I often think of this character – a regular guest on Jellybone, the children’s radio programme on LBC in the mid-70s.
This barely-viewed YouTube clip has recordings of his interactions with children, as he defends arguments like “the sun is cold”, “water is dry” and “Australia is in Scotland”. He aggressively shouts down opposing views, sets up a ridiculous and bizarre counter-argument- and in the ensuing confusion declares that he’s won. Indeed, he boasts that he has never lost an argument. There’s even a live clip of him defending his position on the earth being flat.
In the 70s this was a ridiculous character there to entertain children. He’d have his own news channel now, eh readers?
What a wonderfully bizarre character. I can imagine the kids loved him.
It is poking fun at know-it-all parents, teachers and other adults who expect kids to accept something just because they say it is true. Nasty gave the kids a chance to answer back.
Ahhh, I remember Jellybone with Mr Nasty well. I think the show was later introduced by Tommy Boyd, who had presented Magpie on ITV. It’s lovely listening back to the fun the kids are having with him, they clearly get that its a deliberate wind-up but love trying to be serious with him. The snot joke at 13:15 had me giggling.
The character was played by the show’s producer, John Forrest, I believe, back when LBC was still only a London area radio station. The TV appearances came later for Granada TV. Strangely , he went on to produce various religious programming for the BBC, such as Songs of Praise and Thought For The Day.
Yes, a child answering him back was great entertainment. I imagined a much older man when he was just on the radio, which made his act all the more amusing.
An excellent site for fans of esoteric British telly
http://www.curiousbritishtelly.co.uk/2018/
Thanks Jaygee. That looks wonderful.
A lot of the shows he talks about are definitely remembered by many . Some of it is just a bit blurred round the edges.
@kaisfatdad
You should write in with Mr Nasty. If there’s more stuff out there, those guys will hunt it down. They’re like the Provisional Wing of Talking Pictures
Thanks @Jaygee.
I’m certainly going to spend some time browsing around the site.
A quick browse led a 1971 show with a splendid name: Elephant Eggs in a Rhubarb Tree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant%27s_Eggs_in_a_Rhubarb_Tree_(TV_series)
Who would not want to watch that?
Interesting to see that the wonderful Richard Beckinsale (Porridge, Rising Damp and father of Kate B) was in it.
Died shockingly young
The theme was to the tune of Little Brown Jug “ha ha ha, he he he. Elephant’s eggs in a rhubarb tree”
Not forgetting this immortal verse from Bagpuss
🎶 “The elephant is a pretty bird, it flits from bough to bough.
It makes its nest in a rhubarb tree, and whistles like a cow…” 🎶
The finest lyrics ever.
Another Sunday Evening lost …
I loved LBC when I was a kid. Beadle and Tommy Boyd especially.
Me too. Jeremy Beadle’s late night phone ins were very funny and creative. Pretty sure he had Spike Milligan in as a guest once. After a year or two Tommy Boyd took over and he was good too.
Beadle became a mainstream celebrity of course and roundly disliked but he was brilliant on LBC.
@Black-Celebration
JB also famously promoted the Wheely Festival of the early 70s
I don’t recall that – I know that he was very quick witted and did a lot of writing for TV before he made it onscreen. He was also on Countdown in Dictionary Corner a few times.
Those Beadle shows on Sunday nights were required listening at school. I remember being thrilled to meet him at the LBC stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition and getting a signed photo. I think Butch Babs might even have been there too.
Wasn’t Press secretary to the Queen Dickie Arbiter part of the show too? One of the producers perhaps? I remember being shocked to hear his name years later when he was a spokesman for Prince Charles as I’d always assumed he was just someone with a silly name that Beadle had made up.
I went to the Ideal Home Exhibition too! But it was in the Tommy Boyd era so perhaps it was the following year. Spent most of that time around the LBC studio set up for the event. Free stickers!
Dickie Arbiter was there and was a generic, roving LBC reporter I think. His daughter Victoria also does the same royal correspondent nonsense. Dick and/or Vic are usually wheeled out every time an American channel needs someone “on the inside” re the Royal Family when Andrew Morton or Paul Burrell are too pricey.
Pick up your phone and join in the fun on 353 8111
He got the boot from LBC in June 1980, apparently, so I must have seen him at the Ideal Home Exhibition earlier that year. The only thing I remember is that there was a huge mixing desk there with the latest Camel album (I Can See Your House from Here perhaps?) set up on it and punters were allowed to carefully throw a few faders while it played back.
A few memories came flooding back with that clip! For that show, he and the producer were out and about in London with a mobile studio unit, dropping cryptic clues about where they were. If you found them, you’d win an LBC tracksuit! Unfortunately, their car broke down and they had to do some of the show on the tube. Lots of people were roaming the streets trying to find them.
I can tell you’re ahead of me here…they did the whole thing from the studio and there was no such thing as an LBC tracksuit.
LBC used to provide the hourly news for Capital Radio in the 70s (IRN) so I was used to hearing “Independent Radio News. This is Dickie Arbiter”
LBC also had its breakfast show with Bob & Doug – Douglas Cameron and Bob Holness.
Just thought I’d namecheck Therese Birch as the other main Jellybone presenter, and second the comments re Beadlebum’s LBC show – he had the quick wit to pull off some brilliant surreal flights of fancy with his callers.
Clive Bull was great too in the days of Shlomo, Babs from Bermondsey etc, but last time I listened he seemed to have had his wings clipped. I hope I’m wrong.
Clive Bull took over from Steve Allen, who was a very similar presenter. They were both more subtle and understated than Jeremy Beadle or Tommy Boyd. Clive had Peter Cook calling though – I didn’t realise the regular caller “Sven” was Cook at the time but I certainly remember how ridiculously funny the calls were. I wasn’t a fan of Babs though, which feels wrong of me to admit.