VALE BO, OBE.
This evening I learnt that Bill Oddie has passed away. I am sitting here listening to the Cricklewood Tapes, grooving along despite the sadness; marvelling at how often Bill’s songs still pop into my head, and how much his voice underscores each episode of my favourite ever TV show. Such memories!
Bill brought energy to The Goodies. Even amidst the scripted madness and overcranked antics, he seemed an agent of chaos: his personality barely restrained, ever on the verge of spilling over. (In spotting instances of Bill breaking character, cracking up at Tim or Graeme’s delivery, one surely comes to experience some measure of a birdwatcher’s joy?) And that music…
When I was in primary school, students on the school newspaper wrote to Bill and asked him all manner of Goodies-related questions. This was years after The Goodies had wrapped but for us, a cohort of Aussie kids weaned on repeats, it was still the funniest, most happening half-hour of telly; and Bill wrote back—such a thrill!
27 July 2026