Books, records and things...
The essentials
If you want to see, hear and read Beyond The Fringe for yourself,
then the essential purchases are:
Compact
disc: The
Complete Beyond The Fringe 3CD set is far and away the best buy.
The first two CDs contain the complete two-hour 1961 Fortune Theatre
show, while the third disc contains six tracks from the 1962 Broadway
album, plus the long-deleted 1964 Broadway album in its entirety.
The set typically sells for anything up to £25.99 but amazon.co.uk
sells it new for a bargain-basement £14.97 (it's three CDs plus a
lavish booklet, after all) and often has second-hand copies available
from about a tenner. The 1962
Broadway album
is also available as a single CD but
at £12.99 you might as well spend the extra couple of quid and go for
the aforementioned 3CD Complete set. Finally there's a Classic
songs and sketches
CD which is cheap and cheerful, and a
good budget choice, though the omission of any of Dudley Moore's solos
is a bit rum.
DVD: A DVD
of the 1964 farewell performance by the original cast is
available but only on region 1. What madness is this!? Still, if you
have the capacity to play R1 discs then it's well worth getting. The
sound quality is rather "off" in places but considering this is the
only original filmed performance by the group and was believed lost for
many years, to have it at all is a rather wondrous thing.
Book: The
Complete Beyond
the Fringe scripts book is available in paperback. The
classic 1961 Fortune Theatre show plus additional stuff from Edinburgh,
Cambridge and Broadway. Even the scores for Dudley Moore's piano solos
are included. Can't say fairer than that, can you?
The historical stuff
Records

Beyond
The
Fringe
UK Original LP Parlophone PMC 1145
(1961)
UK Reissue LP EMI One-Up OUM 2151
(1976)
- Royal Box / The Heat-Death of the Universe / Bollard / Deutscher
Chansons / T.V.P.M. / Aftermyth of War / Civil War / Real Class /
Little Miss Britten / Black Equals White / Take A Pew / The End Of The
World
Original
Broadway Cast: Beyond The
Fringe
US
Original
mono LP Capitol W1792
(1963)
US Original stereo LP Capitol SW 1792
(1963)
-Bollard / The Sadder and Wiser Beaver / Deutcher Chansons / Take A
Pew / Aftermyth Of War / Sitting On The Bench / And The Same To You /
Portrait From Memory / So That's The Way You Like It / The End of the
World
Sitting
On The Bench
UK 7" single Parlophone 45-R 4969
- Sitting On The Bench / End Of The World
Both tracks taken from the Broadway cast LP above. Sitting On the Bench has music by George Martin.
Beyond
The Fringe '64
(with Paxton Whitehead in place of Jonathan Miller)
US Original mono LP Capitol W2072
(1964)
US Original stereo LP Capitol SW2072
(1964)
US Reissue CD on DRG Records
- Home Thoughts From Abroad / The English Way Of Death / Weill Song
/ Royal Box / One Leg Too Few / Two English Songs / Lord Cobbold - The
Duke (Studio 5 Interviews) / Real Class / A Piece Of My Mind / The
Great Train Robbery
Beyond The Fringe
EMI double CD (7 93962 2 1)
- Royal Box / The Heat-Death of the Universe
/ Bollard / Deutscher
Chansons / T.V.P.M. / Aftermyth of War / Civil War / Real Class /
Little Miss Britten / Black Equals White / Take A Pew / The End Of The
World / The Sadder and Wiser Beaver / Sitting on the Bench / And the
Same to You / Portraits from Memory / So That's the Way You Like It /
The English Way of Death / Weill Song / Home Thoughts From Abroad / One
Leg Too Few / Two English Songs / Lord Cobbold - The Duke / A Piece of
My Mind / The Great Train Robbery
The
Complete Beyond the Fringe
3CD set
- LONDON 1961: Steppes in the Right Direction / Royal Box / Man Bites
God / Let's Face It / Bollard / The Heat-Death of the Universe /
Deutscher Chansons / The Sadder and Wiser Beaver / Words... and Things
/ T.V.P.M. / And the Same to You / Aftermyth of War / Civil War / Real
Class / Little Miss Britten / The Suspense is Killing Me / Porn Shop /
The Death of Lord Nelson / Frank Speaking / Bloddy Rhondda Mine / Black
Equals White / Sitting on the Bench / Bread Alone / Take a Pew / So
That's the Way You Like It / The End of the World / BROADWAY 1962:
Bollard / Take A Pew / Aftermyth of War / Sitting on the Bench /
Portraits from memory / The End of the World / BROADWAY 1964: Home
Thoughts From Abroad / The English Way Of Death / Weill Song
/ Royal Box / One Leg Too Few / Two English Songs / Lord Cobbold - The
Duke (Studio 5 Interviews) / Real Class / A Piece Of My Mind / The
Great Train Robbery
Extracts
from the Complete Beyond the Fringe (promo for the above set)
CD: CD-FRINGE-61
- One Leg Too Few / The Great Train Robbery / Royal Box / Porn Shop /
Black Equals White / T.V.P.M. / Bollard / Aftermyth of War
Beyond
the Fringe: Classic Songs and Sketches
CD: EMI Comedy Classics
-Steppes in the Right Direction / Man Bites God / The Sadder and Wiser
Beaver / Aftermyth of War / The Suspense is Killing Me / Porn Shop /
The Death of Lord Nelson / Sitting on the Bench / Bread Alone / The End
of the World / Homes Thoughts from Abroad / The English Way of Death /
One Leg Too Few / Lord Cobbold - The Duke / The Great Train Robbery
Compilations featuring Beyond the Fringe material
Peter
Cook and Dudley Moore EP
7" EP: Parlophone GEP8940 (1965)
Includes: Sitting on the Bench / And The Same
To You
plus "Strictly For The Birds" by the Dudley Moore Trio.
Peter
Cook Anthology 1961-1989
2x Cassette on Laughing Stock
Includes: Royal Box / TVPM / Real Class / Black
Equals White / The Sadder And Wiser Beaver / The Great Train Robbery
...and versions from various Amnesty International benefits of:
Sitting On the Bench / The End Of The World / One Leg Too
Few
Various Artists:
EMI
Classic British Comedy (EMI Gold, CD, 2000) includes:
Royal Box
The Best Comedy Album In The
World
Ever! (Virgin, 3CD, 2000) includes: One Leg Too Few / TVPM /
Lord Cobbold / Take A Pew / The
Great Train Robbery
Produced By George Martin
(Parlophone, CD box set, 2001) includes Aftermyth Of War (extract) /
End Of The World
The
Classic Comedy Box (EMI Gold, 3CD, 2004) includes: One Leg Too
Few / Take A Pew / Sitting On The Bench / The
Great Train Robbery / The Royal Box
I Love
Comedy (Virgin
TV, 3CD, 2004) box includes: One Leg Too Few
Essential
Comedy (EMI,
3CD exclusive to Amazon, 2006) includes: One Leg Too Few / The End Of
The World / The Royal Box / Lord
Cobbold & The Duke / The English Way Of Death
The
Original Comedy Album (EMI Gold, CD, 2007) includes Take A
Pew
Compilations featuring
versions of Beyond the Fringe sketches
One Over The Eight (1961 Decca LP mono LK
4393, stereo SKL 4133) includes Kenneth Williams in "One Leg Too Few"
(Amazon UK: compact
disc)
The World Of Kenneth Williams (1964 Decca LP SPA 64) also includes Kenneth Williams in "One Leg
Too Few"
Interesting
Facts: The Decca Recordings 1960-1 (2007 Decca CD) is a Kenneth
Williams compilation which includes "One Leg Too Few" along with
various other Peter Cook-penned sketches. (Amazon UK: compact
disc |
download
)
Good Evening (US) Island LP ILPS 9298 LP by Cook and Moore includes live versions of One Leg Too Few and Die Flabbergast.
An Evening With Peter Cook And Dudley Moore
And E.L.Wisty Funny Business / Speaking
Volumes 522 101 4 includes the above Good Evening album in full, and
therefore includes the same versions of One Leg Too Few and Die
Flabbergast. (Amazon UK: audio
cassette)
A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick) Transatlantic LP
TRA 331 includes So That's The Way You Like It. US version also
includes Sitting on the Bench. (Amazon UK: compact
disc)
The Dead Parrot Society Rhino CD
R2 71049 includes Sitting On the Bench (Amazon UK: compact
disc)
The Mermaid Frolics Polydor LP 2384 101 includes the same version of Sitting on
the Bench.
The Secret Policeman’s Ball
Island LP ILPS 9601 Peter Cook leads an all-star
cast in The End of The World.
Published
scripts



UK: Souvenir Press, 1963 (paperback)
US: Samuel French 1963
(paperback) (ISBN: 0573640025)
US: Random House 1963 (hardback, "Fireside Book Club"
edition)
US: Samuel French 1964 (paperback, "acting edition") (ISBN:
0573640025)
UK: Methuen 1987 (paperback) (ISBN: 9780413146700) (ISBN: 9780749316877)
UK: Methuen London 1992 (reprint of 1987 edition) (ISBN:
0413146707)
US: Mandarin 1993 (paperback) (ISBN: 074931687X)
UK?: Methuen 1996 (ISBN: 074931687X)
UK: Methuen 2003 (ISBN: 041377368X)

