Different university in a different part of the world, but similar. Some of his songs, like
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, and
Be prepared - it's the Boy Scouts' Marching Song were banned on the radio down here.
I was still in primary school when he toured here around 1960!
Perhaps, as a legacy, more people can start pronouncing words like versatile and mobile correctly. I've previously pointed to his song explaining Silent E in another thread:
He left a little joke about 60 years ago that has only recently been discovered:
Page by Opal | @opalescentopal.bsky.social
When asked why he had stopped performing, in an interview with Michael Parkinson to mark the London premiere of
Tomfoolery, a revue featuring his songs, he said that satire was killed as an art form when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He also gave a rare performance of
I got it from Agnes, which he apparently included in live performances but thought to risqué to record.
One of my treasured possessions is a copy of the book
Too many Songs by Tom Lehrer with not enough Drawings by Ronald Searle, together with a number of CDs.
RIP Tom!
