Category: Culture

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Bonzo stuff

In the late 1960s and 70s I was a big fan of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, later just the Bonzo Dog Band, or even The Bonzos.

They started as a group doing trad jazz comedy stuff, but this evolved into more rock based material with a definite surreal/funny edge.

The Bonzos were well known. They were in the ITV comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set with some other famous people, and sang a song in The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. They had one big hit single, I’m The Urban Spaceman, produced by Paul McCartney.

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Michael Brook

I know there are very many people who like the same music that I do, and I like to pass on suggestions for others you may like in a similar vein, others perhaps a bit more obscure, not because I make anything from it but because I want to share great music with you.

Years ago I had the pleasure of seeing David Sylvian and Robert Fripp live at the Royal Albert Hall. Opening the show and also playing with the band was Michael Brook.

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The BBC

When I moved to London in the 1970s I was a poor student. Finding money for entertainment was not easy, and the BBC was a godsend, especially the radio.

For the price of exactly nothing you could go to see a radio show or two being recorded at one of their central London studios and enjoy something that you could listen to again later and share with friends: “I was there”.

The usual venue was the old Paris Cinema in Lower Regent Street. It was quite an historic place. Lots of great shows had been recorded there, even The Goon Show and Dad’s Army. It was also used for rock concert recordings and as such was a cosy venue.

Usually you could just roll up and get a ticket for a comedy or quiz show, especially on a rainy evening. I have fond memories of going in and walking down those windy wooden stairs. It’s not used by the Beeb now, they use the radio theatre in Broadcasting House, a larger and much more impersonal venue.

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