Teddy Boys Don't Knit

Last updated

Teddy Boys Don't Knit
Teddy+Boys+Dont+Knit.jpg
Studio album by
Released1981
RecordedApril 1981
Studio Morgan Studios, Willesden Green, London
Genre Rock, comedy music
Length51:51
Label Charisma (CB 1153)
Producer Malcolm Brown, Andrew Sheehan
Vivian Stanshall chronology
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End
(1978)
Teddy Boys Don't Knit
(1981)
Sir Henry at N'didi’s Kraal
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Teddy Boys Don't Knit is the third solo album by Vivian Stanshall. As with his 1974 debut solo album Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead , it consists entirely of songs, rather than the comedy-narrative-with-integral-songs of its immediate predecessor Sir Henry at Rawlinson End .

Contents

Background

Teddy Boys Don't Knit was written during Stanshall’s residence at his Thames river houseboat Searchlight with his second wife Ki Longfellow, his stepdaughter Sydney and his infant daughter Silky – a period which Longfellow has described as Stanshall’s "first, real and only taste of family life." [2] [3] Consequently, several songs on the album have domestic themes: "The Tube" (written for and about Silky Stanshall and her infant digestive process), "Bewilderbeeste" and "Calypso to Colapso" (for and about his love of Ki), "Fresh Faced Boys" (dealing with Stanshall’s struggle against his own father’s wishes for him to be well-groomed, well-behaved and socially presentable) and "Possibly an Armchair", in which Stanshall muses on ageing and on whether in old age he is likely to become the same kind of person as his elderly father had himself become. [2] [3]

The album was recorded at Morgan Studios, Willesden Green, in 1981 and released in between Stanshall's two spoken-word comedy albums, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End and Sir Henry at N'didi's Kraal (and shortly after the shooting of the film version of Sir Henry at Rawlinson End). Although not part of the Rawlinson End sequence in itself, Teddy Boys Don't Knit does feature several songs written (and in some cases used) for the project: "Gums", "The Cracks Are Showing" and "Terry Keeps His Clips On" (a song inspired by Terry clips [3] ). [2] Several other songs emphasise Stanshall's love of language and language games. The title of "Flung a Dummy" is taken from an unusual phrase which Stanshall had heard a stranger on a train use as a euphemism for dying, while "Ginger Geezer" is written almost entirely in Cockney rhyming slang. Other songs parody and mock the lifestyle of the rock-and-roll musician. [2] [3]

As he had on Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead , Stanshall made use of the musical talents of his fellow former Bonzo Dog Band members Neil Innes and Roger Ruskin Spear, his frequently-called-on musical director Pete Moss and multi-instrumentalist Jim Cuomo. Other contributors to the album include Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman, guitarist Ollie Halsall, Traffic/Can bass guitarist Rosko Gee, John Kirkpatrick on concertina, as well as Ki's friend and old Hampstead flatmate Richard Thompson.

The album title is derived from Stanshall's boyhood in the Thames Estuary town of Leigh-on-Sea, where he was a member of a Teddy Boy gang but baffled his fellow gang members with his chosen pastime of knitting. [3]

Track listing

Attitude 1
  1. "King Kripple" - 2:52
  2. "Slave Valse" - 4:38
  3. "Gums" - 2:06
  4. "Bewilderbeeste" - 2:57
  5. "Calypso to Colapso" - 3:00
  6. "The Tube" - 3:26
  7. "Ginger Geezer" - 3:04
  8. "The Cracks Are Showing" - 0:46
  9. "Flung a Dummy" - 3:10
Bttitude 2
  1. "Possibly an Armchair & Embodying Fresh Faced Boys" - 5:16
  2. "Terry Keeps His Clips On" - 3:34
  3. "Bass Macaw & Broken Bottles" - 2:55
  4. "Nose Hymn" - 2:21
  5. "Everyday, I Have the Blows" - 5:01
  6. "Smoke Signals at Night" - 3:12
  7. "Nouveau Riffe" - 3:33

Personnel

Musicians

Production

  • Malcolm Brown - producer
  • Andrew Sheehan - co-producer, percussion
  • Martyn Webster - engineer

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Otway</span> English singer-songwriter

John Otway is an English singer-songwriter who has built a cult audience through extensive touring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Stanshall</span> English musician and author (1943–1995)

Vivian Stanshall 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, and for acting as Master of Ceremonies on Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells.

GRIMMS was an English pop rock, comedy, and poetry group, originally formed as a merger of The Scaffold with core members of the Bonzo Dog Band and the Liverpool Scene for two concerts in 1971 at the suggestion of John Gorman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Ruskin Spear</span> British musician

Roger Ruskin Spear is an English sculptor, multimedia artist and multi-instrumentalist who was a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Spear is the son of the satirical artist and lecturer Ruskin Spear.

<i>Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978</i> 2004 box set by Black Sabbath

Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978 is a collection of the first eight albums by the heavy metal band and a DVD of 4 videos. The set contains the albums recorded with original singer Ozzy Osbourne, who was fired in 1979 after completion of the band's Never Say Die! tour. This marked the end of the group's original line-up that featured Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. All eight albums are digitally remastered and repackaged in mock vinyl LP packaging, including an 80-page booklet with liner notes written by Henry Rollins, Chris Welch, and Brian Ives. The discs included in the set are as follows:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ollie Halsall</span> English guitarist

Peter John "Ollie" Halsall was an English guitarist best known for his role in the Rutles, the bands Timebox, Patto and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of the few players of the vibraphone in rock music. He was known by his childhood nickname 'Olly' or 'Ollie' which was simply a corruption of his surname. The Ollie Halsall Archive was established in 1998, with the aim of documenting and promoting his work.

<i>The Thekla</i>

Thekla is a former cargo ship moored in the Mud Dock area of Bristol's Floating Harbour, England. The ship was built in Germany in 1958 and worked in the coastal trades.

<i>Gorilla</i> (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band album) 1967 studio album by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Gorilla is the debut album by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, originally released by Liberty Records, LBL 83056, in 1967. In 2007, EMI reissued the album on CD with seven bonus tracks.

<i>Lets Make Up and Be Friendly</i> 1972 studio album by Bonzo Dog Band

Let's Make Up And Be Friendly was the fifth and, until 2007, final original album by the Bonzo Dog Band. The group had already disbanded when United Artists Records informed band members that the group owed the label one more album. This 1972 farewell album was the result. In 2007 the album was re-issued on CD by EMI with six bonus tracks, some of which were solo recordings by the members of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ki Longfellow</span> American writer

Ki Longfellow was an American novelist, playwright, theatrical producer, theater director and entrepreneur with dual citizenship in Britain. She is best known in the United States for her novel The Secret Magdalene (2005). This is the first of her works exploring the divine feminine. In England, she is likely best known as the widow of Vivian Stanshall, the late musician, lead singer of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, songwriter, author, radio broadcaster and wit.

<i>Sir Henry at Rawlinson End</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Vivian Stanshall

Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, released in 1978, is a largely spoken-word, solo comedy recording by British musician Vivian Stanshall, formerly of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. It originated in his Rawlinson End sessions for the John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1 beginning in 1975, and a similarly-named track on the Bonzo Dog Band's 1972 album Let's Make Up and Be Friendly.

Eel Pie Publishing was a publishing house founded by musician and author Pete Townshend in 1977, and named after Eel Pie Island. It was part of the Eelpie Group of Companies including Eel Pie Recording Production Ltd which was set up in 1970 by Pete Townshend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band</span> British band led by Vivian Stanshall

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art, the Bonzos came to public attention through a 1968 ITV comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set.

<i>Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera</i>

Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera is an English musical with book, music, and lyrics by Vivian Stanshall and Ki Longfellow-Stanshall written for the Crackpot Theatre Company aboard the Old Profanity Showboat in Bristol, England. The show is based on a series of tales written by Longfellow about Stinkfoot, a New York City alley cat. It had been intended for children, but when told by a New York City literary agent that "No mother in America would want her child identifying with Stinkfoot the alley cat, never mind its name," the story went into a drawer, and didn't reappear until 1985 when Vivian and Ki decided to base a musical on its lead character, Stinkfoot.

"The Intro and The Outro" is a recording by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. It appears on their debut album, Gorilla (1967). It is not so much a song as a comic monologue in which the speaker introduces the musicians who ostensibly appear on the recording. The recording fades out before the emcee completes the introductions and without the "orchestra" being able to play anything more than a vamp. The piece was written by Bonzo member Vivian Stanshall, who also provides the vocal. Stanshall first introduces the seven members of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, who are credited with their actual instruments, over a vamp that resembles Duke Ellington’s "C Jam Blues".

Rick Wakeman is an English keyboardist, composer and songwriter, most known as the keyboard player for progressive rock group Yes. His solo albums have sold over 50 million copies.

<i>Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead</i> 1974 studio album by Vivian Stanshall

Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead is the 1974 debut solo album by the very English musician, writer, poet and comedian Vivian Stanshall.

<i>Sir Henry at Ndidis Kraal</i> 1984 studio album by Vivian Stanshall

Sir Henry at N'didi's Kraal is the fourth and final solo album by Vivian Stanshall. It is a return to the largely spoken-word, solo comedy format of Stanshall's second album Sir Henry at Rawlinson End and is a sequel to the same work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry clip</span>

A Terry clip is a spring metal clip used to hold a cylindrical object. For example, to secure a bicycle pump onto a bicycle frame. The object to be held is pushed into the clip to secure it, and pulled out to release. The original Terry clips were manufactured and sold by Herbert Terry & Sons Limited, Redditch, England.

Rawlinson End was a series of thirteen 15-20 minute radio broadcasts, created and performed by Vivian Stanshall for BBC Radio 1 between 1975 and 1991. The early sessions, recorded between 1977 and 1978, formed the template for Stanshall's LP record album, Sir Henry at Rawlinson End in 1978.

References

  1. Evans, Christopher. "Vivian Stanshall Teddy Boys Don't Knit review". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Album information on Teddy Boys Don't Knit from www.gingergeezer.com homepage
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Randall, Lucian; Welch, Chris (2001). Ginger Geezer: The Life of Vivian Stanshall. Fourth Estate. ISBN   1-84115-679-5.