“The first time I met Neil Innes was when he and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band appeared on the late-’60s satirical telly show, Do Not Adjust Your Set,” remembers Sir Michael Palin.
“Most of the Pythons were on the show at one time or another and we all loved the Bonzos because they were so... unpredictable. There really was no other band like them at the time. Monty Python was about experimentation with comedy; Neil and the Bonzos were doing the same with music. It was the ‘60s and suddenly there were no rules. Such a wonderfully creative period.’
Palin explains that he always saw Neil Innes - who died in 2019, aged 75 - as the steady hand on the Bonzos’ tiller. A fantastically talented musician and lyricist who provided meat ‘n’ taters to the band’s defiantly unorthodox menu. It was Innes who wrote the Bonzos’ biggest hit, I’m the Urban Spaceman in 1968. As well as being a Top 5 hit, it picked up one of that year’s Ivor Novello Awards.
“Musical comedy - good musical comedy - isn’t easy,” reckons Palin. “Just because you can write a decent joke and a decent tune, doesn’t mean they will fit together. And when we started Python, there wasn’t really a musical element to what we did. Yes, Eric loved music, but none of us were what you’d call virtuoso musicians. It was only when we started playing live and working on the first feature film, Holy Grail, that the idea of musical interludes began to take shape. We all knew Neil and he was the first person we thought of.
“And the great thing was that we trusted him. We felt confident that he would know what we wanted. So, we’d look at the Camelot bit in Holy Grail and say, ‘Right, we need a funny song here’. Next morning, Neil would sit down at the piano and play Knights of the Round Table. Brilliant!
“By that point, he’d become a key member of the Python team - we always regarded Neil and Carol Cleveland as the joint ‘Seventh Pythons’ - and would often come out on tour with us. One of the highlights of every show was his solo spot, playing How Sweet To Be An Idiot. Normally, when there was a break, we’d all grab a sandwich or go to the loo, but we always used to stand at the side of the stage for that. Those lyrics... ‘as much imagination as a caravan site’, ‘as harmless as a cloud’. Real poetry. That was the genius of Neil: he could spoof the idea of the sensitive songwriter but still infuse it with heartfelt emotion. It always got the biggest applause of the night!
“And it was the song we sang at Terry Jones’ funeral.”
When I mention the Innes’ legal action with Oasis over the similarities between How Sweet and their 1994 single, Whatever, Palin shakes his head. “So, this thing went to court? And Neil’s now got a songwriting credit on an Oasis track? I can only assume I was on one of my big trips at the time but it just shows you how good his music was.
“That reminds me,’ he adds with a grin, “someone told me that Russell Crowe based Maximus on Neil Innes’ character in Life of Brian. He’s made to fight a gladiator but simply runs away and the gladiator, who starts chasing him around the Coliseum, has a heart attack. I’m not sure if that story is true, but if it is, it’s yet another reminder of Neil’s impact on popular culture!’”
Palin, of course, was involved in several of the Pythons’ most famous musical moments - he wrote Finland and co-wrote The Lumberjack Song with Terry Jones.
“It was only with Neil’s encouragement that I had the confidence to have a go at music,” he admits. “He was always saying, ‘Well, why don’t you have a go?’ In telly and film, you come across lots of people who put obstacles in your way. Neil was the complete opposite. ‘Try it. What’s the worst that can happen?’ So, when Terry and I were struggling to find an ending for a sketch we wrote about this homicidal maniac barber, I said, “What about if he suddenly bursts into song? All about how he hates being a barber and he really wants to be a... lumberjack’. I’d never considered myself a lyric writer, but me and Terry put it together in about 15 minutes. Then, we went to the pub!
“I’m not in any way trying to compare what I was doing with Neil. Musically, he was in another universe. Look at what he did with The Rutles. To take one of the greatest musical catalogues of all time, then put together an album that referenced The Beatles but, at the same time, added a dash humour and still managed to stand alone as a decent set of songs. From what we heard at the time - I was interviewed by George Harrison in the film - the Beatles were very supportive of what Neil had done.”
We spoke to Palin sortly before he was joined by his Python mate, Terry Gilliam, for A Celebration Of The Life Of Neil Innes: How Sweet To Be An Idiot at Indigo at O2 in London. Also scheduled to be on stage were the likes of The Rutles, Yo La Tengo, Adrian Edmondson, Phill Jupitus and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
“Yes, there will be a lot of Neil’s music being played on the night but, first and foremost, I wanted to be there because Neil was... a friend,” says Palin. “I enjoyed his company immensely. Our families often travelled together and we always had great fun. I remember being in New York with him for a run of Python shows and I completely lost my voice. The management brought in all these doctors and specialists, but nothing worked. Then, about half an hour before I was due to go on stage, I saw Neil and tried to explain that I couldn’t go on.
“Anyway, he disappeared for a minute and reappeared with a half bottle of Scotch. ‘Have a couple of large ones... that’ll sort you out.’ And it worked! Didn’t bring my voice back but by the time I was on stage, I was so drunk I didn’t care!’
Michael Palin’s favourite musical comedy acts
Neil Innes
“Neil has to be at number one. I worked with him for so long... I saw what he was capable of. I saw him sing How Sweet To Be An Idiot, completely deadpan, with a plastic chicken stuck on his head. I still miss him.”
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
“What I really loved about watching the band performing on [the ‘60s comedy show] Do Not Adjust Your Set was what they managed to get away with. They were singing all about sex and drugs, but the producers thought they were getting family-friendly laughs.”
Flanders and Swann
“Like a lot of kids in the ‘50s, I listened to Flanders and Swann. Because it was the ‘50s, it was quite gentle... witty rather than revolutionary. In the tradition of the old music hall acts. But it was also very funny.”
Beyond Our Ken/Round The Horne
“There were various comedy/musical sections to both of these classic radio shows. And they often involved Kenneth Williams. Again, I was amazed at what they managed to get away with. I’m pretty sure the BBC had no idea what some of those songs were really about!”
Tom Lehrer
"Before Do Not Adjust Your Set, we had David Frost and That Was The Week That Was, which helped kickstart the whole satire thing in the ‘60s. Tom Lehrer provided some of the music for the US version of the show and then appeared on The Frost Report back in the UK. He was quite political at times, writing songs about Civil Rights or campaigning for the Democrats. And then he’d come out with Poisoning Pigeons in the Park or The Masochism Tango.”
