THE NAKED CITY: THE ROLF HARRIS PLAGUE

In 1975 the BBC comedy series ‘The Goodies’ screened an episode in which Britain was overrun by millions of Rolf Harrises – splashing paint everywhere, terrifying babies in their prams and constantly chanting ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport’. It was all in jest at the time but perhaps it was an unintentional omen of the criminal havoc later reaped by Harris in his abuse of women and underaged girls.

The episode is sometimes referred to as ‘The Pied Piper Goodies Versus The Rolf Harris Plague’ and concludes when the Queen offers her eldest son in marriage or a thousand OBES to anybody who can rid the country of the bearded marauders. Dressed as pied pipers playing didgeridoos, the Goodies lure the millions of Rolfs to a rival TV network where they are incarcerated forever.

Somewhat ironically, when rumours of Harris’s sexual abuse were becoming public, one of the original Goodies, Bill Goodie sprang to his defence stating:

“Leave him alone. He’s a jolly bloke, he would want his morning cuddle from the secretary and she’d be only too happy to give it him…it wasn’t molestation or anything like that.”

As newspapers and TV stations rolled out obituaries for Harris last week, following the belated announcement of his death at ninety three, there was very much a two part focus. Naturally there was condemnation of his vile sexual abuse but also a certain nostalgia for Rolf, the quirky, good guy, multi-talented entertainer and artist – a treat for children and adults alike. Prior to his criminal charges he was clearly one of our proudest cultural exports.

There were of course a number of Australians, myself included, who always found him decidedly creepy, long before any allegations of criminality had surfaced. In 1960 he recorded his first major hit ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport’ which originally included the line “Let me Abos go loose, Lou, Let me Abos go loose. They’re of no further use, Lou, so let me Abos go loose.” Whilst years later he apologised and admitted that the wording was shamefully racist, it said something about his state of mind back in the early 60s.

Likewise I have to say I always found his three legged character ‘Jake The Peg’, decidedly off putting. Harris claimed  that the accompanying song was “a celebration of individualism and of perseverance in the face of adversity.” Maybe I’m reading too much into it but I always saw it as somewhat of a slight on disabled people.

Like fellow UK paedophiles Jimmy Saville and Gary Glitter, Harris was able to get away with his predatory behaviour for most of his life. When you have powerful friends and others heavily invested in your career, the cover up is so much easier. Even after his death it’s likely his family and their lawyers will fight tooth and nail to retain his sizeable estate, which is bound to be the target of his numerous victims seeking compensation. The litigation could drag on for years.

There was once a time when you trawled through the bin of old vinyl albums at your local op shop, there was always a Rolf Harris album rubbing shoulders with Roger Whittaker, Val Doonican and The Band Of The Coldstream Guards. These days I am reliably informed by the ladies at my local Salvos, that anything by Rolf or Gary Glitter that turns up as a donation, goes straight to the skip out the back. I hope that includes wobble boards and stylophones as well!