Lords Taverners
Eric was the President of the Lords Taverners from 1977 to 1979.
Joan Morecambe is an Honorary Life President of the Lady Taverners and was one of the founders.

Mobile phones
Ernie made the first UK mobile phone call on 1 January 1985. Using the Vodaphone network the call was made from St Katherine's dock to Vodafone's head office in Newbury, which at the time was over a curry house!

The Sweeney
When Eric & Ern appeared on the Sweeney - their agent insisted they were given separate caravans to change in. According to John Thaw - this was the only time anyone on the show, including them, got a caravan in the whole 4 years. They normally changed in toilets or anything that was handy!

Who's the straight man?
Early in their career, Eric performed as Ern's straightman for a short time..

Running away...
The complete set of tapes for their first series Running Wild no longer exists. The BBC are currently looking for any off-air or private copies - can you help? Also, while you are looking, try to find any of the first BBC shows too. Clumsy lot these BBC folk!

Cross Channel...
The second and third series, produced for ITV in 1962 and 1963, made a surprise but welcome reappearance on British TV almost 40 years later when the BBC was offered the opportunity (by PolyGram, then owner of the ATV archive) to buy one-shot rescreening rights. All 26 editions, complete but for the commercial breaks, were shown by BBC2 from 4 January 1999 to 22 December 2000. Quite apart from their historical interest, this represented the first time an entire comedy series made for ITV had turned up on the BBC, its great rival at the time they were produced (and still, albeit less so, today). Incidentally, the 26 programmes also proved that, although billed in TV Times as The Morecambe And Wise Show, the show's on-screen title in this period was Two Of A Kind.

Monster...
In 2005 the Monster Raving Loony Party's "manicfesto" stated that they would change the national anthem to "Bring Me Sunshine". They said "It is quicker, more tuneful and people know the words."

Spelling...
In the credits of the video 'Musical Extravaganzas', Eric's name is spelt incorrectly! It is displayed as Eric Morcambe... Eric's name often causes confusion, even the BBC have made errors on their own website!

Keep It Tidy
Ernie Wise was an active and long-time participant in the "Keep Britain Tidy" campaign. He once posed for a publicity photo, grinning cheerfully while two boys in "Keep Britain Tidy" T-shirts stuffed him into a rubbish bin.

Numbers' Up...
When Britain's Premium Bond scheme began selecting its lottery numbers by means of the computer known as Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment (ERNIE), Ern was chosen (for obvious reasons) to draw the first number.

Sing Along...
Ernies 1992 Christmas single was a recommended retail release in Music Week.

Ernie Leeds?
When Eric changed his name to “Morecambe”, Ernie considered changing his to “Leeds”, taking the name of his home town. Eric pointed out that “Morecambe and Leeds” sounded too much like an away day on the train. Ernie decided not to change his name...

Sound advice?
A few years before Eric's first heart attack (7th Nov 1968), Ernie was advised by his insurance broker to consider an insurance policy to guard against anything that might happen to Eric. Ernie was unsure, but took out the policy. It cost £200 a year and he kept it fro 2 years. When it came up fro renewal in the third year, Ernie declined saying it was a waste of money and Eric was in good health. A week later Eric had his heart attack.