Ladies and gentleman, I've suffered for my music, now it's your turn.
December 30, 2019 12:05 PM   Subscribe

Musician and actor Neil Innes, who joined the boys of Monty Python for their films (singing "Brave Sir Robin"), their stage shows (From the Hollywood Bowl: "I'm the Urban Spaceman", "How Sweet to be an Idiot", "Protest Song") and their side projects ("The Rutles"), passed away yesterday at the age of 75.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI (58 comments total) 16 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by halliburtron at 12:08 PM on December 30, 2019


Ouch! You’re breaking my heart...
posted by TrialByMedia at 12:13 PM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]


Oh, no!
posted by droplet at 12:17 PM on December 30, 2019


"That's, that's enough music for now lads, there's dirty work afoot."
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posted by Fizz at 12:19 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by Etrigan at 12:19 PM on December 30, 2019


I've been a fan for years. I ordered some CDs from him a while back (at exorbitant shipping costs from France), and he included a lovely hand-written thank-you note.

And a brief illustrative excerpt from the Wikipedia entry on the Bonzo Dog [Dada/Doo-Dah] Band:
Multi-instrumentalist Neil Innes, meanwhile, would prove pivotal to the band's continued existence, not to mention their later success. Armed with a musical education and a philosophical bent, he would go on to marshal the band's disparate talents into something resembling cohesion, whether they liked it or not. However, cohesion and success both still lay some way ahead. Innes has spoken often about his first meeting with [Rodney] Slater and [Vivian] Stanshall in a London pub - Stanshall walked in wearing a Victorian frock coat, checked trousers, pince-nez glasses and large rubber false ears on his head whilst carrying a Euphonium under his arm.
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posted by Faint of Butt at 12:21 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]


All You Need Is Cash, supposedly a parody of this (unfinished at the time) documentary brilliantly showcases Innes' musical parody talent. Lennon even advised Innes to be careful about 'Get Up and Go' because it was almost too on-the-nose compared to 'Get Back'.

Cheese & Onions Forever, Neil.

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posted by zaixfeep at 12:28 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]


"...and Neil Innes, piano!" on the outro.
posted by ardgedee at 12:36 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


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posted by Sing Or Swim at 12:38 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by randomonium at 12:41 PM on December 30, 2019


The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band:
I'm the Urban Spaceman
Canyons Of Your Mind
Death Cab For Cutie (Do Not Adjust Your Set version)
Hello Mabel (DNAYS)
By A Waterfall (DNAYS)
Trouser Press (live)
You Done My Brain In (live)

A playlist with a whole buncha Innes Book of Records

The Bonzos were my first favourite band - I used to watch them on Do Not Adjust Your Set. I'd have been four or five at the time. The Innes Book of Records was enormously inventive. It's worth tracking down whole episodes to see the through lines and the special guests. Not just a parodist, too - for example, Time To Kill.
posted by Grangousier at 12:41 PM on December 30, 2019 [4 favorites]


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We just rewatched the Rutles doco the other night, and the mister has been working his way through ‘Do Not Adjust Your Set’ which features the Bonzos on every episode.

I’m on my way, I cannot stay another day
posted by andraste at 12:44 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


Lennon even advised Innes to be careful about 'Get Up and Go' because it was almost too on-the-nose compared to 'Get Back'.

There are times when I think "Get up and Go" is a catchier tune than "Get Back".
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 12:47 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]


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posted by misteraitch at 12:47 PM on December 30, 2019


C-H-E-E-S-E-A-N-D-O-N-I-O-N-S

oh no.
posted by enjoymoreradio at 12:48 PM on December 30, 2019 [5 favorites]


And, oh! I love this one - Them from the sea-themed episode of Innes Book of Records (special guest Vivian Stanshall), simultaneously very silly and very melancholy.
posted by Grangousier at 12:49 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by valkane at 12:54 PM on December 30, 2019


His look back at the Bonzos for BBC4 "Anarchy Must Be Organised" was one of my favorite bits of radio in '16. It's to some degree a distilling of the joyous, sprawling (3+ hour) remembrance of Vivian Stanshall he helmed, "English as Tuppence", the audio of which sadly does not appear to be available anywhere at the moment. Innes' 2018 interview on the Comedy on Vinyl podcast is also well-worth a listen.

And, just because no one else has posted it, "Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold" - thanks for all the laughs, Neil.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:54 PM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]


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posted by jabo at 12:57 PM on December 30, 2019


Early member of Viv Stanshall's Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Do Not Adjust your Set predated Python and in many ways was a crucible for the wonderful anarchy that came later.
RIP Neil.
"When we did Top of the Pops for the third time, we decided to do it as a television program here called Come Dancing, which is not as rude as it sounds."
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posted by adamvasco at 12:57 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by briank at 1:05 PM on December 30, 2019


My introduction to the Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band. The first time I saw this I was so confused, I couldn’t even react.
posted by drivingmenuts at 1:12 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]


The fifth Rutle.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 1:21 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


…and there was much no rejoicing.
posted by tommasz at 1:35 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 1:42 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 1:51 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by drnick at 1:54 PM on December 30, 2019


RIP Neil Innes. While the obits and twitter reactions understandably tend to focus on his other work, I remember him as the Magician from Puddle Lane and for Raggy Dolls. Will have to check out his adult material, thanks all for the links.
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 1:54 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


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posted by Thorzdad at 2:02 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by Kattullus at 2:13 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by camyram at 2:17 PM on December 30, 2019


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a bumper year for obits, almost too many for a 2019 version of "The Intro and the Outro"....

"Neil Innes on guitar, Dr. John on piano, Ginger Baker on bass, Ric Ocasek on back-up vocal, Carol Channing on wa-wa pedal, Caroll Spinney on bird call, Rene Aberjonois on french horn, Rip Torn on baritone, Tim Conway on laugh track, Betty Ballentine on paperback, Peter Mayhew on Wookiee, I.M.Pei on scaffolding, David Koch on bird whistle, Elijah Cummings on alarm whistle, H.Ross Perot on Texas two-step, Niki Lauda on Formula One, Rutger Hauer on replicant, Joe Armstrong on Erlang, Toni Morrison, Vonda McIntyre and D.C.Fontana on naration and Executive Producer Robert Evans
(and I haven't covered the whole year)
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:24 PM on December 30, 2019 [9 favorites]


Here's a link to an interview I did with Neil about The Rutles back in 2004. Such a kind and creative man. Very sad.

http://archive.ttbook.org/book/neil-innes-rutles
posted by DougieGee at 2:25 PM on December 30, 2019 [6 favorites]


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posted by young_simba at 2:26 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by kuppajava at 2:43 PM on December 30, 2019


The Bonzo Dog Band and the Rutles are two of the only a handful of legitimately laugh-out-loud funny acts in the history of rock music. Imagine being talented and funny enough to be the link between the Beatles and Monty Python. That's about as an astonishing resume as possible in the 20th century.
posted by HunterFelt at 2:44 PM on December 30, 2019 [8 favorites]


Death Cab for Cutie (NSFW).
posted by adamvasco at 2:44 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


Well, shit.
. (for the Bonzos)
. (for Monty Python)
. (for Ron Nasty)
Thanks for making my world so much brighter, Neil. Go ride that Death Cab, good sir.
posted by frodisaur at 2:53 PM on December 30, 2019 [1 favorite]


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posted by GenjiandProust at 2:58 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by jim in austin at 3:11 PM on December 30, 2019


Shouldn’t David Koch be on dog whistle?
posted by drivingmenuts at 3:29 PM on December 30, 2019


There are times when I think "Get up and Go" is a catchier tune than "Get Back".

Doubleback Alley is the best Beatles song that the Beatles never wrote.

. on about a dozen different levels.
posted by delfin at 3:32 PM on December 30, 2019 [4 favorites]


yes, shouldvebeen dog whistle... see if you can find the other mistakes in my too long comment written in a depressed mood (I totally forgot Gershon Kingsley on moog)
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:37 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by stanf at 4:34 PM on December 30, 2019


They just keep falling. :(

RIP, funny music man.
posted by Pouteria at 5:10 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by scruss at 6:46 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by Ignorantsavage at 7:17 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by Foosnark at 7:29 PM on December 30, 2019


I got a lot of joy from things he made. I’m sorry he’s gone.
posted by Songdog at 7:46 PM on December 30, 2019


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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 2:50 AM on December 31, 2019


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posted by Mister Bijou at 4:07 AM on December 31, 2019


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posted by filtergik at 4:08 AM on December 31, 2019


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posted by Joey Michaels at 12:43 PM on December 31, 2019


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posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:41 PM on December 31, 2019


Farewell to one of pop culture's great underrateds. May he sleep just like a stone in shallow water.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:48 PM on December 31, 2019 [2 favorites]


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posted by Faintdreams at 5:03 AM on January 2, 2020


Lennon even advised Innes to be careful about 'Get Up and Go' because it was almost too on-the-nose compared to 'Get Back'.

While 'Get Up and Go' wasn't included in the settlement, ATV Music did end up suing Neil and settling for 50% of the royalties to many of The Rutles' songs.

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posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:44 AM on January 2, 2020


To me this is kind of the quintessential Neil Innes performance, capturing his strange genius but also some of the pathos of the man. It's a genuinely exquisite song and if you closed your eyes you'd think it was a serious performance (well, other than the whoosh noises) but he's performing it with this crazy flower hat thing and a lot of (literal) winks and other stuff to signal that it's nothing to be taken seriously, and it's going out at 10 AM on a Wednesday morning to a TV audience that's not expecting and may not even welcome some actual art in that slot. Even the host of the show kind of goofs on him at the end. Innes expressed some ambivalence for the role that comedy played in his career, and he certainly had the potential to be an actual rock star. But he was always hiding behind parody and surreal kid show costumes, never quite living up to his potential.

Don't get me wrong, he was superb at what he did, and I loved all the dressing up and funny faces. But you watch The Innes Book of Records and it quickly becomes apparent that this guy could do anything. He could be Paul McCartney or Elton John, he could be punk, he could be all three Marx Brothers, he could be funny or heartbreaking or... whatever Cat Meat Conga was. You look at him performing Slaves of Freedom as a young man, all dolled up in makeup and a tuxedo, giving a performance as sexy-creepy as Joel Grey in his prime, and it's obvious this kid is gonna be a huge star.

But then... he wasn't. Innes was beloved by weirdos like me, but he spent his whole career struggling to find work, to find his niche. I don't know how many years he spent playing tiny clubs, but the last 10 years or so he seemed so approachable that I always meant to contact him and ask if I could make an animated music video for one of his songs. I'm a struggling cartoonist, he was a perennially struggling musician and an obviously nice man, and I thought he might welcome free work from a fan and it might boost my profile a little. At the very least, I suspected I wouldn't just get a form letter back from a guy who knew the hustle so well himself. Now he's gone and I'll never know what he might have said to my offer. I'll always regret that I didn't reach out while I could.

Meet your idols, kids. Better to risk disappointment than to spend your life regretting that you never risked anything.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:57 PM on January 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


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