If you came here looking for a diary on wildlife or the environment you may be disappointed. You will almost certainly be surprised. Because this is something completely different.
To be more specific it is a diary about the wonderful, amazing, fantastic, really very good, and not at all bad in any way Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, commonly known as the Bonzo Dog Band, or simply the Bonzos. A magical time it was, the late 1960s, and even more so because that was when Bonzos walked the earth.* A heady mixture of old time jazz, novelty songs, Beatle-esque pop, and surreal humour reminiscent of and preceding Monty Python. Music full of innocence and joy but also savagery and scathing satire. But let's let the Bonzos introduce themselves.
*The phrase used as my title was stolen from a 1974 Melody Maker article written by one Chris Welch and reproduced as the liner notes from the double LP 'History of the Bonzos' released by United Artists in that same year.
Cast of Characters
Bonzo the Dog (artwork) - An aging dog
The Principals
Rodney 'Rhino' Slater (saxophone) - an aspiring social worker
Vivian Stanshall (vocals) - a ginger geezer
Neil Innes (vocals, guitar, keyboard) - an urban spaceman
Roger 'Ruskin' Spear (saxophone) - a mad scientist
'Legs' Larry Smith (drums) - a dancer
The Classicists
Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell - An assumed name
Sam Spoons - Another pseudonym
Bob Kerr - A turncoat, later redeemed
Big Sid Nicholls
Leon Williams
The Bass Players
Dave Clague
Joel Drucker - An expatriate
Dennis Cowan - A fellow spirit
The Bonzos entered the world in 1962 and exited in 1970, although there have been several brief reuions. This diary focuses on the period from 1966 when they began recording through 1970.
The genesis of the band was a meeting between two art school students in London in September of 1962. Rodney Slater and Viv Stanshall bonded over the broadcast of a boxing match and discovered a mutual interest in traditional jazz. Slater was already playing with other students and Stanshall joined in. Shortly thereafter they came up with the name 'Bonzo Dog Da Da Band' combining a cartoon dog from the 1920s with the early 20th Century absurdist art movement. The name was later changed to 'Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band' because the band got tired of explaining the 'Da Da' part.
Over the next few years the band had a fairly fluid membership and an evolving sound. Their music moved from traditional jazz to a more comedic sound, incorporating novelty songs and a comedic style of playing that seems to be peculiarly British. The Bonzos were apparently influenced by two bands new to me: The Alberts and The Temperance Seven. The former are a fairly obscure band of the late 50s and early 60s, the latter were quite popular in Britain in the early 60s and have continued to the present day.
Gradually the band collected new members. Vernon Dudley, an art lecturer about a decade older than the others was brought in as bass player. Stanshall added the Bohay-Nowell to his name which seems to have stuck to this day. Also coming on board was Vernon's lodger, one Neil Innes, followed by Roger 'Ruskin' Spear and finally 'Legs' Larry Smith. Joining in at some point in there was Martin Ash, more commonly known as Sam Spoons for his prowess at using cutlery as a musical instrument.
In 1966 the Bonzos entered the recording studio. At this point they were a nine piece incorporating the seven men mentioned above plus Big Sid Nicholls and Leon Williams. They made their first single: 'My Brother Makes the Noises for the Talkies' backed with 'I'm going to bring a Watermelon to my gal tonight' (the B side was too risque for radio).
The B side can be heard here
The single was not a success and Nicholls and Williams departed. A new member, Bob Kerr, joined and the band recorded a second single, a cover of the Hollywood Argyles' song 'Alley Oop' which was certainly not their finest hour.
At this time fate intervened. One Geoff Stephens had composed a song entitled 'Winchester Cathedral' which was recorded using studio musicians under the name of The New Vaudeville Band in 1966. The style referenced the same Music Hall tradition that influenced the Bonzos. Unexpectedly the song was a huge international hit and the Bonzos were approached about becoming the The New Vaudeville Band for the purposes of touring. All declined except for Kerr who left the Bonzos for a stab at stardom. Kerr later formed Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, which continues to this day playing music in the style of the early Bonzos.
The remaining seven Bonzos decided that, rather than be perceived as imitators, they would change the type of music they made. In 1967 both their musical style and their musical fortunes would change. Their first LP, Gorilla, was recorded and released. The songs are a mixture of their traditional old-time novelty jazz and a variety of different, more contemporary pieces. First let's hear one my favourite Bonzo songs, 'Jollity Farm', a jazz age novelty song and a lovely piece of joyous innocence.
The next clip has several pieces strung together including 'Music for the Head Ballet' and 'The Equestrian Statue' from Gorilla. The former is a rather oddball instrumental, the latter one of Neil Innes' earlier pop songs.
The new emphasis on original material brought the bands two vocalists/songwriters to the foreground. Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes were the Lennon and McCartney of the Bonzos. Some material was composed jointly but frequently they each wrote their own songs (although Stanshall often did vocals on Innes material). Stanshall was outspoken, witty, highly eccentric, a larger than life figure. His on stage personas would have seemed more cliched had they not emerged so naturally from his own personality. He had an astonishing ability as a vocal mimic and also an ability to perform as a range of different characters. Many of his songs are really more performance art than music. Stanshall was also willing to offend or outrage just about anyone. He was a great friend of Keith Moon of the Who and the two were notorious practical jokers. Big Shot from Gorilla is a quintessential Stanshall song - Viv immerses himself in the character of Bachelor Johnny Cool and we are swept into his cartoonish, Noir world.
In contrast Innes was writing witty, quirky, melodic British pop like The Equestrian Statue. His instrumental prowess was the backbone of the band's rock and pop-oriented songs. Innes' understated manner may lead many to overlook his contribution to the Bonzos relative to Stanshall's but really both of them produced the wide range of material that made the Bonzos so wonderful.
The final two tracks on the above clip are both taken from the British children's comedy program Do Not Adjust Your Set (DNAYS). Airing for two seasons in 1967 and 1968 this show is notable for featuring one half of the future Monty Python (Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin). The Bonzos were the house band and appeared in every episode. Although many of the episodes were destroyed by the BBC in the same general housecleaning that resulted in the loss of many 1960s episodes of Doctor Who there are still a large number of Bonzos performances available due to the existence of this programme. 'Love is a Cylindrical Piano' is particularly interesting as Eric Idle plays piano and does the lead vocal (apparently replacing Neil Innes who had the flu) while the Bonzos perform a variety of 'feats'. The second track 'High School Hermit (Metaphorically Speaking)' appears to have never been released on record. It is a pastiche of early 60s American pop and includes a brief skit by Stanshall and Spear along with the band pretending to be The Who at the end (of course no genuine instrument smashing occurred as they could not have afforded to replace them).
Here's one from the very first episode. Sam Spoons plays the monster. He would leave the band shortly.
Below is perhaps the most viewed Bonzo performance of all time. It is taken from the Magical Mystery Tour. Paul McCartney had become a big fan of the Bonzos and persuaded Lennon that they should be featured in the Beatles' film. The Bonzos play the house band in a strip club and perform the song 'Death Cab for Cutie'. This is one of several Elvis-inspired performances by Stanshall although much of the song was apparently composed by Innes (almost invisible in this performance).
This was one of Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell's last appearances with the Bonzos. Like Sam Spoons he wasn't all that happy with the switch away from the traditional jazz sound. Both of them have played in bands with a similar sound over the years.
After Vernon's departure the Bonzos had two bass players for short periods. Joel Drucker was an American. I'm not aware of any filmed performances with Mr. Drucker. David Clague was also not with the band for very long but his tenure did coincide with the DNAYS period so he can be seen in many of the available clips. After both of them came one Dennis Cowan who seemed to mesh well, both personally and musically, with the other Bonzos. He remained with the band to the end and was instrumental in the Bonzos developing a real rock sound.
In 1968 the Bonzos had their only genuine hit, a Neil Innes song entitled 'I'm the Urban Spaceman', produced by Paul McCartney under the name Apollo C. Vermouth. This song blended Music Hall influences with Innes' own brand of 1960s pop, definitely quirkier and less sentimental but similar to some of McCartney's own songs such as 'When I'm Sixty Four'.
However they didn't manage (or even try) to capitalize on their fame and their commercial success faded away. Their second album, 'A Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse' moved them into darker satirical waters and less conventional styles of presentation. It did still contain a few traces of the more innocent jazz age sound such as 'Hello Mabel'.
This DNAYS version is very different from the album version. Here Innes does the lead vocal instead of Stanshall while Stanshall and 'Legs' Larry Smith do backing vocals and choreographic support.
At the other end of the spectrum is the astonishing 'We Are Normal' which provides me with my sig line.
Several of the Bonzo's roles in the band changed over time. Innes and Stanshall became the main composers as the bands material moved to original material. 'Legs' Larry Smith often moved out from behind his drum kit to dance. And Roger 'Ruskin' Spear also began to write material for the band. But perhaps his greatest role was onstage where he and his 'Electric Wardrobe' produced a variety of props and effects for the band's performances including his infamous robots.
Here's a fairly early and relatively conventional Spear song from DNAYS.
The Bonzos third LP was entitled Tadpoles and was released in 1969. It was a compilation of material that had been recorded for DNAYS but was not on either of the first two LPs. Apparently the Bonzos didn't think much of this at the time, as this was older and generally tamer (given that it was being shown on what was nominally a children's show) material. In retrospect it is a compilation of some of their most solid work.
This clip from a German jazz festival in 1969 gives an idea of the nature of the latter day Bonzos. The first song 'Canyons of Your Mind' is one of their most successful blends of surrealism with a genuine song. It combines straightforward send ups of Elvis and guitar hero worship with a truly eccentric fixation on household objects. The second song is 'Trouser Press' which is Roger Ruskin Spear's moment in the sun and reveals him in his hyperkinetic glory.
The first two parts of this performance can be seen here
and here. As far as I am aware these are the only films of a genuine live performance (as opposed to a for TV appearance) of the Bonzos.
Later in 1969 the Bonzos released their fourth LP, Keynsham. Although this contained some traces of the band's trad jazz origins such as Mr Slater's Parrot, most of it was either rock oriented or more avant garde.
Among the classics from this LP is Stanshall's Tent which manages to be weird, cacaphonic, and catchy all at once.
Unfortunately, unlike their earlier material, there is little in the way of recorded live performances. Here's Roger Ruskin Spear in 2009 playing the leg theremin in 'Noises for the Leg' (the Pythonesque intro is missing).
In early 1970 the Bonzos broke up. They immediately began pursuing various other projects both as solo artists and as members of collaborative groups. I'm not going to attempt to document all of their activities because it would make this diary far too long. I will include one video from the group BiG GrunT because it both features three former members of the Bonzos (Stanshall, Spear, and Cowan) and they are doing a Bonzos song. A truly strange performance.
In 1972 the Bonzos 'reunited' to record their fifth LP, in order to fulfill their contract. Their original label, Liberty Records, had been subsumed into United Artists who told the Bonzos they needed to produce one more album. The result, 'Let's Make Up and Be Friendly' was largely the work of Innes, Stanshall, and Cowan (who would sadly die that same year of peritonitis) plus guest appearances from Spear and Smith. Rodney Slater had quit music to become a social worker and was listed as appearing 'in spirit'.
The material included Rawlinson End the first appearance of Stanshall's commentary on a bizarre upper class family which is a largely spoken word 9 minute track. Rawlinson End appears in Stanshall's work in a variety of media over the following two decades. More conventional (for the Bonzos) tracks include King of Scurf and Bad Blood.
After this the Bonzos as a group vanished for many years. Stanshall, suffered from ongoing problems with alcoholism and panic attacks. He released four solo albums and a film of Rawlinson's End as well as writing 'Stinkfoot: A Comic Opera'. Most famously he provided the narration for Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells', listing the instruments played just as he did for the Bonzos in 'The Intro and the Outro'.
Innes was by far the most successful of the Bonzos. He wrote songs for Monty Python and then collaborated with Eric Idle in the production of 'The Rutles' a pre Spinal Tap mockumentary about a group bearing a striking similarity to the Beatles. George Harrison provided financial backing and if memory serves me correctly had a brief cameo in the show. John Lennon liked it so much that he refused to return the video tape he was sent to preview. Paul McCartney's reaction was apparently not so positive.
In 1988 some of the Bonzos reunited (I'm not sure which ones although both Innes and Stanshall were involved) to record a single No Matter Who You Vote For The Government Always Gets In. It wasn't released until 1992. The reggae sound is a bit of a change of pace.
In 1995 Vivian Stanshall died in a fire at his home. Mental health and addiction issues had largely kept him from producing much in the way of new work for some time. Rodney Slater, described as his oldest friend, was an integral part of Stanshall's support network in his later years.
In 2006 (a year or two after I saw Neil Innes perform in Urbana Illinois) the Bonzos reunited. The lineup was that of their second single with the obvious exception of Stanshall (so Slater, Spear, Innes, Smith, Sam Spoons, Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, and Bob Kerr). The band staged a concert in January 2006 to mark the 40th anniversary of the band. A variety of special guests contributed the performances, attempting to fill the huge void caused by Stanshall's death. Rather than musicians they were mostly British comedians. The one most familiar to a North American audience was Stephen Fry who has repeatedly cited the Bonzos as a childhood inspiration.
A somewhat longer version of this clip can be found here.
The Bonzos toured with a few of their friends of the reunion concert and released a CD of that same concert later in 2006. Then in 2007 they released a new CD, Pour l'Amour des Chiens (which I have not yet investigated). Concerts late in 2007 were canceled and then rescheduled and performed in 2008. However that was the end of the band and the Bonzos went their separate ways. Innes has resumed his solo career and is currently touring the US.
Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin Spear, and Sam Spoons have teamed up with keyboardist Dave Glasson to form a new unit 'Three Bonzos and a Piano' which appears to perform quite a bit of the Bonzos repertoire. At times both 'Legs' Larry Smith and Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell have played with the band. I'll finish up with Vernon, now in his late 70s singing Marlene Dietrich's 'Falling in Love Again'. The audio quality isn't the best I'm afraid. I must confess I have mixed feelings about this quasi-Bonzo combo - Spear has a lot of energy (especially given that he is over 65) but he can't really replace both Innes and Stanshall. Still it gives one a taste of what the world was like when Bonzos walked the earth.