Neil Innes

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neil Innes (2008)

Neil Innes (born December 9, 1944 in Danbury , Essex , † December 29, 2019 near Toulouse , France ) was a British musician and composer . He became known for his humorous and ironic compositions for the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and the Rutles .

biography

Innes with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (1968)

In the 1960s, Innes was a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band , which stood out for its bizarre humor and was seen by many as a musical counterpart to Monty Python . Innes wrote most of the band's songs, including their hit I'm the Urban Spaceman , which Paul McCartney produced under the pseudonym "Apollo C. Vermouth".

From 1972 he was with John Gorman , Andy Roberts, Mike McGear , Roger McGough and Vivian Stanshall a part of the comedy troupe and band Grimms (the name is composed of the first letters of the six surnames).

Innes also worked on the python projects . He was an extra and occasional songwriter for Monty Python's Flying Circus and played minor roles in the films The Knights of the Coconut and The Life of Brian . He was also often present at the group's live performances and had his own skits there. These collaborations earned him the nickname “the seventh python”.

In the 1970s, Innes worked with Eric Idle on a television comedy series called Rutland Weekend Television . Part of this series was the fictional band The Rutles , a parody of the Beatles . Innes composed songs for this fictional band that sounded very "Beatle-esque". The Rutles were so successful that an entire television film was produced in 1978. This film - The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash - describes the career of the Rutles in a "documentary" based on the story of the Beatles . Innes composed the music for the film and played the role of Ron Nasty , the counterpart to John Lennon . Eric Idle took on the role of Dirk McQuickley ( Paul McCartney ). In 1982 he played a small supporting role in The Missionary . In 1989 Innes composed the score for Erik the Viking . Here, too, there was a connection to the pythons , as Terry Jones directed and played one of the leading roles like John Cleese .

In 2008 the documentary The Seventh Python was released on the life of Neil Innes. The pythons John Cleese , Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin were involved . Performers also included Rutles drummer John Halsey, animator Matt Groening , musician Aimee Mann, and others. Neil Innes died near Toulouse, France, 20 days after his 75th birthday.

Discography

  • as a member of "The World": Lucky Planet (1970)
  • How Sweet to Be an Idiot (1973)
  • as a member of "Grimms": Grimms (1972)
  • as a member of "Grimms": Rocking Duck (1973)
  • as a member of "Grimms": Sleepers (1976)
  • Eric Idle & Neil Innes: Rutland Weekend Songbook (1977)
  • Taking Off (1977)
  • as a member of "The Rutles": The Rutles - All you need is cash (1978)
  • Innes Book of Records (1979)
  • Off the Record (1982)
  • as a member of "The Rutles": Archeology (1996)
  • Recollections 1 (2003)
  • Recollections 2 (2004)
  • Recollections 3 (2004)
  • Works in Progress (2005)
  • Live at Martyrs (2005)
  • Dogman (children's story, told by Phill Jupitus, with five songs by Neil Innes) (2005)
  • Innes Own World - Best Bits - Part One (2010)
  • Innes Own World - Best Bits - Part Two (2011)
  • Neil Innes & Fatso: Farewell Posterity Tour (Thu-CD) (2013)
  • as a member of "The Rutles": Live + Raw (2014)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Neil Genzlinger: Neil Innes, a Master of Musical Humor, Is Dead at 75. In: The New York Times , December 30, 2019 (English). Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  2. a b c biography at allmusic.com
  3. http://www.jpgr.co.uk/col_lbf15144.html
  4. ^ Robert Ross: Monty Python Encyclopedia. Batsford, London 2001, ISBN 978-0760732502 , p. 106.
  5. George Perry: The Life of Python. Pavilion Books, London 2006, ISBN 978-1862057623 , p. 154.