Have we done a Bonzo Dog Band thread before?
I've been a big fan since 'discovering' them in 1969. In their original form they put out only four albums:
- Gorilla (1967)
- The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse (1968)
- Tadpoles (1969)
- Keynsham (1969)
After which they broke up. However the inevitable "contractual obligation album," featuring just Viv Stanshall, Neil Innes and Dennis Cowan, appeared a couple years later:
- Let's Make Up and Be Friendly (1972)
That was it for the original set. Various "best of" and "anthology" and "history of" releases, and at least two Peel Sessions albums, kept the name active throughout the seventies.
In 1988 most of the band reconvened to record "No Matter Who You Vote For, the Government Always Gets In (Heigh Ho)" whose lyrics are still uber-appropriate today:Stanshall, of course, died tragically in a house fire in 1995 (a whole thread about HIM could be possible!)Oh great, great slumbering nation
Awake! Set yourself free
Oh! Smell the comforting bacon, taste the bromide tea
And give a little chirrup as I ladle on the syrup
Promises are cheap
Let me bear your crosses, make me boss of bosses
Then you go back to sleep (Ha ha ha)
Hey-Ho!
Don't worry! Pop your cross in the bin (Hey-Ho! Hey-Ho!)
No matter who you vote for, the government always gets in
Hey-Ho!
On January 28, 2006, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Bonzo's first single, all the surviving members (RIP Viv, RIP Dennis Cowan) put on a concert in London's Astoria theater. It was appropriately chaotic, under-rehearsed and full of gags. It was released on DVD in June of that year, and also as an audio CD "Wrestle Poodles... And Win!" Excerpts from that concert (on DVD), along with a new album (on CD) written mostly by Neil Innes and featuring everybody, called "Pour l'amour des Chiens" (For the love of dogs) was released the following year in 2007. The new album is really pretty darn good... though of course the Bonzos without Viv are somehow lacking.
In 2010 a collection called "Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us," featuring novelty numbers from the 1920s and 1930s that were later covered by the Bonzos, but appearing here in their original versions, was released. It's surprisingly Bonzoesque.
I've been geeking out to all of the above this week. Would love to hear anybody else's stories of seeing / hearing the BDD-DB.
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