Wednesday, July 9, 2008

From Paul McCartney to Death Cab For Cutie

Long before you listened to Postal Service or Death Cab For Cutie there was Monty Python. Before Monty Python, a character named Apollo C. Vermouth produced a top 5 single for a band called Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and even let them appear in his groups film. Apollo C. Vermouth was Paul McCartney's pseudonym.

The Bonzo Dog Dada Band were a rock-comedy band that emerged from the minds of British art college students in the 60's. After renaming themselves to The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and eventually settling on The Bonzo Dog Band, they caught a break when they were allowed to open up for the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. Paul McCartney went on to produce the single "I'm The Urban Spaceman" for the group which landed a top five spot in 1968 in Britain.

After a few comical albums, people realized that besides constant sarcasm and dark-comedy, the Bonzo Dog Band actually had music talent. Fast forward a few years and one musically-focused album that wasn't received by the public too well, the Bonzo Dog Band broke up. In their wake, they not only spent time with the Beatles, The Who, and the Kinks, but they also performed a song in each episode of the British children's television program, Do Not Adjust Your Set. The show was full of emerging actors who credit The Bonzo Dog Band as a major influence for their eventual project, Monty Python. Oh yeah, a band from Bellingham, Washington took their name from a Bonzo Dog Band song too...

The Bonzo Dog Band - Death Cab For Cutie

The Bonzo Dog Band's performance of "Death Cab For Cutie" from the Magical Mystery Tour:



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