Neil Innes and The Rutles

Neil Innes ~ British singer and comedian with The Bonzo Dog Band, the Rutles and Monty Python

THE RUTLES ~ "I MUST BE IN LOVE";


Innes got his start in the late sixties with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, who mixed contemporary Brit Beat pop with Dada and absurdist satire which got them a cult following (especially among critics) but only one real hit with "I'm The Urban Spaceman". They also got the attention of the Beatles who invited them to join in "The Magical Mystery Tour" with the song "Death Cab For Cutie" which would also inspire the later indie band of the same name. Another song "Trouser Press" would inspire the name of a 1980's New Wave music magazine. After the Bonzos broke up Innes founded two other bands The World and GRIMMS who released a few albums with little success. By the early 70's he was collaborating with Monty Python on various musical numbers without officially joining the troupe.

THE BONZO DOG BAND ~ "I'M THE URBAN SPACEMAN";


Starting in 1975 Innes collaborated with Python member Eric Idle to form The Rutles a Beatles parody band who started out as part of a TV series and then a full length special "The Rutles; All You Need Is Cash" which would include cameos by various members of Monty Python (Micheal Palin) and Saturday Night Live (John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Al Franken, Tom Davis), plus George Harrison, Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger and Paul Simon. Following this there would be a full album which included Beatles songs so realistic that the Beatles publishers actually sued Innes & Palin. To get out of the suit Innes had to give the not-terribly-convincing testimony that he had never actually heard the original songs. Even more comically many years later Innes would sue Oasis for plagiarizing the Rutles.

THE RUTLES ~ "GET UP & GO";


In later years Innes would do other British comedy and kids TV shows and occasional Rutles reunions.

THE RUTLES ~ "PIGGY IN THE MIDDLE";

Some Australian New Wave Figures

Martin Armiger ~ 61 ~ Guitarist with Australian New Wave band The Sports ("Who Listens To The Radio")

THE SPORTS ~ "WHO LISTENS TO THE RADIO":




Greedy Smith ~ 63 ~ Singer with 1980's Australian New Wave band Mental As Anything

MENTAL AS ANYTHING ~ "THE NIPS ARE GETTING BIGGER";


METAL AS ANYTHING ~ "IF YOU LEAVE ME CAN I COME TOO";


Stuart Fraser ~ 57 ~ Guitarist with Australian New Wave and indie bands Blackfeather, Noiseworks, John Farnham)

NOISEWORKS ~ "NO LIES";

Some Canadian Rockers

Jack Scott ~ 82 ~ Canadian/American 1950's Rockabilly and Country singer ("Goodbye Baby", "Burning Bridges", "The Way I Walk", "Little Sadie", "What In The World's Come Over You"). "The Way I Walk" later covered by Robert Gordon and The Cramps.

JACK SCOTT ~ "GOODBYE BABY";


JACK SCOTT ~ "WHAT IN THE WORLD'S COME OVER YOU";


John Dudgeon ~ Singer for 1970's Canadian band Steel River

STEEL RIVER ~ "SOUTHBOUND TRAIN";


Kelly Jay (Fordham) ~ 77 ~ Singer/Keyboardist with 1970's Canadian Rock band Crowbar ("Oh What A Feeling") and Ronnie Hawkins and King Biscuit Boy

CROWBAR ~ "FEELING GOOD" (music starts 3 min in);


Mick Tupelo ~ Singer/guitarist with BC Psychobilly band the Deadcats from the 1980's onward

THE DEADCATS;


THE DEADCATS ~ "THE MUNSTERS";


Larry Shelast ~ 50's ~ Drummer with Alberta 1980's & 90's Cowpunk band Jr Gone Wild

JR GONE WILD ~ "WHAT GOES ON";


JR GONE WILD ~ "ONE GUN TOWN";


JR GONE WILD ~ "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU";


Ernie Vlasicks ~ 50's - Guitarist with Toronto Punk band Swamp Baby

SWAMP BABY ~ "YERSTDAY'S GONE";


Bruce Faulkner ~ Drummer for late 80's BC Garage band Bruno Gerussi's Medallion;

BRUNO GERUSSI'S MEDALLION ~ "GINGER'S ALRIGHT";



John Mann ~ 57 ~ Singer/guitarist with BC Folk Rock band Spirit Of The West from the 1980's onward.

SPIRIT OF THE WEST ~ "POLITICAL";


SPIRIT OF THE WEST ~ "AND IF VENICE IS SINKING";


SPIRIT OF THE WEST ~ "HOME FOR A REST";


Kelly Fraser ~ 26 ~ Inuktitut folk & pop singer and songwriter

KELLY FRASER ~ "DIAMONDS" (RIHANNA COVER);


Derek Mok ~ 42 ~ Toronto Folk singer

DEREK MOK ~ "THROUGH THE GLASS";


Carlin Joie Belof ~ Toronto singer/songwriter

Some Figures From The 50's & 60's

Jimmy Cavallo ~ 92 ~ American Singer & sax player with 1950's R&R and R&B group Jimmy Cavallo & the House Rockers ("Rock Rock Rock", "Rock The Joint", The Big Beat"), appeared in the Alan Freed movie "Rock, Rock, Rock".

JIMMY CAVALLO & HIS HOUSE ROCKERS ~ "THE BIG BEAT";


JIMMY CAVALLO & THE HOUSE ROCKERS ~ "ROCK ROCK ROCK";


Jerry Naylor ~ 80 ~ Singer with The Crickets (post Buddy Holly) and solo

THE CRICKETS ~ "MY LITTLE GIRL";


THE CRICKETS ~ "TEARDROPS FALL";


JERRY NAYLOR ~ "CITY LIGHTS";


Rudy Grayzell ~ 1950's Rockabilly and country singer on Sun and Starday Records

RUDY GRAYZELL ~ "DUCKTAIL";


RUDY GRAYZELL ~ "FBI STORY";


Jules Blattner ~ St Louis Rockabilly guitarist/singer with The Teen Tones, Chuck Berry andthe Warren Groovy All Stars

JULES BLATTNER & THE TEENTONES ~ "ROCK & ROLL BLUES";


JULES BLATTNER & THE TEENTONES ~ "NO MONEY DOWN";


JULES BLATTNER ~ "2001 A SOUL ODYSSEY";






Ginger Baker ~ 80 ~ English Hall of Fame drummer with Cream, Blind Faith, Graham Bond Organization, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Public Image Ltd

THE GRAHAM BOND ORGANIZATION ~ "HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN";


CREAM ~ "STRANGE BREW";


CREAM ~ "SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE";


BLIND FAITH ~ "UNDER MY THUMB";


PIL ~ "RISE";



George Chambers ~ 88 ~ Singer & bassist with 1960's Soul/Psychedelic band the Chambers Brothers ("Time Has Come Today")

THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS ~ "TIME HAS COME TODAY";


THE CHAMBERS BROS ~ "PEOPLE GET READY";


THE CHAMBERS BROS ~ "UPTOWN";


Yuya Uchida ~ Percussionist and producer of of 1960's Japanese Psyche band Flower Travellin' Band

THE TRAVELLIN' FLOWER BAND ~ "SATORI";


Kenny Lynch ~ 81 ~ Bahamian/British R&B 1960's singer and actor ("You Can Never Stop Me Loving You", "Crazy Crazes", "Up On The Roof")

KENNY LYNCH ~ "CRAZY CRAZES";


KENNY LYNCH ~ "MONUMENT";


Marie Laforêt ~ 80 ~ French-Swiss 1960's pop singer

MARIE LAFORET ~ "IVAN, BORIS ET MOI";


Browning Bryant ~ 62 ~ South Carolina folk/country teen singer in the early sixties

BROWNING BRYANT ~ "IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MORE";


Clora Bryant ~ 92 ~ Jazz drummer with The International Sweethearts Of Rhythym and The Queens Of Swing and trumpet player with Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and later also a singer

INTRENATIONAL SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHYM ~ "JUMP CHILDREN";


Eddie Duran ~ 94 ~ American Latin Jazz guitarist w/Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Cal Tjander, Vince Guraldi and solo

CAL TJADER & STAN GETZ SEXTET ~ "MY BUDDY";

A Couple Figures From The Avant Garde

Steve Dalachinsky ~ 72 ~ American Beat & Jazz poet and writer

STEVE DALACHINSKY;


Garrett List ~ 76 ~ Italian Jazz & Avant Garde sax player and composer w/John Cage, LaMonte Young and his group Musica Elettronica Viva and film composer for Dada filmmakers Hans Richter & Fernand Leger

MUSICA ELLETTRONICA VIVA ~ "SPACECRAFT";


MUSICA ELLETTRONICA VIVA "2EME PARTIE";


Peter Westergaard ~ 88 ~ American avant garde composer of serial music

PETER WESTERGAARD ~ "SYMPHONIC MOVEMENT"

Some 1970's & 80's Hard Rock & Metal Guys

Mike Wilhelm ~ guitarist with 1960's San Francisco Garage band The Charlatans and 1970's and 80's band the Flaming Groovies

THE CHARLATANS ~ "32/20 Blues";


THE FLAMING GROOVIES ~ "SLOW DEATH";


THE FLAMING GROOVIES ~ "SHAKE SOME ACTION";


Barrie Masters ~ 68 ~ Singer with 1970's Pub Rock band Eddie & the Hot Rods
EDDIE & THE HOT RODS ~ "TEENAGE DEPRESSION";


EDDIE & THE HOT RODS ~ "DO ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO";



Eric Moore (vocals & bass) & Glen Cataline (drummer) of the Godz;

THE GODZ ~ "HE'S A FOOL";


THE GODZ ~ "CANDY'S GOING BAD" (GOLDEN EARING cover);



Larry Wallis ~ 70 ~ English guitarist with 1970's bands the Pink Fairies, Motorhead, Dr Feelgood

LARRY WALLIS ~ "I'M A POLICE CAR";


THE PINK FAIRIES;



Paul Raymond ~ guitarist/keyboardist for UFO, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Danny Kirwin;

SAVOY BROWN ~ "TELL MAMA";


UFO ~ "CHERRY";


Barry Paul - 69 - Guitarist with UK Metal and Hard Rock bands Savoy Brown and the Heavy Metal Kids

THE HEAVY METAL KIDS ~ "HANING ON";


Bernie Torme ~ guitarist for Gillan and Ozzy;

GILLAN ~ "NEW ORLEANS";



Ted McKenna ~ drummer w/Alex Harvey and Rory Gallagher;

THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND ~ "GIDDY UP A DING DONG";



Lizzie Grey (real name; Stephen Perry) ~ 60 ~ Guitarist with Los Angeles Metal bands London (with Niki Sixx and various future members of WASP and Cinderella), Sister (with Blackie Lawless and future members of WASP) and Spiders & Snakes

LONDON ~ "DROP THE BOMB";


SISTER ~ "DON'T KNOW WHO I AM";



Tony Mills ~ 57 ~ Singer with 1980's English and Norwegian Metal bands Shy and TNT

SHY ~ "GIVE IT ALL YOU'VE GOT";


SHY ~ "BREAK DOWN THE WALLS";


TNT ~ "SEVEN SEAS";



Timi Hansen ~ Bassist for Metal bands Mercyful Fate and King Diamond

MERCYFUL FATE ~ "EGYPT";


KING DIAMOND ~ "SLEEPLESS";


Richard Brunelle ~ 55 ~ Guitarist with American Thrash bands Morbid Angel, Paths of Possession

MORBID ANGEL ~ "ENSHRINED BY GRACE";


MORBID ANGEL ~ "BLESSED ARE THE SICK";



Morten Stützer ~ 57 ~ Guitarist with Danish Thrash band Artillery

ARTILLERY ~ "LEGIONS";



Yannis Spathas ~ 68 ~ Guitarist with 1970's hard rock band Greek Socrates Drank the Conium (AKA Socrates)

SOCRATES DRANK THE CONIUM;



Mick Schauer ~ Keyboardist with 1990's American Alt Rock band Clutch

CLUTCH ~ "BURNING BEARD";

Ric Ocasek & Some More New Wave & Punk Figures

The Cars were (along with Blondie) the first American New Wave group to score hits. They were founded by Ohio natives Ric Ocasek (singer, guitarist & main songwriter) and Benjamin Orr (bass & vocals) who started out as a nameless folk duo as early as 1970 before moving to Boston after a few years where they slowly expanded to include Greg Hawkes (keys & sax) and guitarist Elliot Easton as a folk rock group Milkwood. Around 1977 they added drummer David Robinson who was already fairly well known in the Boston underground scene having drummed with Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers, DMZ and The Pop. By this time the band was embracing the New Wave sounds of Blondie and Roxy Music and Robinson suggested a name change from Milkwood (a Dylan Thomas reference) to the more modern sounding The Cars.

THE CARS ~ "JUST WHAT I NEEDED";


The first album came out in 1978 and was an immediate smash with it's icy, spacey sound and tightly constructed songs. The entire album sounds like a greatest hits collection and fired off a series instant classics; "My Best Friend's Girl", "Just What I Needed", "Moving In Stereo", "Don't Ya Stop" keeping the album on the charts for the next two years. The next three albums carried on in the same vein with 1984's "Heartbeat City" being their last major hit album with hits in; "Hello Again", "You Might Think", "Magic" and the ballad "Drive". It also was the first time the Cars paid any real attention to videos in a collaboration with Andy Warhol to make some splashy videos that dominated MTV and Much Music for the next few years. This would be Warhol's last major project.

THE CARS ~ "LET'S GO";


By this time the Cars had long been considered as a mainstream band, albeit a likable one, and not associated with the underground scene and the next album 1987's "Door To Door" stiffed and that was basically it. The band broke up somewhat acrimoniously. Ocasek would have some minor solo success (as would Orr) but would be better known as a producer with notable alternative and underground bands like Suicide, Bad Brains, Romeo Void, Hole, Nada Surf, Bad Religion, Black 47, Guided by Voices, Weezer, Bebe Buell, No Doubt, Johnny Bravo, D Generation, Possum Dixon, Martin Rev and going full circle, Jonathan Richman.

Ben Orr died in 2000 and Ocasek shunned any band reunions saying he had no desire to perform live and was especially not interested in touring. The Cars did do a reunion tour without him in 2005-06 with Todd Rundgren on vocals which Ocasek at first gave legal permission for but then mocked, as did most fans. There would finally be a proper reunion (without Orr of course) in 2016 with a new album and tour. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2018 which would be their last gig. Ric Ocasek was found dead of heart disease in his New York townhouse this September 15 aged 74.

THE CARS ~ "SHAKE IT UP";



Roy Loney ~ 72 ~ Singer/guitarist with 1970's San Francisco Proto-Punk band The Flamin' Groovies and the Phantom Movers. The Flamin Groovies were one of the handful of Proto-Punk bands cited as one of the founders of the later Punk scene. Starting in San Francisco as early as 1965 as a garage band and recorded several influential near hits like "Teenage Head", "Slow Death" and "Shake Some Action" which have been covered by many punk bands while the Hamilton band Teenage Head obviously took their name from the Groovies song. Loney later left the band and formed his own band the Phantom Movers.

THE FLAMING GROOVIES ~ "SLOW DEATH";


Kim Shattuck ~ 56 ~ American singer, songwriter and guitarist with punk bands The Muffs, The Pandoras, Pixies

THE PANDORAS ~ "STOP PRETENDING";


THE MUFFS ~ "WEIRD BOY NEXT DOOR";



Frank Stumpo ~ Singer/guitarist with 1980's NY Psyche Garage band Plan 9

PLAN 9 ~ "KEEP YOUR COOL";


PLAN 9 ~ "FRUSTRATION";



Tim Gassen ~ Singer for 1980's Garage Psych band The Marshmallow Overcoat;

THE MARSHMALLOW OVERCOAT ~ "13 GHOSTS";


THE MARSHMALLOW OVERCOAT ~ "THE MUMMY";


Hans Ingemansson ~ Organist for 1980's Swedish Garage Rockers The Creeps, not to be confused wit the various other bands with the same name.


THE CREEPS ~ "DON'T GO AWAY";



Dave Riley ~ 59 ~ Bassist for Chicago Noise Bands Big Black and Alegbra Suicide, bassist and engineer for George Clinton

BIG BLACK ~ "BAD PENNY";


BIG BLACK ~ "KEROSENE";



Gilles Bertin ~ 58 ~ Singer/bassist with 1980's French punk band Camera Silens

CAMERA SILENS ~ 58 ~ "REALITE";


CAMERA SILENS ~ "POUR LA GLORIE";


Marie Fredriksson ~ 61 ~ Swedish singer-songwriter with 1980's New Wave band Strul and 1990's pop band Roxette ("Joy Ride", "Must Have Been Love")

STRUL;


ROXETTE ~ "JOYRIDE";


ROXETTE ~ "THE LOOK";


ROXETTE ~ "MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE";



Ivan Maksimović ~ 57 ~ Guitarist with Serbian bands Metro, The No Smoking Orchestra

METRO ~ "ONA JE KAO ZVER";


NO SMOKING ORCH ~ "UNZA UNZA TIME";


Alexandr Vasilyev ~ Drummer with 1980's Russian New Wave bands Center and Joanna Stingray

STINGRAY;


STINGRAY ~ "DANGER";




Daniel Johnston ~ 58 ~ American 1990's underground singer-songwriter and artist

DANIEL JOHNSON ~ "TRUE LOVE WILL FIND YOU IN THE END";


DANIEL JOHNSON & THE SWELL SEASON ~ "LIFE IN VAIN";