Bruce Lacey
Encyclopedia
"Professor" Bruce Lacey, born 1927, remains one of Britain's great eccentrics. After completing his national service in the RAF he became established on the avantgarde scene with his performance art and mechanical constructs. He has been closely associated with The Alberts
performance group and The Goon Show
. He made the props and had an acting part in Richard Lester
's The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
.
Ken Russell
made a fifteen-minute film about him called The Preservation Man (1962), which linked Lacey to Chaplin (in a Keystone Cops-style sequence) and featured some of Lacey's nightclub act (knife-throwing/robots) and a lip-synched performance of 'Sleepy Valley' which Lacey had recorded with The Alberts
. Lacey played a mad scientist in the feature film 'Smashing Time', but his most famous appearance on film remains George Harrison
's flute playing gardener in the Beatles
' feature film Help!
. He also made and animated many of the props for Michael Bentine's
"It's a Square World
". Especially the flea circuses!
Lacey contributed to Jasia Reichardt
's Cybernetic Serendipity
exhibition in 1968 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
, exhibiting a robotic owl and actors: Rosa Bosom and Mate plus a sex-simulator. He also exhibited his The British Landing on the Moon in Simon Chapman's 1969 Cybervironment Plus an experimental arts festival which took place at Aston University, Birmingham. Photographs of some of his mechanical devices can be found in Reichardt's book Robots (Thames and Hudson, 1978).
In the 1960s and 1970s, he was very active in the 'Happenings' culture; and was a visiting professor at Art Colleges from St Ives to Leeds. His mechanical statue The Womaniser (1966) is one of two pieces of his bought by the Tate.
Lacey is mentioned on the Fairport Convention
L.P. "What We Did On Our Holidays
" in the song "Mr Lacey", written by Ashley Hutchings
. He toured England in the mid seventies with his children's SCI-FI theatre show and became involved in 'Earth Magic' with his then wife Jill Bruce, mounting a number of performance pieces and exhibitions. They moved to Norfolk and became part of a fair making network, Albion Fairs
. Specifically he was responsible for running the "Fairy Faire"
There was a major retrospective of his life and art at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art in 1996
Now in his 80s, he lives in a farmhouse in Norfolk
surrounded by a bizarre collection of his creations. In still very good health (which he attributes to being a life-long hypochondriac) he is still working and performing, often at the Norwich Arts Centre. His latest project he calls 'vox humana exploration' using his voice through a series of effects to perform his own songs plus those of David Bowie, Rod Stewart and Queen.
The Alberts
The Alberts were a British music/comedy troupe of the mid 1950s to mid 1960s, featuring brothers Tony and Douglas Gray. They often also appeared with Bruce Lacey. They were influenced by music hall, 1920s jazz and Surrealism...
performance group and The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
. He made the props and had an acting part in Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
's The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film is a short film directed by Richard Lester and Peter Sellers, in collaboration with Bruce Lacey. The film was released in 1960....
.
Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
made a fifteen-minute film about him called The Preservation Man (1962), which linked Lacey to Chaplin (in a Keystone Cops-style sequence) and featured some of Lacey's nightclub act (knife-throwing/robots) and a lip-synched performance of 'Sleepy Valley' which Lacey had recorded with The Alberts
The Alberts
The Alberts were a British music/comedy troupe of the mid 1950s to mid 1960s, featuring brothers Tony and Douglas Gray. They often also appeared with Bruce Lacey. They were influenced by music hall, 1920s jazz and Surrealism...
. Lacey played a mad scientist in the feature film 'Smashing Time', but his most famous appearance on film remains George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
's flute playing gardener in the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' feature film Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
. He also made and animated many of the props for Michael Bentine's
Michael Bentine
Michael Bentine CBE was a British comedian, comic actor and founding member of the Goons. A Peruvian Briton by heritage as a result of his father's nationality, In 1971 Bentine received the Order of Merit of Peru because of his fund-raising work for the 1970 Great Peruvian...
"It's a Square World
It's a Square World
It's a Square World was a groundbreaking British comedy show starring Michael Bentine and was produced by the BBC. It ran from 1960 till 1964. The series led Bentine to a BAFTA award in 1962 for Light Entertainment and a compilation show, screened by the BBC in 1963, won that year's Press Prize at...
". Especially the flea circuses!
Lacey contributed to Jasia Reichardt
Jasia Reichardt
Jasia Reichardt is a British art critic, editor, curator, and gallery director with an interest in art and its intersection with other fields, especially technology.-Career:...
's Cybernetic Serendipity
Cybernetic Serendipity
"Cybernetic Serendipity" was an exhibition of computer art curated by Jasia Reichardt, shown at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London in 1968, and then touring the United States.-Content:...
exhibition in 1968 at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
, exhibiting a robotic owl and actors: Rosa Bosom and Mate plus a sex-simulator. He also exhibited his The British Landing on the Moon in Simon Chapman's 1969 Cybervironment Plus an experimental arts festival which took place at Aston University, Birmingham. Photographs of some of his mechanical devices can be found in Reichardt's book Robots (Thames and Hudson, 1978).
In the 1960s and 1970s, he was very active in the 'Happenings' culture; and was a visiting professor at Art Colleges from St Ives to Leeds. His mechanical statue The Womaniser (1966) is one of two pieces of his bought by the Tate.
Lacey is mentioned on the Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
L.P. "What We Did On Our Holidays
What We Did on Our Holidays
- Personnel :* Sandy Denny - vocals, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, organ, piano, harpsichord* Iain Matthews - vocals, congas* Richard Thompson - electric, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, piano accordion, vocals...
" in the song "Mr Lacey", written by Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founder member of three of the most noteworthy English folk-rock bands in the history of the genre; Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band...
. He toured England in the mid seventies with his children's SCI-FI theatre show and became involved in 'Earth Magic' with his then wife Jill Bruce, mounting a number of performance pieces and exhibitions. They moved to Norfolk and became part of a fair making network, Albion Fairs
Albion Fairs
Albion Fairs was the general name for the second wave of East Anglian Fairs, running from 1978 until 1982. There were further fairs in the same tradition most years until the end of the 1980s....
. Specifically he was responsible for running the "Fairy Faire"
There was a major retrospective of his life and art at the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art in 1996
Now in his 80s, he lives in a farmhouse in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
surrounded by a bizarre collection of his creations. In still very good health (which he attributes to being a life-long hypochondriac) he is still working and performing, often at the Norwich Arts Centre. His latest project he calls 'vox humana exploration' using his voice through a series of effects to perform his own songs plus those of David Bowie, Rod Stewart and Queen.
External links
- http://www.fairsarchive.org.uk/Site/bruce.html Interview
- http://burning-brightly.tripod.com/mrlacey.html "Mr. Lacey"