大象传媒

Diane Morgan concludes her celebration of the life and work of Neil Innes, the music and comedy legend of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band & The Rutles.

A towering talent, occasionally known as the 7th Python & regularly found with a duck on his head. His legacy of music and comedy is rich, inspiring and inspired.

Neil said of his work, 鈥淪hakespeare wrote comedies as well as dramas. I鈥檓 just like Shakespeare, except with better songs.鈥�

His influence permeates modern comedy and his back catalogue is diverse and prolific. Neil wrote and performed anarchic rock with The Bonzos, he penned and performed pitch-perfect pastiches of the Beatles for The Rutles, he appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python鈥檚 Life of Brian and he is one of only two non-Pythons with a writing credit on Monty Python鈥檚 Flying Circus 鈥� the other being Douglas Adams. He released over 20 albums including How Sweet To Be An Idiot, Innes Book of Records, and Recycled Vinyl Blues. And on top of being comedically and musically gifted, he was also a really nice man. A beautiful, kind, gentle soul. Considered, absurd, and delightful.

This is a celebration of Neil's life, work and absurdist tendencies via a collage of scraps and archive.

Featuring conversations with family, friends and fans. Including his wife Yvonne, Stephen Fry, Arthur Smith, bandmates Phil Jackson and Ken Thornton, John Halsey (better known to Rutles fans as Barry Wom), producer Ian Keill, and Michael Palin.

In the last of three parts, Diane takes a look at Neil's work with the Monty Python team on television, film and record, his work with Eric Idle on Rutland Weekend Television and The Rutles, and how the fictional outfit with a "legend that would last a lifetime" became a living, breathing, and touring band with adoring fans.

Neil died in December 2019 aged 75. At the time of his death, he was working on a new album, and a project called Radio Noir, part-audio memoir, part-experimental work of art, part- exploration of the human brain and you will hear some extracts and some unreleased songs throughout the programme.

Written and produced by Laura Grimshaw.

Made for 大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in December 2020.

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