The Silent Singer is an ambiguously gendered hallucination of Jeremy Goode's. He appears in moments of Jeremy's frustration.
Appearances[]
Series Two[]
The Silent Singer appears in scenes alongside Jeremy, appearing in times of stress or discontent. We meet the Silent Singer in Jeremy's first scene, after an infuriating conversation with a woman who may or may not be able to return 50 Great Coastal Walks Of the British Isles (Volume Two). After a moment of looking at the gap where the book should be on the shelf, he peers around to the next aisle, in which the Silent Singer awaits him. He is soon cast away.
The two return again outside of the woman's house - Jeremy has paid a visit to her to see if she had found the book yet, but was met with discontent at having been interrupted (and still no book). The Silent Singer taunts him from across the road, before once again being banished by Jeremy.
Jeremy returns to the house that evening, intending to break into the house. This time, the Silent Singer does not taunt him from afar, rather offering a helping hand by appearing in an open window on the second floor of the building. This allows for Jeremy to enter the home and convince the woman's child to look for the book.
When Jeremy is following the woman's mother through the park, the Silent Singer appears from behind a tree, gesturing towards her, as she has paused for a moment. Jeremy then pulls out a pair of scissors from his jacket, snips off her hair, and steals the dog she has with her.
The two appear again on a swingset at the park as Jeremy makes a ransom call to the woman, giving her twenty-four hours to return the book before her dog is killed. The Silent Singer is sat next to him, holding the dog (who is entirely unphased by his presence).
As the deal occurs between Jeremy and the woman, the Silent Singer lingers nearby in the playground - perhaps a subtle sign that not all is as it seems - and upon taking the book, it is revealed to actually be volume one. Jeremy is then arrested and taken into custody.
While in custody, Jeremy is tormented by both Detective Finney and an unnamed second detective causing damage to a copy of volume two of the series. The second detective leaves, and Jeremy takes the book from the table, only to find it being entirely blank pages. This tips him over the edge - the Silent Singer appears in the mirror, and Jeremy in himself begins to mirror his actions, but it is quickly revealed (via security cam footage) that he is not in fact doing so, and is rather having a nervous breakdown.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The Silent Singer had been in an inside joke amongst The League of Gentlemen for years, with one of the League acting him out behind the scenes by taking spare costume items and acting the Singer out.
- The commentary track on Psychoville Series 2 reveals that Shearsmith and Pemberton intended the Silent Singer to be of ambiguous gender, having touches of the feminine such as pigtails and women's shoes. Despite this, the Silent Singer is referred to with masculine pronouns during The Hunt.
- The Silent Singer is mentioned during the commentary track for The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You!, released before his official debut in Survivors.