W.O.C.K On Vinyl: The Goodies - Funky Gibbon 'The Best Of' (2000)

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.

The Goodies, alias Cambridge graduates Bill Oddie (born 7 July 1947), Graeme Garden (born 18 February 1943) and Tim Brooke-Taylor (born 17 July 1940), come together on the BBC radio show I'M SORRY I'LL READ THAT AGAIN and transferred to the small screen with the greatest of ease. Their madcap antics on a three-person bike called a Trandem made them mainstays of BBC-TV's comedy schedules from 1970 to 1977 with a fanbase ranging in age from six to 60.

They released a string of singles, too, written by Bill Oddie - the smallest and hairiest Goodie, as opposed to loveable upper-class twit Brooke-Taylor or the scholarly Garden, a doctor in real life. All five hits and their double A-sides (where appropriate) are represented here, from "THE INBETWEENIES" / "FATHER CHRISTMAS, DO NOT TOUCH ME" in December 1974 through their most successful effort, the Number 4  "FUNKY GIBBON" to the second Yuletide rib-tickler, ' "MAKE A DRAFT NOISE FOR CHRISTMAS" that closed their chart account in 1975.

The Goodies riding their Trandem 

Their musical career may have been brief and bright - ' We were the sixth best-selling group in England,' Oddie will tell you - but this wacky telly trio will beloved forever.

The ancient martial art of Ecky Thump

The Goodies had many, many moments of sheer comic genius, whether it be Bill's adoption of the ancient martial art of Ecky Thump, Graeme ketchuping himself to death at the OK Tea Rooms or Tim being forced to sneak around in a bin bag to hide his true nature as a... gulp... scout.

The Goodies Scout Troup doing Goodie Deeds

During my teenage years, I was a big fan of the Goodies when it was aired on Australian TV in the early 70's, and have always loved British comedy. BBC shows like The Young Ones, On The Buses, Love Thy Neighbour, Monty Python, It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Dad's Army and of course The Goodies formed a major part of my 'teens' TV viewing and up bringing. 

One aspect of The Goodies that made them quite unique was their additional musical abilities, especially in the case of Bill Oddie who was responsible for writing most of their tunes - including their Theme Song. 

You know, I miss those days when taking the piss out of 'alternative life styles' and 'stupid behaviour' wasn't judged or censored like it is today, and was seen for what it was intended - just silly, harmless fun. I hope you enjoy these goofy GOODIES tunes and they bring a huge smile to your dial.

Ripped from CD in MP3 format (320kps) with full album artwork, this GOODIES  'Best Of' collection certainly ticks the Crazy and Korny boxes for this month's WOCK on vinyl post, and I would like to leave you with their famous trade mark phrase:        

                            'GOODIES.........goodie-goodie-yum-yum'

Track Listing

01 The Goodies Theme  1:59

02 Funky Gibbon  3:25

03 The Inbetweenies  3:16

04 Please Let Us Play  2:55

05 Black Pudding Bertha  2:54

06 Cricklewood  2:56

07 Good Ole Country Music  3:47

08 Nappy Love  3:39

09 Wild Thing * 3:57

10 Rock With A Policeman  3:09

11 Panic  2:47

12 I'm A Teapot  3:12

13 Sick Man Blues  1:57

14 The Last Chance Dance  4:11

15 Father Christmas, Do Not Touch Me  3:18

16 Make A Daft Noise For Christmas  4:07

All tracks written by Oddie except Taylor *        Goodies Link (123Mb)