Tag Archives: Bonzo Dog Band

Headlines Du Jour ► Tuesday, December 9, 2014

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Howdy, Headliners! Today’s birthday belongs to Neil Innes, former-Bonzo Dog Band and Rutles. Among the other Headlines Du Jour of yesteryear:

Here is today’s Headlines Du Jour:

TODAY’S PROTESTS:

MORE EXCITING EPISODES OF COPS GONE WILD:

SO GLAD WE’RE LIVING IN A POST-RACIAL SOCIETY:

TODAY IN RELIGION:

FREE THE WEED!!!

HACK ATTACKS!!!

IN INNER SPACE:

IN OUTER SPACE:

VIDEOS DU JOUR:

Headlines Du Jour is a leisure-time activity of Not Now Silly, home of the
Steam-Powered Word-0-Matic, and your rest stop on the Information
Highway. Use our valuable bandwidth to post your news comments in
today’s open thread.

Happy Birthday Roger Ruskin Spear ► Bonzo Dog Band

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It wasn’t all that long ago that I celebrated the birth of Dennis Cowan, a founding member of The Bonzo Dog Dada Band. Today let’s all press our trousers for Roger Ruskin Spear, another founding Bonzo. Music/Not Music called Spear “The Forgotten Bonzo” just 12 days ago. Not for me. While Spear never achieved the later fame of Neil Innes, for me Roger Ruskin Spear was the one who put the Dada in The Bonzo Dog Dada Band, those off-the-wall tangents into clothing and other fashion accoutrements that’s clearly a Spear obsession. Ironically, while he played many instruments — tenor saxophone, trumpet, xylophone, bells, clarinet, guitar, oboe, accordion, glockenspiel, as well as sang — he is still best know for playing The Theremin Leg, most notably on the recording “Noises For The Leg.”

Here Roger Ruskin Spear plays the dress form to piano accompaniment on Strauss’ Blue Danube:

I was fortunate to see The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band live once at, of all things, The First Annual Detroit Rock and Roll Revival, in May of 1969, my last summer in ‘Merka. That’s where I first heard Bonzo Dog Band and was amazed at the performance they put on. Check out that line-up: Among the other band that performed that weekend
were MC5, Chuck Berry, Sun Ra, Dr. John, Johnny Winter, Stooges, Amboy
Dukes, SRC, The Frost, The Rationals, Teegarden & Van Winkle, Lyman
Woodard, Up, Wilson Mower Pursuit, Grand Funk Railroad, Third Power, New
York Rock & Roll Ensemble, David Peel & The Lower East Side,
Red White & Blues Band, Sky, The Train, Savage Grace, James Gang,
Caste, Gold Brothers, Dutch Elm, Plain Brown Wrapper, Brownsville
Station.

When I moved to Canada, I took with me my love of the Bonzos with me. However, I found that most of the people I tried to turn on to The Bonzos already knew who they were, from the British/Monty Python influence.

Bonzo Dog Band performing at the First Annual Detroit Roch and Roll Revival. Photo by Alan Gotkin.

Because people always get the various Bonzos confused, here’s a handy introduction:

Amazingly, I find that Roger Ruskin Spear still has a few dates on his calendar, even tho’ Neil Innes has him retired, with Three Bonzos and a Piano.

I will go on record again: Bonzo Dog Band is the most influential band no one knows. 

Let’s end with a Roger Ruskin Spear Jukebox:


As always CRANK IT UP!!!

Happy Birthday Dennis Cowan ► Bonzo Dog Band ► May 6

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The Bonzo Dog Band

Happy Birthday to Dennis Cowan, celebrating the big Six Five today. Dennis was bassist for the Bonzo Dog Band, originally The Bonzo Dog Dada Band, then The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, before finally settling on the name everyone knows and loves.  The Bonzos, as they are affectionately known among fans, were the most influential band you never heard of and almost indescribable, but I’ll try. Cross a smattering of Lawrence Welk, with heavy doses of Spike Jones and his City Slickers, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, and Weird Al Yankovic and you’d get the Bonzo Dog Band…but Bonzos are funnier.

A little lesson in British comedy: One can draw a very crooked line from the surreal ’50s radio show The Goon Show–from which Peter Sellers sprang–to the anarchy of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Between the two was the seminal children’s show [sic] Do Not Adjust Your Set. Later-Pythons Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin wrote and starred in this Thames tee vee series. However, people of all ages tuned in to see the antics of The Bonzo Dog Band, which featured today’s Birthday Boy Dennis Cowan on bass.

Here’s some very early Bonzos from Do Not Adjust Your Set:

People know the band Death Cab For Cutie. However, few know that the name is a tribute to the song of the same name that The Bonzo Dog Band performed in Magical Mystery Tour. This tasty little morsel of Doo Wop is one of few highlights in this horrible film that will always be an albatross around Paul McCartney‘s neck:

Neil Innes also came from the Bonzos and he became, almost, an auxiliary member of Monty Python Flying Circus. As told (accurately) by the WikiWackyWoo:

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. Because of these long-standing connections, Innes is often referred to as “the Seventh Python”.

And, indeed, a Neil Innes documentary was called The Seventh Python. Innes was also Ron Nasty in The Rutles, which makes him one
of the Pre-Fab Four. But this isn’t about Innes, which would be a fun transgression.

Photo © Barrie Wentzell
L to R: Dennis Cowan, Roger Ruskin
Spear & Rodney Slater 1969
Photo © Barrie Wentzell, who
sells beautiful prints of early
Bonzo Dog Band and more.

The Bonzo Dog Band classic 1967 recording The Intro and the Outro lampooned every band that ever name-checked and introduced the members of the band. Vivian Stanshall voiced the introductions. This song was the inspiration for Mike Oldfileld when he recorded his solo album Tubular Bells, famously used as the theme music for The Exorcist. Oldfield’s long version introduced all the instruments he played, voiced by none other than the very same Vivian Stanshall.

Lastly, for fans of Beatles trivia, like James Rosen of Fox News (who I stumped. That story coming.), here’s a real rarity: The promotional film for I’m The Urban Spaceman. The original recording of Urban Spaceman was produced Apollo C. Vermouth, which was a pseudonym for Paul McCartney. Enjoy.