OK Campbell fans and fellow seekers, here's a fairly incomplete and arbitrary list of Ken's appearances on video, CD, and in print. Some are as rare as hen's teeth, but click on the Amazon links - some items they can get, and others appear in their Z shop listings.
Complete Fawlty Towers (DVD) Ken appears in the episode The Anniversary as the impressively irritating Roger. A classic.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Collector's Edition (CD Box Set) (original radio series) Written by Douglas Adams. Ken, who was the first person to adapt the series for the stage, appears as Poodoo at the end of the second series - a part written especially for him. In a footnote to the published scripts, the producer Geoffrey Perkins comments that "we simply asked him to be himself in the part. Strangely, the only way we could get Ken to sound remotely like himself was to imitate him down the talkback and for him to copy what we did!" He goes on to comment: "Such was the latent hysteria in the recording of this last show that the line 'Marvin's got Poodoo' dissolved the whole cast into almost inexplicable hysteria, and stopped recording for about half an hour. This, sadly, is the answer to the sometimes asked question, 'What bit seemed the funniest when you were recording it?'" First broadcast 1978/1980. You can also buy the complete series on cassettes, or on CD as individual parts one , and two . You can also get it on MP3, but apparently the quality is shockingly bad, so don't bother.
[Whilst I was researching the links for the above, I came across the following book: The Prostitute in the Family Tree: Discovering Humor and Irony in the Bible by one Douglas Adams. This obviously confused enough people for the Hitch-Hiker's author to write in and say: Please note - if you've come here looking for other books by me, this isn't one of them! I'm the Douglas Adams who wrote the Hitchhiker books, the Dirk Gently books, and co-wrote Last Chance to See, the Meaning of Liff and Starship Titanic. I did not write The Prostitute in the Family Tree. Apparently 64 out of 65 people have found this comment helpful, and Adams gave the book quite a good review. It does sound interesting. Buy it and see.]
London Orbital (book) (2002) Ken turns up as one of the strange 'things' author Iain Sinclair encounters on his trip around the M25.
Saving Grace (DVD) (2000) Ken turns up as a policeman in this marijuana comedy.
Call of the Wild (CD) (2000) A musical journey through Ken's one-man show: The History of Comedy Part One: Ventriloquism. An underground classic. For ordering details click: Zinc Stoat
Hoaxers and their Victims (book) (1992) Nick Yapp's excellent book includes a section on the hilarious Royal Dickens Company hoax perpetrated by one Mr Kenneth Victor Campbell. After attending the RSC's 1980 production of Nicholas Nickelby, Ken got the RDC notepaper printed and sent out dozens of letters to actors, directors, writers and producers telling them of a major RSC policy change; following the success of Nickleby the RSC was to ditch the Immortal Bard in favour of Dickens adaptations. The letters, signed 'Love, Trev' did not go down with producer Trevor Nunn who called in Special Branch. The hoax culminated with Campbell confessing, filmed in silhouette (like a terrorist grass) on BBC Newsnight. Later Nunn became director of the National Theatre, and, having forgiven Campbell, commissioned from him The History of Comedy Part One, Ventriloquism.
A Fish Called Wanda (DVD) (1988) Ken appears as barrister's assitant to John Cleese. Blink and you miss it though.
The Tempest (DVD) (1979) Excellent Derek Jarman film. Ken's in it.
Dreamchild (1985) With a screenplay by Dennis Potter, this film examines the darker side of Lewis Carroll/Charles Dodgson's obsession with Alice Liddell. Ken appears as a sound effects man in a radio recording scene, and also does the voices for an animatronic Mad Hatter and March Hare. No video or DVD available at present.
A Zed and Two Noughts (DVD) (1985) Visually impressive Peter Greenaway film about twin fetishists and rotting animals. Soundtrack by Michael Nyman. Ken appears on a bicycle and thrusts rotting shrimp down Jim Davison's throat. Bravo.
Wol Wantok (CD) (2001) On this CD, Ken Campbell teaches you Bislama pidgin English (as spoken in the Republic of Vanuatu) using examples from Magbet (Macbeth). It's fun, easy, and Ken says if it became a world language (Wol Wantok) things would be so much the better. He won an award for saying that. [Ellipsis London Ltd ISBN 1841660396]
Violin Time (book) (1996) From the slopes of the Pyrenees, to the snows of Newfoundland, from the Royal National Theatre offices to Haiphong in Vietnam . . Cathar heretics, a mysterious female French book thief, an oriental violinist and the Temple of Mankind, Damanhur Italy. One of Ken's maddest adventures. [Methuen ISBN 0413709604]
(1995) The complete texts of the first three of Ken's marvellous one-man shows with illustrations by Eve Stewart. Contains The Recollections of a Furtive Nudist, Pigspurt - or six pigs from Happiness, and Jamais Vu. [Methuen, ISBN 0413690806]
Old King Cole (book) (1972) Faz and Twoo first turn up in this wonderful pantomime. [Oberon Books ISBN 1870259122]
Jack Sheppard (book) (1976) Ken's play about the legendary thief. [Macmillan ISBN 0333196236]
You See the Thing is This (book) (1972) One act bedsit play recently revived by Nina Conti and friends. [Evans Bros. ISBN 0237749661]
Skungpoomery (book) (1975) A delightfully inventive children's play featuring the amazing Faz and his twitty assistant Twoo. [Methuen Young Drama ISBN 0413675203]
The Clown Plays (book) Ken Campbell's translation and adaptation of two clown plays by F K Waechter: School for Clowns (1975), Clowns on a School Outing (1986), and Peef (1991) based on Hans Anderson's The Galoshes of Fortune. [Methuen Young Drama ISBN: 041366550X]
Reality on the rocks: The search for an understanding of the universe (booklet) by J. R Brown. (1995) Ken fronted this Channel 4 series about cosmology. (Channel 4 Television ISBN: 1851441239).
Brainspotting (booklet) (1996) A very useful booklet accompanying Ken's Channel 4 TV series about the science and philosophy of mind, consciousness and the Self. [Channel 4 TV, ISBN 1851441751 distributed by Broadcasting Support Services, tel: 0990 446699]
Six Experiments that Changed the World (booklet) (2000) Booklet accompanying Channel 4 TV show of the same name. [Channel 4 TV, ISBN 1851442723 distributed by Broadcasting Support Services, tel: 0990 446699]
Ken and his daughter have famously directed Neil Oram's marathon The Warp. There are books available:
Spy for Love: 87 Raps from "The Warp" (Absolute Classics S.) (2002) by Neil Oram. [ISBN: 1840021640 Oberon Books]
The Warp by Neil Oram (Sphere, 1980 ISBN: 0722165528)
The Warp by Neil Oram (Sphere, 1982 ISBN: 0722165544)
The Warp by Neil Oram (Sphere, 1981 ISBN: 0722165536)
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Ken Campbell interview
Since 23rd May, 2004