Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
***
Come, sweet Tuesday, trickle in through my windows. For, today is the day that sees the return of the internet's most talked-about feature.
The one in which I invite you to decide upon the subject of the day.
But what might it be?
Could it be sport, or art, or films, music, books, fairy tales, fairy lights, fairy cakes, myth, magic, murder, mystery, mayhem, sofas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, see-saws, flowers, flours, bread bins, bin bags, bean bags, cola, pancakes, pizzas, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, horror, sewage, saunas, suet, Silurians, sins or sandcastles?
It could be.
That is for you - and you alone - to decide.
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47 comments:
Morecambe & Wise or The Two Ronnies?
Two Ronnies of me. Particularly circa 1976, following Starsky and Hutch. Now that's what I call a Saturday night.
DW
For me. d'oh.
DW
Neither.
-sean
Huh? Is this subject pre or post Great Vowel Shift???
It would seem to leave the Americans a bit out of the loop Charlie... and doesn't really give the rest of us much room either. Unless theres a lot of enthusiasm out there for 70s English comedy/light entertainment duos.
Mind you, to be fair at least Colin didn't bring up Little & Large.
And no one else suggested anything earlier.
I was going to, but while wondering whether vinyl was a good subject seeing (it was Record Store Day on Friday) seeing as round here is probably more of a Spotify or I-pod crowd, Colin got in first.
Oh well. Thems the breaks. Who dares wins. Etc etc.
-sean
You can still ask your question, Sean - the more the merrier
As for my own question - neither of my parents liked Morecambe & Wise so I never watched them at the height of their BBC fame in the '70s (before they got greedy and moved to ITV for more money and became sort of irrelevant). But I did like the Two Ronnies - the 'four candles' and 'Mastermind' sketches are classics. And 'The Worm Turns' mini-series set in a future Britain where women have taken over and the Union Jack has become the Union Jill.
By the way, Sean, Ronnie Corbett was Scottish not English.
And it's goodnight from him...and me.
Happy St. Andrew’s Day McScotty!
FYI - Andy Williams’ birthday December 3! Is he showing on the British pop charts yet for any of his favorite xmas sings???
Sean
Iwouldbeinterestedintalkingvinyl!!!
Thanks Charlie I was waving my saltire flag to celebrate the day lol
Colin for me I thought the Two Ronnie's did the funniest sketches as you say "Four candles" was a classic. But I did like Morecambe and Wise as well as they were a bit if an institution especially the Christmas show.
When Speak Your Brain began I brought up this very issue of what happens if somebody asked a UK-exclusive question (it is a British blog after all!) and Charlie said he was fine with it and even welcomed the idea! But now he complains he can't take part? Tell us about your favourite American comedy duos, Charlie, and let the discussion meander into other things maybe. Now I'm supposed to feel guilty for asking my question?? I only asked it because several hours had passed with no suggestions! Sean is also free to ask his vinyl question if he wants!
Paul, I'm glad to hear you celebrated St. Andrew's Day but Kid Robson completely forgot!
Thanks for the topic, Colin.
I can't say I'm a huge fan of either act but I'd go for the Two Ronnies, as the only thing by Morecambe and Wise that still strikes me as being funny is the Andre Previn sketch.
For those unfamiliar with both acts:
Morecambe and Wise:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xds7am
The Two Ronnies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_6SaqVQSw
To be fair to Kid Robson Colin St Andrews day isn’t really celebrated in the way St Patricks day is in Ireland and other places. Here it’s more a formal day i.e. people go to an organised ceilidh dance or go out for a meal .If it falls on the weekend its celebrated more in pubs and of course COVID has changed so many things everywhere. It’s not helped by so many holidays / celebrations around the same time, Guy Fawkes, Halloween, Christmas, Hogmanay (New Year- a big deal up here) and Burns Night on 25 January etc. Saying that I worked in Africa for a few years at St Andrews day was a big deal with ex pats (as were all the UK National Saints days) longing for the “old country “ they were happy to leave lol.
Regarding vinyl records while I’m not a record collecting nut like my mate who is into the weight of the vinyl, the pressing etc (he once got his record player serviced and it cost him more than it cost me to have my 7 year old VW Polo serviced!!!) I have had a resurgence of interest in the format in recent years and have started to pick up what I consider classic albums . In the last 18 or so months I have picked up (well re-purchased from the first time around) Ziggy Stardust, Diamond Dogs & Hunky Dory by Bowie , Cosmos Factory, Green River by Creedence C R, London Calling by The Clash, and Marquee Moon by Television plus a few from charity shops including some excellent and well looked after Blues albums . My plan is not to buy too many as I used to own literally 100s of vinyl albums which can be a pain to store. I still think it’s the best format for music although maybe that’s an age thing but having an artist’s work as it was meant to be presented and listened to with all the tracks, the cover notes, LP cover art etc was a thrill. We used to pour over the lyrics and LP cover etc and look for hidden meanings in the tracks that would go on for days talking nonsense with your mates. The excitement of taking the record out of the sleeve and placing it on the record player and watching the needle slowly drop onto the vinyl just can’t be beaten.
Spotify etc is without doubt an amazing thing, who would have thunk that back in the 70s/80s we would have access to almost every song ever recorded on one small machine at your fingertips. But Spotify tends to make you only listed to the singles and ignore some of the other great album tracks which I think is a shame but I love Spotify and the way it provides listings on similar songs you might like. I have found some long forgotten classics of the years and more importantly some great new stuff (once you ignore Adele).
Last Christmas I got a Bluetooth Walkman to play old cassettes not a great sound but a lot better that traditional cassettes and still good if played through a Bluetooth speaker. Problem is I gave all but 2 of my over 200 cassettes away to a charity shop the year before so now look to pick up the off cassette in charity shops but some are asking for quite high process (the Beatles “Let it Be” was going for £8 in a local Oxfam shop)
Yesterday I observed with amusement that hours went by with no one suggesting a ‘Speak Your Brain ‘ topic. After awhile, I had an idea for a topic, even typed it in, but then decided ‘Naaahhh, that’s a lame topic, and besides, I picked last week’s, let someone else have their fun’ and deleted it.
Colin:
Afraid I’m not familiar with either of those two comedy acts, but since Steve kindly posted links to examples, I will check them out.
McScotty:
Two moves ago, I got rid of nearly all my vinyl records, several large crates full, weighed a ton. Tossed the rest into the dumpster. Don’t really regret it. Kept just a few for sentimental reasons. I don’t miss the pops and scratches and skips. I switched over to CD as my format of choice decades ago and have boxes and storage wallets full of ‘em. Have quite a few cassettes too, but since my car doesn’t have a tape player, I never listen to ‘em.
Yeah, I spent many a pleasant hour in my younger days listening to my favorite albums while checking out the art and photos on the sleeves, and reading the lyrics, etc. These days, I pretty much only listen to music in the car. Can’t even remember the last time I bought any new music. Odd how some habits change as we get older.
b.t.
I prefer 'The Two Ronnies', but think Ronnie Corbett's 'Sorry!' is even better.
Colin & Sean's topics can be combined, by examining vinyl records by the suggested comedy duos. For example:
https://eil.com/shop/artistlist.asp?artistname=the-two-ronnies
Like b.t., I listen to tapes in the car (my car being 16 years old, so having a tape deck).
Phillip
About five years ago my local Tesco (that's a supermarket for anyone overseas) started stocking vinyl albums but now they've disappeared again because nobody was buying them I assume. The vinyl LPs were mostly classics like Abbey Road, Dark Side Of The Moon and Rumours but they were twice the price of CDs.
ABBA's new Voyage album is the best-selling vinyl LP of the 21st Century so far (in the UK)!
I wouldn't go back to buying loads of vinyl just a few choice albums for my record player. I have loads of CDs that I used to play in the car but got a new ( used) car a few months ago and it has no CD option it's all Bluetooth to link to Spotify etc so will need to set up my wee CD player again and link the car to my mobile phone to hear tunes . I use Spotify most of the time now to listen to music in the house but it's nice to out in an LP now and then.
Phillip, my CD/cassette player is 23 years old next week (December 8th) but I no longer own any tapes to play in it.
Yikes - I think there is a misunderstanding.
If I may speak for the USA contingent, of the Anglo-Saxon community here, in no way was I bummed, disappointed, upset about a UK specific topic!
My remark was simply meant to be humorous acknowledgement of such.
Au contraire... the best way to learn about other cultures is... too learn about other cultures. Steve has some links I'm going to check out (and hopefully understand lol).
How else would we have learned "Suits you sir" played by a young "Father Brown?" And that series I was watching Sean sent a link to about up north and the closing of the mines (I would be grateful for the link again. I was watching, got distracted over time...)
All of us tread lightly on submitting a "speak your mind" topic b/c we don't want to cut off someone else who may have had a "better" subject. You've mentioned that before at BitBA when you posted some subjects (you were up earlier than us USA guys, so it made perfect sense). I would say if you have one, just post it! Regardless if you did the last one. Regardless if UK specific.
One think about SDC is that it meanders like Ole Man Miss... sure but steady, self correcting until it dumps water and sludge alike into the Gulf of Mexico.
IN closing - Please! Bring on the UK specific posts by all means!
Speaking of vinyl - I have a smattering. Kept all my Beatles and Beatles related. And there is a nice bit of Sheffield New Wave.
(Yes Sean, Phillip, I did save my France Gall albums!)
ANd in the past months I have bought the re-mastered Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour, and Ram On! I am waiting for my son to arrive at XMas before cracking open the two Beatles ones.
As for the 1/2 speed, double vinyl Ram On... the quality just blew me away. Seriously. It was incomprehensible after decades of pops, hisses, etc. Awestruck. GOBSMACKED!!!
I still have my sound system with Klipsch Heresy II speakers from college in 1983. I was going to dump them off at the Good Will after the great divorce last summer and then, through the magic of ebay, saw that the speakers were still easily worth $750 (I paid like $225).
And now... Charlie is looking for a remastered copy of the Rolling Stones Big Hits and Fazed Cookies. But the reviews say the remastered ones are of questionable quality. What to do... what to do...?
Err were not all Anglo Saxon Charlie some of us are Celts or Gaels lol
Well, I’ve still not checked out the two comic duos on YouTube yet, but have read the Wikipedia articles on each pair and feel like an expert on them now. Nothing like a detailed recitation of catch-phrases and recurring bits to get one in the mood for merriment :)
Anything more to add to the vinyl conversation? Hmmm, well, there’s this — as I said before, I don’t really regret dumping all those albums, since I had already re-bought most of them on CD. Some were by bands that I didn’t much care for and whose stuff never got re-released on CD (Starz, New England, Starcastle, Crawler, etc) and I later found myself kinda/sorta wishing I could hear again. But now it’s all on YouTube so it’s not even a problem (and yeah, they’re still mostly rubbish).
About fifteen years ago, a buddy of mine transferred all his vinyl, CDs and cassettes to mp3s and then got rid of the physical copies. He managed to sell most of his CDs (for very little money) but couldn’t give away the vinyl and cassettes so he ended up throwing them out. So of course, his computer crashed one fine day and since he hadn’t backed up the sound files, it all disappeared into the ether.
b.t.
Gents! Redartz from BitBA has a Facebook page up called Bitbats. It’s just getting started, with folks just posting the random pop-culture thoughts. Please visit and one of the benefits of going there is you will learn our true names, lol.
I am like you BT. I ended up taking 50 to 100 albums to Goodwill last summer. Many of them were one hit wonders like the euro gliders or Romeo Void. Emotionally, it is easy to get attached to those things since they harken back to a perhaps more fun and innocent time in life. But like you said, YouTube has all those songs out there if you really want to listen to them!
Greetings all! To add my 2 cents (US) to the subject of, well, UK subjects: I love them! It's always great to learn about things you haven't been exposed to, and I've learned much here at SDC! Incidentally, I have seen a bit of Morecomb and Wise, and enjoyed them. Not familiar with the 2 Ronnie's, though.
On vinyl; like many here I got rid of all mine, sticking with cds. But over the past couple years I've been picking up a few lps, generally weird esoteric ones at flea markets. From there I convert them and load them on my tablet ( but do back them up, so no worries b.t.)...
Here's something for members of Team USA who are interested in the UK (particularly Charlie!)
The village idiot (local geography & history) has finally got round to featuring Sheffield! He's starting with the parish of Ecclesfield:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTzdfFeEuGE
So...it's "Goodnight from me - and goodnight from him!" (The Two Ronnies' most famous catchphrase!)
Phillip
Phillip! And other friends over the sea!
As I lay here lubed up on Codeine, I've started the Village Idiot link! Funny the first one is from Steve's "city." "Trapped between the past and the future" I am sure Sheffield has a lot to offer!
Ummm... I do have some questions from the first few minutes I need to understand ASAP!
1) Sheffield is a city as we understand cities, yes?
2) What is a parish, then? (I have guesses from the French parishes in Louisiana but...) Is a parish bounded by the city it is within? Or can a parish contain both city and non-city geography?
3) What is Ecclesfield then? I understand it is a parish but is it just a subset of Sheffield, not a unique city with a unique mailing address?
I don't want to map my US experiences on this as it may be quite wrong, lol.
STEVE - what parish are you in, so when I watch successive Village Idiots about SHeffield I can get an appreciation of your surroundings!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTzdfFeEuGE
Charlie;
Sheffield is indeed a city.
A parish is a political administrative area. It might be a village, a town or a city.
Ecclesfield is a village that got swallowed up by Sheffield as the city expanded, and is now within the city boundaries while still being a village.
I don't have a clue what parish I'm in.
The Two Ronnies or Morecambe and Wise? It's about whether you prefer someone who can make you laugh just by the look in their face or whether you like someone who can make you laugh with clever material.
I go for Morecambe and Wise. This 16-second clip is genius.
https://youtu.be/sedG1kBtn1M
Charlie - To complicate things further, the word 'parish' can also have an ecclesiastical connotation (but not in this case - which is different!)
Phillip
Charlie - That isn't the first ever episode of 'Village Idiot' - he's done dozens of them. It is - however - perhaps the longest. The episodes are usually fairly short, and concise - not long, rambling ones, like this one!
Phillip
I’ve now seen the famous Andre Previn sketch. Afraid it’s all a bit too intellectual for me. Mr. Blobby is more my speed. :)
I’ll check out the Two Ronnies a bit later on….
b.t.
Probably worth pointing out that neither of these acts were exactly cutting edge. Very firmly early evening, family entertainment, and consequently warmly nostalgic if you watched as a kid.
DW
DW - thanks for the M&W clip!
First time, could not quite follow - wasn't prepared for the speed and accent.
Second time, I was initially "Was that really funny?" And then I just started laughing out loud as I thought about it.
Good one!!!
https://youtu.be/sedG1kBtn1M
DW:
Yeah, I figure it almost goes without saying that M&W seems very much ‘early evening’ family entertainment. I’ve been trying to think of what an American equivalent might be — Harvey Korman and Tim Conway sketches on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW or something like that.
I watched a few TWO RONNIES sketches — ‘Four Candles’ and ‘Mastermind’ — and they both made me laugh a bit more than the Morecambe and Wise ‘Andre Previn’ sketch.
Also — not kidding about Mr. Blobby. There’s something genuinely demented about that thing. Better in small doses tho!
b.t.
Didn't they use repeat plays of the Mr Blobby Song to torture prisoners in Gitmo?
Charlie, I just knew if we got onto the subject of vinyl you'd mention McCartney, and probably the Beatles (;
I'm afraid I can't help on Rolling Stones remasters - my taste in 70s rock music tends more toward something like the mammoth box of Goblin soundtrack lps thats due to drop before X-mas, which sadly I can't possibly afford. Thats the cost of American imports at the moment for you - grrrr!
But fwiw apparently the slackness of the music biz, which hasn't invested in new vinyl pressing plants to meet rising demand, together with the pandemic has caused a lot of difficulties with new releases thats affecting quality control (particularly for the large runs pressed by major labels).
Unless you're specifically after the latest remaster maybe try and find an earlier edition on ebay or something?
-sean
Charlie, I can only offer my apologies for misunderstanding your first comment!
b.t.
It was DM that posted there link not DW (me). Perhaps we should have an amnesty and use our names from now on ;-)
I've got to admit, I struggle with the vinyl thing. The music stores in Brisbane charge close to $100 for heavy duty vinyl albums (and just the record - that doesn't include a bottle of expensive pinot!).
I'm now predicting massive CRT televisions will make a comeback, shortly followed by a bunch of hipsters needing back surgery!
DW (Daren)
Sorry Charlie, not b.t. re the link.
DW, my impression is that records are particularly pricy in Oz, even more so than in the UK after brexit. I guess because there are more imports, and domestic labels have to recoup costs on smaller pressing runs?
Pro-tip: instead of the bottle of vino, in my experience a jazz cigarette is a less costly and more effective aid to enhanced listening.
-sean
b.t. - The most famous 'M & W' sketches (Andre Previn, Angela Ripon, Des O'Connor) might not translate, because they are based on the audience knowing who the UK 1970s household name/ celebrity is. It's supposed to be funny, watching celebrities play the 'straight man' to M & W/be the butt of their jokes. Alternatively, humour is achieved when the 1970s celebrity acts against type. For example, prim & proper newsreader Angela Ripon suddenly transforms into a dancer. If a US audience doesn't know Angela Ripon was a newsreader, this sketch/routine would be pretty meaningless. Nowadays, these sketches/routines are warmly nostalgic period pieces, based on the values of the 70s.
One way in which 'The Two Ronnies' differed was its humour was often based on word play.
DW - Conversely, confusion would also result, be if those of us who use our real names started using initials!
Phillip
I was in Tesco this morning and I saw a DVD called 'Morecambe & Wise: Xmas On ITV' - when M & W defected to ITV they seemed to become a lot less relevant, didn't they? All those classic sketches that Phillip mentioned were from the BBC days while their ITV stuff has been forgotten.
I didn't see any Two Ronnies DVDs but Tesco did have a DVD called 'Open All Hours: The Complete Series' which starred Ronnie Barker of course. But I much preferred his other famous series, 'Porridge' - in fact, I watched the entire run of 'Porridge' earlier this year on BBC iplayer.
But when Morecambe & Wise moved to ITV it meant that the Two Ronnies were promoted to the BBC's A-list. When M & W were at the BBC they got the coveted spot on Christmas Night while the Two Ronnies got Boxing Day.
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