"Without laughter, Life would be very miserable. Music is purely and beautifully abstract... Logic and Reason have their place but we need music and laughter to rattle the chains of Reality"

Neil Innes: Words of Innespiration

Neil Innes is a British writer and performer of comic songs, best known for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles. Probably the most important figure in British musical comedy since the heyday of vaudeville, Neil Innes is that rarity among musical comedians, a side-splitting satirist who can also write perfectly straightforward, catchy pop songs.
Innes was the musical leader of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. His talent for melding sharply satiric lyrics with sweetly catchy pop songs in a variety of musical styles was the secret weapon that kept the group from being just a wacky British version of the Mothers of Invention. Over the course of the group's four albums, Innes subtly moved the group's focus from '20s jazz to '60s pop. Innes was also the unofficial seventh member of Monty Python. Contributing songs to Python's stage show, albums, and films, and even acting in a few sketches in the last year of their television series, Innes eventually became an integral part of this classic comedy troupe. He appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, playing a head-bashing monk and the leader of Sir Robin's minstrels, and in Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky
In the 1970s, Innes joined with Eric Idle, of the Monty Python team, to create the television comedy series Rutland Weekend Television. This show spawned The Rutles, a Beatles parody band, in which Innes played the character of Ron Nasty, who was loosely based on John Lennon. On BBC television, he performed songs and sketches in The Innes Book of Records, punning on the Guinness Book of Records.
During the 1980s, Innes found a new, younger audience, when he played the role of the Wizard in the children's television series Puddle Lane. He also wrote and voiced the 1980s Children's cartoon adventures of The Raggy Dolls, a motley collection of 'rejects' from a toy factory.

Interview by Michael Limnios

What characterize the philosophy of Neil Innes about the music and…life?
Duke Ellington said there are 2 kinds of music – good and bad.  Life is full of such opposite Truths. There are 2 kinds of everything – and millions of other little pieces in between.

What do you learn about yourself from the music and humor, what does satire mean to you?
When I was young I believed that satire could make a difference and change things for the better. 40 years later all I have achieved is a state of graceful futility.

If you go back to the past what things you would do better and what things you would a void to do again?
It is pointless to have regrets for bad decisions in the past. If things go wrong you can learn from such mistakes. Anyway, Time is not natural it is man-made. We are constantly on the precise spot where the Past and the Future meet – an infinite Infinity. I love Infinity. I just can’t get enough of it.

What MOTTO of yours you would like to stay forever?
«I have suffered for my music now it’s your turn»

Satire, humor and music…can these confront the “prison” of the spirit and mind?
Without laughter, Life would be very miserable. Music is purely and beautifully abstract... Logic and Reason have their place but we need music and laughter to rattle the chains of Reality.

What was the relation between music, satire - humor and activism?
Incest?

What would be your first decisions as minister of education…and culture?
All children from the earliest age would be taught Economics and Drama. No other subjects. Economics bring all subjects together, from playing shops and counting money to learning where commodities come from and the laws of supply and demand. All useful tools for life. Drama – not (Show Business!) because it is important for everyone to be able to imagine what it is like to be someone else.

Do you believe that nowadays there’re things to change in any level?
We should all refuse to watch Television News. It is no longer a part of Reality. It is Emotional Engineering.

Do you remember anything funny or interesting from The Secret Policeman's Ball?
No! I went on far too long... past my bedtime...

How you would spend a day with Brian? What would you like to ask Sir Robin? What would you say to Beatles?
I once met Brian Wilson – he loves the Rutles! Not sure about Brian of Nazareth...
I would ask Sir Robin to change his underwear...
I said Hello to the Beatles – but never Goodbye...

Which memory from the Rutles makes you smile?
Ricki Fataar could not stop laughing when apples kept hitting his head. He was supposed to say «Ouch!»

What are some of the most memorable tales with Monty Python?
At the party for the end of filming Life Of Brian, John Cleese was lecturing Terry  Gilliam about something. It looked very serious. Eric, Michael and I noticed Terry was uncomfortable. I decided to go and «rescue» him. I went up to their table and said: «Come on John, it’s a party – how about a dance?»
He looked at me in such a way that told me I was not being funny.  He said «No!»
I shrugged and went away.  2 minutes later I returned.
«Come on John...»
I was not only unfunny I was a nuisance. «Go away!»
I shrugged again. 3 minutes later...
«John! It’s a party...»
«NO!»
«How about a kiss then?»
«FUCK OFF!»
I paused, for as long as he did in the film...
«...um... how shall I fuck off?»
Yes – I made him laugh. A triumph!

What is the “feel” you miss most nowaydays from the Monty Python “family”?
Any group is stronger than any one member alone; it was the same with the Bonzos. I miss that «strength».

Why did you think that the Monty Python continued to generate such a devoted following?
Monty Python always assumes you are intelligent – and silly!

Are there any memories the Bonzo Dog band, which you’d like to share with us?
Listen to my CD «Innes Own World – Best Bits – Part 2». There’s a true story of how the Bonzos were stopped by Police in the USA... [CD available only from www.innesbookofrecords.com]

Which is the most interesting period in your life and why?
The future- because it will be a surprise

Which of historical personalities would you like to meet?
Socrates. Honestly! I am such a fan...

Which was the best moment of your career and which was the worst?
Now is the best – because I can enjoy it more.
Now is the worst – because I don’t have enough time…

What experiences in your life make you a good songwriter and…person?
I was born with a keen sense of Objectivity and so I know for sure that I am not yet a good enough songwriter and... person. Ask my wife!

Neil Innes - Official website

                                                                                                         Photo by Lindsay