Vivian Stanshall BBC4 documentary

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Christopher J, Jun 25, 2004.

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  1. Christopher J

    Christopher J Norme Con Ironie Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    I just finished watching the BBC4 documentary about the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band's Viv Stanshall, The Canyons of His Mind. Lots of great performance clips, including footage from Do Not Adjust Your Set and Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage that I would have assumed lost. As with most docs you end up wishing every clip was shown in its entirety, and it just shows how overdue the Bonzos are for a DVD compilation. The anecdotes are what really make retrospectives like this, my favorites being: the band getting pulled over by cops during their first American tour with Legs Larry Smith wearing pants made from Holiday Inn towels; Stanshall using expensive rehearsal space to build rabbit hutches; Neil Innes getting fined for damage done to a grand piano during an especially enthusiastic performance of "Blue Suede Shoes." Hopefully we'll see a resurgence in interest in the Bonzos if this doc gets wider distribution. BBC4 has been showing some great stuff lately - I just saw A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake the other day(although personally I think that doc is a failure). Hoping to see Here's A Piano I Prepared Earlier(great title, that) about John Cage and experimental music in the '60s sometime next week.

    Pics:
    a)performing "Canyons of Your Mind"
    b)"Blue Suede Shoes" and a piano gets kicked
    c)a very bald Neil Innes plays "I'm Going To Bring A Watermelon To My Girl Tonight"
    d)the band rides a big train in their film Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage
     

    Attached Files:

  2. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
    Boomer OK
    I sure wish they'd release some of these docs for general sale on DVD. Folks in the States are unlikely ever to see them.

    There are clips, by the way, of the Bonzos on the British Pathe archive website:

    www.britishpathe.com
     
  3. Mick Jones

    Mick Jones Senior Member

    Well it seems that Christopher J in Fort Worth Texas has no problem in getting to see them!
     
  4. Christopher J

    Christopher J Norme Con Ironie Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX

    Yeah, I don't know if it's cool to spell this out, but anyone with a decent Usenet server and a litle space on their HD can get a hold of many different BBC4 and other program(me)s. It also helps to have a PAL compatible DVD player, but a computer monitor will do. :righton:
     
  5. Ere

    Ere Senior Member

    Location:
    The Silver Spring
    "It'll take 50 quid to put that right!" :D
     
  6. reechie

    reechie Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Aw geez, this is making me jealous. I wish I knew what it'd take to get them to show this on American TV.
     
  7. Ere

    Ere Senior Member

    Location:
    The Silver Spring
    Heck, now that I set my DVD player to translate Region 2 DVDs, I'd just be happy if they'd start releasing them!
     
  8. reechie

    reechie Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore
    Heck, now that I think of it, I don't think there's any Bonzo's stuff of any kind in print in the USA, is there?
     
  9. sharedon

    sharedon Forum Zonophone

    Location:
    Boomer OK
    Their import stuff is easily available in the US, thank goodness; dunno if the Rhino comp. is still in print, and the One Ways must be vanishing by now.
     
  10. Tetrack

    Tetrack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland, UK.
    I posted about BBC4 last week and the 60s season that is on this month. This excellent doc was shown as part but keep an eye out for any episodes of the 10-part "Sounds of the Sixties" series, as it includes the "Canyons" clip in full(see link).

    Sounds of the Sixties
     
  11. I purchased the Rhino comp CD when it first came out, along with a single disc EMI comp CD, called, IIRC, Bestiality. :laugh:
    Maybe one day BBC Canada will run this documentary. :sigh:
     
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