Neil Innes Has Died

[kalowski]

Serves me right for listening to BBC Radio Wales, when I'm not Welsh and don't live there, but their newsreader on the 2 pm news earlier clearly had no idea who Innes was, pronounced "the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band" as if it was something in a foreign language, and seemed to think The Rutles had been a "BBC series".

Well, Rutland Weekend Television was a TV series.

[kalowski]

To me, Neil was bigger than God.





Edit: I wrote "bigger than Rod"

[Jake Thingray]

Well, Rutland Weekend Television was a TV series.

It was, but The Rutles was an NBC special.

[Spudgun]

I'd love to know if the lines "I'd like to own a squadron of tanks" and "I think it proves you're all daft! I s'pose I'll get into trouble for saying that now!", as well as Barry's "I'd like to be a hairdresser, or two. I'd like to be two hairdressers" were scripted by Idle or if they came out of improvisation, they're easily some of the funniest bits of dialogue in the film.

I don't know about those, but I remember reading somewhere that my personal favourite - "Civilisation is nothing more than an effective sewage system" (https://youtu.be/hI1tdvH2L4U?t=35) - was improvised on the spot, which delighted me. I hope that's true. I may have to dig out my Rutles DVD now...

[Bennett Brauer]

It was, but The Rutles was an NBC special.

Any chance of you being commissioned to do an obit? It would be nice to sneak in a couple of jabs at Idle.

[Glebe]

Shitty news, RIP mate.

[Thursday]

fuck me, the raggy dolls. and he did the scripts, voices and narration on the whole thing as well as the theme toon. fuck my hat.

Listening to the Raggy Dolls theme and crying now.

[Revelator]

From Cleese's twitter:

"Utterly dismayed to hear about Neil Innes. Right out of the blue...

A very sweet man, much too nice for his own good

Lovely writer and performer. When he worked with Python on our stage show, I listened every night to "How sweet to be an Idiot" on the tannoy

Very sad....."

https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1211665639917654016

[Pranet]

First part of the Radio 4 tribute is up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000py8k

[Glebe]

Aw no, sad news. I've been digging up old memories for the classic adverts thread, I wouldn't have known who he was seeing the Quality Street 'Magic Moments' ads as a kid and got a surprize watching the ads again on YouTube.

Rowntrees Quality Street - Many magic moments.

[FAKE EDIT]Fuck, my brain is gone.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Aw no, sad news.

It is, but I've had time to get over it.

[Glebe]

It is, but I've had time to get over it.

Seriously, I think I must be suffering from memory loss or summit, WTF.

[neveragain]

Well, I forgot I broke the news and that surely is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

[Menu]

Aw no, sad news. I've been digging up old memories for the classic adverts thread, I wouldn't have known who he was seeing the Quality Street 'Magic Moments' ads as a kid and got a surprize watching the ads again on YouTube.

Rowntrees Quality Street - Many magic moments.

[FAKE EDIT]Fuck, my brain is gone.

Whoa, I had no idea that was Neil! Lovely stuff.

Also that was a hugely influential advert in my school at least. Whenever a girl and boy had any kind of even slightly ambiguous interaction, there would be an enthusiastic chorus of "Magic moments..." almost immediately. Still makes me laugh now.


Actually I might start doing it again.

[Menu]

I remember fancying the girl in it too! Oh man.


(Whoa, wait! I was about 12. I don't fancy her now, Officer.)

[Retinend]

First part of the Radio 4 tribute is up.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000py8k

I love that one of the best comedic talents of this generation is presenting this. Nice to be reminded of this one year on from his death. In the meantime, this year, I have been seeing him pop up all over the place in bits of pieces of comedy from the past - he got around hell of a lot but never seemed to put his own ego at the forefront of his projects. What a guy. RIP.

[Replies From View]

Seriously, I think I must be suffering from memory loss or summit, WTF.

I must have the same thing.  I saw the thread title, was shocked and saddened, then opened up the thread to discover not only that it happened a year ago but that I had already replied a year ago as well.

Must be one of those "manilla effects" I hear the millennials talking about.

[Glebe]

Must be one of those "manilla effects" I hear the millennials talking about.

Named after Nelson Manilla.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Must be one of those "manilla effects" I hear the millennials talking about.

Like when you say something is beige, boring and manilla?

[Twonty Gostelow]

Anyone else want to repeat Replies' joke?

[thenoise]

*Paul Merton pulls a face, which inexplicably gets a bigger laugh than the original joke

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

That Innes documentary is lovely. You should all listen to it. NOW.

[Retinend]

At 16 minutes 30 seconds there's an interesting observation about fashion in the 60s:

The voice of Rodney Slater, talking of Stanshall, says that they had an immediate connection because they didn't wear what you were supposed to wear. What's more, back in those days you had to fight to wear any clothes that hadn't been designed by some posh old boy with stuffy notions and "a very nice accent" (hilarious little moment when he says this). There's a certain irony to how he says it, since it was obviously not only in the fashion world that this patrician attitude felt suffocating. Also interesting to compare this to the state of rebellion in the USA, which was similar yet different.

It reminds me of what Chris Morris said to Adam Buxton this year: that there was always a patrician attitude at the BBC - a snobbish adherence to custom - that he felt it was his life work to bring down a peg.

What occurs to me is that, as much as Morris and Innes were on the arty fringes of the establishment of their day, by the standards of most "middle class" people today, these figures would be identified as "of the establishment" for the manner in which they talk, their gentlemanly demeanours, and, of course, the upbringing they benefited from when one looks closer into it.

Comparing Innes to, say, those grammar school boys, the Beatles, there is no doubt that, although they were good friends, that they would have been keenly aware of these differences in education/privilege.

Given the reverse snobbery that rose up about class in that epoch, it seems that having gone to art school was a decent defense against (fair) accusations that one had been brought up with a silver spoon in the mouth. Hence the popularity of art school in the 70s and into 80s, as my own dad was coming of age. That said, he went to a small polytechnic and had no ambition to escape any burden of privilege (which didn't exist in his case)... but still, I could relate to Innes somewhat when he talked about art school.

That went a bit long/personal by the end! Fuckit post (if I'm distorting history, please set me straight)

[Retinend]

Episode 2 airs in one hour:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q963

[Retinend]

Fun fact from the end of the recent episode: when Yo La Tengo were in town Innes would often play with them!

[ajsmith2]

Apparently they did Mr Apollo with Innes with Robyn Hitchcock doing the Viv parts. I remember a gig review in the NME circa 99/00 noting that anyway.

[Botty Cello]

Neil Innes did some cracking comedy songs, his French one that ended on the punchline "Mitterrand" stuck in my head forever. RIP Neil.

[Replies From View]

I keep getting stung by this thread.  Fuck's sake.

[DrGreggles]

Maybe Neil deserves a separate tribute/celebration thread.

[Twonty Gostelow]

In case anyone needs reminding, all three series of The Innes Book of Records went up on youtube last month.