Listen: Mr. Apollo / The Bonzo Dog Band
Mr. Apollo / The Bonzo Dog Band
The Beatles lifted so much from these guys. Tell me ‘Yellow Submarine’, or lots of SGT PEPPER and MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR weren’t influenced by the work of The Bonzos, and I’ll know you haven’t bothered to listen to them. It may have been innocent flattery, but I’m not too sure about that. Paul McCartney did produce their hit, ‘I’m The Urban Spaceman’. He may have felt guilty. I do pick on The Beatles when I can, too vaudeville for me and they were quitters but admittedly had many good singles. It’s that Beatles vs Rolling Stones rivalry I can’t quite shake.
Last year, a friend at EMI in London sent me the entire set of Bonzo Dog Band reissues on cd. I still play them a lot, very worth seeking out. As for the 7″ vinyl, ‘Mr Apollo’ was the first to be released after they dropped the Doo Dah from their name. The US was lucky enough to see them at The Fillmore East, opening for Spirit and The Kinks, their first US shows in three or four years after the Musician Union’s ban, we’re talking 1969 and ARTHUR had just been released. This was October 17 & 18 to be exact.
Tags: Fillmore East, Liberty, Paul McCartney, Spirit, The Beatles, The Bonzo Dog Band, The Kinks