NEW YORK (www.shortstorymanagement.com) - Innes was the musical leader of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. His talent for melding sharply satiric lyrics with sweetly catchy pop songs in a variety of musical styles was the secret weapon that kept the group from being just a wacky British version of the Mothers of Invention. Over the course of the group's four albums, Innes subtly moved the group's focus from '20s jazz to '60s pop, with gems like the U.K. hit single "I'm the Urban Spaceman" and the genuinely beautiful flip side "Ready-Mades," an oblique ode to Marcel Duchamp's prankish art, being among the most unforgettable songs of their time.
Innes was also the unofficial seventh member of Monty Python. Contributing songs to Python's stage show, albums, and films, and even acting in a few sketches in the last year of their television series, Innes eventually became an integral part of this classic comedy troupe.
Innes is probably best known for the loving but dead-on Beatles parody the Rutles. Besides starring in Idle's film All You Need Is Cash as Rutles leader Ron Nasty, Innes wrote 20 perfect Beatles parodies for the soundtrack. In 1996, Innes regrouped the Rutles to record Archaeology, a similarly faultless parody of the Beatles' Anthology CDs.
Background Information: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band were madcap purveyors of esoteric music (Who else would revive music hall standards in the age of rock? They did it, and it worked!), their biggest hit was the deceptively poignant "I'm the Urban Spaceman." While the credited producer on that track was one "Apollo C. Vermouth," he's better known as Paul McCartney (Sir Paul McCartney, these days). If you keep an eye out, you'll spot the Bonzo's cameo in the Beatles's MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR. After doing so, it might be smart to put the eye back in, just to play it safe.
While firmly ensconced within the Bonzos, Neil first became acquainted (and vice-versa) with Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones while working on a TV program. The program was DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET, a children's show whose viewers tended to skew a bit older than the intended audience. Eric, Mike, and the two Terrys went on to form MONTY PYTHON with Graham Chapman and John Cleese. The Pythons called on Neil's musical skills numerous times over the years, particularly when producing their best-selling albums. When John Cleese decided to move on to greener pastures prior to PYTHON's fourth series, Neil stepped into the void as a contributing writer and performer.
Not able to escape the Pythons so easily, Neil was also tapped for MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL, contributing music and a memorable performance as the annoyingly truthful minstrel of Eric Idle's cowardly Sir Robin. Still not willing to let him get away just yet, Neil was brought in again for their follow-up film, THE LIFE OF BRIAN (wherein he outruns certain death during the colosseum debate scene).
Even while working with the Pythons, Neil continued his solo career, releasing numerous albums on his own as well as with the groups The Grimms and The World. It was during this period that Neil produced one of his most memorable compositions, the haunting (and perpetually relevant) "How Sweet To Be An Idiot." His BBC program, INNES BOOK OF RECORDS, ran for 3 series and featured 90 original tunes. From torch song and ballad to rock and parody, the show featured an exceedingly wide range of styles.
It was during the latter-half of the 70s, however, that Neil produced his most enduring work. While collaborating with Eric Idle on the post-Python TV series RUTLAND WEEKEND TELEVISION, the two devised a brief HARD DAY'S NIGHT parody with Idle portraying a boring filmmaker (so boring the camera ran from him) and Innes providing the Beatles-esque "I Must Be in Love." During his next hosting gig on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Idle unleashed the short film on the American public. That led to SNL's Lorne Michaels producing a mockumentary of the mock-band, named The Rutles, for NBC. ALL YOU NEED IS CASH aired on March 22, 1978, starring Eric and Neil as one half of the "Pre-Fab Four" and featuring songs by Innes. A beautiful pastiche of the Beatles sound, the album has endured as a work of art every bit as credible as the albums done by those four chaps from Liverpool.
In 1996, Innes reunited with Rutles bandmates John Halsey and Ricki Fataar to release THE RUTLES: ARCHEOLOGY, which sported 16 brand new tracks "discovered in the vaults," a la THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY. If you're wondering what the Beatles thought of The Rutles, suffice to say one of the biggest fans of the whole enterprise was George Harrison (who peppered his BEATLES ANTHOLOGY recollections with frequent references to the Rutles).
Not content to be pigeonholed in any one genre, Neil's recent compositions include "Face Mail in the Meat Zone," a fiercely satiric view of the information age, "Under the Evening Sun," a lyrical tune written in haiku (or as Neil puts it, "hitch-haiku") which proved quite powerful when he performed it in New York shortly after the events of 9/11, and "Everything and Nothing," a moving elegy to his friend George Harrison.
Neil continues to write and perform, and is in the process of recording his next solo album. His trademark wit intact, he'll be embarking on an American tour in the Fall of 2004 (described as "An evening of short stories and tall songs"), shortly after wrapping up his Modesty Management sessions.
When asked to describe where he is musically, Neil says, "I'm keeping up with the Jones'sÖ Right now, I'm somewhere between Spike and Norah."
Neil Innes Quotes "Ladies and gentlemen, I've suffered for my music ... now it's your turn."
"Freedom is the handle on the bucket of your soul, the image of illusion in the goldfish of your bowl, the shampoo of perfection in the bathroom of your dreams, freedom is the universe and everything it seems, oh yes, we are the slaves of freedom."
Film Credits (as actor)
Concert for George (2002) Erik the Viking (1989) Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1974) Secret Policeman's Other Ball, The (1982) Fundamental Frolics (1981) Innes Book of Records, The (1979) Life of Brian (1979) All You Need Is Cash (1978) Jabberwocky (1977) Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe (1977) Rutland Weekend Television" (1975) Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) Monty Python's "Flying Circus" (1969) "Do Not Adjust Your Set" (1967) Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
Film Credits (as composer)
Erik the Viking (1989) Monty Python Live at The Hollywood Bowl (1982) All You Need Is Cash (1978) Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982)
Neil Innes will begin an approximate 30 city solo tour of the U.S. beginning October 6, 2004 in Arlington, MA at the Regent Theatre. Please refer to web site for specific details regarding performances. Mr. Innes is available for interviews and promotional appearances on TV and Radio.
