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{{Short description|Parody group of The Beatles}}
[[Image:rutles_smaller.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''The Rutles'']]
{{More citations needed|date=October 2019}}
'''The Rutles''' was a parody of [[The Beatles]], jointly created by [[Eric Idle]] and [[Neil Innes]]. The fictional group is best known for the 1978 [[mockumentary]] film about them, entitled ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' (often referred to as just ''The Rutles''). Its tagline is: 'The musical legend which will last a lunchtime.' The film was written by Idle, who also co-directed with Gary Weis, and featured 20 songs (many of them prominently) written by Innes.
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name = The Rutles
| image = The Rutles.jpg
| landscape = yes
| caption = The Rutles in ''All You Need Is Cash''. From left: [[Eric Idle]], [[Ricky Fataar]], [[John Halsey (musician)|John Halsey]], [[Neil Innes]].
| image_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| background = group_or_band
| alias =
| origin = [[Rutland]], England
| genre = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[Parody music|parody]], [[comedy rock]], {{nowrap|[[rock and roll]]}}
| years_active = 1975–1978, 1996–1997, 2002–2019
| label = [[Warner Records|Warner Bros.]], [[Rhino Records|Rhino]], [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
| associated_acts = [[The Beatles]], [[Monty Python]], [[Bonzo Dog Band|Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]], [[George Harrison]], [[Timebox (band)|Timebox]], [[The Flames]]
| website = {{URL|http://www.rutles.org/}}
| past_members = {{plainlist|
*[[John Halsey (musician)|John Halsey]]
*Ken Thornton
*Phil Jackson
*[[David Catlin-Birch]]
*[[Neil Innes]]
*[[Eric Idle]]
*[[Ricky Fataar]]
*[[Ollie Halsall]]
*[[David Battley]]
*Malcolm Foster
*Doug Boyle
*[[Mickey Simmonds]]
*[[Mark Griffiths (musician)|Mark Griffiths]]
*[[Billy Bremner (musician)|Billy Bremner]]
*Andy Brown
*Roger Rettig
*Brian Hodgson
*J. J. Jones
*Jay Goodrich
}}
}}
'''The Rutles''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ʌ|t|əl|z}}) were a [[rock band]] that performed visual and aural [[pastiche]]s and parodies of [[the Beatles]]. This originally fictional band, created by [[Eric Idle]] and [[Neil Innes]] for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series ''[[Rutland Weekend Television]]'', later toured and recorded, releasing two studio albums and garnering two UK chart hits. The band toured again from 2002 until Innes's death in 2019.


Encouraged by the positive public reaction to the sketch, Idle wrote the [[mockumentary]] television film ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' (1978, {{aka}} ''The Rutles''). Idle co-directed the film with [[Gary Weis]]; it features 20 Beatles' music pastiches written by Innes, which he performed with three musicians as the Rutles. A soundtrack album in 1978 was followed in 1996 by ''[[Archaeology (album)|Archaeology]]'', which spoofed the then-recent ''[[Beatles Anthology]]'' series. A second film, ''[[The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch]]'' (modelled on the 2000 TV special ''The Beatles Revolution''), was made in 2002 and released in the US on DVD in 2003.
A follow-up, ''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'', was made in 2002, but was not released for over a year. It is still unavailable in Britain.


==The band==
==History==
===''Rutland Weekend Television'' (1975–76)===
The Rutles members in ''All You Need Is Cash'' were:
The Rutles were foreshadowed in episode 3 of [[Eric Idle]]'s 1975 BBC television series ''[[Rutland Weekend Television]]'', in which Neil Innes accompanied himself on a piano singing what later became the song "Good Times Roll" (included on the Rutles' first, self-titled album in 1978). The Rutles themselves first appeared in a [[Sketch comedy|sketch]] later in 1975,<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor-first=Colin|editor-last=Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=1049}}</ref> which presented a mock mini-documentary about the fictional 1960s band. The sketch featured [[Neil Innes]] (formerly of the [[Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band]] and a frequent [[Monty Python]] collaborator) fronting the band, singing "I Must Be in Love", a [[pastiche]] of [[Lennon–McCartney|Lennon and McCartney]]'s 1964 style.<ref name="Larkin"/>
* Ron Nasty (''[[John Lennon]]'') -- played by [[Neil Innes]];
* Dirk McQuickly (''[[Paul McCartney]]'') -- played by [[Eric Idle]] (singing voice was [[Ollie Halsall]]);
* Stig O'Hara (''[[George Harrison]]'') -- played by [[Ricky Fataar]];
* [[Barry Wom]] (born Barrington Womble) (''[[Ringo Starr]]'') -- played by John Halsey (the character's truncated last name was an affectionate play on how Ringo had changed his real surname of 'Starkey' to 'Starr');
* (Hamburg only) 'Leppo, The Fifth Rutle' (''[[Stuart Sutcliffe|Stu Sutcliffe]]'') -- seen only in a still photograph in the film - the photo showed Ollie Halsall, who actually played and sang on the soundtrack. (Halsall, in real life, was one of the four musicians who performed all The Rutles' music, the others being Innes, Halsey and Fataar. Idle did not actually play or sing on the soundtrack, as he was recuperating from an [[appendectomy]].)


The sketch was the work of Innes and Idle.<ref name="Larkin"/> Innes was the musician and composer for Rutland Weekend Television, and he routinely created songs along with ideas of how to present the songs on the show. After writing "I Must Be in Love", Innes conceived parodying the film ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]]'', because he felt the song sounded very "Beatle-y". He passed the idea of a Beatles spoof along to Idle, who had a separate idea about a boring TV documentary maker, and they merged the ideas into a single extended sketch for the TV show. The "Rutles" band name was a running joke based on the regional premise of the TV show, which was presented as a programme by a fictional TV station based in [[Rutland]], the smallest county in England. The initial idea had been to do a parody of [[the Rolling Stones]] called the Rutland Stones<ref>{{cite book|first=George C.|last=Perry|title=The Life of Python|page=154|publisher=Pavilion|year=2007|isbn=978-1-86205-762-3}}</ref> but, when it became a parody of the Beatles, Idle suggested the name "Rutles". 'The Prefab Four' is a play on the Beatles' nickname 'the Fab Four' with an additional subtext: a prefab was a [[Mid-20th-century system-built houses|cheap postwar form of British housing]], intended to be temporary, often poorly constructed, draughty and leaky, and not well-regarded by those who had to live in them.
The Rutles members seen in the original skit on ''[[Rutland Weekend Television]]'', which subsequently aired on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', were:
* Ron Nasty -- [[Neil Innes]];
* Dirk McQuickly -- [[Eric Idle]];
* Stig O'Hara -- David Battley;
* Kevin (''[[Pete Best]]'') -- played by John Halsey.


The Rutles had connections with the Beatles aside from the parody. The Beatles were fans of Innes's previous band, the [[Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]], and had featured the Bonzos in their television film ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'' (1967). Paul McCartney (working with [[Gus Dudgeon]] under the collective alias Apollo C. Vermouth) had produced the Bonzos' hit single "[[I'm the Urban Spaceman]]" in 1968. George Harrison made a guest appearance on ''Rutland Weekend Television''{{'}}s 1975 Boxing Day special, with Idle and Innes, and he encouraged them to make a film that would parody the Beatles' career and serve to deflate the myths surrounding the band's legacy.<ref name="Larkin"/>
There is some confusion over the names and actors; Kevin was supposedly the name of the drummer, yet the ''SNL'' version calls him Barry. Also, Eric Idle was labelled as Dirk in the ''SNL'' version, while his memoirs identify him as playing Stig. Also, on the album ''Archaeology'' (1996), Neil, John and Rikki used their real names. The late Ollie Halsall also appeared, as some songs were outtakes from the 1978 sessions.


In 1976, [[BBC Records]] produced ''[[The Rutland Weekend Songbook]]'', an album containing 23 tracks including the Rutles songs "I Must Be in Love" and "The Children of Rock and Roll" (later reworked as "Good Times Roll").
Over the years, The Rutles have evolved from a fictitious band into a true band in their own right, playing Rutles favourites and songs from Neil Innes' [[solo albums]]. The current touring line-up consists of:
* [[Neil Innes]] on [[piano]], guitar and [[vocals]];
* [[John Halsey]] on [[drums]];
* [[Mark Griffiths]] on [[bass guitar]] and vocals;
* [[Mickey Simmonds]] on [[keyboards]] and vocals;
* [[Ken Thornton]] on [[lead guitar]];
* [[J.J. Jones]] on [[percussion]].


===''Saturday Night Live'' (1976–77)===
==Their history (actual)==
One year after their initial BBC appearance, on 2 October 1976 Idle appeared on the American NBC show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', and showed videotape extracts from ''Rutland Weekend Television'' – including the Rutles clip. That led to a suggestion by ''SNL'' executive producer [[Lorne Michaels]] to extend the skit into a one-hour mock documentary for television.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Covach |first1=John |title=The Rutles and the Use of Specific Models in Musical Satire |journal=Indiana Theory Review |date=1990 |volume=11 |pages=119–120 |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/3529 |access-date=4 January 2020 |publisher=Indiana University Graduate Theory Association}}</ref> This proposal led to the [[mockumentary]] ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' (1978), directed by ''SNL'' film director Gary Weis, with Idle credited as co-director.
The Rutles began life in [[1975]] as a [[sketch]] on [[Eric Idle]]'s [[BBC]] television series ''[[Rutland Weekend Television]]''. The initial sketch presented musician [[Neil Innes]] (ex-[[Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band]]) fronting '''The Rutles''' singing "I Must Be In Love", a masterly [[pastiche]] of a 1964-era Lennon-McCartney tune. The band was named after the historic County of [[Rutland]] which was the smallest county in England. Residents of this county are actually called 'Rutles'. {{fact}}


On 23 April 1977, Idle made another appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'', with [[Neil Innes]] as a musical guest. A running theme for this episode was the "Save Great Britain Telethon", and it included an appearance by "the Rutle who lives in New York, Nasty". Innes appeared as Nasty with a lone white piano, singing a short version of "Cheese & Onions". Later in the episode, as Neil Innes, he performed "Shangri-La", a song subsequently recorded by the Rutles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76t.phtml |title=SNL Transcripts: Eric Idle: 04/23/77 |website=Snltranscripts.jt.org |date=23 April 1977 |access-date=26 July 2014}}</ref>
Innes was the resident musician/composer for the series, and would create songs with ideas on how they could be presented visually.


===''All You Need Is Cash'', 1978===
Innes came up with the idea of a short [[skit]] spoofing the Beatles' film ''[[A Hard Day's Night]]'' and wrote "I Must Be In Love" as the song for the skit. He passed the idea to Idle, who had a separate idea for a sketch about a boring TV documentary maker. Idle and Innes decided to connect the two ideas into one extended filmed sequence - and this was shot for the TV show.
{{Main|All You Need Is Cash}}
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2010}}
Written by Idle and Innes, ''All You Need Is Cash'' documents the rise and fall of the Rutles, paralleling much of the history of the Beatles. The project was given extra recognition through Harrison's support; as well as providing ideas, he supplied Idle and Innes with a copy of the Beatles' long-planned documentary, ''The Long and Winding Road''<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/movies/homevideo/the-rutles-parody-the-beatles.html|title=Rutlemania Is Back, and It's Unreal|first=Marc|last=Spitz|date=19 December 2013|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> (eventually re-titled ''[[The Beatles Anthology (documentary)|The Beatles Anthology]]'' and released in 1995). Idle drew inspiration from this 1976 version of the documentary, as compiled by [[Neil Aspinall]], and was granted permission to use some of the archival footage to tell the Rutles' story.


Innes wrote, composed, and produced the music. He relied on his memory of Beatles music, and not careful later analysis, to create sound-alike songs. Innes assembled a band (himself, [[John Halsey (musician)|John Halsey]], [[Ollie Halsall]], Andy Brown, and [[Ricky Fataar]]) and the group played in a London [[pub]] to gel. During Rutles performances and studio recordings, Innes took lead on the songs that resembled Lennon's; Halsall sang on most McCartney-esque tunes; Fataar sang the Harrison songs; and Halsey sang a [[Ringo Starr]]-type song. Idle mimed to Halsall's singing and Brown's bass playing in the completed film. Halsall appeared in the film as "Leppo", the fifth Rutle who in the earliest years "mainly stood at the back". Brown did not appear in the film.
{{Listen|filename=Rutles - I Must Be In Love excerpt.ogg|title=The Rutles - I Must Be In Love excerpt|description=An excerpt from "I Must Be In Love"}}


The film is a series of skits and gags that illustrate the Rutles story, following the chronology of the Beatles. The glue of the film is the soundtrack by Innes, who wrote and composed 19 more songs for the film, each a pastiche of a Beatles song or genre. Fourteen songs were on a soundtrack album. The CD version added the six songs omitted from the original [[gramophone record|vinyl]] album. The album was nominated for a [[Grammy]] award for Best Comedy Recording of the year. The orchestrations and arrangements were by film composer [[John Altman (composer)|John Altman]], and it was recorded and mixed by Steve James.
What made The Rutles particularly fascinating for music fans were the numerous connections between The Beatles, the [[Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]] and the [[Monty Python]] team. The Beatles were great fans of the Bonzos: they featured them in their 1967 film ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'' and Paul McCartney had produced their 1968 hit single "I'm The Urban Spaceman". The Bonzos and members of the Python team had worked together in the late 1960s on the cult TV comedy show ''[[Do Not Adjust Your Set]]''. The Beatles guitarist George Harrison was a dedicated Python fan - as well as being involved in The Rutles film (see below); his company [[Handmade Films]] later took over production of the Pythons' film ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian|Life Of Brian]]'' after the original backers pulled out, fearing that its subject matter was too controversial.


''All You Need Is Cash'' was not a success on American television on its first showing on 22 March 1978, finishing at the bottom of all programs that week. The show fared better on BBC television when it premiered a week later, on 27 March 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077147/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ov_inf|title=All You Need Is Cash (1978 TV Movie) : Release Info|website=IMDb.com|access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref>
In the merchandising produced for the TV series, references were made to a Rutles album (''Finchley Road'') and a single ("Ticket To Rut"). In [[1976]] BBC Records produced ''The Rutland Weekend Songbook'', an album containing 23 tracks including two Rutles songs "I Must Be In Love" and "The Children Of Rock And Roll" (later reworked as "Good Times Roll").


A 66-minute version was edited for TV and was released on video and DVD, but this has been superseded by the restored 72-minute version.
Two years later, when Eric Idle was asked to appear on the [[United States|American]] [[NBC]] show ''Saturday Night'' (later to become ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''), he took several video tape extracts from ''Rutland Weekend Television'' with him to screen on the show - including the Rutles clip. The latter generated a very positive audience response and led to a suggestion by ''SNL'' Executive Producer [[Lorne Michaels]] that the idea should be extended from a brief skit into a one-hour mock documentary. This proposal led to the [[1978]] [[mockumentary]]
''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' primarily directed by ''SNL'' film director Gary Weis (responsible for the programme's acclaimed short films), though Eric Idle was given co-director credit. The film purports to be a documentary on the rise and fall of the band, paralleling much of the history of The Beatles.


Additional actors in the special include [[Dan Aykroyd]] as the man who turned down the Rutles, [[John Belushi]] as Ron Decline (a parody of [[Allen Klein]]), [[Bill Murray]] as "Bill [[Murray the K]]", [[Gilda Radner]] as a reluctant street interviewee, [[George Harrison]] as a TV reporter, [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Paul Simon]] as themselves,<ref name="auto"/> [[Michael Palin]] as Eric Manchester (a parody of Beatles press agent [[Derek Taylor]]), [[Ron Wood]] as a biker, [[Lorne Michaels]] as a man who wants to merchandise the Rutles, [[Al Franken]] and [[Tom Davis (comedian)|Tom Davis]] as Ron Decline employees, and many others. It includes actual footage of [[David Frost]] and [[Ed Sullivan]] taken from TV appearances.
[[Image:rutles7.jpg|thumb|250px|left|George Harrison makes a cameo appearance in ''The Rutles'', interviewing the band's press spokesman 'Eric Manchester' - a character based on Beatles press agent Derek Taylor, played by Michael Palin.]] It was one of the first films of its kind, and an inspiration for the successful [[Rob Reiner]] cult comedy film ''[[This Is Spinal Tap]]'' which followed in 1984 and was dubbed a 'mockumentary'.


===The Beatles' reaction===
The film is notable for its many cameo appearances by famous stars, particularly George Harrison, who plays a TV journalist conducting an interview outside the headquarters of Rutle Corps, oblivious to the stream of people coming out of the building carrying items stolen from the office, eventually taking his microphone (a sly reference to The Beatles' famously plundered Apple Corps offices). The film also features cameos from Idle's fellow Python [[Michael Palin]], several ''SNL'' cast members including [[Gilda Radner]], [[John Belushi]], [[Bill Murray]], and [[Dan Aykroyd]] (as well as ''SNL'' writers and occasional performers [[Al Franken]] and [[Tom Davis]]), [[Bianca Jagger]] as Dirk McQuickly's wife Martini, [[Ron Wood]] as a [[Hell's Angel]], and [[Mick Jagger]] and [[Paul Simon]] as themselves. The film is notable for bringing together British and American comic talent in a way that has seldom happened before or since.
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2008}}
* [[George Harrison]] was involved in the project from the beginning. Producer [[Gary Weis]] said: "We were sitting around in Eric's kitchen one day, planning a sequence that really ripped into the mythology and George looked up and said, 'We were the Beatles, you know!' Then he shook his head and said, 'Aw, never mind.' I think he was the only one of the Beatles who really could see the irony of it all." Harrison said: "The Rutles sort of liberated me from the Beatles in a way. It was the only thing I saw of those Beatles television shows they made. It was actually the best, funniest and most scathing. But at the same time, it was done with the most love."
* [[Ringo Starr]] liked the happier scenes in the film, but felt the scenes that mimicked sadder times hit too close.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=GETTING NASTY: A Rutle Remembers. Neil Innes interview excerpts from ''Beatlefan magazine'' #56, originally published on February 1988 |url=https://beatlefansomethingnew.wordpress.com/2020/02/25/getting-nasty-a-rutle-remembers/ |last=Sharp |first=Ken |date=25 February 2020 |website=SOMETHING NEW: The Beatlefan Blog |access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref>
* [[John Lennon]] loved the film and refused to return the videotape and soundtrack he was given for approval. He told Innes, however, that "Get Up and Go" was too close to the Beatles' "[[Get Back]]" and to be careful not to be sued by ATV Music, owners of the Beatles catalogue copyright at the time. The song was consequently omitted from the 1978 vinyl LP soundtrack.{{cn|date=June 2022}}
* [[Paul McCartney]], who had just released his own album ''[[London Town (Wings album)|London Town]]'', always answered "No comment." According to Innes: "He had a dinner at some awards thing at the same table as Eric one night and Eric said it was a little frosty."<ref name=":0" /> Idle claimed that McCartney changed his mind because his wife [[Linda McCartney|Linda]] thought it was funny.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Meet 'The Rutles': Eric Idle's Sendup Is Honored |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-mar-08-ca-34852-story.html |date=2001-03-08 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref> McCartney also warmed up to the film when he learned that Idle was from [[Wallasey]], opposite Liverpool. According to Idle, he said: “Hey, Linda, it's okay, he's a Scouse, he's one of us!”<ref>{{Cite book |last=Idle |first=Eric |title=Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography |date=2018 |isbn=978-1-9848-2258-1 |edition=1st |publisher=Crown Archetype |oclc=1047680017 |page=96}}</ref>


Idle claims on the ''All You Need Is Cash'' DVD commentary track that Harrison and Starr at one point discussed starting a band with Innes and Idle, based on the Beatles' and Rutles' shared and imaginary histories. Harrison and Starr also surprised him and Innes one day by singing a version of the Rutles' "Ouch!"<ref name=":1" />
''All You Need Is Cash'' is primarily a series of skits and gags that each illustrate a different part of the fictional Rutles story, closely following the chronology of The Beatles' own story. The cohesive glue of the film is the acclaimed soundtrack by Neil Innes, who created 19 more songs for the film, each an affectionate pastiche of a different Beatles song or genre of songs. 14 of the songs were released on a soundtrack album with elaborate packaging (The CD version subsequently added the six songs omitted from the original vinyl album.) The album was both critically and commercially successful and was nominated for a [[Grammy]] award for Best Comedy Recording of the year.


===Later history===
Ironically, in view of its later cult status, ''All You Need Is Cash'' was not a success on its American television debut and actually finished in bottom place of all programs screened that week (a source of wry pride to Neil Innes). The program fared better on its British debut on [[BBC]] television. The film's cult status grew from the success of the soundtrack album, and after the release of the film on the comparatively new medium of [[home video]].
In 1979, Idle and Fataar issued a single as "Dirk and Stig"—"[[Ging Gang Goolie]]" backed with "Mr. Sheene". This was Idle's only appearance on a Rutles-related disc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rutlemania.org/rutles5.html |title=The Rutles – The Lean Years |website=Rutlemania.org |access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref> There were no Rutles projects throughout the 1980s.


In 1982, the Rutles were involved in a record scandal reminiscent of the one surrounding the Beatles' ''[[Yesterday and Today]]'' album. Rhino Records, at the time a small Los Angeles label specialising in offbeat releases, released an album that it called ''[[Beatlesongs]]'', purportedly a collection of Beatles novelty songs but actually a weird catch-all of assorted Beatles-related tunes. For the collection, Rhino licensed the Rutles' "Hold My Hand" from Warner Bros Records. The cover of the album was done by well-known commercial artist [[William Stout]], who had made a name for himself drawing the cover artwork for some of the best-looking Beatles bootleg records in the 1970s. His cover drawing included a representation of [[Mark David Chapman|Mark Chapman]], the man who had killed John Lennon. The ensuing uproar prompted Rhino to reissue the album with a new cover featuring a photograph of Beatles memorabilia, claiming that Stout refused to amend his work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rutlemania.org/lean3.html |title=The Rutles – The Lean Years – Part 3 |website=Rutlemania.org |access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref>
A 66-minute version (edited for TV) was released on video and DVD but it has since been superseded by the restored 72-minute version.


A clip from ''[[All You Need Is Cash]]'' appeared on a VHS compilation tape of comedy videos put out by the now-defunct [[Vestron Video|Vestron Home Video]] in 1985. The clip is simply the Tragical History Tour part of ''All You Need Is Cash'', with the sound clunkily muted out during the segment's narration in order to leave just the music. This home video release was released on both VHS and Laserdisc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rutlemania.org/lean4.html |title=The Rutles – The Lean Years – Part 4 |website=Rutlemania.org |access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref>
In 2002, Eric Idle made a follow up, ''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'', but it remained unreleased for over a year. The film features the band on a reunion tour and includes an even bigger number of celebrity interviewees discussing the bands' influence on them. This was met with mixed reactions from fans of the original film, especially since it used outtake material culled from the original. The DVD has yet to be released in the [[UK]].


Innes, with a group called the Moptops backed by the 'Rutland Symphony Orchestra',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rutlemania.org/rutles6.html |title=Live Rutles |website=Rutlemania.org |access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref> performed as "Ron Nasty and the New Rutles" at a convention honouring the 25th anniversary of Monty Python in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rutlemania.org/troubador.html |title=An Eyewitness account of Ron Nasty and the New Rutles at the Troubador |website=Rutlemania.org |access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref> This led to a Rutles reunion album in 1996, featuring Innes, Fataar and Halsey. Halsall died in 1992, but the reunion album, titled ''Archaeology'' as a play on the Beatles' ''Anthology'' series, featured several tracks recorded in 1978 that included his contributions.<ref name="Larkin"/> The Japanese version included four bonus tracks.
==Their history (fictional)==
'''Ron Nasty''' first met '''Dirk McQuickly''' in January 1959, at the now-historical address of 43 Egg Lane, [[Liverpool]]. Having joined up with '''Stig O'Hara''', they started playing as a trio. After 18 months, they discovered drummer '''Barrington Womble''' (whom they persuaded to change his name to Barry Wom to save time, and his hairstyle to save [[Brylcreem]]) hiding in their van, and the classic line-up was complete.


In 2000, Idle released ''[[Eric Idle Sings Monty Python]]'', a live concert album in which he performs "I Must Be in Love" as Sir Dirk McQuickly.
In 1960, at the suggestion of then-manager Arthur Scouse, the group went to [[Hamburg]] where, with fifth member '''Leppo''', they played all the clubs on the [[Reeperbahn]]. It was there that Leppo crawled inside a trunk with a small [[Germany|German]] [[fräulein]] and was never heard from again. Luckily, he couldn't play anyway.


In 2002, Idle made ''[[The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch]]'', which remained unreleased for a year. The film employs unused footage from the previous Rutles film, and features an even bigger number of celebrity interviews discussing the band's influence. This was met with mixed reactions from fans, particularly because no new footage of the Rutles was filmed. The DVD had yet to be released in the UK as of February 2014.
In October 1961, fate intervened in the shape and other attributes of one-legged retail chemist from Bolton, '''Leggy Mountbatten''' (a parody of [[Brian Epstein]]), who, after falling into "Der Ratkeller" one night, decided he hated the boy's music but liked the cut of their jib (and other attributes, especially their tight trousers). He became their manager, cleaned up their image, and touted them around the major record companies. Eventually, they signed to [[Parlophone|Parlourphone]], and their debut album, recorded in 20 minutes (their second took even longer), became an enormous success. By December 1963, they were the biggest thing ever to hit the music business, with nineteen out of the top twenty singles in the UK.


McQuickly and Nasty have cameos in the 2004 [[graphic novel]], ''[[Superman: True Brit]]'', co-written by former [[Monty Python's Flying Circus]] member [[John Cleese]].
1964 saw [[Beatlemania|Rutlemania]] go worldwide, and then some. The group swiftly conquered the [[United States|U.S.]], while Nasty's book of comic prose, ''[[In His Own Write|Out Of Me Head]]'', dominated the best-seller lists. In July of that year, the group's first film, ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Rut]]'', was released. This was followed in 1965 by ''[[Help! (film)|Ouch!]]''. By this time, Rutlemania had reached such a fever pitch that crowd control was a serious problem. In August 1965, the Prefab Four played a sell-out concert at New York's [[Shea Stadium|Ché Stadium]] (named after Cuban guerrilla leader [[Che' Stadium]]), arriving a day early in order to get away before the audience arrived.


In 2007, a reissue of ''Archaeology'' included a new Rutles track called "Rut-a-lot" (a jab at Idle's stage show ''[[Spamalot]]'') which is simply a live medley of songs from the first Rutles album.
[[Image:rutles8.jpg|thumb|250px|right|''The Rutles'' not-so-subtle-sendup of John meeting Yoko in 1966 at [[Indica Gallery]] in [[London]].]]
In 1966, controversy hit the Rutles when Nasty was quoted as saying that the group were 'bigger than [[God]]'. Nasty, however, insisted that he had been misquoted by a slightly deaf journalist, and had actually said they were bigger than Rod, referring to [[Rod Stewart]], then a relative unknown. The band bounced back with their 1967 masterpiece ''[[Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band|Sergeant Rutter's Only Darts Club Band]]'', though this too was misted over in controversy when the group claimed they wrote it under the influence of [[tea]], which they had been introduced to by [[Bob Dylan]]. When Nasty was arrested for possession of it, there was a national outcry and a full-page ad in ''[[The Times]]'' calling for it to be legalised. (All five members of The [[Rolling Stones]] had been arrested already, and a British MP had been caught nude with a teapot).


On 17 March 2008, all four movie Rutles (Innes, Idle, Fataar and Halsey) reunited for the first time at a 30th anniversary screening of ''All You Need Is Cash'' at the [[Egyptian Theatre]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]. The event included a question and answer session and performance by members of the tribute show "Rutlemania" which ran for a week at the [[Ricardo Montalbán Theatre]] in Hollywood before doing a week in NYC at the Blender Gramercy Theater. The "Rutlemania" live show was conceived and written by Eric Idle which starred the Beatles tribute group [[The Fab Four (tribute)|the Fab Four]] as "The Pre-Fab Four" Rutles.
More bad news followed for the group. While staying with the [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi|mystic Arthur Sultan]] at his retreat in [[Bognor Regis]], the band heard that Mountbatten had tragically left them, emigrating to Australia, where he accepted a teaching post. Some critics argue that the band lost their direction at this point. ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Tragical History Tour]]'', their self-indulgent TV movie about four [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] history professors on a tour around Rutland tea-shops, was regarded as a failure, despite the success of the soundtrack, which included the classic songs "[[Strawberry Fields Forever|W.C. Fields Forever]]" and "[[I Am The Walrus|I Am The Waitress]]".


In February 2009, on his website ''InnesBookOfRecords.Com'', Innes released what he referred to as "Ron Nasty's Final Song", titled "Imitation Song", a parody of "[[Imagine (John Lennon song)|Imagine]]". This was also Innes's first and only entry in the ''Masters of Song-Fu'' competition run by [[Quick Stop Entertainment]].
In April 1968, the group launched their new record company, [[Apple Corps|Rutle Corps]]. Despite signing up some promising talent (notably: Arthur Hodgson and the Kneecaps, a parody of [[Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas]], and the '[[France|French]] [[Beach Boys]]', [[Les Garçons de la Plage]]), poor financial management (mainly on the part of Stig O'Hara's financial planner, [[Allen Klein|'''Ron Decline''']]) finally led to the label's ultimate failure. Around this time, a '[[Paul is Dead|Stig is Dead]]' rumour, prompted by both many obscure clues within the band's songs and album covers (including a track which, when played backwards, reportedly said 'Stig has been dead for ages, honestly') and the fact that Stig hadn't spoken publically in five years began to circulate, prompting Barry to stay in bed for a year (either as a [[tax]] dodge or as an attempt to start his own 'Barry is Also Dead' rumour).


On 9 February 2014, Idle reprised his narrator persona from ''All You Need Is Cash'' as part of ''[[The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles]]'', noting how the Rutles had made their American debut 50 years earlier, and it was an amazing coincidence the Beatles were there the same day. He then lent straight narration to biographical sketches of the Beatles' early lives.
It was in this [[Emotional mood|atmosphere]] that the group's final release, ''[[Let It Be (album)|Let It Rot]]'', was recorded. Soon afterwards, the band fell apart amid much legal wrangling, with McQuickly suing Nasty and O'Hara, Wom suing McQuickly, Nasty suing O'Hara and Wom, and in all the confusion, O'Hara accidentally suing himself. Wom had some success with his solo LP, ''When You Find The Girl Of Your Dreams In The Arms Of Some Scotsmen From Hull'', but like the other members, soon drifted into obscurity, punctuated only by the making of a [[1978]] retrospective [[Documentary film|documentary]], ''All You Need Is Cash''. McQuickly formed the punk rock group Punk Floyd with his French wife, Martini (he sings; she doesn't); Nasty turned his back on the world; Wom became two hairdressers; and O'Hara is working for [[Air India]] as an air hostess.


On 29 December 2019, Innes died of a heart attack at the age of 75, and the Rutles were disbanded shortly afterwards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50948921|title=Monty Python songwriter Neil Innes dies aged 75|date=30 December 2019|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref> In his final interview before his death, Innes expressed enthusiasm about either a late 2019 U.S. tour or a 2020 spring tour for the Rutles.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-01|title=Rutles' leader Neil Innes, dead at 75, goes deep in one of his final interviews: 'Mortality is real'|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/story/2020-01-01/rutles-founder-neil-innes-dead-at-75-goes-deep-in-one-of-his-final-interviews|access-date=2021-04-19|website=San Diego Union-Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref>
It is rumored that The Rutles acquired all their music from others. Many people said that they stole it from [[New Orleans]] blues legend [[Blind Lemon Pye]], but he said that the Rutles music came from his next-door neighbor [[Ruttling Orange Peel]]. Ruttling claimed that he DID write the music, but his wife clams that he is always lying. She said that he also claimed to have started the [[Everly Brothers]] and [[Frank Sinatra]]. There is a smalltime group named [[The Beatles]] who patterned their career after the legendary Rutles.


==Personnel==
==Rutles albums (real)==
[[Image:rutles1.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''The Rutles Weekend Songbook,'' 1976]]


=== Fictional lineup ===
For fictional albums, see: ''[[List of The Rutles fictional albums]]''
* Ron Nasty (John Lennon) ([[Neil Innes]])&nbsp;– vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969)
* Dirk McQuickly (Paul McCartney) ([[Eric Idle]])&nbsp;– vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970)
* Stig O'Hara (George Harrison) ([[Ricky Fataar]])&nbsp;– guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970)
* Barry Wom (Ringo Starr) ([[John Halsey (musician)|John Halsey]])&nbsp;– drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970)


=== Real lineup – ''All You Need Is Cash'' ===
A soundtrack album entitled ''The Rutles'' containing 14 tongue-in-cheek pastiches of Beatles' songs was also released.
* Neil Innes&nbsp;– vocals, keyboards, guitars (1975–1978, 1996–1997, 2002–2019; his death)
* [[Ollie Halsall]]&nbsp;– vocals, guitars, keyboards (1975–1978; died 1992)
* Ricky Fataar&nbsp;– guitars, bass, vocals, sitar, tabla (1975–1978, 1996–1997)
* John Halsey&nbsp;– drums, percussion, vocals (1975–1978, 1996–1997, 2002–2019)
* Andy Brown&nbsp;– bass (1978)


=== ''Archaeology'' ===
The cover art of the album suggested the existence of a number of other Rutles albums including ''Tragical History Tour'' and ''Let It Rut''.
After an 18-year hiatus, the Rutles (Innes, Halsey and Fataar) reconvened to record the 1996 album ''[[Archaeology (album)|Archaeology]]'' (a parody of ''[[The Beatles Anthology]]''). Halsall had died in 1992, but he appears on several tracks that were outtakes from the original 1978 album, and he is credited as a band member.{{cn|date=June 2022}} (Similarly, the three surviving Beatles had incorporated recordings by John Lennon in the songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love".)


On record, the band was augmented by keyboardist Mickey Simmonds (who also played with the band live) and bassist Malcolm Foster (ex-Pretenders), as the Rutles had no bass player.{{cn|date=June 2022}} Guitarists Doug Boyle and Bernie Holland were featured.
The album contains some obvious send-ups of Beatles numbers such as "Ouch!" ("Help!"), "Love Life" ("All You Need is Love"), "Piggy in the Middle" ("I Am the Walrus"), "Doubleback Alley" ("Penny Lane") and "Get Up And Go" (CD reissue only -- "Get Back"). However, its real tribute is in its subtly layered blending of elements from many classic Lennon-McCartney tunes.


=== Subsequent touring band members (2001–2019) ===
Multiple listenings are required to discern all the sources referenced in titles, lyrics, melodies, and song structures. The primary creative force of the Rutles music was Neil Innes, the sole composer and arranger of the songs. Innes had been the 'seventh' member of [[Monty Python]], as well as the main artist behind the [[Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band]] in the late [[1960s]], who had been featured in the real Beatles' ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' performing "[[Death Cab for Cutie (song)|Death Cab For Cutie]]".


Beginning in 2001, Innes and Halsey toured as the Rutles in the UK (and once in Japan), augmented by other musicians. The touring group performed songs from the Rutles repertoire, Neil Innes's solo career, and usually at least one George Harrison song per tour as a tribute to him.
Innes himself credits the three musicians he recruited to assist him on the project as having been enormously important in helping him capture the feel of the Beatles. Guitarist/singer [[Ollie Halsall]] and drummer John Halsey had played together in the groups Timebox and Patto. Multi-instrumentalist [[Ricky Fataar | Rikki Fataar]] had played with The Flame before joining the [[Beach Boys]] in the early 1970s.


The touring version:
Not commonly known is that Eric Idle is not heard at all on the soundtrack of the film. He did not play or sing on any of the recordings. He is skillful at lip-syncing the 'Dirk' vocals that were in fact sung by [[Ollie Halsall]]. Innes says that Idle, who had recently had an appendectomy, offered to help but was encouraged to recuperate. Were it not for the inherently [[irony|ironic]] lyrics, it might be difficult to distinguish the songs from true Beatles numbers (indeed, the 1978 Beatles bootleg ''[[Indian Rope Trick]]'' included The Rutles' "Cheese and Onions", incorrectly — and perhaps jokingly — attributing it to John Lennon).


* [[Neil Innes]]&nbsp;– piano, guitar, ukulele, and vocals
The songs written by Innes so cleverly parodied the original source material that he was taken to court by the owners of The Beatles catalogue. Innes had to testify under oath that he had not listened to the songs at all while composing The Rutles songs, but had created them completely originally based on what he remembered various Beatles songs sounding like at different times.
* [[John Halsey (musician)|John Halsey]]&nbsp;– drums, vocals, paper tearing
* [[Mark Griffiths (musician)|Mark Griffiths]] – bass guitar and vocals (2001-2015)
* [[Mickey Simmonds]] – keyboards and vocals (2001-2014)
* Ken Thornton (nicknamed "Rutling" by Neil Innes) – lead guitar, vocals, drums (2001-2019)
* Steve Simpson – guitar and vocals (2001)
* Jason Bruer – saxophone (2001)
* Jason McDermid – trumpet (2001)
* J.J. Jones – percussion (2004-2005)
* [[Andy Roberts (musician)|Andy Roberts]] – guitar and vocals (2004)
* [[Elliott Randall|Elliot Randall]] – guitar (2015)
* Phil Jackson – keyboards, vocals, and percussion (2015-2019)
* Jay Goodrich – bass guitar and vocals (2015-2018)
* [[David Catlin-Birch]] – bass guitar and vocals (2019)


== Discography ==
The original LP album omitted several songs which were restored on the 1990 CD reissue.
=== Albums ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Album details
|-
|1978
|'''''[[The Rutles (album)|The Rutles]]'''''
* Released: March 1978
* Label: [[Warner Bros. Records]] {{small|(HS 3151)}}
* Formats: LP, Cassette, 8-Track, CD
|-
|1996
|'''''[[Archaeology (album)|Archaeology]]'''''
* Released: 29 October 1996
* Label:[[EMI Records|EMI]] {{small|(UK)}}, [[Virgin Records]] {{small|(US)}}
* Formats: LP, Cassette, CD
|-
|2014
|'''''Live + Raw'''''
* Released: 2014
* Label: East Central One {{small|(INNESCD2)}}
* Format: CD
|-
|2018
|'''''The Wheat Album'''''
* Released: 2018
* Label: [[Neil Innes|Neil Innes Music Ltd]]
* Format: CD
|}


==Lawsuits==
===''The Rutles'' ([[1978]])===
Following the release of the 1978 the Rutles album, [[ATV Music]], the then-owner of the publishing rights to the Beatles catalogue sued Innes for copyright infringement. Though Innes hired a musicologist to defend the originality of his songs,<ref>{{cite news|title=The spoof Beatles are back in business |first=Catlin|last=Moran |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=25 October 1996}}</ref> he settled with ATV out of court for 50% of the royalties on the 14 songs included on the album.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.neilinnes.org/articles/RutQ96.htm |first=Paul |last=du Noyer |journal=Q Magazine |date=1 December 1996 |title=The Post-Prefab Three |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927141608/http://www.neilinnes.org/articles/RutQ96.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref> The settlement did not include any other Rutles songs which were not on the original LP release (some of which were included in the television film, e.g., "Baby Let Me Be", "Between Us", "Blue Suede Schubert", "Get Up And Go", "Goose Step Mama", and "It's Looking Good"); Innes retained 100% royalties to these.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?page=1&blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&fromrow=1&torow=25&affiliation=PRS&cae=58084467&keyID=166392&keyname=INNES%20NEIL%20JAMES&querytype=WriterID |title=Songwriter/Composer: INNES NEIL JAMES |website=Repertoire.bmi.com |access-date=2014-07-26 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> On actual Rutles releases, LP, CD, etc., writing credit for all songs has always been printed as Neil Innes only.
#"[[Goose-Step]] Mama" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:18 (not on LP)
#"Number One" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:52
#"Baby Let Me Be" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 1:57 (not on LP)
#"Hold My Hand" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:11 (shorter than LP version, which has an "airplane" sound intro)
#"Blue Suede Schubert" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:13 (not on LP)
#"I Must Be In Love" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:06
#"With A Girl Like You" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 1:53
#"Between Us" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:03 (not on LP)
#"Living In Hope" (Womble) - 2:39
#"Ouch!" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 1:52
#"It's Looking Good" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:02 (not on LP)
#"Doubleback Alley" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:57
#"Good Times Roll" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 3:05
#"Nevertheless" (O'Hara) - 1:29
#"Love Life" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:52
#"Piggy In The Middle" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 4:11
#"Another Day" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:13
#"Cheese And Onions" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 2:42
#"Get Up And Go" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 3:19 (not on LP)
#"Let's Be Natural" (Nasty/McQuickly) - 3:22


==See also==
[The above songs were all actually written by Neil Innes. The songwriter attributions above are the 'fictional' writing credits listed as they would have been in the 'Rutles universe.' Reflecting the balance of songwriting credits on most Beatles albums, the vast majority of the songs are credited to Ron Nasty and Dirk McQuickly (the 'John and Paul' of The Rutles), with one composition each credited to the rivals for 'George' (Stig O'Hara) and 'Ringo' (Barry Wom)]
* ''[[Deface the Music]]'' – a similar Beatles parody by the group [[Utopia (band)|Utopia]]
* [[Beatallica]] – a Beatles and Metallica parody band
* [[The Punkles]] – German punk band inspired by the Beatles
* [[The Monkees]] – American pop rock band inspired by the Beatles
* [[The Rattles]] – German band with a 1966 Beatlesesque comedy/music film
* ''[[This Is Spinal Tap]]'' – a similar music-themed mockumentary


==Notes==
{{Reflist}}


==References==
The only song from the film that did not end up on the soundtrack is "You Need Feet." It most likely did not make an appearance because it was the only song not written by Neil Innes.
* {{cite book |author=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles: The Dream is Over |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=0-7119-9199-5}}

* {{cite book |author=Badman, Keith |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break Up 1970–2001|publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-7119-8307-0}}
===''The Rutles 12" EP ([[1978]])===
Promotional Warner Bros. faux-Beatles Rutles five-song 33 1/3 RPM 12-inch (PRO-E-723) complete with recreated Lads-in-Nehru-suits portrait in the same fashion and pose as the real Beatles' portrait released on the sleeve of the Capitol 45 rpm release "[[I Want To Hold Your Hand]]" b/w "[[I Saw Her Standing There]]" (Capitol 5112). The unnamed Rutle Corps Records label (peeled banana in the center) boasted five tracks and was pressed in translucent yellow vinyl:

Side 1

#"I Must Be In Love" - 2:04
#"Doubleback Alley" - 2:54
#"With A Girl Like You" - 1:50

Side 2

#"Another Day" - 2:09
#"Let's Be Natural" - 3:23

Three of the four musicians who had created the soundtrack for the 1978 film — Innes, Halsey and Fataar — reunited in [[1996]] and recorded a second album, ''Archaeology'', an affectionate send-up of ''[[The Beatles Anthology]]'' albums. The fourth 'real' Rutle, Ollie Halsall, died in Spain in 1992. Eric Idle was invited to participate, but declined.

Like the ''Anthology'' project that it lampooned, it featured tracks ostensibly from all periods of the Rutles career, sequenced to reflect the fictional band's chronology. (Several of the songs were actually old Innes standards that were dusted off and masterfully given the 'Rutle' treatment.) The reunion was blessed by George Harrison who encouraged The Pre-Fab Four to proceed. (When approached, he told Innes, 'Sure. It's all part of the "soup"...', an encounter that Innes related in interviews in 1996.)

The reunion was triggered by Innes' appearance at the [[Los Angeles]] festival "Monty Python: Lust For Glory!", celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Monty Python troupe produced by [[Martin Lewis]] for the [[American Cinematheque]]. Innes performed two sold-out gigs at L.A.'s [[Troubadour Club]] under the name "Ron Nasty & The New Rutles", using a local tribute Beatles band as the notional backing band that a sole member of a defunct vintage band hires in such circumstance. (A previous example is "Eric Burdon & The New Animals", a band name used by Burdon in 1968 to take advantage of the public's familiarity with the brand name of [[The Animals]], even though there were no other members of the original Animals in the line-up.)

Following the success of the shows, Lewis and Innes collaborated on the project that became ''Archaeology''.

[[Image:rutles6.jpg|frame|right|''The Rutles Archaeology'', 1996]]

===The Rutles ''Archaeology'' ([[1996]])===
#"Major Happy's Up-And-Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band"
#"Rendezvous"
#"Questionnaire"
#"We've Arrived! (And To Prove It We're Here)" (recorded in 1978 with Halsall)
#"Lonely-Phobia"
#"Unfinished Words" (backing track, recorded in 1978 with Halsall)
#"Hey Mister!"
#"Easy Listening"
#"Now She's Left You" (recorded in 1978 with Halsall)
#"The Knicker Elastic King"
#"I Love You"
#"Eine Kleine Middle Klasse Musik"
#"Joe Public"
#"Shangri-La"
#"Don't Know Why"
#"Back In '64"

All songs were credited solely to Neil Innes.

The Japanese release of ''Archaeology'' includes 4 bonus tracks: "Lullaby", "Baby S'il Vous Plait", "It's Looking Good" (rehearsal), and "My Little Ukulele".

"Baby S'il Vous Plait" was a crude French-language version of an earlier Rutles song "Baby Let Me Be", from the 1978 soundtrack. The song was recorded as a pastiche of the Beatles' two German-language recordings of "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" - with suitably poor translation and even poorer foreign accents.

===Bootlegs===
Bootlegs include ''Hard Days Rut'', ''Rehearsal'', ''Sweet Rutle Tracks'', ''Rutles To Let'', ''Sgt. Rutters Only Darts Club Band'', and ''Rutland's Rare Rutles Revisited''.

==Additional information==
The Rutles corps logo is a half-peeled banana.

It should be noted that The Rutles came before the age of tribute bands.

Despite the bonus tracks, the CD issue of ''The Rutles'' has one song edited: "Hold My Hand", which opened the LP, originally began with several seconds of synthesized airplane sounds and guitar tuning, and then Nasty counting in. This was removed from the remastered version, for reasons unknown.

Shortly after the Rutles film and LP were released, Eric Idle and Rikki Fataar released a novelty single, "[[Ging Gang Goolie]]"/"Mister Sheene", under the name Dirk & Stig. This stood as the only musical recording where Idle actually sings for the Dirk character until the release of Idle's "Eric Idle Sings Monty Python" CD, which featured performances from his 1999 "Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python" tour. The tour and CD featured Idle singing "I Must Be In Love" as Sir Dirk McQuickley.

Nasty went on to form a post-Rutles band as well: the Plastic Ono Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (this is a parody of Innes' real band, the [[Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]]). They have only been mentioned once: in a 1996 article about ''Archaeology'' in ''Goldmine'' magazine.

The 1978 rehearsals have been bootlegged, and feature several interesting oddities, including "Piggy In The Middle" with the lyrics that appear in the LP's liners, "[[Love Life (song)|Love Life]]" with a Python intro, and a never-released track called "Plenty Of Time" (a cover of a song by the Grimms, a band which had Neil Innes amongst its members and released one LP). "Now She's Left You," which appeared on ''Archaeology'', appears here untrimmed.

In settlement of a lawsuit{{Citation needed}}, some Rutles songs are now listed as being co-authored by Lennon and McCartney. As of early 2006, these six songs from the first Rutles CD (which were not on the original LP release) are credited solely to Neil Innes, according to the [http://www.bmi.com/ official BMI web site]: "Baby Let Me Be", "Between Us", "Blue Suede Schubert", "Get Up And Go",
"Goose Step Mama", "It's Looking Good". The other 14 songs from the CD (that is, all of the songs from the original LP release) have all had John Lennon and Paul McCartney added to the songwriting credits along with Neil Innes.

==Trivia==
* In the office of Rutles music publisher Dick Jaws, sales awards for the albums ''[[Red Rose Speedway]]'' by Paul McCartney and [[Wings (band)|Wings]] and Ringo Starr's ''[[Ringo]]'' are clearly seen over his left shoulder in the original film.
* The backward message in the middle of "Piggy In The Middle" says: 'This little piggie went to ma-a-arket'.
* As Stig, the 'quiet Rutle', in ''All You Need Is Cash,'' Fataar does not have a single spoken line.
* In the graphic novel ''[[Superman: True Brit]]'', Ron Nasty & Dirk McQuickly are trapped in an almost-crashing limo, and are rescued by the British Superman in his first ever public appearance. The graphic novel was co-written by [[John Cleese]], who is a [[Monty Python]] member with Eric Idle.


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.rutles.org/ Tragical History Tour - the official Rutles web page]
* [http://the-rutles.com/ The Rutles – the official Rutles web page]
*[http://www.rutlemania.org/ Rutlemania - the real-life history of the Rutles]
* [http://www.rutlemania.org/ Rutlemania – the real-life history of the Rutles]
* [https://www.rutles.org/ Tragical History Tour – archived web page]
*[http://www.neilinnes.org/articles/scholarly.htm Article by music theorist John R. Covach: ''The Rutles and The Use of Specific Models in Musical Satire.'' Indiana Theory Review, 1991.]
* [http://www.doodahdiaries.com David Christie's Doo Dah Diaries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108114514/http://www.doodahdiaries.com/ |date=8 January 2018 }} – Project to compile the complete history of the Bonzos including Neil Innes and the Rutles
*[http://euanrutlefan.proboards61.com/index.cgi Rutles Message Board]
*[http://www.neilinnes.org/rutles.htm The Rutles section of Neil Innes' website]
* [https://archive.today/20121209044407/http://www.neilinnes.org/rutles.htm The Rutles section of Neil Innes' website]
*[http://ouchthetribute.freespaces.com/ OUCH! A Rutles tribute band]
*[http://skyjude.users.btopenworld.com/rutles.htm skyjude - movie legends]


{{The Beatles}}
{{The Beatles main}}
{{The Rutles}}


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[[Category:The Rutles| ]]
[[Category:British musical groups|Rutles, The]]
[[Category:Fictional musical groups|Rutles, The]]
[[Category:Satire|Rutles, The]]
[[Category:Tributes to The Beatles|Rutles, The]]
[[Category:Comedy musicians|Rutles, The]]
[[Category:Parody musicians|Rutles, The]]
[[Category:Parodists|Rutles, The]]


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[[Category:British satirical musicians]]
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[[Category:British parodists]]
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[[Category:British comedy rock musical groups]]
[[Category:Comedy television characters]]
[[Category:Comedy film characters]]
[[Category:Fictional musical groups]]
[[Category:Parody musicians]]
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[[Category:Bands with fictional stage personas]]
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[[Category:Musical groups established in 1975]]

Latest revision as of 00:27, 11 December 2024

The Rutles
The Rutles in All You Need Is Cash. From left: Eric Idle, Ricky Fataar, John Halsey, Neil Innes.
The Rutles in All You Need Is Cash. From left: Eric Idle, Ricky Fataar, John Halsey, Neil Innes.
Background information
OriginRutland, England
GenresRock, parody, comedy rock, rock and roll
Years active1975–1978, 1996–1997, 2002–2019
LabelsWarner Bros., Rhino, Virgin
Past members
Websitewww.rutles.org

The Rutles (/ˈrʌtəlz/) were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series Rutland Weekend Television, later toured and recorded, releasing two studio albums and garnering two UK chart hits. The band toured again from 2002 until Innes's death in 2019.

Encouraged by the positive public reaction to the sketch, Idle wrote the mockumentary television film All You Need Is Cash (1978, a.k.a. The Rutles). Idle co-directed the film with Gary Weis; it features 20 Beatles' music pastiches written by Innes, which he performed with three musicians as the Rutles. A soundtrack album in 1978 was followed in 1996 by Archaeology, which spoofed the then-recent Beatles Anthology series. A second film, The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (modelled on the 2000 TV special The Beatles Revolution), was made in 2002 and released in the US on DVD in 2003.

History

[edit]

Rutland Weekend Television (1975–76)

[edit]

The Rutles were foreshadowed in episode 3 of Eric Idle's 1975 BBC television series Rutland Weekend Television, in which Neil Innes accompanied himself on a piano singing what later became the song "Good Times Roll" (included on the Rutles' first, self-titled album in 1978). The Rutles themselves first appeared in a sketch later in 1975,[1] which presented a mock mini-documentary about the fictional 1960s band. The sketch featured Neil Innes (formerly of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band and a frequent Monty Python collaborator) fronting the band, singing "I Must Be in Love", a pastiche of Lennon and McCartney's 1964 style.[1]

The sketch was the work of Innes and Idle.[1] Innes was the musician and composer for Rutland Weekend Television, and he routinely created songs along with ideas of how to present the songs on the show. After writing "I Must Be in Love", Innes conceived parodying the film A Hard Day's Night, because he felt the song sounded very "Beatle-y". He passed the idea of a Beatles spoof along to Idle, who had a separate idea about a boring TV documentary maker, and they merged the ideas into a single extended sketch for the TV show. The "Rutles" band name was a running joke based on the regional premise of the TV show, which was presented as a programme by a fictional TV station based in Rutland, the smallest county in England. The initial idea had been to do a parody of the Rolling Stones called the Rutland Stones[2] but, when it became a parody of the Beatles, Idle suggested the name "Rutles". 'The Prefab Four' is a play on the Beatles' nickname 'the Fab Four' with an additional subtext: a prefab was a cheap postwar form of British housing, intended to be temporary, often poorly constructed, draughty and leaky, and not well-regarded by those who had to live in them.

The Rutles had connections with the Beatles aside from the parody. The Beatles were fans of Innes's previous band, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and had featured the Bonzos in their television film Magical Mystery Tour (1967). Paul McCartney (working with Gus Dudgeon under the collective alias Apollo C. Vermouth) had produced the Bonzos' hit single "I'm the Urban Spaceman" in 1968. George Harrison made a guest appearance on Rutland Weekend Television's 1975 Boxing Day special, with Idle and Innes, and he encouraged them to make a film that would parody the Beatles' career and serve to deflate the myths surrounding the band's legacy.[1]

In 1976, BBC Records produced The Rutland Weekend Songbook, an album containing 23 tracks including the Rutles songs "I Must Be in Love" and "The Children of Rock and Roll" (later reworked as "Good Times Roll").

Saturday Night Live (1976–77)

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One year after their initial BBC appearance, on 2 October 1976 Idle appeared on the American NBC show Saturday Night Live, and showed videotape extracts from Rutland Weekend Television – including the Rutles clip. That led to a suggestion by SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels to extend the skit into a one-hour mock documentary for television.[3] This proposal led to the mockumentary All You Need Is Cash (1978), directed by SNL film director Gary Weis, with Idle credited as co-director.

On 23 April 1977, Idle made another appearance on Saturday Night Live, with Neil Innes as a musical guest. A running theme for this episode was the "Save Great Britain Telethon", and it included an appearance by "the Rutle who lives in New York, Nasty". Innes appeared as Nasty with a lone white piano, singing a short version of "Cheese & Onions". Later in the episode, as Neil Innes, he performed "Shangri-La", a song subsequently recorded by the Rutles.[4]

All You Need Is Cash, 1978

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Main article: All You Need Is Cash

Written by Idle and Innes, All You Need Is Cash documents the rise and fall of the Rutles, paralleling much of the history of the Beatles. The project was given extra recognition through Harrison's support; as well as providing ideas, he supplied Idle and Innes with a copy of the Beatles' long-planned documentary, The Long and Winding Road[5] (eventually re-titled The Beatles Anthology and released in 1995). Idle drew inspiration from this 1976 version of the documentary, as compiled by Neil Aspinall, and was granted permission to use some of the archival footage to tell the Rutles' story.

Innes wrote, composed, and produced the music. He relied on his memory of Beatles music, and not careful later analysis, to create sound-alike songs. Innes assembled a band (himself, John Halsey, Ollie Halsall, Andy Brown, and Ricky Fataar) and the group played in a London pub to gel. During Rutles performances and studio recordings, Innes took lead on the songs that resembled Lennon's; Halsall sang on most McCartney-esque tunes; Fataar sang the Harrison songs; and Halsey sang a Ringo Starr-type song. Idle mimed to Halsall's singing and Brown's bass playing in the completed film. Halsall appeared in the film as "Leppo", the fifth Rutle who in the earliest years "mainly stood at the back". Brown did not appear in the film.

The film is a series of skits and gags that illustrate the Rutles story, following the chronology of the Beatles. The glue of the film is the soundtrack by Innes, who wrote and composed 19 more songs for the film, each a pastiche of a Beatles song or genre. Fourteen songs were on a soundtrack album. The CD version added the six songs omitted from the original vinyl album. The album was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Comedy Recording of the year. The orchestrations and arrangements were by film composer John Altman, and it was recorded and mixed by Steve James.

All You Need Is Cash was not a success on American television on its first showing on 22 March 1978, finishing at the bottom of all programs that week. The show fared better on BBC television when it premiered a week later, on 27 March 1978.[6]

A 66-minute version was edited for TV and was released on video and DVD, but this has been superseded by the restored 72-minute version.

Additional actors in the special include Dan Aykroyd as the man who turned down the Rutles, John Belushi as Ron Decline (a parody of Allen Klein), Bill Murray as "Bill Murray the K", Gilda Radner as a reluctant street interviewee, George Harrison as a TV reporter, Mick Jagger and Paul Simon as themselves,[5] Michael Palin as Eric Manchester (a parody of Beatles press agent Derek Taylor), Ron Wood as a biker, Lorne Michaels as a man who wants to merchandise the Rutles, Al Franken and Tom Davis as Ron Decline employees, and many others. It includes actual footage of David Frost and Ed Sullivan taken from TV appearances.

The Beatles' reaction

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  • George Harrison was involved in the project from the beginning. Producer Gary Weis said: "We were sitting around in Eric's kitchen one day, planning a sequence that really ripped into the mythology and George looked up and said, 'We were the Beatles, you know!' Then he shook his head and said, 'Aw, never mind.' I think he was the only one of the Beatles who really could see the irony of it all." Harrison said: "The Rutles sort of liberated me from the Beatles in a way. It was the only thing I saw of those Beatles television shows they made. It was actually the best, funniest and most scathing. But at the same time, it was done with the most love."
  • Ringo Starr liked the happier scenes in the film, but felt the scenes that mimicked sadder times hit too close.[7]
  • John Lennon loved the film and refused to return the videotape and soundtrack he was given for approval. He told Innes, however, that "Get Up and Go" was too close to the Beatles' "Get Back" and to be careful not to be sued by ATV Music, owners of the Beatles catalogue copyright at the time. The song was consequently omitted from the 1978 vinyl LP soundtrack.[citation needed]
  • Paul McCartney, who had just released his own album London Town, always answered "No comment." According to Innes: "He had a dinner at some awards thing at the same table as Eric one night and Eric said it was a little frosty."[7] Idle claimed that McCartney changed his mind because his wife Linda thought it was funny.[8] McCartney also warmed up to the film when he learned that Idle was from Wallasey, opposite Liverpool. According to Idle, he said: “Hey, Linda, it's okay, he's a Scouse, he's one of us!”[9]

Idle claims on the All You Need Is Cash DVD commentary track that Harrison and Starr at one point discussed starting a band with Innes and Idle, based on the Beatles' and Rutles' shared and imaginary histories. Harrison and Starr also surprised him and Innes one day by singing a version of the Rutles' "Ouch!"[8]

Later history

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In 1979, Idle and Fataar issued a single as "Dirk and Stig"—"Ging Gang Goolie" backed with "Mr. Sheene". This was Idle's only appearance on a Rutles-related disc.[10] There were no Rutles projects throughout the 1980s.

In 1982, the Rutles were involved in a record scandal reminiscent of the one surrounding the Beatles' Yesterday and Today album. Rhino Records, at the time a small Los Angeles label specialising in offbeat releases, released an album that it called Beatlesongs, purportedly a collection of Beatles novelty songs but actually a weird catch-all of assorted Beatles-related tunes. For the collection, Rhino licensed the Rutles' "Hold My Hand" from Warner Bros Records. The cover of the album was done by well-known commercial artist William Stout, who had made a name for himself drawing the cover artwork for some of the best-looking Beatles bootleg records in the 1970s. His cover drawing included a representation of Mark Chapman, the man who had killed John Lennon. The ensuing uproar prompted Rhino to reissue the album with a new cover featuring a photograph of Beatles memorabilia, claiming that Stout refused to amend his work.[11]

A clip from All You Need Is Cash appeared on a VHS compilation tape of comedy videos put out by the now-defunct Vestron Home Video in 1985. The clip is simply the Tragical History Tour part of All You Need Is Cash, with the sound clunkily muted out during the segment's narration in order to leave just the music. This home video release was released on both VHS and Laserdisc.[12]

Innes, with a group called the Moptops backed by the 'Rutland Symphony Orchestra',[13] performed as "Ron Nasty and the New Rutles" at a convention honouring the 25th anniversary of Monty Python in 1994.[14] This led to a Rutles reunion album in 1996, featuring Innes, Fataar and Halsey. Halsall died in 1992, but the reunion album, titled Archaeology as a play on the Beatles' Anthology series, featured several tracks recorded in 1978 that included his contributions.[1] The Japanese version included four bonus tracks.

In 2000, Idle released Eric Idle Sings Monty Python, a live concert album in which he performs "I Must Be in Love" as Sir Dirk McQuickly.

In 2002, Idle made The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch, which remained unreleased for a year. The film employs unused footage from the previous Rutles film, and features an even bigger number of celebrity interviews discussing the band's influence. This was met with mixed reactions from fans, particularly because no new footage of the Rutles was filmed. The DVD had yet to be released in the UK as of February 2014.

McQuickly and Nasty have cameos in the 2004 graphic novel, Superman: True Brit, co-written by former Monty Python's Flying Circus member John Cleese.

In 2007, a reissue of Archaeology included a new Rutles track called "Rut-a-lot" (a jab at Idle's stage show Spamalot) which is simply a live medley of songs from the first Rutles album.

On 17 March 2008, all four movie Rutles (Innes, Idle, Fataar and Halsey) reunited for the first time at a 30th anniversary screening of All You Need Is Cash at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The event included a question and answer session and performance by members of the tribute show "Rutlemania" which ran for a week at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood before doing a week in NYC at the Blender Gramercy Theater. The "Rutlemania" live show was conceived and written by Eric Idle which starred the Beatles tribute group the Fab Four as "The Pre-Fab Four" Rutles.

In February 2009, on his website InnesBookOfRecords.Com, Innes released what he referred to as "Ron Nasty's Final Song", titled "Imitation Song", a parody of "Imagine". This was also Innes's first and only entry in the Masters of Song-Fu competition run by Quick Stop Entertainment.

On 9 February 2014, Idle reprised his narrator persona from All You Need Is Cash as part of The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles, noting how the Rutles had made their American debut 50 years earlier, and it was an amazing coincidence the Beatles were there the same day. He then lent straight narration to biographical sketches of the Beatles' early lives.

On 29 December 2019, Innes died of a heart attack at the age of 75, and the Rutles were disbanded shortly afterwards.[15] In his final interview before his death, Innes expressed enthusiasm about either a late 2019 U.S. tour or a 2020 spring tour for the Rutles.[16]

Personnel

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Fictional lineup

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  • Ron Nasty (John Lennon) (Neil Innes) – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969)
  • Dirk McQuickly (Paul McCartney) (Eric Idle) – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–1970)
  • Stig O'Hara (George Harrison) (Ricky Fataar) – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–1970)
  • Barry Wom (Ringo Starr) (John Halsey) – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–1970)

Real lineup – All You Need Is Cash

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  • Neil Innes – vocals, keyboards, guitars (1975–1978, 1996–1997, 2002–2019; his death)
  • Ollie Halsall – vocals, guitars, keyboards (1975–1978; died 1992)
  • Ricky Fataar – guitars, bass, vocals, sitar, tabla (1975–1978, 1996–1997)
  • John Halsey – drums, percussion, vocals (1975–1978, 1996–1997, 2002–2019)
  • Andy Brown – bass (1978)

Archaeology

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After an 18-year hiatus, the Rutles (Innes, Halsey and Fataar) reconvened to record the 1996 album Archaeology (a parody of The Beatles Anthology). Halsall had died in 1992, but he appears on several tracks that were outtakes from the original 1978 album, and he is credited as a band member.[citation needed] (Similarly, the three surviving Beatles had incorporated recordings by John Lennon in the songs "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love".)

On record, the band was augmented by keyboardist Mickey Simmonds (who also played with the band live) and bassist Malcolm Foster (ex-Pretenders), as the Rutles had no bass player.[citation needed] Guitarists Doug Boyle and Bernie Holland were featured.

Subsequent touring band members (2001–2019)

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Beginning in 2001, Innes and Halsey toured as the Rutles in the UK (and once in Japan), augmented by other musicians. The touring group performed songs from the Rutles repertoire, Neil Innes's solo career, and usually at least one George Harrison song per tour as a tribute to him.

The touring version:

  • Neil Innes – piano, guitar, ukulele, and vocals
  • John Halsey – drums, vocals, paper tearing
  • Mark Griffiths – bass guitar and vocals (2001-2015)
  • Mickey Simmonds – keyboards and vocals (2001-2014)
  • Ken Thornton (nicknamed "Rutling" by Neil Innes) – lead guitar, vocals, drums (2001-2019)
  • Steve Simpson – guitar and vocals (2001)
  • Jason Bruer – saxophone (2001)
  • Jason McDermid – trumpet (2001)
  • J.J. Jones – percussion (2004-2005)
  • Andy Roberts – guitar and vocals (2004)
  • Elliot Randall – guitar (2015)
  • Phil Jackson – keyboards, vocals, and percussion (2015-2019)
  • Jay Goodrich – bass guitar and vocals (2015-2018)
  • David Catlin-Birch – bass guitar and vocals (2019)

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album details
1978 The Rutles
1996 Archaeology
  • Released: 29 October 1996
  • Label:EMI (UK), Virgin Records (US)
  • Formats: LP, Cassette, CD
2014 Live + Raw
  • Released: 2014
  • Label: East Central One (INNESCD2)
  • Format: CD
2018 The Wheat Album

Lawsuits

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Following the release of the 1978 the Rutles album, ATV Music, the then-owner of the publishing rights to the Beatles catalogue sued Innes for copyright infringement. Though Innes hired a musicologist to defend the originality of his songs,[17] he settled with ATV out of court for 50% of the royalties on the 14 songs included on the album.[18] The settlement did not include any other Rutles songs which were not on the original LP release (some of which were included in the television film, e.g., "Baby Let Me Be", "Between Us", "Blue Suede Schubert", "Get Up And Go", "Goose Step Mama", and "It's Looking Good"); Innes retained 100% royalties to these.[19] On actual Rutles releases, LP, CD, etc., writing credit for all songs has always been printed as Neil Innes only.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e Larkin, Colin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1049. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ Perry, George C. (2007). The Life of Python. Pavilion. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-86205-762-3.
  3. ^ Covach, John (1990). "The Rutles and the Use of Specific Models in Musical Satire". Indiana Theory Review. 11. Indiana University Graduate Theory Association: 119–120. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. ^ "SNL Transcripts: Eric Idle: 04/23/77". Snltranscripts.jt.org. 23 April 1977. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b Spitz, Marc (19 December 2013). "Rutlemania Is Back, and It's Unreal". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "All You Need Is Cash (1978 TV Movie) : Release Info". IMDb.com. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  7. ^ a b Sharp, Ken (25 February 2020). "GETTING NASTY: A Rutle Remembers. Neil Innes interview excerpts from Beatlefan magazine #56, originally published on February 1988". SOMETHING NEW: The Beatlefan Blog. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Meet 'The Rutles': Eric Idle's Sendup Is Honored". Los Angeles Times. 8 March 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  9. ^ Idle, Eric (2018). Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography (1st ed.). Crown Archetype. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-9848-2258-1. OCLC 1047680017.
  10. ^ "The Rutles – The Lean Years". Rutlemania.org. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  11. ^ "The Rutles – The Lean Years – Part 3". Rutlemania.org. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  12. ^ "The Rutles – The Lean Years – Part 4". Rutlemania.org. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Live Rutles". Rutlemania.org. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  14. ^ "An Eyewitness account of Ron Nasty and the New Rutles at the Troubador". Rutlemania.org. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Monty Python songwriter Neil Innes dies aged 75". Bbc.co.uk. 30 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Rutles' leader Neil Innes, dead at 75, goes deep in one of his final interviews: 'Mortality is real'". San Diego Union-Tribune. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  17. ^ Moran, Catlin (25 October 1996). "The spoof Beatles are back in business". The Times. London.
  18. ^ du Noyer, Paul (1 December 1996). "The Post-Prefab Three". Q Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Songwriter/Composer: INNES NEIL JAMES". Repertoire.bmi.com. Retrieved 26 July 2014.[permanent dead link‍]

References

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