Bridge on the River Wye

Goon Pod

Exactly two weeks before his first encounter with the band which was to change his life, producer George Martin, assisted by Stuart Eltham, recorded a parody of the 1957 film The Bridge On The River Kwai at EMI Studios in London. Featuring the vocal talents of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and an uncredited Dudley Moore, Bridge On The River Wye was released on LP in November 1962.

The script was a revised and expanded episode of a Goon Show which had been broadcast in late 1957, 'African Incident'.

Bringing together the hottest young satirists of the moment with two men who had been such an indelible influence upon them was a stroke of genius and their producer - Martin - was largely instrumental in making everything happen. Up to this point in his career he was well known for comedy and novelty records and it's highly possible he would have continued down this path had the fates not conspired to have him meet and agree to record the Beatles, however reluctantly at first.

Writer Jason Kruppa, host of the Producing The Beatles podcast, joins Tyler to talk about the creation of the LP, drawing on documentation derived from EMI vaults and other information provided by the likes of Mark Lewisohn.

https://www.producingthebeatles.com/