Chortle Perfect Playlist by The Socks

Perfect Playlist

Here comedians choose half-a-dozen or so of their favourite comedy moments, illustrated with clips. Whether it's just the things that make them laugh or important influences on their careers, these selections reveal what makes their comedy brains tick.

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre pick their perfect playlist from their favourite comedy double acts.

It’s our tenth year doing a brand new show at the Edinburgh Fringe, so it’s about time we fessed up and revealed the comedy acts off whom we ripped our act. Though every line we write is sparklingly original and fresh from our hard-working comedy brains, it’s hard to help noticing all these other acts who, spookily, did most of our schtick first.

Bob & Terry, The Likely Lads

You know that routine the Socks do in every show where one of us mishears a word the other one’s said and it spirals through a series of similar misunderstandings to a hilarious conclusion? Yes you do. Oh come on, we’ve done it in every bloody show. Well, it turns out (we find, having seen it repeated on Yesterday) we totally lifted that from Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads. Also the whole Aspirational One v Complacent One schtick. Thanks Clements & LaFrenais.



Peter Cook & Dudley Moore

There’s no shame in admitting you’re wallowing in the shadow of two of the most respected comedians in history. Although what we took from Pete & Dud wasn’t the sparkling wit or the accomplished piano playing. It was what Cook called Happy Amateurism, which was his excuse for being an alcoholic and our excuse for perennial underachievement. And corpsing. We took that from them too.



Peter Glaze & Don Maclean

History has largely forgotten this pair, who live on only in the memory of people of a certain age. They were the comedy stars of Crackerjack, on children’s BBC from the mid 70s to the early 80s, by which time Glaze, who had been a member of The Crazy Gang in the 50s, was already one of the oldest people I’d ever seen on the telly. He’s the guy who coined “D’oh”, which sadly Homer Simpson went on to own. As a double act they perfected the Cheeky One constantly getting the rise out of the Uptight One, and Crackerjack ended every week with a musical parody. Sometimes they changed the lyrics, but the songs were at their most satisfactory when they just sang them straight. I say straight…



The Two Ronnies

Gerald Wiley, aka Ronnie Barker, may be the single most influential writer on our work. He did word play which may have become unfashionable in subsequent years but stands the test of time, and did the best Putting Words To Other Peoples Songs there is.




National Theatre Of Brent

Why doesn’t everyone know the National Theatre Of Brent? Now riding high on the success of The 39 Steps, Patrick Barlow’s Desmond Olivier Dingle was the ultimate Uptight Guy Who’s Trying To Put On A Play. And Jim Broadbent, now way famouser than Patrick Barlow in a way that nobody would have predicted back the the National Theatre Of Brent’s heyday, was the best Dopey Sidekick ever. “Might ine ask” is a phrase still used regularly in our home. If you’ve never seen the NTOB, that will mean nothing to you. On the plus side, though, you’ll think the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre totally invented our way of doing Shakespeare parodies and historic re-enactions.



Mr Show with Bob & Dave

Mr Show wasn’t, strictly, an influence on The Socks because, to be honest, we’d been going for five years before we even knew it existed. But it pre-dates us, so it counts. And has some of the most out-of-the-box original double-act sketch work we’ve ever seen.



Abbott & Costello

If there had never been a Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre then history would have to settle for these guys. I mean, contrived word play? Histrionic over acting in a high pitched voice? A straight guy who never gets a laugh? It’s okay. We’re here now, you never have to watch these guys ever ag - Third Base!

The Award Winning* Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre are Superheroes at The Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe from August 1st to 26th - ON SALE NOW! 

*Winners of the Bath Comedy Festival Lovehoney Best Joke Award 2018

Previews:

July 5 - Trinity Bar Harrow

July 11 - Neath Comedy Festival

July 19 - Bedford Fringe
July 29 - Derby Bar One
July 29 - Sheffield New Barrack Tavern

Aug 1 - 26 - Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe