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The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band


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3 hours ago, Sir Leigh of Somerset said:

Only just noticed that there's a documentary about this band of Urban Spaceman 'fame' on Radio 4 at 9.00 pm. tonight (Friday 5th March).

Vivian Stanshall, Neil Innes and co should make for an interesting, if not surreal, listen.......

If you ever get the chance to listen to the two hour Neil Innes R4 documentary `Dip my brain in joy` I think it was called it`s well worth it. It was recently repeated on 4Extra so should be on BBC Sounds somewhere.

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5 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

If you ever get the chance to listen to the two hour Neil Innes R4 documentary `Dip my brain in joy` I think it was called it`s well worth it. It was recently repeated on 4Extra so should be on BBC Sounds somewhere.

I saw one of his last appearances (in Bath), he was brilliant as ever. Also saw him with the "Bastard" Band at the Fleece a couple of years ago (Phil Jupitus, Ade Edmonson,et al )

I've also got all of the Bonzo's albums 

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The name “Urban Spaceman” derived from a time when Neil Innes was in a hotel bedroom and he looked out of the window and saw a housing sign advertising urban space. He thought, logically, that if there was urban space then there must be an urban spaceman. 
 

I first came across the Bonzos in the 60s, whilst still at school, when they appeared in Do Not Adjust Your Set. Nominally a children’s programme it was really an adult programme in disguise. 

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35 minutes ago, pongo88 said:

The name “Urban Spaceman” derived from a time when Neil Innes was in a hotel bedroom and he looked out of the window and saw a housing sign advertising urban space. He thought, logically, that if there was urban space then there must be an urban spaceman. 
 

I first came across the Bonzos in the 60s, whilst still at school, when they appeared in Do Not Adjust Your Set. Nominally a children’s programme it was really an adult programme in disguise. 

Bit like TISWAS............Sally James,er unfettered . My kids weren't that interested but I'd sit there with my tongue hanging out !               

 i've got the complete collection of DNAYS on dvd. At school(us hip kids) would go through the Intro & the Outro, not missing a beat !

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On 12/03/2021 at 22:29, slartibartfast said:

I got that as a single in the early 80's.     The one thing Noel Edmonds ever did in his career  was continually play it on his Sunday morning show (along with WOLD and Oh Superman ).

Harry Chapin, one of my favourite singer/songwriters from back in the 1970s, along with the also sadly departed Jim Croce, who, tragically, was only 30 when he died!

I never knew until quite recently that HC's lovely 'I wanna learn a love song' was actually written about his wife.

Regrettably, and probably more pertinently for some of the older ones on here, I suspect, is 'Cat's in the Cradle' - any young ones reading would do well to read the lyrics. 

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2 hours ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

Harry Chapin, one of my favourite singer/songwriters from back in the 1970s, along with the also sadly departed Jim Croce, who, tragically, was only 30 when he died!

I never knew until quite recently that HC's lovely 'I wanna learn a love song' was actually written about his wife.

Regrettably, and probably more pertinently for some of the older ones on here, I suspect, is 'Cat's in the Cradle' - any young ones reading would do well to read the lyrics. 

My favourite was Mr Tanner, all based around a sniffy review he saw in a New York newspaper.

Going back to Neil Innes, I think the stuff he did with the Pythons was great,especially The Rutles. The pastiches of Beatles songs were so spot on, I Must Be in Luv for example which sounds like a perfect Beatles early number 1 

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3 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

My favourite was Mr Tanner, all based around a sniffy review he saw in a New York newspaper.

Going back to Neil Innes, I think the stuff he did with the Pythons was great,especially The Rutles. The pastiches of Beatles songs were so spot on, I Must Be in Luv for example which sounds like a perfect Beatles early number 1 

Sorry to quote myself, but for those who have never heard it.

 

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5 hours ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

Harry Chapin, one of my favourite singer/songwriters from back in the 1970s, along with the also sadly departed Jim Croce, who, tragically, was only 30 when he died!

I never knew until quite recently that HC's lovely 'I wanna learn a love song' was actually written about his wife.

Regrettably, and probably more pertinently for some of the older ones on here, I suspect, is 'Cat's in the Cradle' - any young ones reading would do well to read the lyrics. 

When I worked nights at BAe I used to have the radio on, to keep me awake ! It was back in the days of Radio West. The "jock" (I reckon he was pissed) had just played the god awful Power Of Love by Jennifer Rush. He went on a tirade of how unfair it was that she was still alive whilst Harry C (who'd just been killed) was gone, he then went on to say how it should have been her!         Strangely, he wasn't on the next night........or EVER AGAIN !

Shame.

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4 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

My favourite was Mr Tanner, all based around a sniffy review he saw in a New York newspaper.

Going back to Neil Innes, I think the stuff he did with the Pythons was great,especially The Rutles. The pastiches of Beatles songs were so spot on, I Must Be in Luv for example which sounds like a perfect Beatles early number 1 

Whilst I had heard and liked Urban Spaceman, I had no idea who the band members of Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band were until many years later, when I bought The Rutles album.

As you say, the album was a pastiche of The Beatles and, unless I am mistaken, either Neil Innes or Eric Idle was forced to testify in Court some years later that the songs were just their own songs, and not copied from The Beatles own songs.

I am editing my post as I have just found myself singing:

I feel good, I feel bad.

I feel happy, I feel sad....

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On 05/03/2021 at 09:25, Sir Leigh of Somerset said:

Only just noticed that there's a documentary about this band of Urban Spaceman 'fame' on Radio 4 at 9.00 pm. tonight (Friday 5th March).

Vivian Stanshall, Neil Innes and co should make for an interesting, if not surreal, listen.......

 

Just seen this. I shall catch up with it on the BBC Sounds app.

I'm email friends with Viv's daughter (she lives in Bristol) so I'll tell her about it as well.

For the Bonzo initiate, I recommend their fourth album Keynsham, where they move away from the comedy trad jazz of their earlier work to embrace psychedelia, pure pop and rock.  The track Keynsham paints the town as a fearsome place. Something I couldn't possibly comment on.

Viv and his wife of course were responsible for bringing what we now know as The Thekla to the city, so all of us who've enjoyed great nights aboard it owe his memory a debt of gratitude.

 

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All Bonzo fans should check out The Doo Dah Diaries - stunning history of the band by David Christie (I am indeed an executive member of the Doo Dah Diaries* - my only claim to fame)

 

LOOK OUT (there's a monster coming) 

 

*I don't do social media at all really but there is a twitter feed for the DooDahDiaries for those who want to take a look

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On 14/03/2021 at 10:56, PHILINFRANCE said:

 

As you say, the album was a pastiche of The Beatles and, unless I am mistaken, either Neil Innes or Eric Idle was forced to testify in Court some years later that the songs were just their own songs, and not copied from The Beatles own songs.

 

It was Neil Innes. Eric Idle wasn't on the Warner Bros record and not involved in the ensuing copyright case.

Bearing in mind George loved the album (he would sing a Rutles chorus with Neil at home mixed with an original!) that meant diddlysquat to the lawyers prosecuting. 

Neil, iirc, was asked if he listened to any Beatles' tracks in the studio whilst recording their album.  Neil said it was from memory.

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2 hours ago, Norn Iron said:

It was Neil Innes. Eric Idle wasn't on the Warner Bros record and not involved in the ensuing copyright case.

Bearing in mind George loved the album (he would sing a Rutles chorus with Neil at home mixed with an original!) that meant diddlysquat to the lawyers prosecuting. 

Neil, iirc, was asked if he listened to any Beatles' tracks in the studio whilst recording their album.  Neil said it was from memory.

George, as in Harrison?

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21 hours ago, Norn Iron said:

It was Neil Innes. Eric Idle wasn't on the Warner Bros record and not involved in the ensuing copyright case.

Bearing in mind George loved the album (he would sing a Rutles chorus with Neil at home mixed with an original!) that meant diddlysquat to the lawyers prosecuting. 

Neil, iirc, was asked if he listened to any Beatles' tracks in the studio whilst recording their album.  Neil said it was from memory.

Getting a bit silly now ?.

Shoot me down in flames if I should tell a lie, but I was convinced Eric Idle was involved with the Rutles, and (with a little too much time on my hands) I did a bit of (Google) research and came up with this old favourite, performed by the very Paul McCartney lookalike Eric Idle.

 

 

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