Rock On Vinyl: W.O.C.K ON Vinyl: Barry Humphries

Sunday, April 30, 2023

W.O.C.K ON Vinyl: Barry Humphries - Savoury Dip (1971)

Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

Barry Humphries, the man responsible for some of Australia’s most loved characters including Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone, has exited stage left for the last time. Humphries, 89, died on Saturday 22nd May at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, where he had been treated for various health issues. For weeks the comic had brushed aside concerns about the seriousness of his condition.

With over 70 years on the stage, he was an entertainer to his core, touring up until the last year of his life and planning more shows that will sadly never be. His audiences were precious to him, and he never took them for granted. Although he may be best remembered for his work in theatre, he was a painter, author, poet, and a collector and lover of art in all its forms.

He was also a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and a friend and confidant to many. His passing leaves a void in so many lives but the characters he created, which brought laughter to millions, will live on.

Humphries was initially admitted to hospital in February after falling in his Sydney apartment and injuring his hip, requiring a “painful” hip replacement. In March, he was adamant he would soon be back on his feet and planned to tour the country. Despite grueling sessions with a physiotherapist, Humphries never returned home and his condition began to deteriorate.

Throughout his lengthy career Humphries has written scripts, produced films, and worked as a landscape painter. never wavering from his Australian roots and love of all things Melburnian.

Humphries true calling came with his one-man satirical stage revues where he’d perform as a multitude of characters he’d created. Humphries once said “I found that entertaining people gave me a great feeling of release, making people laugh was a very good way of befriending them. People couldn’t hit you if they were laughing.”

His first outing as 'Dame Edna Everage' came in 1955, where he’d perform as the character for a skit during the Olympic Hostess stage show at Melbourne University’s Union Theatre on 12th December 1955. Humphries initially conceived 'Dame Edna' as a dowdy, small-minded housewife, but over the character’s four decades of existence has evolved into a global superstar, appearing in numerous shows in London’s West End, Australia, the USA and on television.

Other characters included the gentle senior, Sandy Stone, of Anzac Drive and the constantly-offensive Sir Les Patterson.

Amongst his many stage and television specials were A Night with Dame Edna, An Evening’s Intercourse with Dame Edna, Edna: The Spectacle, Back with a Vengeance, The Dame Edna Treatment, Dame Edna Live: The First Last Tour plus Ally McBeal, The Life & Death of Sandy Stone, Jack Irish, The Kangaroo Gang and appearances on talk shows such as Parkinson, The Graham Norton Show, The Don Lane Show and more.

This month's W.O.C.K on Vinyl pays tribute to this great comedian and entertainer with a posting of his 1971 LP entitled 'Savoury Dip'. This compilation album features 6 sketches: 'Edna's Hymn' (written 1968), 'Wendy the One-eyed Wombat (written 1969), 'Highett Waltz' (written 1958), 'Great Big Fish' (written 1970) and 'Barry Humphries at Las Vegas' (1971); and a single 17min sketch on side two 'Sandy Claus' (written 1965). All sketches were written by Barry Humphries; musical accompaniment to 'Wendy the One-eyed Wombat' was written by Stanley Myers. The album was made in Australia by Parlophone, a company of the EMI group, in 1971. The cover was designed by Mark Strizic.

I decided to rip the album to MP3(320) because a majority of the recordings on this LP are dialogue, so FLAC would make no difference to the quality of the listening experience.

This album certainly ticks the Obscure box (you won't find it posted elsewhere) for W.O.C.K status, but it also ticks Creative and Comical boxes as well, as Humphries was a genius in both categories.