I was saddened to hear in April of the death of Humphrey Lyttelton a month short of his eighty seventh birthday. Old Etonian, Guardsman, trumpeter, bandleader, calligrapher, cartoonist, writer, journalist and broadcaster, an immense talent who is much missed.
My first contact with `Chairman Humph' would have been in my early teens on my crackly first hand me down radio (or wireless as we used to call them back in the day...).
My Mum & Dad had upgraded the kitchen radio to an all sing all dancing modern version, with an integrated tape player, heady stuff indeed. I quickly discovered that the radio was not just this awful `pop' music that my friends all seemed to be into (I never was very trendy!) but that there was a wealth of comedy on offer on both Radio 2 & Radio 4. Comedy shows such as `Radio Active', `The Huddlines' & `Keep it Maclean' as well as panel shows like `The News Quiz', `The Law Game' & the wonderfully bizarre `I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'.
From my first listen I was totally hooked, this was radical, near the knuckle stuff which as a twelve year old was quite simply the funniest thing I had ever heard. The double entendres delivered in such dead-pan style by Humph would surely have had Mary Whitehouse choking on her Cocoa had they been uttered by, say Ben Elton, on TV.
In those early years, I'm not ashamed to admit that I was totally taken in by such things as the silent score keeper Samantha & the bamboozling game of `Mornington Crescent', even sitting down to listen on occasion with a copy of the London Underground map to try & track the moves & work out the rules.
I still listen to every show & have a stack of tapes that I play in the car from time to time, they make long journeys fly by.
In recent years I have been fortunate to see Humph in action in `Clue' twice. The first occasion was at a recording in Ipswich in 2005 - 2 shows were recorded & took about an hour each. The atmosphere & experience was fantastic & I finally saw the truth behind Samantha (an empty chair) & the `laser display screen' (the producer walking on & holding up a big bit of card with the answer scrawled on in marker pen).
The second occasion, also in Ipswich was the stage show tour in 2007, a sort of `the best of' presentation. Unhindered by recording requirements & re-takes this was an unashamed celebration of all the best of `Clue', complete with Mornington Crescent, Jeremy Hardy's unique singing & audience participation on kazoos. In concert tradition, the cast returned to the stage for an encore & the evening ended with Humph giving a wonderful rendition of `We'll Meet Again' on his trumpet with a joy & energy belying his old age.
One date of this stage tour was filmed & has recently been released on DVD, an abridged version was broadcast on BBC4. On the tour, producer John Naismith introduced Humph as `The jazz musician's jazz musician's jazz musician's panel show chairman....He's still alive...Humphrey Lyttleton'. the last part was cut from the BBC4 version, understandably given that this was part of an obituary of sorts. I hope that it is re-instated within the DVD, it makes a fitting tribute as although having left us, Humph is in many respects still alive in the minds of the many people he touched through his long & talented life. This turned out to be Humph's last `Clue' performance so it is fitting that it should be the only filmed version of the show.
So raise a glass & go straight to Mornington Crescent, farewell Humph.
1 comment:
So glad to see you are still around... ;-)
Yes, was a shame about old HL... by and large, comedy on the radio seems overlooked or forgotten by most people. But if you look at a lot of the great comedy shows, most did start off on the wireless.
I think it's something to do with the imagination. Didn't someone say once "Pictures are better on radio"? I'd say they were right there...
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