mr M himself was driven past in his large- quite flashy - car - and
- I was shocked and pointed to him and must have excitedly shouted
"Look - its Spike Milligan!"
- the legend himself leaned quite far out the passenger side window and pointed at us - and shouted
"Look - its a schoolgirl!"
One of the funniest things I have ever heard or seen - and one of my favourite moments!
Such a beautiful and pained, human being
he gave such a great performance, very sentence had a point
Watched this several times a year for years. Spike is a hero of mine, well more so his brilliant sense of humour. My elder brother and I loved the Goon show, and it definitely shaped our sense of humour. I became terminally ill with pulmonary fibrosis, among a host of other ailments including non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis and cellulitis, kidney stones, 4 attacks of anaphylactic shock, hospitalised for all of them. My brother said maybe I should apply to the Guinness book of World Records as the most unluckiest man in the world or the sickest, makes no difference. Spike is still sadly missed, the Spike is dead, long live the Spike ❤❤
Sad that despite the wonderful humour of Spike, that Holf Rarris was there
Thanks for putting this on, for years Ive used the 'I got off at Bexhill, it wasnt easy, the train didnt stop there' and still laugh, he was an uncomfortable genius, which makes him apart from most
This guy is one of the funniest men ever. My favourite comedians are Miligan, Peter Sellers and Ronnie Barker. I really wish I'd been born around 1950.
some of us were and damned lucky too !!