"Transistor Radio" was a comic song

Comic song

A comic song is a humorous song. These songs were especially popular in the music halls of the 19th and 20th century....

 written by Benny Hill

Benny Hill

Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...

 and Mark Anthony (a pseudonym of producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Tony Hatch

Tony Hatch

Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...

), and performed by Hill. The song revolved around the story of a man whose attempts at intimacy with his girlfriend are constantly thwarted by music played from the girl's transistor radio

Transistor radio

A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver using transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954 they became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s...

. The song spoofs The Chipmunks

The Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...

, Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

's "Wooden Heart

Wooden Heart

"Wooden Heart " is a song best known for its use in the 1960 Elvis Presley film G.I. Blues. The song was a hit for Presley in the United Kingdom, making number one for six weeks, but wasn't released as a single in the United States until November 1964 as the B-side to "Blue Christmas"...

", the BBC Shipping Forecast

Shipping Forecast

The Shipping Forecast is a four-times-daily BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The forecasts sent over the Navtex...

 and Jimmy Jones

Jimmy Jones (singer)

Jimmy Jones is an African American singer-songwriter, who moved to New York while a teenager. According to Allmusic journalist, Steve Huey, "best known for his 1960 R&B smash, "Handy Man," Jones sang in a smooth yet soulful falsetto modeled on the likes of Clyde McPhatter and Sam...

' "Handy Man

Handy Man

"Handy Man" is a rock and roll song credited to singer Jimmy Jones and songwriter Otis Blackwell. It was originally recorded by The Sparks Of Rhythm, a group Jones had been a member of when he wrote it, although he was not with them when they recorded it. In 1959, Jones recorded the song himself,...

".

"Transistor Radio" finished with the now-married couple alone in bed, with the expectant wife disappointed when her husband asks Ere, where's the radio?' Released as a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in 1961, the song reached the #24 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

Revised version

In 1972, Hill performed a radically revamped version of this song, now called "Portable TV Set," on his television show

The Benny Hill Show

The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...

, on which he offered impersonations of Ironside

Ironside (TV series)

Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...

, Clement Freud

Clement Freud

Sir Clement Raphael Freud was an English broadcaster, writer, politician and chef.-Early life:Freud was born in Berlin, the son of Jewish parents Ernst Ludwig Freud and Lucie née Brasch. He was the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the brother of artist Lucian Freud...

, Stars on Sunday host Jess Yates

Jess Yates

Jess Yates was a British television presenter and producer...

 and Maggie Stredder of The Ladybirds

The Ladybirds

The Ladybirds are a British female vocal harmony trio, most famous for their appearances in The Benny Hill Show. They participated in over 60 episodes between 1968 and 1991. In addition, they were long-standing backing singers to many established artists, and perennial television ...

. The role of his television-obsessed girlfriend was played by Jenny Lee-Wright

Jenny Lee-Wright

Jenny Lee-Wright is a British actress and dancer who later became a Foley artist.At age 16, she left school to train with the Ballet Rambert. Within a year, she became part of a French cabaret group that travelled the world...

.