Larry Smith (musician)
Larry Smith, often known as "Legs" Larry Smith (born 18 January 1944) is an English drummer of the comedy satirical jazz group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. He was originally invited to join the group by Vivian Stanshall as a tuba player and tap dancer. As the drummer he was a core member of the band, and performed on their top five hit "I'm the Urban Spaceman" and on all subsequent recordings. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band appeared in the Beatles' 1967 TV film ''Magical Mystery Tour'' and also in the ground-breaking ITV television series ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'', which featured future Monty Python members Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. As a solo artist Smith also toured with Eric Clapton and Elton John. Smith was a close friend of ex-Beatle George Harrison for many years, and designed the cover for his ''Gone Troppo'' album (1982). He also sang the theme song of and appeared in the Harrison-backed film '' Bullshot'' (1983), a HandMade Films production. Harrison wrote ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper classes in ''Sir Henry at Rawlinson End'' (as a Rawlinson End, radio series for John Peel, as an Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (recording), audio recording, as a book and as a Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (film), film), and for acting as Master of Ceremonies on Mike Oldfield's album ''Tubular Bells''. Early life and education Stanshall was born on 21 March 1943 at the Radcliffe Maternity Home Shillingford, Oxfordshire, son of Victor George Stanshall (1909-1990; born Vivian), at the time of his son's birth an Royal Air Force, RAF corporal, later a company secretary, then company director (Institute_of_Chartered_Secretaries_and_Administrators#Education, FCIS), and Eileen Monica Prudence (née Wadeson). He was christened Victor Anthony. He lived w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and writing partner Michael Palin wrote and performed for several high-profile British comedy programmes, including ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' and ''The Frost Report'', before creating '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' with Cambridge graduates Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Eric Idle and American animator-filmmaker Terry Gilliam. Jones was largely responsible for the programme's innovative, surreal structure, in which sketches flowed from one to the next without the use of punch lines. He made his directorial debut with the Python film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Holy Grail'', which he co-directed with Gilliam, and also directed the subsequent Python films ''Monty Python's Life of Brian, Life of Brian'' and ''Monty Python's The Meanin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, drone, classical, avant-garde and electronic music. He studied music at Goldsmiths College, University of London, before relocating in 1963 to New York City's downtown music scene, where he performed as part of the Theatre of Eternal Music and formed the Velvet Underground. Since leaving the band in 1968, Cale has released sixteen solo studio albums, including the widely acclaimed '' Paris 1919'' (1973) and '' Music for a New Society'' (1982). Cale has also acquired a reputation as an adventurous record producer, working on the debut albums of several innovative artists, including the Stooges and Patti Smith. Early life and career John Davies Cale was born on 9 March 1942 in the mining village of Garnant in the valley ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Todd (album)
''Todd'' is the fifth album and second double album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1974 on Bearsville Records. It is the follow-up to the previous year's ''A Wizard, a True Star'' and features a comparatively heavier reliance on guitar playing and synthesizers. About half of the tracks were performed by Rundgren alone, with the other half recorded with varying configurations of musicians. In the US, the album peaked at number 54, while lead single "A Dream Goes On Forever" reached number 69. Background In March 1973, Rundgren's fourth album ''A Wizard, a True Star'' was released. Recorded at his newly built Secret Sound Studios in Manhattan, ''Wizard''s sound and structure was heavily informed by his recent experiments in psychedelic drugs. Critical reception to ''Wizard'' was mixed, and according to Rundgren, the album was generally regarded as "professional suicide". In the weeks following the album's release, he produced the New York Dolls' self-ti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive entertainment. He also produced music videos and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s. A native of Philadelphia, Rundgren began his professional career in the mid 1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Two years later, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career and immediately scored his first US top 40 hit with "We Gotta Get You a Woman" (1970). His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and " I Saw the Light" from ''Something/Anything?'' (1972), which get frequent air time on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Honky Château
''Honky Château'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, the first of John's seven consecutive US number one albums. Two singles were released worldwide from ''Honky Château'', " Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat". A third single, "Hercules", was prepared for release, but this never materialised.John, Elton (1992). Rare Masters (Audio CD sleevenotes). Rocket Records. This was the final Elton John album on the Uni label in the US and Canada before MCA consolidated all of its various labels under the MCA brand. This and John's earlier Uni albums were later reissued on MCA Records. In 2003, the album was ranked number 357 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was revised to number 359 in 2012, and raised to number 251 in a 2020 list. It was certified gold in Ju ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Extra Texture (Read All About It)
''Extra Texture (Read All About It)'' is the sixth studio album by English musician George Harrison, released on 22 September 1975. It was Harrison's final album under his contract with Apple Records and EMI, and the last studio album issued by Apple. The release came nine months after his troubled 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar and the poorly received ''Dark Horse'' album. Among Harrison's post-Beatles solo releases, ''Extra Texture'' is the only album on which his lyrics are devoid of any obvious spiritual message. It was recorded mostly in the United States rather than England, while Harrison was working in Los Angeles in his role as head of Dark Horse Records. Gary Wright, David Foster, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, Leon Russell, Tom Scott, Billy Preston and Jim Horn were among the many contributing musicians. The keyboard-heavy arrangements incorporate elements of soul music and the influence of Smokey Robinson, signalling a further departure from the rock and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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His Name Is Legs (Ladies And Gentlemen)
"His Name Is Legs (Ladies and Gentlemen)" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released in 1975 as the closing track of his album '' Extra Texture (Read All About It)''. The song is a tribute to "Legs" Larry Smith, the drummer with the 1960s satirical-comedy group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and one of many comedians with whom Harrison began associating during the 1970s. Smith appears on the recording, delivering a spoken monologue, while Harrison's lyrics similarly reflect the comedian's penchant for zany wordplay. The song serves as a precursor to Harrison's work with Monty Python members Eric Idle and Michael Palin, including his production of the troupe's 1975 single "The Lumberjack Song" and films such as ''Life of Brian'' (1979) that he produced under the aegis of his company HandMade Films. Harrison recorded "His Name Is Legs" at his Friar Park home studio during sessions for his 1974 album ''Dark Horse''. The song remained unfinished until he returned to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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HandMade Films
HandMade Films was a British film production and distribution company. Notable films from the studio include ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'', ''Time Bandits'', ''The Long Good Friday'' and ''Withnail and I''. History Foundation HandMade Films was formed by former Beatle George Harrison and business partner Denis O'Brien in 1978 to finance the controversial Monty Python film ''Life of Brian''. Harrison had been introduced to O'Brien by actor Peter Sellers in 1973. Soon afterward the two went into business together. When the original financiers of ''Brian'', EMI Films, pulled out of the project less than a week before filming was to commence, the creators had to find other financing. Harrison, a friend and fan of the Pythons, mortgaged his home in order to finance the feature. Eric Idle of the Pythons later called it "the most anybody's ever paid for a cinema ticket in history". ''Life of Brian'' grossed $21 million at the box office in the US. Harrison explained: "The nam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bullshot (film)
''Bullshot'' is a 1983 British comedy film, based on the stage play '' Bullshot Crummond''. The name comes from a parody of the 1929 film ''Bulldog Drummond'' with the lead character having elements of Drummond and Biggles. Plot Captain Hugh "Bullshot" Crummond is a World War I fighter pilot, Olympic athlete, racing driver, and part-time sleuth. He must save the world from the dastardly Count Otto van Bruno, his wartime adversary, and win the heart of the damsel in distress Rosemary Fenton. Cast * Alan Shearman as Captain Hugh "Bullshot" Crummond * Diz White as Rosemary Fenton * Ronald E. House as Count Otto van Bruno * Frances Tomelty as Lenya von Bruno * Michael Aldridge as Professor Rupert Fenton * Christopher Good as Lord Binky Brancaster * Ron Pember as Dobbs * Mel Smith as Crouch * Billy Connolly as Hawkeye McGillicuddy * Geoffrey Bayldon as Colonel Hinchcliff Production The film was produced by George Harrison's company Handmade Films. Shearman and White reprised th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gone Troppo
''Gone Troppo'' is the tenth studio album by English rock musician George Harrison, released on 5 November 1982 by Dark Horse Records. It includes " Wake Up My Love", issued as a single, and " Dream Away", which was the theme song for the 1981 HandMade Films production ''Time Bandits''. Harrison produced the album with Ray Cooper and former Beatles engineer Phil McDonald. With Harrison uninterested in the contemporary music scene and unwilling to promote the release, ''Gone Troppo'' failed to chart in the United Kingdom, and it was his only post-Beatles studio album not to chart inside the top 20 in the United States. For the next five years, he largely took an extended hiatus from his music career, with only the occasional soundtrack recording surfacing. Background By the early 1980s, Harrison had been finding the current musical climate alienating. His 1981 album ''Somewhere in England'' had sold fairly well, aided by the John Lennon tribute hit, " All Those Years Ago", but ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work. Although the majority of the band's songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group include "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something". Harrison's earliest musical influences included George Formby and Django Reinhardt; Carl Perkins, Chet Atkins and Chuck Berry were subsequent influences. By 1965, he had begun to lead the Beatles into folk rock through his interest in Bob Dylan and the Byrds, and towards Indi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |