The Grumbleweeds

[The Collector]

Noseying in the Comedy guide on the BBC found this...Note guest star..

The Coal Hole Club
UK, BBC, Children's sketch/standup, Colour, 1973
Starring: The Grumbleweeds, Maurice Lee, Albert Sutcliffe

Fun for younger viewers, with comedy/impressionist group the Grumbleweeds inviting them to the Coal Hole Club for a 'fast moving party with songs, jokes and impressions'. Different guests appeared each week, including Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies, Stan Stennett, Stanley Unwin and [glow=red,2,300]Ken Goodwin (twice).[/glow] The second series was called simply Grumbleweeds but the format was identical and the Coal Hole Club still thrived.

[The Collector]

The Grumbleweeds Radio Show
UK, ITV (Granada), Sketch/standup, Colour, 1983
Starring: Robin Colville, Maurice Lee, Albert Sutcliffe
Combining sketches with comedy songs and impressions, this was a straight transferral to TV of the Grumbleweeds' long-running (1979-88) series on BBC Radio 2, first airing under this title and then as simply The Grumbleweeds. (Later still, also on R2, they had another series, Someone And The Grumbleweeds.)

Hailing from Leeds and particularly well followed in the north, the band - Robin, Maurice, Albert, Carl and Graham - have been in show business since 1963, their failure to stir more than a few claps on an Opportunity Knocks TV appearance leading them to ditch their career as a straight pop band in favour of humour, with gags, sketches and impressionism to the fore; another early TV spot was in a Granada oneoff show, Max Bygraves Introduces New Faces, on 7 November 1967.

No famous person was spared, and no shortage of wacky characters were invented in their fast-cut, action-packed TV shows, with Carl Sutcliffe depicting his (relatively) famous alias Wilf 'Gasmask' Grimshaw, Albert Sutcliffe appearing as the 'Milky Bar Kid' and Robin Colville airing his celebrated impression of fellow Leeds man Jimmy Savile. (Note. Albert and Carl Sutcliffe left the group at the end of 1987, and were replaced by side-musicians who supplemented the remaining three. The new members were first seen in the July 1988 TV special.)


Interestingly, while The Grumbleweeds Radio Show was aimed at adults when it aired on BBC radio, the television version was usually scheduled for less mature viewing, and an even younger audience was addressed during the band's BBC TV series The Coal Hole Club.

Researched and written by Mark Lewisohn.

Cast
Robin Colville
Maurice Lee
Albert Sutcliffe
Carl Sutcliffe
Graham Walker


Crew
Robin Colville - Writer
Maurice Lee - Writer
Albert Sutcliffe - Writer
Carl Sutcliffe - Writer
Graham Walker - Writer
Ian Hamilton - Director (1983 special)
David Liddiment - Director (series 1)
Ian White - Director (1984 specials)
Ian White - Director (series 2)
David Warwick - Director (series 2)
David Warwick - Director (1985 special & series 3)
David Warwick - Director (series 4)
Noel D Greene - Director (series 4)
Noel D Greene - Director (1986 / 88 specials & series 5)
Johnny Hamp - Producer

Transmission Details
Number of episodes: 46 Length: 44 x 30 mins · 1 x 60 mins · 1 x 45 mins
Special (30 mins) 29 Mar 1983 · Tue 5.15pm
Series One (7 x 30 mins) 5 May-16 June 1984 · Sat 6pm then 6.30pm
Special (30 mins) 22 Dec 1984 · Sat 5.40pm
Special (30 mins) 29 Dec 1984 · Sat 5.35pm
Series Two (7 x 30 mins) 13 Apr-25 May 1985 · Sat mostly 6.50pm
Special (30 mins) 27 Dec 1985 · Fri 6.30pm
Series Three (7 x 30 mins) The Grumbleweeds Show 25 Jan-8 Mar 1986 · Sat 6.30pm
Series Four (7 x 30 mins) The Grumbleweeds Show 12 July-23 Aug 1986 · Sat 5.05pm
Special (60 mins) The Grumbleweeds Party Time 7 Oct 1986 · Tue 8pm
Special (30 mins) The Grumbleweeds Show 28 Dec 1986 · Sun 5.30pm
Series Five (11 x 30 mins) The Grumbleweeds Show 18 Apr-27 June 1987 · Sat mostly 5.05pm
Special (45 mins) The Grumbleweeds Show 9 July 1988 · Sat 5.45pm

[glow=red,2,300]didn't realise they were on for this long![/glow]