On this day 70 years ago, a short article in The Stage gave a glimpse of what was to come:
"The Goons"
One of the happier meetings during the war years was that of four young men of the ‘Stars in Battledress’ show, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Michael Bentine, and Spike Milligan. They discovered that they all had something in common – a rather extravagant form of humour – and decided that after the war, when they had each established themselves in show business, they would try to form a new crazy comedy team. The moment has now arrived, and listeners will hear the first offerings of Milligoon, Sellergoon, Segoon, and Bentigoon in what they fondly refer to as their ‘Goon Show’, a new Home Service series starting on May 28.
Max Geldray, harmonica virtuoso, the Stargazers, the Ray Ellington Quartet, and Stanley Black and the Dance Orchestra will bring listeners down to earth, musically at any rate, during the show. Dennis Main Wilson will be the producer, and the script will be written by a certain Arnold Fringe, known as the spirit of the Goons, whose work is subsequently translated by Spike Milligan.
People say that there is nothing new under the sun, but the Goons’ form of humour may well explode the theory, if only for the reason that they work to a plan in which any situation is developed to its illogical conclusion!
(‘The Goons’ article from page 7 of The Stage, 17 May 1951)
This article was sourced from the British Newspaper Archives.