London: Please Hold cover art

London: Please Hold

London: Please Hold

By: Saul Henry
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You know the old compliment, "I’d listen to him read the telephone book aloud"? Comedy performer Saul Henry is taking it very literally.

Swapping the comedy circuit for a microphone and a 1939 London telephone directory, Saul abandons his trademark irreverence to deliver the ultimate exercise in deadpan restraint.

No chat, no analysis, and zero punchlines, this effortlessly engaging MC is sitting down to simply read a vintage phonebook, line by line. It’s a brilliant collision between a naturally warm comedian and the driest source material on earth, resulting in an oddly hypnotic, deeply soothing auditory time capsule.

Copyright 2026 All rights reserved. Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health World
Episodes
  • 4. Abbitt & Abbott; sounding like a classic comedy duo that never was

    4. Abbitt & Abbott; sounding like a classic comedy duo that never was
    Jun 28 2026

    In this fourth instalment of London: Please Hold, comedian Saul Henry continues his hypnotic, line-by-line reading of the August 1939 London Telephone Directory. Picking up exactly where we left off—climbing out from the bottom of the Abbisses—we wade deeper into the 'Ab's, making our way steadily (but very slowly) toward the 'Ac's.

    Along the way, we uncover a strangely soothing litany of pre-war businesses, military personnel, hotels and everyday households going about their lives just months before the outbreak of WWII.
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    30 mins
  • 3. From Aba-damn! to the bottom of an Abbiss

    3. From Aba-damn! to the bottom of an Abbiss
    Jun 25 2026

    Doxing the names, places and numbers of a metropolis of memories once again
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    26 mins
  • 2. Speaking! A H Gowns to Aarvold CD Barrister

    2. Speaking! A H Gowns to Aarvold CD Barrister
    Jun 16 2026

    We return to the streets of pre-war London with another dive into the 1939 telephone directory. In this episode, we navigate more 'A' names uncovering a cross-section of capital life just months before the outbreak of the WWII.
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    29 mins
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