0:00:23 > 0:00:27Coming up, Britain's best loved comedians reveal
0:00:27 > 0:00:29who gets their chuckle muscles working over-time.
0:00:32 > 0:00:33A mad man!
0:00:33 > 0:00:37The face of every married man when he wakes up in the morning he goes oh, oh, oh!
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Anger plus a sense of humour. You can't beat that.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44From stand-up routines to sketches and classic sitcoms
0:00:44 > 0:00:48they're letting us in on their all-time favourite jokes
0:00:48 > 0:00:53and their love, envy and sheer admiration for the star performers behind them.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55He could have been a star at any time.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Biggest reaction I've ever seen in my life.
0:00:57 > 0:01:02It's funny, it's poignant... the characters are absolutely perfect!
0:01:02 > 0:01:05So dust off your laughing gear, hold onto your armchairs
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and buckle up for a raucous ride into the land of comedy!
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I nearly got sick laughing at Lucille Ball's show.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15Just wonderful.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22If you'd never heard of Lee Evans
0:01:22 > 0:01:24and I had to describe him in one sentence
0:01:24 > 0:01:28I would probably use a combination of the following words.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Funny,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34sweaty,
0:01:34 > 0:01:35manic,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37brilliant,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39pliable,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42sweaty, which I think I used once already
0:01:42 > 0:01:46but he'd be sweating again by now and unique.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Lee Evans's unique blend of physical comedy and observational gags
0:01:52 > 0:01:57have made him the UK's biggest selling arena comedian of all time.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59When I first saw Lee perform live
0:01:59 > 0:02:02it was probably in the early part of the '90s.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Suddenly there was someone doing something very different, radically different.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10I don't think he gets the credit or the plaudits he deserves for that.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13He was basically doing old-fashioned slapstick,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17old-fashioned clowning, for a modern audience, in a brilliant way.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Lee could have been a star at any time in the history of entertainment.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30I mean, he's basically Henry VIII's court jester playing an arena today.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Lee was one of the comedians that made me want to go into comedy.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Watching him with my mum and my sister
0:02:40 > 0:02:44and just all three of us crying with laughter at his routines,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46was really inspiring.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52But like all great performers Lee Evans leaves the best till last!
0:02:52 > 0:02:54The problem that someone like Lee has performing live
0:02:54 > 0:02:57is that the show's so big all the way through
0:02:57 > 0:02:59it's so physical, so visual, so in your face,
0:02:59 > 0:03:00how does he end it?
0:03:00 > 0:03:04And then the first time I saw him do Bohemian Rhapsody I thought "That's it."
0:03:04 > 0:03:07# Mama
0:03:07 > 0:03:10# Just killed a man
0:03:10 > 0:03:13# Put a gun against his head
0:03:13 > 0:03:17# Pulled my trigger now he's dead... #
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Lee Evans' Bohemian Rhapsody,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23has got to be the all time best encore. You cannot go wrong.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27You can't top it. It's a show stopper.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29#... thrown it all away... #
0:03:29 > 0:03:32I use to compere at The Comedy Store
0:03:32 > 0:03:34when it was in Leicester Square
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and I remember the first time I put Lee Evans on
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and he did an amazing set, absolutely brilliant.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46Got an encore and people don't often get encores at The Comedy Store very, very rarely.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And he starts doing the mime to Bohemian Rhapsody
0:03:51 > 0:03:53and he's already dripping with sweat.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56# Too late
0:03:56 > 0:03:59# My time is come
0:03:59 > 0:04:02# Sends shivers down my spine... #
0:04:02 > 0:04:07And it's just the biggest reaction I've ever seen to a thing in my life, they stood up.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11It was kind of a well-known thing amongst comedians at the time
0:04:11 > 0:04:13that nobody could follow Lee
0:04:13 > 0:04:16if he did that at the end
0:04:16 > 0:04:19because it was impossible to, sort of, get the room back.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21So, if you found out Lee was on the bill,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23you made sure you went on before him.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26# Got to leave you all behind and face... #
0:04:26 > 0:04:29What's brilliant is you know what's coming next
0:04:29 > 0:04:32because the song is so familiar you know the next line
0:04:32 > 0:04:35so part of you is wondering how's he going to interpret that?
0:04:35 > 0:04:38It's a joy the first time he does it. The bit when the baby's born
0:04:38 > 0:04:40and kicks it like a football. Brilliant.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45# I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all... #
0:04:49 > 0:04:52It's a really interesting thing to see him do that
0:04:52 > 0:04:55with a big crowd. It's a really wonderful, communal experience.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01# I see a little silhouetto of a man
0:05:01 > 0:05:06# Scaramouche, Scaramouche Will you do the Fandango? #
0:05:06 > 0:05:10No-one manages to combine kind of old-fashioned, almost slapstick
0:05:10 > 0:05:12clowning, physical falling over,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15odd movements, odd gestures, odd shapes with his body
0:05:15 > 0:05:22with clever, well-observed material about family, about life
0:05:22 > 0:05:25about men and women, about his home and about situations.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27I don't think anyone brings it together as well as that
0:05:27 > 0:05:30that's why he's the best at what he does.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32AUDIENCE CHEERS
0:05:37 > 0:05:41I first started watching it when I was sort of a teenager
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and it would be on in the background
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and like most teenagers anything that seemed vaguely old-fashioned,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49you sort of erred away from.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51You were like, well this is not, you know.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56It had that sort of bleakness to it, but it was when I revisited it
0:05:56 > 0:06:00possibly the second time, when I was into my twenties,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04that I suddenly thought, "this is really well written, this is great."
0:06:04 > 0:06:06There was this woman at the pub. They all said,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10"Oh, whatever you do, don't give her a lift home. She'll interfere with you."
0:06:10 > 0:06:14You know, she was supposed to interfere with you while you were driving...
0:06:16 > 0:06:18so I gave her a lift home.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21What happened?
0:06:21 > 0:06:22Nothing, she was a washout!
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It's funny, it's poignant,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28the characters are absolutely perfect.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Rising Damp was as close to perfection as you get,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34in British situation comedy.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Everyone goes on about Fawlty Towers and it WAS good
0:06:37 > 0:06:41and it did change things but Rising Damp...
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Rising Damp was ITV's biggest sitcom in the '70s.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49It made a house hold man of Leonard Rossiter the miserly landlord
0:06:49 > 0:06:53who delighted us with his hopeless attempts to woo Miss Jones.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57You never stop liking all of the characters no matter how appallingly they behave
0:06:57 > 0:07:00especially Leonard Rossiter, who appears to be
0:07:00 > 0:07:07mean, prejudiced, a bit seedy and lascivious, sort of crafty
0:07:07 > 0:07:09and all those things but you still root for him,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12which I think is the key to a great sit-com character.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Rising Damp's best loved scene came in the first series
0:07:16 > 0:07:20and featured Rigsby's most desperate attempt to seduce Miss Jones.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23In my country, if a man was in your position,
0:07:23 > 0:07:24he'd get the wood of the love tree.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26He would burn it
0:07:26 > 0:07:27outside the girl's house
0:07:27 > 0:07:28and when she smelt the smoke
0:07:28 > 0:07:30she would appear at the door,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33he'd look deep into her eyes and she would fall in love with him.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38- Just like that?- Just like that...
0:07:45 > 0:07:47The way that the audience
0:07:47 > 0:07:50would know what he was thinking
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and what he was about to do.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59It takes ages for him to actually ask about the love wood
0:07:59 > 0:08:00but you see it dawning on his face.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03Haven't got any of this wood, have you?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07He's always lusting after women,
0:08:07 > 0:08:13which is quite a tough thing for a man to pull off in a sitcom,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15before women start thinking "you're a bit creepy"
0:08:15 > 0:08:17but it never slides into creepy.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21It just stays on the right side of him being a little bit frustrated
0:08:21 > 0:08:25that he can't get anyone to sleep with him, especially Miss Jones.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39- What on Earth's that? - This is a piece of wood.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Well, I can see that, Mr Rigsby.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Stop wafting it around you'll start a fire!
0:08:45 > 0:08:47I'll start a fire all right, Miss Jones.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- Haven't you noticed anything yet? - Yes, the most appalling smell...
0:08:51 > 0:08:55It's no ordinary wood. It's special. Breathe in, go on. See what happens.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I don't know what you've got in mind, but nothing's going to happen!
0:08:58 > 0:09:02Give way to it, girl, don't fight it, give way to it!
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Rossiter was an extraordinarily proficient comedy performer
0:09:06 > 0:09:09just because his movements, the way he spoke.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I believe he would say, before he went on stage,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15"It's not a very good script this week but watch this,"
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and his performance would elevate it to another level.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Please extinguish your stick!
0:09:22 > 0:09:26I'm sorry but this is one fire you can't quench, Miss Jones.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28We'll soon see about that!
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Here's how influential Leonard Rossiter was.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I saw Robert Lindsay in Richard III.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39I think it was at The Savoy about ten years ago
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and he came on and he went,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46"Now is the winter of our discontent...
0:09:46 > 0:09:49"Oh, yeah."
0:09:49 > 0:09:50And I'm there...!
0:09:50 > 0:09:55"Made glorious summer by this sun of York... oh, yeah..."
0:09:55 > 0:09:57And I'm like, you're doing Rigsby!
0:09:57 > 0:10:02The final ever episode of Rising Damp hit our screens in 1978
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and after four series of romantic advances
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Rigsby's love wood finally came good.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I came here this evening with the ridiculous idea
0:10:11 > 0:10:12of asking you to marry me.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14I know you weren't expecting it,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and it's preposterous but that's what I'm doing.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Will you marry me? What's your answer?
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- Yes!- Yes, exactly what I thought! I knew I wasted my time!
0:10:21 > 0:10:24I suppose I'm not good enough! I don't care. Forget it!
0:10:24 > 0:10:26There, I never want to see the ring again!
0:10:26 > 0:10:29- I knew you wouldn't accept me! - But I am accepting you!
0:10:29 > 0:10:32- Please don't try and stop me, Miss Jones!- I'm not!
0:10:32 > 0:10:35I knew you wouldn't. I only hope that someday
0:10:35 > 0:10:39if you find somebody you feel about the way I... the way I...
0:10:42 > 0:10:44What did you say Miss Jones? Would you say that again?
0:10:44 > 0:10:47I said I will marry you.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- Oh, Miss Jones!- Mr Rigsby!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54It was the essential seventies sitcom
0:10:54 > 0:10:58because it had everything in it, everything was dealt with
0:10:58 > 0:11:01and everybody could watch it and it was intelligent.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04One of those sitcoms that people in 20 years' time
0:11:04 > 0:11:07will go "that was actually really good."
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Sam Kinison is probably not a well-known name in Britain
0:11:17 > 0:11:20expect perhaps amongst comedians.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33He was very influential in the, kind of, changing the sonic scape
0:11:33 > 0:11:34of stand-up in America.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38I'm a little different than the other comics you're going to see.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40The difference between me and them
0:11:40 > 0:11:43is that you might want to see them again sometime.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Sam Kinison exploded onto the stand-up scene
0:11:46 > 0:11:48in Texas in the mid-eighties,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52thrilling audiences with his decidedly confrontational style.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56He was the ultimate rock and roll comedian, who lived fast
0:11:56 > 0:11:57and died young.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02I first saw Sam Kinison in some clubs around Los Angeles
0:12:02 > 0:12:05when I was living there and doing stand-up
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and he would come in, quite often with an entourage,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11he did, kind of, take comedy into rock and roll territory.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Sam was a friend of mine a mad man...
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Fearless.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20The rage that came out of Sam
0:12:20 > 0:12:23and just fabulous
0:12:23 > 0:12:28because the audience was just screamed into submission.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Anger plus a sense of humour. You can't beat that!
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Despite being huge in the States,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38this was Sam Kinison's only ever TV appearance in the UK
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and featured his most admired routine.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Cos I don't have an act,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45I don't have a home,
0:12:45 > 0:12:46I don't have a car,
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I didn't eat yesterday,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50I had to borrow these clothes...
0:12:50 > 0:12:52She took it all!
0:12:52 > 0:12:56I was married for two years and I finished up with a primal scream.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59AAA AAAAAAARRRRGH!
0:12:59 > 0:13:02But I try not to have an attitude about it.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05The best thing about that routine, in the classic sense, is that
0:13:05 > 0:13:07people start off kind of going,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09"oh, OK, well, this guy looks...
0:13:11 > 0:13:14"..well, a bit pudgy, he's a bit menacing looking."
0:13:14 > 0:13:17You ever been married? What's your name?
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Gary... You want to settle down,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23get a house, get a car? Will you do me a favour, Gary?
0:13:23 > 0:13:27And then just escalates, takes it to about six notches up.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Remember this face!
0:13:29 > 0:13:33AAAAAARRRGH!
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Cos if you get married, Gary, that'll be your face, every day.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39He just goes "look at my face"
0:13:39 > 0:13:43and he clearly has been through a really horrendous marriage
0:13:43 > 0:13:45and this is his way of channelling it.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49And you believe in that second, he's not getting angry about airline food
0:13:49 > 0:13:51or getting angry about TV adverts.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55He's angry about the fact that he really screwed up his life.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58It's the face of every married man when he gets up in the morning,
0:13:58 > 0:14:03he gets out of bed, looks in the mirror and realises what he's done. He goes OH, OH, AAAAARGH!
0:14:03 > 0:14:06What did I do to my life?!
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I don't think, because of the way he is on stage,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11that he comes across as a misogynist.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13He actually comes across as a loser
0:14:13 > 0:14:16as someone who, kind of, lost out in a relationship.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21And you know however objective you try and be about a relationship finishing
0:14:21 > 0:14:26we all absolutely loathe and detest the person that's chucked us.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31I think he's, who I would be if I had more girlfriends.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Like, all my stuff revolves around having been single for eight years
0:14:34 > 0:14:36and so I don't shout as much. But I think,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39had I spent eight years in a frustrated relationship,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43I would probably be screaming like Sam Kinison.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46# Are you lonesome tonight? #
0:14:46 > 0:14:50The pain of Sam's failed marriage fuelled his comedy
0:14:50 > 0:14:51and it became a recurring theme.
0:14:51 > 0:14:58# Are you sorry we drifted apart? #
0:14:58 > 0:15:01He was quite a revelation in the way of performing.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04There were people who were, like, angry comics before
0:15:04 > 0:15:07but he just took it to another level. It seemed entirely genuine
0:15:07 > 0:15:11and there was a complete disregard for how he went down.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14You know I wonder if you're lonesome tonight...
0:15:14 > 0:15:16I wonder a lot of things,
0:15:16 > 0:15:17like, are you human?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19How do you live with yourself?
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Are you a reptile with a nice hairdo?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24You snaky tramp! You lied to me!
0:15:24 > 0:15:27When you told me you loved me you never loved me!
0:15:27 > 0:15:30He didn't really get the appreciation and the acclaim
0:15:30 > 0:15:34that he deserved because he was quite shocking to a lot of people.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36His parents were evangelical preachers,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38he was an evangelist for quite a while
0:15:38 > 0:15:40and then he chucked it all to do comedy
0:15:40 > 0:15:47but he still had that cadence and it made him extremely watchable.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Do me a favour if you see me working on the yard
0:15:49 > 0:15:51or around the house. Do me a favour?
0:15:51 > 0:15:52Kill me.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Kill me. I'm in hell!
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Will you shoot me? Poison my food. Whatever it takes. I'm in hell!
0:15:59 > 0:16:02AAH AAH AAARGH!
0:16:06 > 0:16:08# Wild thing I think you move me...
0:16:11 > 0:16:13# But I want to know for sure! #
0:16:15 > 0:16:19You know how great it is to look at Sam Kinison 20 years later
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and you still are just laughing at him!
0:16:23 > 0:16:26So outrageously, insanely, crazy man,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30uncontrollable, wonderfully funny.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32There isn't a single comedian I know
0:16:32 > 0:16:36that doesn't appreciate him, think he's brilliant. He was brilliant.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47You're aware of this really precise control of what he's doing.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Amazingly dynamic.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04I grew up in Australia
0:17:04 > 0:17:06so Lucille Ball was really...
0:17:06 > 0:17:10I mean she was the woman who was my role model as a comedian.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18In fact, I remember her more than I remember any men,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21any male comedians who were around at the time.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- What happened?- Everything! - Why have you got your skates on?
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Because I couldn't get 'em off, my feet are so swollen!
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Lucille Ball, best remembered for her blazing red hair and slapstick gags
0:17:34 > 0:17:39was America's biggest comedian throughout the '50s and '60s.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41My first, sort of, memory of her,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45is neighbours, with their doors slightly opened,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49in Australian summer it's really hot so the windows are open, the doors are open
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and just shrieks and shrieks of laughter.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- Where does it hurt honey? - Name it, it hurts!
0:17:56 > 0:18:00My arm hurts, my leg hurts, my ankle hurts.
0:18:00 > 0:18:01Oh, boy, does that hurt.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08I would say I have laughed more, nearly got sick laughing,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11at the Lucille Ball show when I was a child.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Prior to her long running reign as queen of the sitcom
0:18:15 > 0:18:18model turned actress Lucille Ball
0:18:18 > 0:18:21had been a huge star of the silver screen.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24That's what I love about Lucille Ball. She has such a...
0:18:24 > 0:18:25She was a movie star!
0:18:25 > 0:18:29I mean, to see a movie star pretty
0:18:29 > 0:18:32being zany and slapstick, that's great.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Lucille is a brilliant physical comic.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Women looking foolish, you know,
0:18:38 > 0:18:43there aren't many who can get away with it, without kind of looking...
0:18:43 > 0:18:47..I don't know, sort of, they lose your respect somehow.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Whereas Lucy, you love her more because she's doing this.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56She starred in The Lucy Show a follow up to I Love Lucy
0:18:56 > 0:19:01alongside co-star Vivienne Vance from 1962 to 1968.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04- Oh, boy!- How do you like the new roller skating ring?
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I hear it's beautiful.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10I wouldn't know. All I saw was the ceiling!
0:19:10 > 0:19:12In my favourite clip, which is Lucy on roller skates,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16slowly the scenario unfolds that Ethel's trying to get the skates off her.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19She couldn't get them off they're too tight.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21But she wants to go to the dance tonight
0:19:21 > 0:19:24so she has to wear real shoes to the dance tonight, then, of course,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27the Lucy logic says, "I'll just wear skates to the dance."
0:19:27 > 0:19:31What'll people say when they see 'em? What'll you say to them?
0:19:31 > 0:19:36Will you say "I happened to be in the neighbourhood, so I just, sort of, rolled in?"
0:19:36 > 0:19:41You know she made Vivienne Vance stay fat. It was in her contract.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Lucille Ball's not stupid. If you look back at Lucille Ball's movies,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46she was the only red head in the entire movie,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49She knew exactly what her business was.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Mrs Lucille Carmichael.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55That moment went she comes creaming in
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and reception lines waiting to shake her hands
0:19:57 > 0:20:01and she comes straight pass them and wraps herself round a pole.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05And then we're asked to believe, that no-one at the dance notices
0:20:05 > 0:20:07that she's on the skates.
0:20:07 > 0:20:08Why didn't you wait for me?
0:20:08 > 0:20:12How did I know it was downhill all the way from the parking lot?
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The control it must have taken, just physically,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18to achieve what she achieved.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26She had to follow the choreography.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31That meant she had to appear she was doing an out of control dance
0:20:31 > 0:20:34with a number of different men in that ballroom
0:20:34 > 0:20:37but at the same time actually be in complete control.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42That is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I mean, it is the most brilliant physical comedy,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06I think I've ever seen and again it just works on so many levels.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10It just had everything.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32When did they put in that fish pond?
0:21:42 > 0:21:47As a comic I always defend the right to swear and to push boundaries
0:21:47 > 0:21:51and when I watch something as pure and as good-willed
0:21:51 > 0:21:54as Morecombe and Wise, I sometimes feel maybe I've got it all wrong.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Let's give a warm welcome to the principal conductor
0:21:57 > 0:22:01from the London Symphony Orchestra, Mr Andre Previn!
0:22:02 > 0:22:07Audiences were thrilled when internationally acclaimed conductor Andre Previn
0:22:07 > 0:22:09agreed to send himself up,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13in this famous sketch from Christmas Day 1971.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I think their Previn sketch is my favourite just cos
0:22:16 > 0:22:20it's so finely balanced. It should be really annoying.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23It should either make Andre Previn look really pretentious
0:22:23 > 0:22:26or it should make Eric Morecombe look like an idiot
0:22:26 > 0:22:27but somehow it does neither.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Ladies and gentlemen, here to play Greig's Piano Concerto
0:22:30 > 0:22:32is Mr Eric Morecombe!
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It's just three people, all kind of in on the joke,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38having a really good laugh together.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41You can't help but laugh along with it and kind of want him to screw up.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46- I do assure you, Mr Preview! - Privet.- Previn...
0:22:46 > 0:22:50All the masterpieces, he knows them The Planet Suite by Gustav Holst.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Not forgetting The Three Piece Suite by Arthur Nagers.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Morecombe and Wise usually insisted on lengthy rehearsals with their guests stars
0:23:00 > 0:23:04but rumour has it, Previn learnt his part on the flight over.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07The story goes that Previn couldn't get there until the last minute
0:23:07 > 0:23:10so Morecombe and Wise were very nervous about this
0:23:10 > 0:23:16but I think it brings about a far better performance
0:23:16 > 0:23:18than had they rehearsed it. Even now I can watch it
0:23:18 > 0:23:24and every time Eric Morecombe calls him Andre Preview it makes me laugh.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28- Don't go, Mr Preview!- Privet! - Previn!
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I can assure you that Eric is more than capable.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- Well, all right, I'll go get my baton.- Please do that!
0:23:35 > 0:23:36- It's in Chicago.- Is it.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Usually, when Eric and Ernie are interacting,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Ernie is the one who gets annoyed on our behalf.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49But with that sketch at all times Ernie wants him to be silly.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52He's kind of on his side and it's a total role reversal
0:23:52 > 0:23:54as usually he'd be the one getting annoyed.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Open the curtains please!
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The Andre Previn sketch was watched by 20 million viewers
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and became an instant classic.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04At twelve minutes long and packed with gags,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07everybody has their favourite moment.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11The best bit is when they reveal the orchestra and you know,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14when it actually comes to him playing any notes,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16he's going to cock it up.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Seen better bands on a cigar!
0:24:19 > 0:24:23The one bit in that sketch that always makes me laugh
0:24:23 > 0:24:27is when Eric turns round to the orchestra and goes...
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Which one's the fixer?
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Which is obviously a musical term
0:24:34 > 0:24:37and the orchestra all piss themselves!
0:24:37 > 0:24:40- The one in the gold lame suit! - They usually are! Right!
0:24:40 > 0:24:43You're just helpless with it.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49There are so many stupid moments
0:24:49 > 0:24:51when he's labouring his walk to the piano.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06What's the matter?
0:25:09 > 0:25:11The introduction.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13- The introduction's wrong? - It's too short.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16- It's too short...- Oh, you noticed! - Yes, but...
0:25:16 > 0:25:19The idea of measuring how short an introduction is
0:25:19 > 0:25:22as an actual piece of physical space.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24I would say about that much!
0:25:26 > 0:25:28- About a yard.- It's about a yard!
0:25:28 > 0:25:30It's such a stupid thing to do.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- Any time! - Could I have a word with you please?
0:25:50 > 0:25:51- I'm sorry.- What happened there?
0:25:51 > 0:25:54I think my favourite moment in the sketch
0:25:54 > 0:25:56is when he asks him to jump at the end of the introduction
0:25:56 > 0:25:59because he can't see him through the piano.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00I have a suggestion.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Would you jump up in the air?
0:26:05 > 0:26:08So I can see you over the lid of the piano, you see.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12- If you could jump up! - You want me to actually jump into the air on the rostrum
0:26:12 > 0:26:16- in order so you can see my cue? - Yes, if you'll do that for me.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- If you'll do that... - Yes... I'll do that for you.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24- Yes, he's a nice man isn't he? - Isn't he charming?- I like him!
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Grieg by...with him and him!
0:26:34 > 0:26:38HE PLAYS WONKY TUNE
0:26:39 > 0:26:42It's such a rude thing to ask a conductor to do.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51It was always just the cheek of it wasn't it?
0:26:53 > 0:26:55And you're thinking
0:26:55 > 0:26:57"Oh, God, what's he going to do to poor old Andre Previn?"
0:26:57 > 0:27:00You're playing all the wrong notes.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And all everyone remembers...
0:27:08 > 0:27:09"Listen, sunshine."
0:27:09 > 0:27:11"I am playing the right notes."
0:27:11 > 0:27:15"Not necessarily in the right order."
0:27:15 > 0:27:19I mean, the band, I look at them, they were screaming.
0:27:27 > 0:27:33I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38They are the right notes, they're just not in the right order. Fantastic!
0:27:38 > 0:27:42I'll give you that, I'll give you that, sunshine.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45It was just a perfect moment.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- That was just wonderful! - Just wonderful!
0:27:48 > 0:27:54Just wonderful! Stupid, childish and very funny!
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Well, for another £4 we could have got Edward Heath!
0:27:57 > 0:27:59APPLAUSE
0:28:02 > 0:28:04HE PLAYS EXPERTLY
0:28:04 > 0:28:09If that ever comes on the telly, you stop what you're doing and sit down.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Rubbish!
0:28:15 > 0:28:17HE PLAYS WONKY TUNE
0:28:17 > 0:28:19That's it! You've got it!
0:28:21 > 0:28:25I just love Morecombe and Wise. I love their warmth of it,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29I just love that they seem to love each other while they're joking.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34# Bring me sunshine, in your smile. #
0:28:34 > 0:28:37They're basically just the funniest mates you have in the pub
0:28:37 > 0:28:39that you don't want to interrupt
0:28:39 > 0:28:42and you don't go out drinking to tell them stories,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44you just want to be with them for two hours
0:28:44 > 0:28:46and watch how they interact with each other.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50# ...joy you can give To each brand new bright tomorrow.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55# Make me happy through the years
0:28:55 > 0:29:00# Never bring me any tears
0:29:00 > 0:29:06# Let your arms be as warm As the sun from up above
0:29:06 > 0:29:11# Bring me fun, bring me sunshine Bring me love! #
0:29:11 > 0:29:14E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk