Up Sunday
Encyclopedia
Up Sunday was a British late night comedy satire TV show shown on BBC2 that ran for 55 editions over four series from January 1972 to December 1973, featuring many comedy stars of its era.
It was a spin-off from the arts discussion show Late Night Line-Up
, and created by its Programme Editor, the late Mike Hill. Initially the show featured the "long, rambling topical reflections" of Willie Rushton
and James Cameron
. These were later pruned, and the cast enlarged to feature the likes of Clive James
, Kenny Everett
and John Wells
. All broadcast late on a Sunday night. Wells said the show was "aimed at dirty minded insomniacs". The cast enacted the roles of newscasters, celebrities, pedestrians, and innocent bystanders.
Described by the Off The Telly site as "a haphazard but worthwhile review of the week with plenty of above average material and a small but loyal audience". The show was very low-budget, and considered the very "last gasp" of the sixties satire boom, featuring many of that movement's key figures. The show later broadened its talent base to go into wider and more surrealist areas.
Guests included Peter Sellers
, Eric Idle
, Sir John Betjeman, Spike Milligan
, Ivor Cutler
, Eleanor Bron
, Barry Humphries
, John Fortune
, Max Wall
, Richard Murdoch
, Roy Hudd
, Vivian Stanshall
, Percy Edwards
, Adge Cutler
and The Wurzels
. The show also contained musical spots, like folk singer Jake Thackray
singing Brother Gorilla and Little Black Foal.
Preparations for the show were very loose, often with scripts being thought up at the last minute or not at all. The show had a "laid back" running order, so items could be included or dropped. Many guest appearances were down to them being friends of the cast. Sketches included Inspector Poirot Investigates, featuring John Fortune, Percy Edwards, John Wells as Adolf Hitler and Peter Sellers.
It also had two specials, Up The Channel and Up Christmas. During the preparation for the latter, ex-Bonzo Dog Band front man Vivian Stanshall appeared as a drunk Santa Claus
, appearing out of a hamper, brandishing a Bloody Mary
at the camera, before he fell over, cut his hand on the glass, and blood sprayed all over the white studio floor. According to Eric Idle, the show was made "not by the Light Entertainment Department but by Presentation, which would just make announcements and say 'Here on BBC-2 ...'"
The series spawned two spin-off shows. The first, The End of the Pier Show in 1974, with John Wells, John Fortune, Carl Davis
, Madeline Smith
, Peter Sellers, John Laurie
, Ivor Cutler and John Bird. Considered highly innovative at the time, it was the first TV programme to mix cartoons with live performance. The second spin-off was In The Looking Glass
in 1978. Both were produced by Mike Hill. The show was also influential in the creation of Rutland Weekend Television
.
It was a spin-off from the arts discussion show Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up was a pioneering British television discussion programme broadcast on BBC2 between 1964 and 1972. Late Night Line-Up returned for a special one-off edition on BBC Parliament in 2008.-Background:...
, and created by its Programme Editor, the late Mike Hill. Initially the show featured the "long, rambling topical reflections" of Willie Rushton
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
and James Cameron
James Cameron (journalist)
Mark James Walter Cameron was a prominent British journalist, in whose memory the annual James Cameron Memorial Lecture is given.-Early life:...
. These were later pruned, and the cast enlarged to feature the likes of Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
, Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
and John Wells
John Wells (satirist)
John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...
. All broadcast late on a Sunday night. Wells said the show was "aimed at dirty minded insomniacs". The cast enacted the roles of newscasters, celebrities, pedestrians, and innocent bystanders.
Described by the Off The Telly site as "a haphazard but worthwhile review of the week with plenty of above average material and a small but loyal audience". The show was very low-budget, and considered the very "last gasp" of the sixties satire boom, featuring many of that movement's key figures. The show later broadened its talent base to go into wider and more surrealist areas.
Guests included Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, Sir John Betjeman, Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
, Ivor Cutler
Ivor Cutler
Ivor Cutler was a Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme...
, Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron is an English stage, film and television actress and author.-Early life and family:Bron was born in 1938 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin...
, Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the...
, John Fortune
John Fortune
John Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...
, Max Wall
Max Wall
Max Wall , was an English comedian and actor, whose performing career covered music hall, theatre, films and television.-Early years:...
, Richard Murdoch
Richard Murdoch
Richard Bernard Murdoch was a British comedic radio, film and television performer.Richard Bernard Murdoch attended Charterhouse School. He then appeared in Footlights whilst a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge...
, Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd
Roy Hudd, OBE is an English comedian, actor, radio host and author, and an authority on the history of music hall entertainment.- Early life :...
, Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall was an English singer-songwriter, painter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.-The great...
, Percy Edwards
Percy Edwards
Percy Edwards MBE , was an English animal impersonator, ornithologist, and entertainer.-Biography:...
, Adge Cutler
Adge Cutler
Alan John 'Adge' Cutler was an English singer who had as his backing band the country and Western folk group The Wurzels. Cutler was known for his songs, but also his dry, West Country humour, and gained the unofficial title of "The Bard Of Avonmouth".-Early life:Alan John Cutler was born in...
and The Wurzels
The Wurzels
The Wurzels are a British Scrumpy and Western band...
. The show also contained musical spots, like folk singer Jake Thackray
Jake Thackray
John Philip "Jake" Thackray , was an English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling,...
singing Brother Gorilla and Little Black Foal.
Preparations for the show were very loose, often with scripts being thought up at the last minute or not at all. The show had a "laid back" running order, so items could be included or dropped. Many guest appearances were down to them being friends of the cast. Sketches included Inspector Poirot Investigates, featuring John Fortune, Percy Edwards, John Wells as Adolf Hitler and Peter Sellers.
It also had two specials, Up The Channel and Up Christmas. During the preparation for the latter, ex-Bonzo Dog Band front man Vivian Stanshall appeared as a drunk Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
, appearing out of a hamper, brandishing a Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary (cocktail)
A Bloody Mary is a popular cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices or flavorings such as Worcestershire sauce, Peri-Peri Sauce, Tabasco sauce, beef consomme or bouillon, horseradish, celery, olive, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and celery salt...
at the camera, before he fell over, cut his hand on the glass, and blood sprayed all over the white studio floor. According to Eric Idle, the show was made "not by the Light Entertainment Department but by Presentation, which would just make announcements and say 'Here on BBC-2 ...'"
The series spawned two spin-off shows. The first, The End of the Pier Show in 1974, with John Wells, John Fortune, Carl Davis
Carl Davis
Carl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....
, Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith
Madeline Smith is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949 in Hartfield, Sussex) is an English actress and comedienne. She was a model in the 1960s, and appeared in many comedy films Madeline Smith (born 2...
, Peter Sellers, John Laurie
John Laurie
John Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...
, Ivor Cutler and John Bird. Considered highly innovative at the time, it was the first TV programme to mix cartoons with live performance. The second spin-off was In The Looking Glass
In the Looking Glass
In the Looking Glass is a surreal television series, broadcast on BBC2 in 1978. It starred John Wells, John Fortune, Carl Davis, and Madeline Smith, was directed by Andrew Gosling and produced by Ian Keill. The same team had previously created 1974's The End of the Pier Show...
in 1978. Both were produced by Mike Hill. The show was also influential in the creation of Rutland Weekend Television
Rutland Weekend Television
Rutland Weekend Television was a television sketch show on BBC2, written by Eric Idle with music by Neil Innes. Two series, the first consisting of six episodes, the second of seven, were broadcast, in 1975 and 1976. A Christmas special also aired on Boxing Day 1975.It was Idle's first television...
.