Vivian Stanshall - Ginger Geezer 1943 - 1995
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"I’m merely myself, as near as dammit.
I’m whatever you like - just don’t expect me to join in.
You see, I’m not different for the sake of being different,
only for the desperate sake of being myself".
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He used his cultured tones and extraordinary vocal range to illuminate his surreal comic writings, both with the 60s comedy revue band the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, and in his later solo career.
Throughout his life, Viv Stanshall continually refused to conform to other people’s standards. He was often called "eccentric" but he grew to despise the term. He was an irreplaceable individual of comic genius. As a vocalist, musician, writer and artist he was full of contradictions. His comic creations were a product of his fevered imagination which at times produced work which demanded comparisons with James Joyce and Spike Milligan. But he seemed to suffer from a lack of self-confidence, from frustration and disappointment, which led to alcoholism and barbiturate addiction and to a reputation for unreliability. People often thought that he was just too hard to handle.
He had a wonderful voice which could have earned him a fortune doing voice-overs, and many people remember his contribution as the Master of Ceremonies on Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells ("two slightly distorted guitars…") Make the effort to dig out his excellent solo albums Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead (1974) and Teddy Boys Don’t Knit (1981). The five Bonzo Dog albums from the 60s contain some outstanding music and comedy, and stand alongside Monty Python for originality.
But it is in the episodic masterpiece Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, which appeared as a radio serial, stage play, record album, book and movie, that Viv Stanshall’s troubled and surreally inventive love of the absurd can be best observed.
"English as tuppence, changing yet changeless as canal water, nestling in green nowhere, armoured and effete, bold flag-bearer, lotus-fed Miss Havershambling, opsimath and eremite*, feudal, still reactionary Rawlinson End…"
Sir Henry: "God’s turban and Tutu do I need a dare of the hog…"
"if I had all the money I’d spent on drink, I’d spend it on drink…" and
"that was inedible muck, and there wasn’t enough of it".
Meet Old Scrotum the wrinkled retainer (the butler) and Reg Smeeton the Newsagent and self-styled walking encyclopaedia "..did you know there is no proper name for the back of the knees…"
After Viv Stanshall’s untimely death in a fire at his London home a friend wrote "It frustrated him that he couldn’t be best at everything. He never wanted to be a rich star. He just wanted to be himself".
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* I had to look them up, so should you.
