The Grumbleweeds Radio Show
Encyclopedia
The Grumbleweeds' Radio Show was a long-running comedy sketch show that aired for fifteen series between 1979 and 1988, starring The Grumbleweeds
and broadcast on BBC Radio 2
(later repeated on BBC Radio 4
). The show title was later shortened to The Grumbleweeds.
It also served as the name of a 1980s UK television programme starring the group.
performed by Colvill to his fictional partner Amanda with a suitably humorous punchline) and a parody of Radio 4's 'A Book At Bedtime', where a softly-spoken narrator would attempt to read a story in spite of mounting technical problems such as constantly-failing transmitter power, and would end the sketch yelling at the top of his voice in order to be heard. A regular Family Grumbleweed sketch introduced the residents of Grumbleweed Towers and a revolving cast of assorted friends, neighbours and lunatics. The programmes were predominantly broadcast on BBC Radio 2
between 10pm and 11pm, with repeats on weekend lunchtimes.
Key characters included:
The Grumbleweeds Radio Show won Best Radio Show Award in the Television and Radio Industries Awards of 1983, the same year that the group were given an ITV television series.
A half-hour Christmas special, Wilf In Santaland, broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Christmas Day 1984, switched the usual quickfire sketch-based format for a traditional Christmas pantomime
. The following four radio series, running from 1985 to 1988, were produced in a half-hour sitcom format, which was largely an extension of the Family Grumbleweed sketch from the earlier incarnation of the radio show, with scripts still mostly written by Mike Craig
and often featuring cameos from other contemporary light entertainment favourites such as Mollie Sugden
, Jimmy Cricket
, Paul Shane and Stuart Hall. A number of new characters were introduced, amongst them the vagrant Ratface, the spluttering, lisping entrepreneur Sid Squeak and his partner-in-crime Stanley Bubble.
In late 1987, two members of the group - brothers Albert and Carl Sutcliffe - decided to leave in order to pursue other careers. The remaining trio secured a new radio slot, Someone and the Grumbleweeds, with sketches mostly written by ex-Morecambe and Wise
scriptwriter Eddie Braben
and featuring a different celebrity guest each week. This ran on BBC Radio 2 from 1989 to 1991, since when the group have had no regular radio series.
. Paradoxically retaining the same name as the radio programme and set in a mocked-up radio studio in order to build on the image the group had built up through radio, the TV shows were geared toward a more family audience than the live stage show. The Grumbleweeds Radio Show was produced by Johnny Hamp of The Comedians fame, who retained the fast-moving sketch format and upped it a little, with thirty or more sketches per half-hour episode, interspersed with impressions and a selection of regular characters from the radio series. Sketches were generally performed in the studio, using hand-drawn backdrops produced by Granada's in-house designers.
New characters introduced in the television show included:
A full first series of six programmes followed on 5th May 1984, followed by two Christmas specials and a second series in 1985. Two further series followed in 1986, which were retitled "The Grumbleweeds Show" (although these are incorrectly listed in the ITN Archive as "The Grumbleweeds Radio Show").
Additional regular performers included the "Grumblegirls" (models Mandy Montgomery, Tracy Dixon and another called Sally) who usually played overtly sexy female roles, while, as with Monty Python
, the roles of older women would usually be played by the men (in drag
).
Popular cabaret
artists such as Madeline Bell
made occasional guest appearances on the show, attempting to keep a straight face while being distracted by a cast of oddball characters who appeared on stage one by one. These included a myopic park-keeper (played by Robin) dribbling Pot Noodle
down his chin, the Milky Bar Kid (Albert, who removed his dentures to play the character) and an outsized Demis Roussos
(Maurice), wearing deely-boppers
which, when pulled, would launch him into the air amid clouds of smoke.
The group played it straight for three or four minutes each week, performing songs generally written by Maurice or Carl, the band's two guitarists, with Robin on drums, Graham on bass guitar and Albert on keyboards, although the band often swapped instruments.
The fifth series, which began in April 1987, saw a number of changes to the format. The group filmed sketches on location in addition to the studio-based material. The "radio studio" format was abandoned in favour of a more grandiose set and the group's self-performed theme song "We Are The Grumbleweeds" was replaced with a big band version. The Sutcliffe brothers decided to leave the group in 1987, with their places taken by backing musicians for the final few television shows. The final programme was transmitted on 9th July 1988.
The series also spun off into a book, The Grumbleweeds Scrap Book (ISBN 0708831540), and a long-playing album of songs, 'Let The Good Times Roll' (of which only two songs, "A Woman's Intuition" and "It's Party Time" had featured in the television series) was released on K-Tel
Records in 1986. As of May 2011, the programmes have yet to be released commercially.
Official web site
The Grumbleweeds
The Grumbleweeds are an award winning British comedy band, performing music and comedy. They were mostly popular on radio and television in the 1980s.-Career:...
and broadcast on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
(later repeated on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
). The show title was later shortened to The Grumbleweeds.
It also served as the name of a 1980s UK television programme starring the group.
On radio (1979-1991)
The radio programme was a mixture of fast-moving skits, impressions and sketches, linked by snatches of the band's signature tune "We Are The Grumbleweeds". Recurring sketches included 'Trouble At T'Mill' (a comedic parody of a working-class drama set in a Yorkshire mill at the turn of the 20th century), 'Oh Amanda' (a romantic soliloquySoliloquy
A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
performed by Colvill to his fictional partner Amanda with a suitably humorous punchline) and a parody of Radio 4's 'A Book At Bedtime', where a softly-spoken narrator would attempt to read a story in spite of mounting technical problems such as constantly-failing transmitter power, and would end the sketch yelling at the top of his voice in order to be heard. A regular Family Grumbleweed sketch introduced the residents of Grumbleweed Towers and a revolving cast of assorted friends, neighbours and lunatics. The programmes were predominantly broadcast on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
between 10pm and 11pm, with repeats on weekend lunchtimes.
Key characters included:
- Uncle Rubbish, a nostalgia buff
- Wilf "Gasmask" Grimshaw, who constantly wore a gas maskGas maskA gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
, apparently to stop him from picking his nose - Perennially-stressed housekeeper Freda Nattercan (catchphrase: "Oh, I just can't cope!"), her husband Adolph (catchphrase, a shout of: "I don't know!") and daughter Melanie (catchphrase: "Has anybody seen me teeth?")
- The stereotypically campCamp (style)Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
duo Ernest and Geoffrey (who were reinvented as agony aunts Viv and Trix when the series transferred to television) - Fred Fibber, a pathological liar
- Uncle Nasty, an unpleasant character who would interrupt proceedings with threatening and sarcastic comments
- Jimmy Savile, Colvill's impersonation of television personality Jimmy SavileJimmy SavileSir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops...
, who also came from Leeds.
The Grumbleweeds Radio Show won Best Radio Show Award in the Television and Radio Industries Awards of 1983, the same year that the group were given an ITV television series.
A half-hour Christmas special, Wilf In Santaland, broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Christmas Day 1984, switched the usual quickfire sketch-based format for a traditional Christmas pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. The following four radio series, running from 1985 to 1988, were produced in a half-hour sitcom format, which was largely an extension of the Family Grumbleweed sketch from the earlier incarnation of the radio show, with scripts still mostly written by Mike Craig
Mike Craig
Michael Craig is a professional hockey player. He currently plays right wing for the EC VSV in the Austrian Hockey League...
and often featuring cameos from other contemporary light entertainment favourites such as Mollie Sugden
Mollie Sugden
Isobel Mary 'Mollie' Sugden was an English comedy actress best known for portraying the saleswoman Mrs. Slocombe in the British sitcom Are You Being Served? from 1972 to 1985. She later reprised this role in Grace & Favour, which ran from 1992 to 1993...
, Jimmy Cricket
Jimmy Cricket
Jimmy Cricket is a comedian. He currently lives with his family in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England.- Early life and career :...
, Paul Shane and Stuart Hall. A number of new characters were introduced, amongst them the vagrant Ratface, the spluttering, lisping entrepreneur Sid Squeak and his partner-in-crime Stanley Bubble.
In late 1987, two members of the group - brothers Albert and Carl Sutcliffe - decided to leave in order to pursue other careers. The remaining trio secured a new radio slot, Someone and the Grumbleweeds, with sketches mostly written by ex-Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
scriptwriter Eddie Braben
Eddie Braben
Eddie Braben is a comedy writer and performer who has provided material for such figures as David Frost and Ronnie Corbett, and who is most famous for having written for Ken Dodd and Morecambe and Wise....
and featuring a different celebrity guest each week. This ran on BBC Radio 2 from 1989 to 1991, since when the group have had no regular radio series.
On television (1983-1988)
Following an appearance on "The Video Entertainers" on 17th August 1982, the group made a pilot television programme, shown nationally on 29th March 1983 by makers Granada TelevisionGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
. Paradoxically retaining the same name as the radio programme and set in a mocked-up radio studio in order to build on the image the group had built up through radio, the TV shows were geared toward a more family audience than the live stage show. The Grumbleweeds Radio Show was produced by Johnny Hamp of The Comedians fame, who retained the fast-moving sketch format and upped it a little, with thirty or more sketches per half-hour episode, interspersed with impressions and a selection of regular characters from the radio series. Sketches were generally performed in the studio, using hand-drawn backdrops produced by Granada's in-house designers.
New characters introduced in the television show included:
- The Milky Bar Kid (played by a blinking, gurning Albert Sutcliffe with his false teeth removed)
- Hymie and Rachel, a stereotypeStereotypeA stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
Jewish couple - Shamus O'Hooligan, a stereotype Irishman based heavily on the act of comedian Frank CarsonFrank CarsonFrank Carson is a Northern Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas.-Early life:...
- Viv & Trix, agony aunts (largely the Ernest and Geoffrey characters from the radio series)
- Clair Voyant, a wizened old fortune teller
- Wally & Mandy, an old man (played by Carl Sutcliffe) and his sexy young wife, played by actress Mandy Montgomery
- The Mystics, a husband-and-wife cabaret magic act whose male half Gilbert was perennially drunk
- Taxi Jim, closely based on Jim IgnatowskiJim IgnatowskiThe Reverend Jim "Iggy" Ignatowski, played by Christopher Lloyd, was a fictional character in the 1970s television series Taxi. A gentle soul, Jim was, in his own words, "the living embodiment of the sixties". His most noticeable character trait was his extreme "spaced-out" behavior as a result of...
from the TV series Taxi - Pam Hair, a poet closely based on Pam AyresPam AyresPam Ayres MBE is an English poet, songwriter and presenter of radio and television programmes. Her 1975 appearance on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks led to a variety of appearances on TV and radio shows, a one woman touring stage show and performing before the Queen.-Early life:Pam...
(but with a lot of facial hair) - Sid Noxious, a punk rocker
A full first series of six programmes followed on 5th May 1984, followed by two Christmas specials and a second series in 1985. Two further series followed in 1986, which were retitled "The Grumbleweeds Show" (although these are incorrectly listed in the ITN Archive as "The Grumbleweeds Radio Show").
Additional regular performers included the "Grumblegirls" (models Mandy Montgomery, Tracy Dixon and another called Sally) who usually played overtly sexy female roles, while, as with Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
, the roles of older women would usually be played by the men (in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
).
Popular cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
artists such as Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, having arrived from the US in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.-Career:She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty...
made occasional guest appearances on the show, attempting to keep a straight face while being distracted by a cast of oddball characters who appeared on stage one by one. These included a myopic park-keeper (played by Robin) dribbling Pot Noodle
Pot Noodle
Pot Noodle is a brand of ramen-style instant noodle snack foods, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. Its dehydrated mixture consists of wide noodles, textured soya pieces, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. The product is prepared by adding boiling water, which softens...
down his chin, the Milky Bar Kid (Albert, who removed his dentures to play the character) and an outsized Demis Roussos
Demis Roussos
Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer, best known for being the main musical partner of movie soundtrack composer Vangelis and a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1960s and 1970s...
(Maurice), wearing deely-boppers
Deely bopper
A deely bobber is a novelty item of headgear comprising a headband to which are affixed two springy protrusions resembling the antennae of insects or of stereotypical little green men. These "antennae" may be topped with simple plastic shapes or more elaborate and fanciful decorations, such as...
which, when pulled, would launch him into the air amid clouds of smoke.
The group played it straight for three or four minutes each week, performing songs generally written by Maurice or Carl, the band's two guitarists, with Robin on drums, Graham on bass guitar and Albert on keyboards, although the band often swapped instruments.
The fifth series, which began in April 1987, saw a number of changes to the format. The group filmed sketches on location in addition to the studio-based material. The "radio studio" format was abandoned in favour of a more grandiose set and the group's self-performed theme song "We Are The Grumbleweeds" was replaced with a big band version. The Sutcliffe brothers decided to leave the group in 1987, with their places taken by backing musicians for the final few television shows. The final programme was transmitted on 9th July 1988.
The series also spun off into a book, The Grumbleweeds Scrap Book (ISBN 0708831540), and a long-playing album of songs, 'Let The Good Times Roll' (of which only two songs, "A Woman's Intuition" and "It's Party Time" had featured in the television series) was released on K-Tel
K-tel
K-tel International is an "As-Seen-On-TV" company, which is most noted for its compilation music albums, such as "The Super Hits" series, "The Dynamic Hits" series and "The Number One Hits" series...
Records in 1986. As of May 2011, the programmes have yet to be released commercially.
Official web site