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The title opening to the ''Hale & Pace'' TV series uses an ampersand. ] (]) 00:16, 7 February 2019 (UTC) The title opening to the ''Hale & Pace'' TV series uses an ampersand. ] (]) 00:16, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

== Is Michael "Bink" Knowles is being his usual self again? ==
If you are a California-based live audio engineer I don't think you will be watching a small national/local televsion station based in the United Kingdom, the same one that is currently broadcasting this classic comedy series, therefore this small national/local televsion station must be a reliable source, as they are the one who have broadcast Hale and Pace over the last week. Other references have been given from ukgameshows (which I have seen used many times before on this site) and the BBC themselves!
It's not being helpful to fans and not fair especially when a reference '' has been needed for the sentance that says: "This clip got them onto a list of 50 most shocking comedy moments and they believe the sketch gave them the notoriety that kept them in work for the successive series" for ages...

I do not think Michael "Bink" Knowles gives a damn about Hale and Pace and is just being picky (see ] for examples there are ovcer 60 pages of the stuff archived).

==== Info User:Binksternet ====
"I am Michael "Bink" Knowles, known as Binksternet on Misplaced Pages, a California-based live audio engineer and Misplaced Pages editor. I have edited Misplaced Pages since July 2007, starting 238 new articles, and I have an edit count of more than 400,000.

On Misplaced Pages, my contributions are varied. I make most of my edits in music and audio topics, but I have an interest in architecture, civil rights, California history and military history, especially World War II. I spend a lot of time reverting vandals when I would rather be expanding articles."

==== Info from the programme ====

'''Hale and Pace''' were an English comedy ] that performed in clubs and on radio and television in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/what-happened-to-hale-and-pace-145730878.html|title=What Happened To Hale And Pace?|website=Uk.news.yahoo.com|access-date=8 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/h/haleandpace_7772955.shtml |title=BBC – Comedy Guide – Hale And Pace |access-date=1 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205051542/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/h/haleandpace_7772955.shtml |archive-date=5 December 2004 }}</ref> The duo was made up of ] and ],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Hibbert|first=Tom|date=5 March 1991|title=Who the hell do Hale & Pace think they are?|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=5–7}}</ref> with the ''Hale and Pace'' television show running for ten years and 66 episodes, from 1988 to 1998.

== Early career ==
] (born 15 January 1953) and ] (born 17 February 1953) met at Avery Hill teacher-training college in Eltham, South-East London.<ref name=":0" /> After five years in education, they moved to entertainment in the late 1970s. They performed mostly in the Tramshed in Woolwich, London for seven years.<ref name=":0" /> This developed into sketch-writing, with a show entitled '']''. Before appearing on TV, they did a series of radio shows for Radio 4 based on their show at the Tramshed. Their early TV breaks came on ''The Entertainers'' (1984) and ''Pushing Up Daisies'' (1984), and they went on to appear in the ] sketch show ''Coming Next'' (1985) and ''Saturday Gang'' (1986). They also appeared in '']'' three times, in the episodes "]", "]" and "]".

=== London Weekend Television show ===

After a one-off special for ] at Christmas 1986, they were given a full series in 1988. The first series won the Silver Rose of Montreux, as well as the Press prize.<ref name=":0" /> Their ] series ran for a decade, with most of the programmes going out around 10 pm on a Sunday. The show is a mixture of sketches and stand-up, though in the fourth series the stand-up routines were dropped in favour of a number of sketches featuring the duo at home in their flat.

The series was also notable for its amount of musical numbers with every episode featuring at least one original song performed by Hale and/or Pace. Whereas most of the songs would be about a specific comedic theme, rather than an outright parody of a pop music act, there were times where these kind of parodies would occur, with the duo as a pair of Scottish MC Hammers (McHammers) and Hale as Chris Rea (wondering whether he was similar to Mark Knopfler in a "]" video parody), being a couple of examples. Some of the songs would also feature characters from their repertoire, though most would be unnamed characters.

Their most famous comic creations are the stone-faced bouncers The Two Rons (the name a pun on ]), also known as The Management. The characters' studio sketches either take place on some dimly-lit stairs next to the bouncers' venue, or above Hale and Pace, where they have been keeping an eye on proceedings.
The speak in a stilted manner, with the phrase 'I do, Ron, Ron' being made in reference to the song "]" by ].<ref name=":0" /> In later series, The Two Rons are filmed on-location with ''Ron & Ron's Gardening Tips'' having the duo dispense thuggish wisdom about plants and flowers.

Hale and Pace are also famous for their ever-smiling and colourfully-dressed children's TV presenters Billy (Hale) and Johnny (Pace), and rockers Jed and Dave. Billy and Johnny started off in a number of sketches spoofing the kind of television programming which helps pre-schoolers learn, with ] appearing in a number of the sketches as their co-presenter Willy.<ref>''Hale and Pace'' series one on That's TV in March 2022</ref>

Most sketches includes both Hale and Pace, though the black and white sketches featuring 1960s ] poet Groovy Wordbender are performed by Gareth Hale, whilst series one has a running gag featuring Norman Pace and a cow.

A number of their TV sketches caused controversy, especially the one in which they pretended to have ] a ]. <ref name=":0" /> This clip got them onto a list of 50 most shocking comedy moments {{According to whom|date=August 2020}} and they believe the sketch gave them the notoriety that kept them in work for the successive series.<ref>https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12169659.the-list10-golden-rose-of-montreux-winners-best-forgotten/</ref>

A number of writers worked on the series over the ten series with a high number of writing duos conributing ideas for sketches including Carson & Tomlinson (script advisors Sean Carson and David Tomlinson), Nice & Smith and Hale & Pace themselves.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thats.tv/|title=That's TV – THE HOME OF CLASSIC TV}}</ref><ref>''Hale and Pace'' writing credits from series three on That's TV weeknights around 10:15pm in March 2022</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tv24.co.uk/b/r9famc-2kuy|title=Hale & Pace, 10:35pm on That's TV Gold|website=tv24.co.uk}}</ref>

In March 2022, the series was acquired by ]<ref name="auto"/> for its comedy line-up which also included repeats of ''The Mrs Merton Show''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tv24.co.uk/b/r9h7dc-2kuy|title=The Mrs. Merton Show, 11:20pm on That's TV Gold|website=tv24.co.uk}}</ref><ref>https://www.sky.com/watch/title/series/8423c14c-e3d0-473c-9ec0-9266adc37447</ref> and '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/monty-pythons-flying-circus-repeats-newsupdate/|title=Monty Python's Flying Circus to be repeated on TV for first time in 35 years|website=Radio Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/that-s-tv-to-show-monty-python-after-nearly-35-years-off-air-821777434.html|title=That's TV to Show Monty Python After Nearly 35 Years Off Air|first=That’s|last=TV|website=www.prnewswire.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://virginradio.co.uk/entertainment/53352/monty-python-is-back-on-tv-for-the-first-time-in-34-years|title=Monty Python is back on TV for the first time in 34 years &#124; Virgin Radio UK|website=virginradio.co.uk}}</ref>

==== Series list ====

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Series
! Episodes
! Originally aired in the UK
! Director
! Producer
! Opening credits
! Recurring sketches
|-
| 1
| 7
| 2 October 1988 – 13 November 1988
| Vic Finch
| Alan Nixon
| Each episode starts with a sketch before proceeding to the introduction which is a colourful montage of Hale & Pace. Both comedians have individual stills of them shot from the waist up and then shown in a quick sequence. A colourful background is used during the introduction consisting mainly of a purple/pink colour with splashes of yellow and green. At its end, the title of the show is shown with the names Hale (green colour) and Pace (yellow colour).
|
* The Two Rons
* Man with cow (Norman Pace)
* Billy & Johnny
* Jed & Dave
* The Swedes
* "Readings from my latest anthology" by Groovy Wordbender
* Guy being greased, mimicking TV Series '']''
* Deliberate blooper segments
* Antiques Roadshow<ref name=":0" />
* Several sketches on a live stage
* Musical numbers
|-
| 2
| 6
| 1 October 1989 – 5 November 1989
| David G. Hillier
| Alan Nixon
| Identical to the 1st series (1988).
|
* The Two Rons
* Billy & Johnny
* Jed & Dave
* Several sketches on a live stage
* Musical numbers
|-
| 3
| 6
| 30 September 1990 – 4 November 1990
| David G. Hillier
| Alan Nixon
| Hale & Pace in an early 20th-century setting with Hale wearing an old hat and Pace wearing a monocle. Chickens, chicken feathers and a rubber chicken are being shaken around the room. The introduction feaures a in-period montage of images (with, for example, a sheep in a sideboard) and finishes with the camera zooming in on their faces, at which point they both stick out their tongues, Hale's tongue having "Hale" written on it and Pace's showing "Pace". The "&" is written on Pace's hand, which is positioned behind them but between their two heads. Each show finishes with a static shot of the two performers, who do not move until the main credits have appeared on screen. At this point they turn around to reveal their naked backsides, each comedian having two letters of their name written on each cheek.
|
* Old men sitting in chairs talking
* ''Ron & Ron's Gardening Tips'' (The Two Rons)<ref>''Hale and Pace'' on That's TV weeknights in March 2022</ref>
* ] writer's parodies
* Several sketches on a live stage
* Musical numbers and parodies
|-
| 4
| 6
| 29 September 1991 – 3 November 1991
| David G. Hillier
| David G. Hillier
| A water theme is used for this series for the credits and ad breaks (the credits were designed by ] while he was starting out at Digital Pictures in London). Hale & Pace have the appearance of being submerged in water and focusing on fish swimming past them. A shark swims right to left across the screen and then opens its jaws to begin the show. (When cutting to commercials, the same shark shows Hale & Pace in its mouth.)
|
* The Two Rons
* Jed & Dave
* Billy & Johnny
* Several sketches 'at home' with Hale and Pace
* ] parodies<ref>''Hale and Pace'' on That's TV: Series 4 Episode 6, repeated at various times from 31 March 2022</ref>
* Music parodies
|-
| 5
| 7
| 24 January 1993 – 7 March 1993
|
|
|Identical to the 4th series (1991).
|
* The Two Rons
* Jed & Dave
* Billy & Johnny
* Several sketches 'at home' with Hale and Pace
* American televangelists Brother Nathan and Brother Jeremiah from the Praise the Prophets televsion network<ref>http://sitcoms.frey-united.com/tv-comedy-series/sketch-based/hale-and-pace/311/episodes/527</ref><ref>''Hale and Pace'' series 5 episodes 7 on That's TV, 6 April 2022</ref>
* Surgery sketches<ref>''Hale and Pace'' series 5 episodes on That's TV, 5 April 2022</ref>
* Hale and Pace in Spain (''El Cojones'' sketch, DD Cup's ZZ Top parody etc.)<ref>''Hale and Pace'' series 5 episodes on That's TV, 5 April 2022</ref>
* Musical numbers
|-
| 6
| 7
| 19 September 1993 – 31 October 1993
|
|
|
|
|-
| 7
| 7
| 18 September 1994 – 30 October 1994
|
|
| Hale & Pace dancing to "]" in front of a black and white digital background. No formal title is displayed. Stage performances include a background prop with the letters "HALE" placed on top of "PACE". Each episode starts with the two stars coming on stage and having their jackets taken by different people each week.
|
* ]'s Art Treasures
* The Golfing Cabbies
* Swedish Sauna
* The ]
* Jeans adverts (Levi)
* Unnecessary Force Force
* Mr. Poppy
* Several sketches on a live stage
|-
| 8
| 6
| 8 October 1995 – 19 November 1995
| Peter Orton
| Mark Robson
| Same as previous series.
|
* Billy & Johnny
* Curly & Nige: (1) Hospital porters (2) Go camping
* Jed & Dave on the road
* London cabbies
* John & Yokel
* Sven & Benny (in a sauna)
|-
| 9
| 7
| 5 January 1997 – 16 February 1997
|
|
| Four separate pieces of the duo's faces are jumbled up before being assembled, their faces changing expressions whilst being put together. Once completed their names appear in a small board area. At the end of the introduction, the camera zooms in to the small board showing the show's title "Hale & Pace".
|
* London cabbies
* Waiter/s with "black pepper"
* Are you nervous... nervous now?
* Curly & Nige: (1) In the garage (2) At the D.I.Y shop
* American sheriff & his deputy
* Rappers with baggy clothes
* Yorkshiremen
* Crime boss & his muscle
* Two redheads who copy the end of what people say
* Transpotters
* Elderly gentleman who can't swear
* Meditating man who wishes for things to happen
|-
| 10
| 6
| 23 July 1998 – 27 August 1998
|
|
|Identical to the previous series.
|
* The Dopplers
** At the fish and chips shop
** At the magic show
** Interviewed by a police officer about a car
|}

==== Spin-offs ====

Hale & Pace's characters "The Two Rons – also known as The Management" also had a spin-off series of their own called ''The Management'' which included a number of their regular cast in permanent positions and ran for a total of 6 episodes.<ref name=":0" /> This series was also released on video but strangely only 4 out of the 6 episodes. They also made several specials, such as the 1996 Showcase ''Hale & Pace Down Under'' from Australia and ''April Fools' Day''.

==== Guest stars ====

In early series, Hale and Pace would feature little known performers such as ], ] and ], who would become successful in their own right later in the 1990s, but would not have any famous for the time stars in the series. Once Hale and Pace became more well known, more widely known stars appeared in their shows, with the snooker players ] and ] playing ] to the two cabbies in one episode.

==== DVD box sets ====

All 10 series are now released on DVD, available in region 4 from Australia (No special features or extras, simple DVD transfer)
*
*
*
*
*

The show is rated <span style="background:#00aeef; border:solid black 1px; color:white;">&nbsp;'''M'''&nbsp;</span> in Australia and <span style="background:#ed1c19; colour:black;">&nbsp;'''R16'''&nbsp;</span> in New Zealand for its sexual references.

The complete first series doubled with the 1986 Christmas Special was released in a 2 disc DVD set in the UK on 12 March 2012 by Network. It was classified "12" by the BBFC.

==== "The Stonk" ====
In 1991 Hale & Pace were part of a charity supergroup, who released a ] in aid of ].<ref name=":0" /> Credited to Hale & Pace and the Stonkers,<ref name="occ"/> the record, called "The Stonk", was based on a fictitious ] and was co-written by the two comedians along with Joe Griffiths. The single was ] by ] guitarist ], who was also featured on the track and had his name printed on the front cover.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2011/03/hale-and-pace-the-stonk/|title = HALE AND PACE – "The Stonk" &#124; FreakyTrigger}}</ref><ref name="Mabbett">{{Cite book| publisher = Omnibus| isbn = 0-7119-4109-2| last1 = Miles| first1 = Barry| last2 = Mabbett| first2 = Andy| title = Pink Floyd - The Visual Documentary |year= 1994}}</ref> Other musicians performing on the single, besides Brian May playing ] and ], were ], ] and ] on guitar, with ] on ]. ], ] and ] – appearing as his ] ] – performed on ].<ref name=":0" /> Joe Griffiths and ] contributed on keyboard.<ref name="Mabbett" />

A ] for one week in March 1991, it was the UK's 22nd-best-selling single of the year. "The Stonk" was released as a joint-single with a track written and performed by the comedian ]. Entitled "The Smile Song", the song was credited on the front of the single cover<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/gallery/collaborations/hale-and-pace-the-stonk.htm|title=Hale & Pace "The Stonk" single gallery|website=www.ultimatequeen.co.uk}}</ref> and listed as track 2 on the seven-inch and CD single (rather than B-side). However, the UK singles chart compilers (now the Official Charts Company) did not credit her with having number one hit, in a situation similar to the fate of ] "]", the AA-side of preceding number one, "]" by ].

====Charts====
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

=====Weekly charts=====
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1991)
!Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-04-06.pdf|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=]|volume=8|issue=14|page=37|date=6 April 1991|access-date=11 February 2021}}</ref>
|9
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|10|song=The Stonk / Comic Relief|rowheader=true|access-date=11 February 2021}}
|-
{{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|1|artist=Hale & Pace & The Stonkers|artistid=26845|rowheader=true|access-date=11 February 2021|refname="occ"}}
|}
{{col-2}}

====Year-end charts====
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1991)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=1991 Top 100 Singles|magazine=]|publisher=Spotlight Publications|location=London, England|page=20|date=11 January 1992}}</ref>
|22
|}
{{col-end}}

==== Other appearances ====
The duo also appeared, briefly, as shop-keepers Harvey and Len, in Part One of the 1989 '']'' story '']''. This gave them the distinction of appearing in what turned out to be the last ever story in the show's original 1963–89 run.

In 1991, the year the duo reached number one with their 1991 single "The Stonk", they appeared as their characters "The Two Rons" in a firework safety campaign run around ], in trailers that were run for several years in the late 1980s/early 1990s, in slots often directly after ], but also occasionally during ITV commercial breaks.

Hale and Pace continued their charity work with a 1992 stint as spokespersons for the National Egg Awareness Campaign. They moved across to the ] in 1997 and starred in the three-part series, ''Jobs for the Boys'', a non-comedic show in which they took on a variety of employment challenges. One of these challenges was to write the UK entry for the ]. They were advised/mentored by ], ] (from ] - UK entry 1975), ] (UK entry 1977), ] (UK entry 1959), ] (from ] - UK entry 1981), ] and ] (from ] - UK entry 1976), ], former Eurovision presenter ], ], ] (from Katrina and the Waves - UK entry 1997), songwriter ], and radio presenter ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvpopdiaries.co.uk/1998.html|title=TV Pop Diaries 1998|website=Tvpopdiaries.co.uk|access-date=8 January 2018}}</ref>

In 1998, Hale and Pace could be seen in a BBC One programme called ''Oddbods'', with the shows written by the duo in association with
Richard Parker.<ref>https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/59f250a90dcc403a9e5c331ca1642d54</ref> Two self-contained episodes of this silent family comedy were made, with
the duo starring Nobby and Ginge, a couple of eccentric villagers in the fictional location<ref>https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/oddbods/</ref> of Snuggleford.<ref>https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7d3d5dac1d4b46cc879a417799dbeb1a</ref> The first episode went out on the Summer Bank Holiday of 31 August 1998, whilst the second went out on a Christmas Bank Holiday on 28 December 1998 (a Boxing Day substitute).<ref>https://www.calendar-365.co.uk/holidays/1998.html</ref>

A hybrid variety/comedy/quiz/people-show ''h&p@bbc.'' was launched under the watch of the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson who had worked with the duo prior to his appointment. ''h&p@bbc.'' was a 40 minute show initially scheduled for Wednesday nights after the ''Nine o'Clock News'' and had features such as Screen Test, where people would be edited into classic films and Good Sports which would feature famous sportstars. ''h&p@bbc.'' also had a parody of ''Stars in Their Eyes'' which featured celebrities doing impersonations impossible for the ITV show to carry out, such as Anthea Turner as The Pogues' Shane McGowan. Other celebrities to appear on the show included Keith Chegwin, Barbara Dickson and John Leslie.<ref>https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e86c175721b648729cadd0de8c9b7003</ref><ref>https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b192d6be17b6481e9898d83a6e5f9504</ref><ref>https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1999-04-28</ref> Six episodes of the show were made with the last episode, feauring Leslie Ash and Phillip Schofield, going out at 11:30pm on a Tuesday night on 1 June 1999.<ref>https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1999-06-01</ref>

''h&p@bbc.'' was a flop. Similarly, their dramatisation of the '']'' detectives for ITV in 1994 did not lead to success, and the BBC later attempted the serialisations with more success, with ] and ] in the title roles. They appeared working in a shoe shop in episode two of ] (2001). They appeared in the Christmas Special of the ] and ] show ], broadcast in December 2007.

They appeared in several episodes of the 2018 season of ], playing a pair of financial fraud investigation officers tailing transvestite hotel employee Les (]).

====Reception====
====Critical response====
Even though they were a couple of comedian whose show ran in the ITV Sunday night comedy slot for ten years, the duo received a fair amount of criticism over the years with Victor Lewis-Smith once commenting that "Gareth Hale is the unfunny one with the moustache and Norman Pace is the unfunny one without the moustache".<ref>http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/H%26p@bbc.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

]

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PoV

NOTE: This article needs to be totally revisited - it has spurious statements, comments with editorial bias and is not fit for purpose at present.

Delivery

I can't remember how this double act operated? I seem to remember Hale was the comic and Pace the feed, like Morecambe and Wise or was it more interchangeable like Smith and Jones?--Crestville 00:34, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Very interchangeable, Hale used to be the foil for fat jokes and Pace used to be the foil for sex jokes but both of them were the butt of each other's jokes SmUX 20:35, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Cite or bye?

"A second and unlikely attempt at the charts was made in April 2007 after their comedy version of Amy Winehouse's single Rehab attracted minor coverage in the press. This followed an incident at the comedy awards when Amy's mother, who the duo was unaware was in the crowd for their performance, took exception to the lyrics of their version (which are less than flattering to her daughter) and hurled a bottle at the stage, hitting Hale above the eye leaving him needing stitches. The story was run in several tabloids and a hasty release of their version was arranged, however by the time it hit the shops, the publicity had faded and the song failed to make the top 100."

I find no mention of this anywhere on google...can someone help? Or shall we remove?

(oops, forgot to sign it :-)) SmUX 14:32, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

I've edited the above (including the full text I have removed now rather than the partial) and removed it from the main page. Google is our friend and it's either hiding this piece of information or knows nothing about it. It also sounds unlike something H&P would do at this stage in their careers, they moved on from standup years ago SmUX 19:51, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

The Stonk "based on an fictitious dance craze"

wasn't entirely fictitious - somebody invented/de-fictionalised an official dance to go with the song, dance steps got published in Fast Forward magazine and we performed it at (primary) school for comic relief.

Also - there's in the credits there's a thank you to Freddie Mercury - any involvement or 'just' Brian May saying thanks/leaving a tribute to his friend?109.224.137.121 (talk) 05:44, 31 January 2013 (UTC)

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New Faces

There's no mention of the fact that they came to prominence after winning New Faces.

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“and” or “&”?

The title opening to the Hale & Pace TV series uses an ampersand. Felicity4711 (talk) 00:16, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Is Michael "Bink" Knowles is being his usual self again?

If you are a California-based live audio engineer I don't think you will be watching a small national/local televsion station based in the United Kingdom, the same one that is currently broadcasting this classic comedy series, therefore this small national/local televsion station must be a reliable source, as they are the one who have broadcast Hale and Pace over the last week. Other references have been given from ukgameshows (which I have seen used many times before on this site) and the BBC themselves!

It's not being helpful to fans and not fair especially when a reference '' has been needed for the sentance that says: "This clip got them onto a list of 50 most shocking comedy moments and they believe the sketch gave them the notoriety that kept them in work for the successive series" for ages...

I do not think Michael "Bink" Knowles gives a damn about Hale and Pace and is just being picky (see User talk:Binksternet for examples there are ovcer 60 pages of the stuff archived).

Info User:Binksternet

"I am Michael "Bink" Knowles, known as Binksternet on Misplaced Pages, a California-based live audio engineer and Misplaced Pages editor. I have edited Misplaced Pages since July 2007, starting 238 new articles, and I have an edit count of more than 400,000.

On Misplaced Pages, my contributions are varied. I make most of my edits in music and audio topics, but I have an interest in architecture, civil rights, California history and military history, especially World War II. I spend a lot of time reverting vandals when I would rather be expanding articles."

Info from the programme

Hale and Pace were an English comedy double-act that performed in clubs and on radio and television in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s. The duo was made up of Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, with the Hale and Pace television show running for ten years and 66 episodes, from 1988 to 1998.

Early career

Gareth Hale (born 15 January 1953) and Norman Pace (born 17 February 1953) met at Avery Hill teacher-training college in Eltham, South-East London. After five years in education, they moved to entertainment in the late 1970s. They performed mostly in the Tramshed in Woolwich, London for seven years. This developed into sketch-writing, with a show entitled Don't Stop Now - It's Fundation. Before appearing on TV, they did a series of radio shows for Radio 4 based on their show at the Tramshed. Their early TV breaks came on The Entertainers (1984) and Pushing Up Daisies (1984), and they went on to appear in the Channel 4 sketch show Coming Next (1985) and Saturday Gang (1986). They also appeared in The Young Ones three times, in the episodes "Flood", "Nasty" and "Time".

London Weekend Television show

After a one-off special for London Weekend Television at Christmas 1986, they were given a full series in 1988. The first series won the Silver Rose of Montreux, as well as the Press prize. Their ITV series ran for a decade, with most of the programmes going out around 10 pm on a Sunday. The show is a mixture of sketches and stand-up, though in the fourth series the stand-up routines were dropped in favour of a number of sketches featuring the duo at home in their flat.

The series was also notable for its amount of musical numbers with every episode featuring at least one original song performed by Hale and/or Pace. Whereas most of the songs would be about a specific comedic theme, rather than an outright parody of a pop music act, there were times where these kind of parodies would occur, with the duo as a pair of Scottish MC Hammers (McHammers) and Hale as Chris Rea (wondering whether he was similar to Mark Knopfler in a "Road to Hell" video parody), being a couple of examples. Some of the songs would also feature characters from their repertoire, though most would be unnamed characters.

Their most famous comic creations are the stone-faced bouncers The Two Rons (the name a pun on The Two Ronnies), also known as The Management. The characters' studio sketches either take place on some dimly-lit stairs next to the bouncers' venue, or above Hale and Pace, where they have been keeping an eye on proceedings. The speak in a stilted manner, with the phrase 'I do, Ron, Ron' being made in reference to the song "Da Doo Ron Ron" by The Crystals. In later series, The Two Rons are filmed on-location with Ron & Ron's Gardening Tips having the duo dispense thuggish wisdom about plants and flowers.

Hale and Pace are also famous for their ever-smiling and colourfully-dressed children's TV presenters Billy (Hale) and Johnny (Pace), and rockers Jed and Dave. Billy and Johnny started off in a number of sketches spoofing the kind of television programming which helps pre-schoolers learn, with Ainsley Harriott appearing in a number of the sketches as their co-presenter Willy.

Most sketches includes both Hale and Pace, though the black and white sketches featuring 1960s Beat Generation-era poet Groovy Wordbender are performed by Gareth Hale, whilst series one has a running gag featuring Norman Pace and a cow.

A number of their TV sketches caused controversy, especially the one in which they pretended to have microwaved a cat. This clip got them onto a list of 50 most shocking comedy moments and they believe the sketch gave them the notoriety that kept them in work for the successive series.

A number of writers worked on the series over the ten series with a high number of writing duos conributing ideas for sketches including Carson & Tomlinson (script advisors Sean Carson and David Tomlinson), Nice & Smith and Hale & Pace themselves.

In March 2022, the series was acquired by That's TV for its comedy line-up which also included repeats of The Mrs Merton Show and Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Series list

Series Episodes Originally aired in the UK Director Producer Opening credits Recurring sketches
1 7 2 October 1988 – 13 November 1988 Vic Finch Alan Nixon Each episode starts with a sketch before proceeding to the introduction which is a colourful montage of Hale & Pace. Both comedians have individual stills of them shot from the waist up and then shown in a quick sequence. A colourful background is used during the introduction consisting mainly of a purple/pink colour with splashes of yellow and green. At its end, the title of the show is shown with the names Hale (green colour) and Pace (yellow colour).
  • The Two Rons
  • Man with cow (Norman Pace)
  • Billy & Johnny
  • Jed & Dave
  • The Swedes
  • "Readings from my latest anthology" by Groovy Wordbender
  • Guy being greased, mimicking TV Series The Singing Detective
  • Deliberate blooper segments
  • Antiques Roadshow
  • Several sketches on a live stage
  • Musical numbers
2 6 1 October 1989 – 5 November 1989 David G. Hillier Alan Nixon Identical to the 1st series (1988).
  • The Two Rons
  • Billy & Johnny
  • Jed & Dave
  • Several sketches on a live stage
  • Musical numbers
3 6 30 September 1990 – 4 November 1990 David G. Hillier Alan Nixon Hale & Pace in an early 20th-century setting with Hale wearing an old hat and Pace wearing a monocle. Chickens, chicken feathers and a rubber chicken are being shaken around the room. The introduction feaures a in-period montage of images (with, for example, a sheep in a sideboard) and finishes with the camera zooming in on their faces, at which point they both stick out their tongues, Hale's tongue having "Hale" written on it and Pace's showing "Pace". The "&" is written on Pace's hand, which is positioned behind them but between their two heads. Each show finishes with a static shot of the two performers, who do not move until the main credits have appeared on screen. At this point they turn around to reveal their naked backsides, each comedian having two letters of their name written on each cheek.
  • Old men sitting in chairs talking
  • Ron & Ron's Gardening Tips (The Two Rons)
  • Australian TV writer's parodies
  • Several sketches on a live stage
  • Musical numbers and parodies
4 6 29 September 1991 – 3 November 1991 David G. Hillier David G. Hillier A water theme is used for this series for the credits and ad breaks (the credits were designed by Jan Pinkava while he was starting out at Digital Pictures in London). Hale & Pace have the appearance of being submerged in water and focusing on fish swimming past them. A shark swims right to left across the screen and then opens its jaws to begin the show. (When cutting to commercials, the same shark shows Hale & Pace in its mouth.)
  • The Two Rons
  • Jed & Dave
  • Billy & Johnny
  • Several sketches 'at home' with Hale and Pace
  • Australian TV parodies
  • Music parodies
5 7 24 January 1993 – 7 March 1993 Identical to the 4th series (1991).
  • The Two Rons
  • Jed & Dave
  • Billy & Johnny
  • Several sketches 'at home' with Hale and Pace
  • American televangelists Brother Nathan and Brother Jeremiah from the Praise the Prophets televsion network
  • Surgery sketches
  • Hale and Pace in Spain (El Cojones sketch, DD Cup's ZZ Top parody etc.)
  • Musical numbers
6 7 19 September 1993 – 31 October 1993
7 7 18 September 1994 – 30 October 1994 Hale & Pace dancing to "I Got You (I Feel Good)" in front of a black and white digital background. No formal title is displayed. Stage performances include a background prop with the letters "HALE" placed on top of "PACE". Each episode starts with the two stars coming on stage and having their jackets taken by different people each week.
  • Sister Wendy's Art Treasures
  • The Golfing Cabbies
  • Swedish Sauna
  • The Open University
  • Jeans adverts (Levi)
  • Unnecessary Force Force
  • Mr. Poppy
  • Several sketches on a live stage
8 6 8 October 1995 – 19 November 1995 Peter Orton Mark Robson Same as previous series.
  • Billy & Johnny
  • Curly & Nige: (1) Hospital porters (2) Go camping
  • Jed & Dave on the road
  • London cabbies
  • John & Yokel
  • Sven & Benny (in a sauna)
9 7 5 January 1997 – 16 February 1997 Four separate pieces of the duo's faces are jumbled up before being assembled, their faces changing expressions whilst being put together. Once completed their names appear in a small board area. At the end of the introduction, the camera zooms in to the small board showing the show's title "Hale & Pace".
  • London cabbies
  • Waiter/s with "black pepper"
  • Are you nervous... nervous now?
  • Curly & Nige: (1) In the garage (2) At the D.I.Y shop
  • American sheriff & his deputy
  • Rappers with baggy clothes
  • Yorkshiremen
  • Crime boss & his muscle
  • Two redheads who copy the end of what people say
  • Transpotters
  • Elderly gentleman who can't swear
  • Meditating man who wishes for things to happen
10 6 23 July 1998 – 27 August 1998 Identical to the previous series.
  • The Dopplers
    • At the fish and chips shop
    • At the magic show
    • Interviewed by a police officer about a car

Spin-offs

Hale & Pace's characters "The Two Rons – also known as The Management" also had a spin-off series of their own called The Management which included a number of their regular cast in permanent positions and ran for a total of 6 episodes. This series was also released on video but strangely only 4 out of the 6 episodes. They also made several specials, such as the 1996 Showcase Hale & Pace Down Under from Australia and April Fools' Day.

Guest stars

In early series, Hale and Pace would feature little known performers such as Ainsley Harriot, Annette Badland and Caroline Quentin, who would become successful in their own right later in the 1990s, but would not have any famous for the time stars in the series. Once Hale and Pace became more well known, more widely known stars appeared in their shows, with the snooker players Steve Davis and Jimmy White playing foil to the two cabbies in one episode.

DVD box sets

All 10 series are now released on DVD, available in region 4 from Australia (No special features or extras, simple DVD transfer)

The show is rated  M  in Australia and  R16  in New Zealand for its sexual references.

The complete first series doubled with the 1986 Christmas Special was released in a 2 disc DVD set in the UK on 12 March 2012 by Network. It was classified "12" by the BBFC.

"The Stonk"

In 1991 Hale & Pace were part of a charity supergroup, who released a single in aid of Comic Relief. Credited to Hale & Pace and the Stonkers, the record, called "The Stonk", was based on a fictitious dance craze and was co-written by the two comedians along with Joe Griffiths. The single was produced by Queen guitarist Brian May, who was also featured on the track and had his name printed on the front cover. Other musicians performing on the single, besides Brian May playing keyboards and guitar, were Nick Lowe, David Gilmour and Tony Iommi on guitar, with Neil Murray on bass guitar. Cozy Powell, Roger Taylor and Rowan Atkinson – appearing as his character Mr. Bean – performed on drums. Joe Griffiths and Mike Moran contributed on keyboard.

A UK number-one single for one week in March 1991, it was the UK's 22nd-best-selling single of the year. "The Stonk" was released as a joint-single with a track written and performed by the comedian Victoria Wood. Entitled "The Smile Song", the song was credited on the front of the single cover and listed as track 2 on the seven-inch and CD single (rather than B-side). However, the UK singles chart compilers (now the Official Charts Company) did not credit her with having number one hit, in a situation similar to the fate of Big Audio Dynamite II's "Rush", the AA-side of preceding number one, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash.

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 9
Ireland (IRMA) 10
UK Singles (OCC) 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1991) Position
UK Singles (OCC) 22

Other appearances

The duo also appeared, briefly, as shop-keepers Harvey and Len, in Part One of the 1989 Doctor Who story Survival. This gave them the distinction of appearing in what turned out to be the last ever story in the show's original 1963–89 run.

In 1991, the year the duo reached number one with their 1991 single "The Stonk", they appeared as their characters "The Two Rons" in a firework safety campaign run around Guy Fawkes Night, in trailers that were run for several years in the late 1980s/early 1990s, in slots often directly after Children's BBC, but also occasionally during ITV commercial breaks.

Hale and Pace continued their charity work with a 1992 stint as spokespersons for the National Egg Awareness Campaign. They moved across to the BBC in 1997 and starred in the three-part series, Jobs for the Boys, a non-comedic show in which they took on a variety of employment challenges. One of these challenges was to write the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. They were advised/mentored by Rick Wakeman, Bruce Welch (from The Shadows - UK entry 1975), Lynsey de Paul (UK entry 1977), Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson (UK entry 1959), Cheryl Baker (from Bucks Fizz - UK entry 1981), Lee Sheriden and Nicky Stevens (from Brotherhood of Man - UK entry 1976), Björn Again, former Eurovision presenter Katie Boyle, Johnny Logan, Katrina Leskanich (from Katrina and the Waves - UK entry 1997), songwriter Don Black (lyricist), and radio presenter Ken Bruce.

In 1998, Hale and Pace could be seen in a BBC One programme called Oddbods, with the shows written by the duo in association with Richard Parker. Two self-contained episodes of this silent family comedy were made, with the duo starring Nobby and Ginge, a couple of eccentric villagers in the fictional location of Snuggleford. The first episode went out on the Summer Bank Holiday of 31 August 1998, whilst the second went out on a Christmas Bank Holiday on 28 December 1998 (a Boxing Day substitute).

A hybrid variety/comedy/quiz/people-show h&p@bbc. was launched under the watch of the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson who had worked with the duo prior to his appointment. h&p@bbc. was a 40 minute show initially scheduled for Wednesday nights after the Nine o'Clock News and had features such as Screen Test, where people would be edited into classic films and Good Sports which would feature famous sportstars. h&p@bbc. also had a parody of Stars in Their Eyes which featured celebrities doing impersonations impossible for the ITV show to carry out, such as Anthea Turner as The Pogues' Shane McGowan. Other celebrities to appear on the show included Keith Chegwin, Barbara Dickson and John Leslie. Six episodes of the show were made with the last episode, feauring Leslie Ash and Phillip Schofield, going out at 11:30pm on a Tuesday night on 1 June 1999.

h&p@bbc. was a flop. Similarly, their dramatisation of the Dalziel and Pascoe detectives for ITV in 1994 did not lead to success, and the BBC later attempted the serialisations with more success, with Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan in the title roles. They appeared working in a shoe shop in episode two of The Armando Iannucci Shows (2001). They appeared in the Christmas Special of the Gervais and Merchant show Extras, broadcast in December 2007.

They appeared in several episodes of the 2018 season of Benidorm, playing a pair of financial fraud investigation officers tailing transvestite hotel employee Les (Tim Healy).

Reception

Critical response

Even though they were a couple of comedian whose show ran in the ITV Sunday night comedy slot for ten years, the duo received a fair amount of criticism over the years with Victor Lewis-Smith once commenting that "Gareth Hale is the unfunny one with the moustache and Norman Pace is the unfunny one without the moustache".

References

  1. "What Happened To Hale And Pace?". Uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  2. "BBC – Comedy Guide – Hale And Pace". Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. ^ Hibbert, Tom (5 March 1991). "Who the hell do Hale & Pace think they are?". Q Magazine. 55: 5–7.
  4. Hale and Pace series one on That's TV in March 2022
  5. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12169659.the-list10-golden-rose-of-montreux-winners-best-forgotten/
  6. ^ "That's TV – THE HOME OF CLASSIC TV".
  7. Hale and Pace writing credits from series three on That's TV weeknights around 10:15pm in March 2022
  8. "Hale & Pace, 10:35pm on That's TV Gold". tv24.co.uk.
  9. "The Mrs. Merton Show, 11:20pm on That's TV Gold". tv24.co.uk.
  10. https://www.sky.com/watch/title/series/8423c14c-e3d0-473c-9ec0-9266adc37447
  11. "Monty Python's Flying Circus to be repeated on TV for first time in 35 years". Radio Times.
  12. TV, That’s. "That's TV to Show Monty Python After Nearly 35 Years Off Air". www.prnewswire.co.uk.
  13. "Monty Python is back on TV for the first time in 34 years | Virgin Radio UK". virginradio.co.uk.
  14. Hale and Pace on That's TV weeknights in March 2022
  15. Hale and Pace on That's TV: Series 4 Episode 6, repeated at various times from 31 March 2022
  16. http://sitcoms.frey-united.com/tv-comedy-series/sketch-based/hale-and-pace/311/episodes/527
  17. Hale and Pace series 5 episodes 7 on That's TV, 6 April 2022
  18. Hale and Pace series 5 episodes on That's TV, 5 April 2022
  19. Hale and Pace series 5 episodes on That's TV, 5 April 2022
  20. ^ "Hale & Pace & The Stonkers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  21. "HALE AND PACE – "The Stonk" | FreakyTrigger".
  22. ^ Miles, Barry; Mabbett, Andy (1994). Pink Floyd - The Visual Documentary. Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-4109-2.
  23. "Hale & Pace "The Stonk" single gallery". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 14. 6 April 1991. p. 37. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Stonk / Comic Relief". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  26. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 11 January 1992. p. 20.
  27. "TV Pop Diaries 1998". Tvpopdiaries.co.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  28. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/59f250a90dcc403a9e5c331ca1642d54
  29. https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/oddbods/
  30. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7d3d5dac1d4b46cc879a417799dbeb1a
  31. https://www.calendar-365.co.uk/holidays/1998.html
  32. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e86c175721b648729cadd0de8c9b7003
  33. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b192d6be17b6481e9898d83a6e5f9504
  34. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1999-04-28
  35. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1999-06-01
  36. http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/H%26p@bbc.
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