Biography
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Years Active
1962 – 1970 (7 years)
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Founded In
London, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- 'Legs' Larry Smith (1963 – 1970)
- Bob Kerr
- Dave Clague (1967 – 1968)
- Dennis Cowan (1969 – 1970)
- Neil Innes (1965 – 1970)
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (more often The Bonzo Dog Band) were the brainchild of a British art-school set of the 1960s. Part jazz band, part psychedelic rockers, the Bonzos came to the attention of a broader British public through a children's television programme, Do Not Adjust Your Set.
The line-up varied, sometimes on a weekly basis and a list (although incomplete) of members would include: Vivian Stanshall on trumpet, "Happy" Wally Wilks, Tom Parkinson, Chris Jennings, Claude Abbo, Trevor Brown, Tom Hedge, Rodney "Rhino" Desborough Slater on saxophone, Eric Idle, Neil Innes on piano and guitar, Roger Ruskin Spear on tenor sax, Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell on electric guitar, Eric Clapton on ukulele, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Martin "Sam Spoons" Ash on the rhythm pole, Leon Williams, John Parry, Raymond Lewitt, Sydney "Big Sid" Nicholls, "Legs" Larry Smith on drums, James "Jim Strobes" Chambers, Bob Kerr, Dave Clague, Joel Druckman, "Borneo" Fred Munt, Chalky Chalkey, Dennis Cowan, Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Jim Capaldi on drums, Anthony 'Bubs' White on guitar, Andy Roberts, Dave Richards, Dick Parry, Hughie Flint and Glen Colson.
"Legs" Larry Smith toured with Clapton and Elton John and can be heard tap dancing on John's I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself.
Their satirical 1967 song title "Death Cab For Cutie" was adopted in 1997 as the band name for Washington-state band Death Cab For Cutie, making the phrase familiar to millions of fans who are mostly unaware of its roots with the Bonzos.
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