Face The Music

[Barbirollians]

An episode from 1974 turned up on BBC Four tonight with Robin Ray,Joyce Grenfell and Richard Baker . Joseph Cooper sporting a combover of which Arthur Scargill would be proud and tamas Vasary as the special guest -it was dated but nowhere near as much as the episodes of Going for a Song they have been showing.

[LMcD]

An episode from 1974 turned up on BBC Four tonight with Robin Ray,Joyce Grenfell and Richard Baker . Joseph Cooper sporting a combover of which Arthur Scargill would be proud and tamas Vasary as the special guest -it was dated but nowhere near as much as the episodes of Going for a Song they have been showing.

Also mentioned under 'Recommended TV Programmes'.
I found Robin Ray, Joseph Cooper and Joyce Grenfell to be just as irritatingly self-aware, precious and smug as I did back in 1974, and switched off after 10 minutes. The whole thing was just too genteel for words.
Call My Bluff, on the other hand, hardly seems to have dated at all, thanks in large part, I think, to Robert Robinson's refereeing skills.

[mikealdren]

and Frank Muir who was genuinely funny.

[AuntDaisy]

Yes, I'd agree about Call My Bluff & Frank Muir - both great fun.

On radio, The Burkiss Way did a cruel, but accurate, spoof of "Face the Music" in "Lesson 41 – Eric Pode of Croydon’s Easter Special" - available to listen to on the Internet Archive or there's a transcript here.

[gradus]

Yes, I'd agree about Call My Bluff & Frank Muir - both great fun.

On radio, The Burkiss Way did a cruel, but accurate, spoof of "Face the Music" in "Lesson 41 – Eric Pode of Croydon’s Easter Special" - available to listen to on the Internet Archive or there's a transcript here.

Thanks for posting the transcript, excellent fun.

[MickyD]

I remember taking enormous pleasure when Bernard Levin got an extract wrong by not identifying it as Schubert...he was mortified! So good to see him taken down a peg or two.

[pastoralguy]

I remember taking enormous pleasure when Bernard Levin got an extract wrong by not identifying it as Schubert...he was mortified! So good to see him taken down a peg or two.

Yes, I remember reading his ‘Conducted Tour’ book and thinking he was very much up his own ****!

[MickyD]

Absolutely. And going back to what LMcD said earlier, they were all so supercilious, you really got the feeling that they considered themselves superior.

[vinteuil]

On radio, The Burkiss Way did a cruel, but accurate, spoof of "Face the Music" in "Lesson 41 – Eric Pode of Croydon’s Easter Special" - ... there's a transcript here.

... quality stuff, thank you. I loved The Burkiss Way

.

[LMcD]

Yes, I remember reading his ‘Conducted Tour’ book and thinking he was very much up his own ****!

Watching him pretending to conduct Wagner was a highlight for me.

[Dave2002]

and Frank Muir who was genuinely funny.

With one episode featuring Joanna Lumley - a great surprise. The older programmes do look really very dated now.

[LMcD]

With one episode featuring Joanna Lumley - a great surprise. The older programmes do look really very dated now.

Joanna Lumley on 'Face The Music' - why not?

[Pulcinella]

Joanna Lumley on 'Face The Music' - why not?

Since 1986, she has been married to conductor Stephen Barlow.

[Roslynmuse]

I recall Walton being the guest on one edition (it was, maybe still is, on YouTube) and claiming not to recognize one of his own compositions... ...I suspect as a bit of a wind-up...

[LMcD]

I recall Walton being the guest on one edition (it was, maybe still is, on YouTube) and claiming not to recognize one of his own compositions... ...I suspect as a bit of a wind-up...

Broadcast on 3rd April 1972 with regulars Robin Ray, Joyce Grenfell and Richard Baker.