Humphrey
Lyttelton
 Sadly Humphrey Lyttelton died on Friday 25 April 2008 following an operation. He was a much loved radio presenter and jazz musician and much more. His career covered trumpeter, clarinetist, bandleader, broadcaster, writer, journalist and calligrapher, cartoonist (Daily Mail 1949-53) and chairman of the Radio 4 antidote to panel games, "I'm Sorry I Haven't Clue" from 1972-2008. The obituary on the Radio 4 website says "Born on 23rd May 1921 in Windsor, Berkshire where his father was a master, Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton studied at Eton College, where he developed a penchant for jazz. Teaching himself the trumpet, he formed a quartet, which included Ludovic Kennedy on drums. In 1956, he enjoyed his one and only chart success, 'Bad Penny Blues'. By this time, The Lyttelton Band was a well established part of the music scene. In 1972, his career path crossed into the world of comedy. Having hosted The Best of Jazz on BBC Radio Two from 1967, he was picked by producer David Hatch to present comedy panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - reasoning Lyttelton's musical background would help him when it came to improvising. For the first year he alternated with Barry Cryer in the role of chairman, but quickly proved himself integral to the show's success, and became the regular anchor from the second series onward.
Somewhere between groan-worthy and genius, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue somehow feels as old as radio itself. But in fact the 'antidote to panel games' first hit the airwaves in 1972. It grew out of the long-running sketch show I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. However, Garden and Oddie were keen to continue with the medium and so looked for a format that wouldn't involve a large amount of scripted material. With the help of Hatch, they came up with an improvisational quiz show and produced a pilot. That try-out edition opened with Garden and Kendall singing the words of 'Three Blind Mice' to the tune of 'Ol' Man River', followed by Oddie and Brooke-Taylor tacking the lyrics of 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' on to the melody of 'These Foolish Things'. Although Garden later reflected the show had been "pretty hair-raising", it found favour with the head of Radio 4, Tony Whitby, who commissioned a full series. Hatch suggested bringing Humphrey Lyttelton in to host, reasoning the seasoned jazz performer would be adept at improvising, and during the first year 'Humph' alternated in the role of chairman with Barry Cryer. The Classic Clue (as it's known to its admirers) line-up was established in 1974, when Willie Rushton joined the show. By this stage, Kendall had been permanently replaced by Cryer (scriptwriter and musical hall cynic), with Garden (smoothie medic) and Brooke-Taylor (naughty schoolboy) continuing from the original quartet".  Humphrey Lyttelton is said to have wanted a small delivery van signwritten as above! Melvyn Bragg commented "the inuendo with some of Humph's asides makes Jonathan Ross look like little Bo Peep!" - Humph's response was "that's an achievement!" Victor Smith (27.4.08) |
The
Best of Jazz His Radio 4 programme The Best of Jazz began in 1967 and ran continuously for more than 40 years, guiding and profoundly influencing the musical tastes of his listeners, most of whom had been listening to him for half their lives. He had the same producers, Keith Stewart and Terry Carter, consecutively throughout that time. Band - live performances He toured frequently and in his eighties in 2006 toured the UK with his eight piece jazz band playing venues as varied as Canizaro Park on Wimbledon Common and at Edinburgh. I enjoyed the concert at Canizaro - a warm evening with a relaxed picnic on the lawn beforehand and then simply wonderful music laced with his quirky and humorous pauses and introductions between pieces. In the interval he was an approachable man, standing with the audience signing copies of his latest CD. He also played regularly at the Bull's Head in Barnes in southwest London near my home and I enjoyed the cramped sessions in the backroom - again he was playing there until very recently. Sleeve of a recent CD I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Described as the "antidote to panel games" this show was somewhere between groan-worthy and genius and feels as old as radio itself. But in fact it first hit the airwaves in 1972. It grew out of the long-running sketch show I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. With burgeoning television careers beckoning, the writers of that series: John Cleese, Jo Kendall, David Hatch, Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden found they had little time to continue penning radio comedy. The show features a variety of games - regulars include One Song to the Tune of Another, Sound Charades, Limericks, Late Arrivals and the legendary Mornington Crescent: a meaningless parody of complex strategy games for which the suggested rules were a mystery to many. It was all chaired with the relaxed, some might say world-weary, style of Humph with his saucy humour. Colin Sell also played a vital role, providing musical accompaniment at the piano to some of the games and providing Humph with the butt of a cheap joke: "You'll be accompanied on the piano by Colin Sell, who's playing has been the highlight of many proms . . . . . well, that and the donkey rides." Since 1985, the show also enjoyed great sport with the inclusion of a fictional scorer, 'the lovely Samantha' - occasionally 'the lovely Monica' or 'the lovely Sven'. Inspired by the Page 3 girl Samantha Fox, she inspired some of the filthiest double-entendres ever heard on Radio 4. Take this one: "In her spare time, Samantha likes nothing more than to peruse old record shops. She particularly enjoys a rewarding poke in the country section." More Samantha jokes are below.
Humph's approach to life is summed up in a quote: "As we journey through life, discarding baggage along the way, we should keep an iron grip, to the very end, on the capacity for silliness. It preserves the soul from desiccation" Humph used to end every edition of the show with a typically surreal sign-off. One example was: "As the vanquished char-woman of time begins to Shake n' Vac the shagpile of eternity, I notice that we have just run out of time." Radio 4 obituary and video clip of Humph playing trumpet. More Clips from Melvyn Bragg's South Bank Show on Humphrey Lyttelton as a tribute to Humph. More |
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Humphrey
Lyttelton: A Celebration was broadcast on Radio 4 on Wednesday 30th
April 2008 at 9.00am and repeated at 9.30pm the same day. More
We understand the I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue team are planning a broadcast as a tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton which is due to be broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday 11th May 2008 |
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