Originally formed in 1972, The Goon Show Preservation Society (GSPS) has for over fifty years championed all things Goon and achieved remarkable success in keeping the show fresh and relevant into the 21st century. One of its patrons recently got fitted for a crown so it can count among its supporters folk from the highest echelons of society right the way down to poor wretches kipping in dustbins!

Over the course of Goon Pod we have played host to a number of former and current members of the GSPS, many of whom were or are active participants in society events and meetings, but this week's guest is undoubtedly one of the society's most significant figures: Chris Smith.

Chris, among other things, found time to put together the quarterly GSPS newsletter, overseeing its transition from rather rudimentary, stapled together A4 sheets to a much more professional A5 booklet form. He was a key co-organiser of major GSPS events down the years (including the Fred weekends) and was fortunate enough to spend time with the three surviving Goons on a number of occasions.

Chris joined the GSPS soon after its formation, while still in short trousers, and there could be nobody better to help navigate through the society's history - its highlights and (sometimes) lowlights, from the earliest days corresponding with founder Mike Coveney and putting on regional shows with the legendary Steam Count, right up to the present day (with a few gaps here and there).

The GSPS would have been nothing without the enthusiasm and support of its members and has done more than most to keep the Goon Show alive, and by extension reminding us, especially in the crazy times we live in now, of mankind's capacity for idiocy.

goonshow.org

@TheGSPS