Biography
One of the rare British TV comedy ensembles to sustain a string of chart successes, the Goodies brought together Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941, Rochdale, Lancashire, England), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943, Aberdeen, Scotland) and Tim Brooke-Taylor (b. 17 July 1940, Buxton, Derbyshire, England). Cambridge University educated all three, and each took part in the Footlights Revue during the early sixties, though never simultaneously. Oddie and Brooke-Taylor next appeared in the Cambridge Circus Show alongside John Cleese, taking the revue on worldwide tours. They subsequently joined the BBC radio series I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, where Garden eventually replaced Graham Chapman. Brooke-Taylor meanwhile performed in theatre productions and films before moving into television with shows such as At Last The 1948 Show. Oddie contributed writing and performances to programmes including That Was The Week That Was and Twice A Fortnight, after which he reunited with Brooke-Taylor and Garden—now a qualified doctor following medical training at Kings College Hospital, London—for the comedy series Broaden Your Mind. A prolific songwriter, Oddie had already ventured into recording with three Parlophone singles, among them the pop-oriented ‘Nothing Better To Do’, which lamented clashes between Mods And Rockers. The trio then launched their own comedy programme, originally planned under the title Narrow Your Mind yet ultimately broadcast as The Goodies from its BBC premiere on 8 November 1970. Multiple series ran through the seventies, generating several UK hit singles such as ‘The In Betweenies’, ‘The Funky Gibbon’ and ‘Black Pudding Bertha (The Queen Of Northern Soul)’, the first two of which reached the UK Top 10. In 1980 the group departed the BBC for Independent Television, after which the Goodies pursued separate paths. An avid ornithologist, Oddie has authored numerous books on birds and appears frequently on television in that capacity or in broader factual programming; he has also presented a jazz programme on radio, reflecting another of his interests. Garden participates in radio quizzes and game shows while drawing on his medical background to host light-hearted health and fitness series. Brooke-Taylor has enjoyed success in television situation comedies.
Albums
