Peter Sellers was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show, featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series. English filmmakers the Boulting Brothers described Sellers as “the greatest comic genius this country has produced since Charles Chaplin”. Sellers released his first studio album in 1958 called The Best of Sellers; a collection of comic songs and sketches, among them Balham – Gateway to the South, where Sellers plays a variety of comic characters. Produced by George Martin and released on Parlophone, the album reached number three in the UK Album Chart.
“Balham, Gateway to the South” is a comedy sketch that parodies cinema travelogues by presenting the South London suburb of Balham as an exotic locale. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden for the short-lived BBC radio series Third Division and featured in the second edition broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in February 1949. The sketch’s depication of Balham as a faraway, desirable location contrasted with the real area during postwar austerity. One memorable part of the sketch is the pronunciation of Balham as “Bal-Ham” in an American accent, instead of the British pronunciation “Bal-um”.
“Goodness Gracious Me” is a comedy song recorded by Sellers and Sophia Loren. Released by Parlophone, it was a top 5 UK single in 1960. It features Sellers acting the role of an Indian doctor, and Loren of his wealthy Italian patient – who fall in love. The song was conceived and instigated by George Martin, who was the producer at that time of Peter Sellers’s comedy recordings. Martin commissioned Dave Lee and Herbert Kretzmer to write the song. Martin himself produced the recording. Martin envisaged the song as a recording to be incorporated in the soundtrack of the film The Millionairess which was being filmed at that time starring Sellers and Loren. However, the film’s producers did not share his enthusiasm for including the song in the film’s soundtrack and did not utilize it. The studio was however happy to see the song released as a stand-alone single to promote the film. In becoming a chat hit it succeeded in publicizing the film.“Bangers and Mash” is the follow-up single by the duo, which was also released in 1960 and reached number 22 in the UK chart. Both songs were included on an album released by the couple, Peter & Sophia, which reached number five in the UK Albums Chart.
“A Hard Day’s Night” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Credited to Lennon-McCartney, it was written by John Lennon, with some collaboration from Paul McCartney. It was released on the film sountrack of the same name in 1964. It was also released as a single in the UK. Many artists have covered the song. Among the most notable is the single by Peter Sellers, a comedy version in which he recited the lyrics in the style of Laurence Olivier in the film Richard III. Sellers’ version was a UK Top 20 hit in 1965.
“Help!” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that served as the title song for the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was released as a single in July 1965, and was number one for three weeks in the United States and the United Kingdom. Credited to Lennon-McCartney, “Help!” was written by John Lennon with some help from Paul McCartney. During an interview with Playboy in 1980, Lennon recounted: “The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help”. Sellers covered the song in December 1965, using the voice of a clergyman. It was later released as the ‘B-side’ of ‘It’s A Hard Days Night’.
