London: Please Hold
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.
Episodes
Jun 8, 2026
Jun 8, 2026
27 min
Apparently, reading the phone book is the ultimate test of endurance. I'm trying to bring it to life as something closer to an art form.
In this inaugural episode, we begin our journey through the August 1939 London Telephone Directory (Letters A-K). Expect names, titles, vintage exchange names, incredibly short numbers, and the strangely captivating rhythm of a bygone metropolis.
Follow us on on Instagram
instagram.com/londonpleasehold
instagram.com/saulhenry101
Drop us a line londonpleasehold@gmail.com
Jun 16, 2026
Jun 16, 2026
28 min
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.
Follow us on on Instagram
instagram.com/londonpleasehold
instagram.com/saulhenry101
Drop us a line londonpleasehold@gmail.com
Jun 25, 2026
Jun 25, 2026
26 min
Doxing the names, places and numbers of a metropolis of memories once again
Follow us on on Instagram
instagram.com/londonpleasehold
instagram.com/saulhenry101
Drop us a line londonpleasehold@gmail.com
Jun 28, 2026
Jun 28, 2026
30 min
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.
Follow us on on Instagram
instagram.com/londonpleasehold
instagram.com/saulhenry101
Drop us a line londonpleasehold@gmail.com