Mike Craig Archive

An overview

The collection consists of more than 380 recordings of: 

• sketches
• interviews
• shows.

Legendary comedians from the 1940s up to 1996 are featured, such as: 

• Frank Randle
• Harry Worth
• Al Read
• Morecambe and Wise.

The recordings were collected by Mike Craig, a prolific comedy writer for television and radio. They provided the basis for his radio programmes and performances.

Born in Batley, Yorkshire, Craig worked as an audit clerk and biscuit sales rep, before moving full-time into writing and producing comedy. During his career, Craig was involved in writing or producing more than 1,200 comedy programmes. This included all 15 series of The Grumbleweeds, a long-running comedy sketch show which aired between 1979 and 1988 on BBC Radio 2.

A particular strength of the collection are recordings dating from the 1940s and 1950s. These include:

• Variety Bandbox, originally broadcast on the BBC General Forces Programme station for the military in the 1940s.
• It’s That Man Again, a sitcom for the BBC Home Service broadcast between 1939 and 1949. It followed the adventures of Tommy Handley as he undertook a series of unusual jobs.
• You’re Only Young Once, a sketch and music show, based around the Morecambe and Wise Detective Agency, broadcast in 1953 and 1954.

The collection also includes numerous recordings of the influential Al Read Show from the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Broughton, Salford, Read enjoyed a successful career in meat manufacturing before moving into comedy. Read was a pioneering observational comic whose humour was unusual for its time in that it reflected everyday life, situations, and characters.

Other shows represented in the collection include:

• Castles on the Air, a comedy programme with Roy Castle.
• Listen to Les, a comedy sketch show for radio with Les Dawson performing various deadpan monologues. The show ends with an audience singalong accompanied by Les playing piano badly.
• It’s a Funny Business, a radio chat show where Craig himself invited comedy stars to reminisce about their careers.

The collection is a potentially rich resource for the history of radio and performance comedy. It showcases a range of styles and content over an extended period.

Please note: Owing to copyright restrictions, access to this material is password protected. To request access email library-archives@salford.ac.uk with your name and reason for requesting access.

How can it be used?

Chart and understand the history and development of radio broadcast comedy. Compare to contemporary approaches, themes and styles of comedy. Comedy can provide a unique insight into the culture and psyche of its time.

Who might be interested?

Students and researchers of Comedy & Performance, Film, TV & Media; social and cultural historians.

Types of material

Audio recordings.