Interview: Goodies’ triple triumph

Here in HMV on London’s Oxford Street, three comedians are signing autographs.

Here in HMV on London’s Oxford Street, three comedians are signing autographs. The queue of fans stretches through the foyer, almost out on to the street. Nothing unusual about that — this record shop regularly stages personal appearances by Britain’s biggest stars. What’s so surprising is that these comics are in their late-sixties, and the show that they’re promoting hasn’t been on TV for nearly 30 years. As The Goodies autograph their new DVD (a compilation of vintage shows, rereleased to mark their 40th anniversary) their greatest hits are replayed on a giant screen above their heads. Yet this isn’t just nostalgia. These old clips still feel fresh and funny. In the current 1970s revival (Tube strikes, student demos, coalition government) even their flares and sideburns look chic. After a generation of neglect, The Goodies are back in vogue.

Even in their Seventies heyday, The Goodies never took themselves too seriously. The cognoscenti dismissed them as a kids’ show, but the kids (both big and small) knew better. Ratings frequently nudged 10 million, as Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor set out on their three-seater bike to do ‘anything, anytime’ (anywhere). The show spawned several bestselling books and five top 20 records. A joyous blend of slapstick and silly satire, it was a televisual pantomime, the Little Britain of its day. Except, unlike Little Britain, there was no cruelty whatsoever in it, and that is why its appeal has lasted. The Goodies are a daft memento of a kinder, wiser age.