British Comedy Guide
Annie Nightingale. Credit: BBC
Annie Nightingale's Age Of Irreverence

Annie Nightingale's Age Of Irreverence

  • Radio factual
  • BBC Radio 4
  • 2023
  • 1 episode

Part of Archive On 4, the DJ examines the connections between comedy and British rock music in the 1950s and 60s. Features Annie Nightingale, David Quantick, John Altman, Jem Roberts, Legs Larry Smith and more.

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Annie Nightingale. Credit: BBC

Key details

Genre
Factual
Broadcast
2023
Channel
BBC Radio 4
Episodes
1
Features
Annie Nightingale, David Quantick, John Altman, Jem Roberts, Legs Larry Smith, John Cooper Clarke, Terry Jones, Wallace Greenslade and more
Producers
Victoria Ferran and Susan Marling
Company

A lifelong fan of both comedy and new music, Annie Nightingale looks at how, in the youth revolution of the late 50s and 60s onwards, British rock music and comedy were closely intertwined.

Starting with The Goon Show, she takes us on a personal tour of the pop culture scene that includes The Beatles, Beyond The Fringe and That Was The Week That Was, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Monty Python and The Rutles. We hear how a core group of British musicians and satirists influenced each other, sharing a similar view of the world and a fearless desire to disrupt and lampoon the political and social norms in which they'd been brought up.

Contributors include David Quantick, composer John Altman, comedy historian Jem Roberts, and "Legs" Larry Smith of the Bonzos.

Catch-up

Additional details

Also known as
  • Archive On 4: Annie Nightingale's Age Of Irreverence

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Saturday 7th January 2023 at 8pm on BBC Radio 4
Episode length
1 hour

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