Illustration of F. W. Faulds by E. A. Bushnell from Cincinnatians as We See 'Em, 1905
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band has a story unlike any other. Formed in London as a Dada-inspired brass combo in 1965, they evolved into a comedy-pop group and one-hit wonder with their McCartney-produced "I'm the Urban Spaceman". Their success is attributable to two bizarre songwriting talents, the erudite oddball Vivian Stanshall and the pop craftsman Neil Innes (who went on to write music for Monty Python's Flying Circus).
Their more unhinged moments are as baffling as anything ever recorded - you don't need to go further than this clip of the band performing "Look Out, There's a Monster Coming" on UK kids' show Do Not Adjust Your Set. There's more reasons than I can count in that clip for not allowing these guys anywhere near children. But their more pop-oriented songs are a real treat, with the strangeness lurking in the dark corners of the lyrics and arrangements. Take "Piggy Bank Love" from their first album Gorilla, for instance - it's a horn-based falsetto ode to lonely women socking their money away in hope of true love. And it somehow invents Belle & Sebastian thirty years ahead of schedule. But there's something...not...quite...right going on there.
"Piggy Bank Love" by the Bonzo Dog Band
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