I was so sad to hear yesterday of the death of Bill Oddie, comedian, bird watcher and naturalist.
It was as a comedian I first knew of him, through his contributions to the BBC radio show (on the then Home Service for its first series, then the Light Programme and its successor Radio 2) I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again, which I have mentioned before. It’s a shame there’s no stand-alone version of The Angus Prune Tune available for inclusion here. (Its lyric is given here, though.)
Then of course he went on to become one third of The Goodies.
His interest in birds was then parlayed into appearances on various nature programmes.
His life was, however, affected by bipolar disorder, not diagnosed till fairly late on.
William Edgar (Bill) Oddie: 7/7/1941 – 25/7/2026. So it goes.
I first heard this parody on the radio. Along with my elder brother I used to listen regularly (every week without fail) to the comedy programme I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again (1964-1973) which along with Bill Oddie, the purveyor of this ditty, featured John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, Jo Kendall and David Hatch. I can still utter quotes from it even today. (Once heard, who could ever forget the strains of the Angus Prune Tune? No example of which on its own appears to be available any more.)
Episodes from the series can be found on the BBC’s Radio 4 Extra pages. Relistening, it is now obvious from where I got my love of outrageous puns.
The track is a reimagining of a traditional Yorkshire song about the dangers of wandering on Ilkley Moor without a hat utilising the style Joe Cocker employed in With a Little Help From My Friends. It was eventually released as a single in 1970 but I’m sure must have been in a late 60s episode of the radio show. As I remember it the radio version carried more bite, though.
