Rutling good bass work!

[Mikey]

I had the pleasure of seeing The Rutles play a live gig in Bristol on 31 August. A rare occurrence although I have seen them once before at the same venue. Many have been called "the Fifth Beatle" but the title must surely go to Neil Innes. George and John both agreed although Macca was never too sure (hey, lighten up mate!) until then wife Linda said she liked them.
Anyway, I digress - the reason for posting here is because the bass player for the evening was none other than Shadows stalwart, Mark Griffiths. Innes introduced him as "the musician of the band". Mark kept a pretty low profile staying at the back but came into his own when Innes introduced a "modern jazz treatment of a well known tune" featuring Mark and keyboard player Micky Simmons. The well known tune was the theme from Coronation Street and it has never sounded so cool! When the applause died down Innes said, "Wasn't that beautiful"? And it was!

[Lee Restarick]

It really helps to be a musician and a huge Beatles fan to completely appreciate the talent of Neil Innes and what he created with The Rutles. I am really disappointed I never found out about this "Reunion", would love to have seen it. Hope you had a great time Mike.

[Uncle Fiesta]

I too saw the Rutles in Bristol (my home town), this must be about ten years ago now. Don't recall who the bass player was though, although I do remember that the only original Rutles present were Neil Innes and John Halsey.

P.S. According to the Rutles' Wikipedia entry, Mark Griffiths has been the bass player in their touring band from 1997 to the present day, so I must have seen him!

[keithmantle]

I just watched a youtube clip from an American chat show (B/White) and I'm sure Eric Idle was on bass ?

[Mikey]

Yes, Eric was an original member when the spoof band were still part of the TV comedy programme Rutland Weekend Television but once the film "All You Need is Cash" took off and there was a demand for the band to record and do gigs, Eric was replaced as he wasn't a musician and had always mimed his part.

[JimN]

Eric Idle is actually a pretty good guitarist.

[Mikey]

My apologies to Eric, he's probably a better player than me!
All I do know is that in the film he mimed to Ollie Halsall's singing and Andy Brown's bass playing.