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Home
Authors
Neil Innes
British
Writer
About the author
I mean Gorilla was really our first sort of goes at songwriting.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#First
It was just us lampooning our own peer group, saying, well hey, where did this stuff come from? And where does British guys get to be so good at it suddenly?
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Saying
Ladies and gentleman, I've suffered for my music, now it's your turn.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Now
#Music
#Ladies
#Gentleman
Larry only ever wrote one song, and he wrote that with Tony Kaye, I think it was, from Yes.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Song
Eric Clapton always wanted to come out onstage with a stuffed parrot on his shoulder.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
So we used to look for funny songs, and learn them and play them. And we used to play them in pubs.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Songs
#Play
#Funny
Viv had this kind of stage presence where you couldn't ignore it. He walked onstage, he looked dangerous. You just didn't know what he was going to do.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
I suppose Roger had the license to do anything that fitted the venue.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
I see my role in the Bonzos as being the straight man, in many ways.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Being
#Man
We weren't by any means like the Grateful Dead or something, who could just roll on and on and on.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
I wasn't aware that Track Records were interested in the Bonzos.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
I mean in recent years, I think you've only got to sell thirty or forty thousand to get a #1.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Years
And Roger was crazy with his robots and everything.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
In many ways, Viv and I were the only ones who were really songwriters.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
We weren't going to play the show-biz game, and be obsequious.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Play
In fact, Moon came on tour with us for a bit just before a big festival in Brighton, I think.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Fact
#Moon
As I said, when we needed to move over to rock'n'roll, Sam and Vernon couldn't quite make the shift. So that's when Larry took over on drums, and we needed a bass player.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
Because Larry, by then, was a drummer, who would sort of get bored and tired, and rather stand up and blow kisses to people. So we needed the bass to sort of drive along.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#People
#Kisses
But Dennis was a really solid musician, and we really needed somebody who could play bass like him.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Play
But I mean, again, Zappa's far more musical than the Bonzos ever were.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
But mostly, I wrote songs and Viv wrote songs.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Songs
We then took a shortened version of what we'd been doing in the pubs, with the best gags and things like that, out to cabaret clubs and things in the north of England for six weeks. And we became a big success.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Success
#England
But we used to go to flea markets and things, and look for old 78 records that had silly song titles.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Old
#Song
#Silly
#Titles
I suppose we all loved those kind of sci-fi movies where terrible things came out of swamps and came to Mars. And there's usually some poor girl. All the guys are trying to desperately handle levers and saying, go to something or other.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Saying
#Poor
#Trying
#Movies
I think most musicians do like to have a laugh.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Musicians
I used to help Viv with the chords and melodies sometimes.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Help
But I remember we sold nearly 18,000 records in one day.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Day
When we did Top of the Pops for the third time, we decided to do it as a television program here called Come Dancing, which is not as rude as it sounds.
Neil Innes,
British
Writer
#Time
#Television
#Dancing