William Edgar Oddie was born in Rochdale in 1941, and is a writer, comedian, composer, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He is best know for being one third of The Goodies, but before he joined Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graham Garden for that classic TV show, he'd already served a ten year apprenticeship, appearing on a number of TV and radio shows for the BBC throughout the 60's. His entertainment career began while at Cambridge University, where he appeared in several Footlights Club productions, one of which - 'A Clump of Plinths' - was so successful at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it was renamed 'Cambridge Circus' and transferred to the West End in London, then New Zealand, and finally to Broadway in September 1964. While still at Cambridge, Oddie wrote scripts for and appeared briefly in TV's 'That Was the Week That Was', and later appeared in Bernard Braden's television series 'On The Braden Beat' in 1964.
He joined Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Garden, John Cleese, Jo Kendall, and David Hatch for 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' (ISIRTA) later that year, and the show ran on BBC radio until 1973, with Oddie providing a couple of songs for every recording of its nine-series run. He released an album 'Distinctly Oddie' in 1967, which featured some of his songs from the show, but he also released a number of singles before and after the album, both humourous and serious, none of which have ever been collected together before. 'Nothing Better To Do' was about the Mods and Rockers of the early 60's, and was banned by the BBC as they thought it might incite violence, while 'The Knitting Song' was the exact opposite, championing the relaxing past-time of knitting. 'I Can't Get Through'/'Because She Is My Love' was his one attempt at a serious single, but fared about as well as his other releases. He was one of the first performers to parody a rock song, arranging the traditional Yorkshire folk song 'On Ilkla Moor Baht'at' in the style of Joe Cocker's version of 'With A Little Help From My Friends', and it was released on John Peel's Dandelion Records in 1970. While a member of The Goodies some of his songs were also released as singles, and records such as 'Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me', 'Funky Gibbon', and 'Black Pudding Bertha' were actually hits in 1974 and 1975. This album, however, features his songs from the 60's, either written for the TV and radio shows that he appeared in, or just for release as a single under his own name.
Track listing
01 Nothing Better To Do (single 1964)
02 Traffic Island (ISIRTA version of the b-side of 'Nothing Better To Do')
03 The Knitting Song (single 1965)
04 I Ain't Got Rhythm (b-side of 'The Knitting Song')
05 I Can't Get Through (single 1966)
06 Because She Is My Love (b-side of 'I Can't Get Through')
07 Jimmy Young (single 1969)
08 Irish Get Out (b-side of 'Jimmy Young')
09 On Ilkla Moor Baht'at (single 1970)
10 Harry Krishna (b-side of 'On Ilkla Moor Baht'at')
11 TV Heroes (from the 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' radio show)
12 Bossa Nova (from the 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' radio show)
13 On Her Majesty's Service (from the 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' radio show)
14 Directory (from the 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' radio show)
15 Denmark Street (from the 'I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again' radio show)
