The Rutles: A look back at Dirk, Stig, Nasty and Barry!

With the recent attention given to the 60th anniversary of The Beatles first ever appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Tellyspotting turns its attention to another British rock group worthy of our collective attention. Sadly, the early 60’s were not especially kind to The Rutles. Languishing in the Rutland Cavern for years, it wasn’t until 1975 when this […]

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Happy 81st, George Harrison, 25 February 1943

Sometimes known as ‘the quiet Beatle’, George Harrison would have been 81 years young today. The Liverpool-born musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer and, oh yeah, lead guitarist of the Beatles passed away in November 2001 of lung cancer at the extraordinarily young age of 58. While most Beatles fans will immediately identify with songs written […]

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Benny Hill turns 100!

While, clearly, a majority of my formative years were shaped by the greatness of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, there was a small amount quietly tucked away that I remember was reserved for The Benny Hill Show. On the surface, the slapstick, mime and double entendre sketches were definitely cringe-worthy but there was a underscored brilliance behind […]

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Norwegian Blue — Dead Parrot or Best Cheese of 2023…or both?

Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot Sketch”, one of the most famous of the sketches in the television comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, was written by Graham Chapman and John Cleese and first performed by Cleese and Michael Palin in December 1969. Known for its beautiful plumage, the remarkable Norwegian Blue prefers ‘keeping on its back’ and, […]

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Royal Mail’s cunning plan to celebrate Blackadder’s 40th!

Marking the 40th anniversary of one of the greats of British comedy, Royal Mail has released a collection of 12 special stamps celebrating the brilliance of Blackadder. Eight of the stamps will feature some of the series’ most classic moments with four being reserved to track the evolution of Edmund Blackadder from series 1 through Blackadder Goes […]

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Happy 80th, George Harrison, 25 February 1943.

Sometimes known as ‘the quiet Beatle’, George Harrison would have been 80 years young today. The Liverpool-born musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer and, oh yeah, lead guitarist of the Beatles passed away in November 2001 of lung cancer at the extraordinarily young age of 58. While most Beatles fans will immediately identify with songs written […]

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Happy belated 68th, Rowan Atkinson!

Rowan Atkinson turned 68 on Friday. From this end, all we can do is wish him a very Happy Belated Birthday. All he’s done is give the world the gift of laughter over the years beginning with Not the Nine O’Clock News, then Blackadder, Mr. Bean and, finally, The Thin Blue Line. Stops along the […]

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