NO STRINGS ATTACHED
Looks back at the launch of satirical puppet show Spitting Image on ITV forty years ago
PUPPETS with attitude blasted onto ITV 40 years ago with the launch of Spitting Image.
Roger Law and Peter Fluck created the satirical sketch show which made its debut on February 26, 1984.
At £300,000 an episode, Spitting Image was TV’s most expensive lightentertainment show at the time.
The show famously featured Margaret Thatcher in a man’s suit treating her cabinet – “the vegetables” – with contempt, John Major as a grey puppet and portrayed the Queen Mother slugging from a gin bottle.
President Ronald Reagan was featured in bed with two red call buttons, one marked
Nurse, the other Nuke. The show even got to number one in the UK music charts with the single The Chicken Song featuring the lyrics “Hold a chicken in the air, Stick a deckchair up your nose, Yes, you’ll hear this song in the holiday discos”. Spitting Image ran for 18 series, until 1996, and was watched by 15 million viewers in its heyday.
It returned in 2020 with more than 100 new puppets of public figures including Boris Johnson, Greta Thunberg, Donald Trump and the Duke of Sussex. Original series producer John Lloyd recalled: “If you weren’t on it you were absolutely nobody, so everybody was always very keen to be on.”
The entire archive of Spitting Image was donated to Cambridge University Library including sketches, memorabilia and even some of the letters of complaint received by the show
Pointless quiz presenter Alexander Armstrong was among those who worked on the hit show. He said: “I’m a poor impressionist, but I’ve always loved doing them. I worked on Spitting Image during its fading days. I did catch-all, walk-on voices as junior ministers and lawyers. I was a ‘rent an Establishment’ figure.”
THERE’S a special round of applause this week for music-lover Liz Mummery, who is the driving force behind a fundraising concert in Burry Port next week.
A non-political, humanitarian fundraiser is being held for the children of Gaza on Saturday, March 9 (7pm), upstairs in Poppies Bar and Grill (formerly the British Legion) in Burry Port.
Liz explained: “The idea for such an event came to me before Christmas when watching the news and I felt I just had to do something. It’s very easy to sit on the sofa and do nothing!
“I spoke with Martyn Joseph, a well-known Welsh singersongwriter at his concert in Neath, and his charity Let Yourself Trust has worked directly with the Amos Trust, who have partners on the ground in Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank.
“Martyn advised I work with the Amos Trust for this fundraiser.
“I have sung with Cor Curiad since May, 2022, so was delighted when the wonderfully talented musical director Alex Esney and the choir committee agreed to support the event and sing for us.
“They will be joined by Burry Port Male Voice Choir, under the baton of their new musical director Nerissa Faulkner.
“The concert will also feature three featured pieces where all the performers from the evening will join together.
“Soloists Myome MortimerDavies and Matthew Budd are both young singers in the third year of their course at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
“As well as being a lovely singer,
Myome is Miss Earth Wales Air 2023 and an Ask Me Ambassador.
“Matthew is known for his baritone solo work with Johns’ Boys, who were featured on TV’s Britain’s Got Talent.
“Also appearing will be 3’s Company – Tiegan, Iara and Scarlet – a young vocal harmony group at the start of their musical adventure.
“Eugene Scourfield is a guitarist singer-songwriter form Cwmgors, who has a wonderful voice and charismatic stage presence.
“And the line-up is completed by Lizzie and the Liabilities, a folk trio who came together last spring and who just love playing, singing and performing together.
“The trio use a wide range of instruments, such as guitars, dulcimer, recorder, bouzouki, mandolin, concertina, bodhran and cajon, although not all will be used in the concert!”
Tickets for the concert are £10 and can be reserved by calling Liz Mummery on 0772 463 8195. Or they can be purchased directly from Poppies or Loveleen Browes optician in Burry Port.
Meanwhile, this weekend sees annual St David’s Day celebration concerts across Carmarthenshire.
There are three West Wales concerts on the schedule at Carmarthenshire Theatres, Theatrau Sir Gar.
First up on the calendar will be the St David’s Celebration Concert at Glowyr (The Miners’ Theatre) in Ammanford.
At The Miners’, the evening will brim with musical talent. You’ll be able to enjoy performances from Steffan Hughes, renowned singer and manager of the Welsh of the
West End collective, and Eifion Thomas’ male voice choir from Llanelli, Meibion Elli.
The evening will also feature popular local choir Parti Merched Ysgol Dyffryn Amman.
The evening will be hosted bilingually by the very talented Heddyr Gregory.
The concert is at 7pm tomorrow, and tickets are available at £14.50 and £12.50.
March 1, St David’s Day, will see the patron saint celebrations switch to The Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen.
The stage will be dominated by the multi-award-winning Côr Meibion Pontarddulais Male Choir, under the baton of Clive Phillips.
The evening will be hosted bilingually by broadcaster and journalist Garry Owen and will also feature international harpist Dylan Cernyw.
The Friday concert kicks off at 7pm and tickets are £18.50 and £16.50. There is a discount price of £15.50 for groups of 10-plus.
The following day, Saturday, March 2, the focus switches to Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli.
Top of the bill at Ffwrnes will be popular Welsh tenor Trystan Llŷr Griffiths.
He will be joined on stage by Morriston RFC Male Choir (Côr Rygbi Treforus) and Côr Lleisiau’r Cwm.
The evening will also feature the talented pupils of Ysgol Yr Hendy and will be hosted bilingually by Garry Owen.
The concert starts at 7pm and the ticket prices are the same as for The Lyric concert. Tickets for the St David’s Day concerts are available from Theatrau Sir Gar or from the website at www. theatrau sirgar.co.uk/