Bill Oddie

He called birds biny little turds

His bird watching series is now on iplayer along with the best of Oddie goes Wild…

Indeed MR.

NittWitt

The Father Christmas song was a chart hit in 1974. I think slap & tickle humour was more acceptable then.

Surely it was just another version of “Oh Sir Jasper” - mildly smutty but of its time and as such pretty harmless?

Yes Helterskelter1, I cried at that programme then again today when I read that he wants Nothing Compares to You by Sinead O' Connor to be played at him funeral.

Jingle jangle jewellery still online.Oh dear!

In the 1980s I met Bill Oddie at the airport while returning from my parent’s home in Co Cork. He mentioned he had been doing a tv programme and would missed not being in The Monkeys.

It seems a bit convoluted to think it was a dig at JS. Who could think that was a bit of a laugh?

The Father Christmas song was a chart hit in 1974. I think slap & tickle humour was more acceptable then.

I met Bill Oddie when he came to give a talk - more of a chat - at my school (all girls) in the 1960s.
He was cute, charming, funny and a little bit naughty which dumbfounded some of our older spinster teachers!
He will be missed.

The story of Bill's mother was tragic. It must have happened to so many women in those days. They might both have had such different lives nowadays.

We met Bill Oddie when he came to Liverpool when it was the city of Culture. Very pleasant and happy to talk.

I would rather remember Bill Oddie and the Goodies singing "The Funky Gibbon" than the awful Father Christmas one.

There was a line in "The Funky Gibbon" that Bill Oddie put in during one live performance that made me laugh out loud it was. 'Tie a yellow gibbon round the ole oak tree."*

* There was popular song around at the time "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"

I didn't know about any Jimmy Saville connection to the Father Christmas song, so I may have been unfair upthread. Sorry, if that's the case, Bill. (It's still a horrible song, though.)

When he was on Who Do You Think You Are he explained how he at last discovered why his mother apparently "abandoned* him. Such a very sad story.

I've been listening to the repeats of I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again on 4extra and was impressed at his musical skills. I never missed an episode back when it was first broadcast and I can sing along with all the songs. Tim Brooke-Taylor died during Covid; and now this news of Bill Oddie makes me very sad and nostalgic.

He seemed very gentle. I shared his passion for nature and was very sad to learn he suffered from depression which a lot of sensitive people do.

I used to like The Goodies and then enjoyed Bill's wildlife programmes.
The second of the Goodies to leave us, sadly.

RIP Bill Oddie 🕊

MollyNew

Very sad to hear about the death of Bill Oddie, a decent human being who suffered greatly with his mental health. RIP Bill.

One of the first people to talk openly about mental health, too.

A very talented man, I liked The Goodies as well.
An unfortunate comment NanKate.
RIP Bill Oddie.

Oh no. I was only talking about him the other day. The latest Folk on Foot podcast features a musician, author and poet who wrote a beautiful poem about starlings and I mentioned that Bill Oddie was the first person to point out that starling murmurations were the greatest spectacle in nature.

RIP Bill

Doodledog

Sad. Of course I am sad at BO’s death, but The Goodies were not benign, IMO.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=hC3AphnJLbE&ra=m

Oh they were! Wicked, maybe but never cruel.

Always enjoyed watching The Goodies. They were a bit like the lighter version of Monty Python, which was also great.

They are just playing "funky gibbon" on Beeb news and sensitive to his childhood.