The late Arthur Askey CBE was a cornerstone of British comedy for more than six decades 'Big Hearted Arthur' plied his trade successfully on stage, on radio, in films and on TV, his catchphrases 'Before Your Very Eyes', 'Hello Playmates' and 'I Thank You' (pronounced 'Ayethangyow!') giving him an identity that kept him in the public eye from the 1930s almost up until his death in 1982. Arthur's comedic talent served him well as a singer of mostly what he termed 'silly little songs' about bees, worms, knitting, penguins, christenings and a lot more besides. This Jasmine collection features many of the wittiest and best of them in their original 1930s and 1940s versions, along with several of the anti-Nazi wartime songs that Artur recorded to encourage patriotism. It also features - for the first time on CD we believe, and in it's entirety - Arthur's lone album of the 1950s, featuring Arthur remaking several of the songs in high fidelity, along with several others that were then new and previously unrecorded. This audio bonanza of 'Big' is not the first CD compilation of his work, but it's the most comprehensive one to date and the first one in a long while and will thus be received well by all lovers of vintage British comedy. Arthur may have been gone for more than 40 years but his star will never dim among aficionados of great vintage British comedy. Here are 30 reasons why. Wethangyow!