Neil Innes talks Bonzos, Beatles, Rutles and more
He's been a Bonzo and a Rutle, appeared on film alongside Pythons and Beatles, written everything from kid's TV shows to hit singles, and kept a sense of humour throughout it all. Neil Innes has had the sort of career that could never have been planned, and has been all the better for it. We caught up with Neil to talk everything from appearing in Magical Mystery Tour to the knowledge of the ancients, the birth of The Rutles and the importance of finding the fun in everything you do...
What drew you to music initially? Were you from a musical household? "My dad used to amuse us with a guitar, and sing terrible old Scottish songs about dead horses. You know, 'there's a bridle hanging on the wall,' or 'don't go down the mine dadd there's plenty of coal in the bin.' They were wonderful, they've stuck with me all my life. "Then I got piano lessons when I was seven, and I was quite interested with that. There was a critical day when I had to play something different with my left hand to my right hand, and I declared at the age of seven that it was impossible. I had this really gentle teacher, he was a German guy because we lived in German – my father was in the army – and he said 'well, if you observe me closely, you will see that my left hand is doing something different to the right hand!' rt, I think."
Source: Music Radar
