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Neil Innes
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Neil James Innes (born 9 December 1944, in Danbury, Essex) is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.
Innes spent a good part of his childhood with his parents and two-year-older brother Iain in post-war Germany during his Scottish father's military assignment as a Warrant Officer. He took piano lessons as a child.
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Quotations
I have suffered for my music. Now it's your turn.
Encyclopedia
Neil James Innes (born 9 December 1944, in Danbury, Essex) is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.
Innes spent a good part of his childhood with his parents and two-year-older brother Iain in post-war Germany during his Scottish father's military assignment as a Warrant Officer. He took piano lessons as a child. Neil's parents were supportive of their sons' interests. His father showed some artistic ability as he frequently drew and painted.
He later attended Thorpe Grammar School and the Norwich School of Art. While he attended Goldsmith's School of Art, he met Yvonne Catherine Hilton, majoring in drama, and they married on March 3, 1966. They have three sons, Miles (b. 1967), Luke (b. 1971), and Barney (b. 1977). They have two grandchildren.
Career
Innes graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Goldsmith's School of Art in 1966.
During the period of 1962 to 1965, Innes and several other art school students started a band which was originally named The Bonzo Dog Dada Band after their interest in the art movement Dada, but which was soon renamed the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (later shortened to The Bonzo Dog Band). Innes, with Vivian Stanshall, wrote most of the band's songs, including "I'm the Urban Spaceman", their sole hit, (produced by Paul McCartney and Gus Dudgeon under the collective pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth) and "Death Cab for Cutie" (which inspired an American musical group of the same name), which was featured in the Beatles' film Magical Mystery Tour. Innes won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Novel(ty) Song in 1968 for "I'm the Urban Spaceman".
In the late 1960s, Innes appeared with the Bonzo Dog Band on both seasons of the UK children's television series Do Not Adjust Your Set which also featured future members of the Monty Python comedy team.
After the breakup of Bonzo Dog Band, Innes joined with former Dog Band bassist Dennis Cowan, drummer Ian Wallace and guitarist Roger McKew to form The World, a band hoping for "more commercial" success with music ranging from rock to pure pop, yet still retaining some Doo-Dah flavor and even a bit of the humor. Unfortunately for them, by the time their sole album Lucky Planet was released in 1970, the members had already disbanded and were moving on to other projects.
In 1973 Neil worked with Andy Roberts, Adrian Henri, Mike McGear, Brian Patten, John Gorman, David Richards, John Megginson, Ollie Halsall, and Gerry Conway in the band GRIMMS, who released their self titled album and Rocking Duck in 1973 followed by their last album Sleepers in 1976.
In the mid-1970s, Innes became closely associated with the TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus. He played a major role in performing and writing songs and sketches for the final series in 1974 (after John Cleese left). He wrote a squib of a song called "George III" (sung by a pastiche black American girl group) which appears in "The Golden Age Of Ballooning". He also wrote the song "Where Does A Dream Begin?" (included in "Anything Goes: The Light Entertainment War") and he co-wrote the "Most Awful Family In Britain" sketch in the last episode, "Party Political Broadcast". He is one of only two non-Pythons to ever be credited writers for the TV series, the other being Douglas Adams (who co-wrote another sketch in "Party Political Broadcast").
He appeared on stage with the Pythons in New York City in 1975, performing the Bob Dylanesque "Protest Song" (complete with harmonica) on the album Monty Python Live at City Center. He was introduced as Raymond Scum. After his introduction he told the audience "I've suffered for my music. Now it's your turn." In 1982 he traveled to the States with the Pythons again, appearing in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. He performed the songs "How Sweet to Be an Idiot" and "I'm the Urban Spaceman." He also appeared as one of the singing "Bruces" in the Philosopher Sketch.
Innes wrote the songs for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He appeared in the film as a head-bashing monk, the serf crushed by the giant wooden rabbit, and the leader of Sir Robin's minstrels. He also had a small role in Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky. He performed with the Pythons on stage, including their legendary Hollywood Bowl concert. Because of these long-standing connections, Innes is often referred to as "the Seventh Python".
After Python finished its original run on UK television, Innes joined with Python's Eric Idle on the series Rutland Weekend Television. This was a Python-esque sketch show based in a fictional low-budget regional television station. It ran for two series in 1975-76. Songs and sketches from the series appeared on a 1976 BBC LP, the Rutland Weekend Songbook. This show spawned The Rutles (the "prefab four"), a Beatles parody band, in which Innes played the character of Ron Nasty, who was loosely based on John Lennon. Innes played Nasty in an American-made spin-off TV movie, All You Need Is Cash, with Idle. The film also had a spin-off LP on Warner Brothers.
After Rutland Weekend Television, Idle relocated to the USA, and Innes went on to make a solo series in 1979 on BBC television, The Innes Book of Records, which ran for three seasons and contained at least 4 of Innes' previous music compositions along with new ones written for the show.
During the 1980s, Innes delved into children's entertainment. He played the role of the Wizard in the live-action children's television series Puddle Lane, made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network.
He voiced the 1980s children's cartoon adventures of The Raggy Dolls, a motley collection of "rejects" from a toy factory. The 65 episodes for Yorkshire Television included the characters Sad Sack, Hi-Fi, Lucy, Dotty, Back-to-Front and Princess.
In addition, he brought Monty Python's Terry Jones' faerie-tale book "East of the Moon" to television. He contributed all the stories and music on this production. He was involved with the enormously popular children's show Tiswas. With its own website, the shows's popularity is still demonstrated.
At the time of The Beatles Anthology CDs, there was a revival of interest in The Rutles and a new album was released in 1996 entitled Archaeology.
In 1998, Innes hosted a 13-episode UK (Anglia) television show called "Away with Words" on which he travelled to different areas of Britain to explore the origins of well-known words and phrases.
Innes took part, along with the remaining Monty Python members, in the 2002 Concert for George, in memory of George Harrison.
Innes was occasionally heard (often as the butt of jokes) standing in as the pianist for the BBC Radio 4 panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Innes toured the UK in 2006 and produced a new Bonzo CD as part of the Bonzo Dog Band's 40th Anniversary tour.
In 2008 he undertook the Neil Innes and Fatso 30th Anniversary tour, playing predominantly Rutles numbers with a few Bonzos and Python items.
A film about Neil Innes called The Seventh Python premiered at the Mods & Rockers Film Festival on June 26, 2008.
Solo albums
- How Sweet to be an Idiot (1973)
- The Rutland Weekend Songbook (with Eric Idle) (1976)
- Taking Off (1977)
- The Innes Book of Records (1979)
- Off the Record (1982)
- Erik the Viking (soundtrack) (1989)
- Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues (compilation LP, 1994)
- Recollections 1 (2000)
- Recollections 2 (2001)
- Recollections 3 (2001)
- Works in Progress (2005)
The World
Grimms
External links
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- Neil Innes, UK based fan page http://www.myspace.com/neilinnestribute
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