Rutland Weekend Television

Eric Idle's first project after Monty Python was his own TV series, Rutland Weekend Television*, a low-budget affair. The series was never screened in Australia, so I've never seen it...and it isn't commercially available on DVD, either.

However, you may be able to get hold of the The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book, which, although it's pretty dated, it's actually still a good read, with:

• the Vatican's officially sanctioned sex manual
• a fairly good parody of 1970s Rolling Stone magazine &
• a number of good mock ads 

If you know Idle's Monty Python work, you know what to expect...there's just a lot more of it!

The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book

"...As you'd expect from one of the brains behind Monty Python, Eric Idle's Rutland Dirty Weekend Book is a densely-packed combination of parodies, spoofs, and swipes at all kinds of printed media, from television listings to rock journals and everything else besides..." Amazon UK reviewer TheLeebert

A spin-off from the series was the Beatles spoof-band, The Rutles, which provided the frequently funny mockumentary...

All You Need Is Cash

All You Need Is Cash sprung from a sketch that Idle had created with ex-Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band songwriter and occasional vocalist, Neil Innes...(who had also helped out in a number of Monty Python episodes) for Rutland Weekend Television in 1975.

The Rutles were a parody of The Beatles and in 1978, with the help of Lorne Michaels & Saturday Night LIVE, Idle expanded All You Need Is Cash into a  reasonably low budget TV film. 

Neil Innes came up with a killer load of songs that parodied The Beatles' hits e.g.:

• Help   "Ouch"
• Penny Lane "Double-back Alley"
• Mother Nature's Son "Let's Be Natural"

...and Idle provided a script loaded with spoofs on all things Beatle e.g.:

• the famous Ed Sullivan intro with "The Rutles" dubbed in, instead
• Rutle-mania
• The Rutles created scandal not by their drug taking but by their excessive tea drinking
• the whole Paul is dead farce
• Yoko's character isn't Japanese...but a nazi German
• ...The Tragical History Tour

The Rutles' members were:

• Lennon / Ron Nasty, Neil Innes
• McCartney / Dirk McQuickly, Eric Idle
• Harrison / Stig O'Hara, ex-Beach Boys sideman, Indian Ricky Fataar
• Starr / Barry Wom, John Halsey

with cameos by:

• John Belushi
• Mick Jagger
• Ron Wood
• Paul Simon &
• George Harrison

If you know The Beatles legend...and don't mind seeing it sent up, All You Need Is Cash is a lot of fun. Don't expect it to have the quality or dynamics of a movie, it's a TV special...but a damn fine one at that!

All You Need Is Cash DVD

"...The Rutles' All You Need Is Cash is the first great Rock documentry parody...with This Is Spinal Tap the only real peer..." Amazon reviewer J.D.O'Connor

"...The new DVD has the extra bonus of:

• voice-over commentary by Eric Idle
• out-takes
• stills
• Idle's take on the making of the film &
• the viewer is even able to listen to each individual Rutles song singly

Hugely enjoyable for any Beatles fan. You do not want to leave this piece of Beatles satirical history out of your collection..." Amazon reviewer R.Morris

Archaeology 1996

After the release of The Beatles' Anthology  in 1995, The Rutles released  Archaeology, their out-takes. Neil Innes has come up with another  great batch of songs that Beatle fans should really take the time out to hear.

Shangri La & the making of Shangri La

The Rutles Archaeology

"...Neil Innes (Nasty) has a great ear for parody. This album kicks off with Sgt. Pepper take-offs in which Barry doesn't need any help from his friends, and moves on to mock the White Album and solo Beatles so accurately it'll make your head spin because the lyrics are so earnestly...silly..." Amazon reviewer Ostrova

"...I challenge any listerner NOT to be singing along by the second spin of this disc..." Amazon reviewer Zhioung

Can't Buy Me Lunch 2003

Can't Buy ME Lunch is a send-up of the 2000 "John Lennon's 60th Birthday" carry on, which eventually found release 2 years after its making...to mostly thumbs down reviews.

It's hardly mandatory viewing...but if you'd like to see celebrities such as:

• Bonnie Raitt
• David Bowie
• Mick Jagger
• James Taylor
• Jewel 
• Billy Connolly
• Steve Martin
• Bill Murray
• Conan O'Brien
• Tom Hanks
• Carrie Fisher

...reminisce about The Rutles...then, please go ahead.

Can't Buy Me Lunch DVD

It's only to be expected that a band of The Rutles stature would have a tribute album containing their many memorable songs...

Rutles Highway Revisited (Various Artists) CD

Incidentally, Todd Rundgren's band Utopia released an album of Beatle parodies that is also excellent. See review for: Deface The Music.

*   Rutland Weekend Television is a triple pun:

• To rut is a seldom used word mean to have sexual intercourse 
• Rutland is the smallest county (US translation: state) in the U.K. & 
• London Weekend Television was then the biggest TV station in the U.K.    

Consequently Rutland Weekend Television could be read as the f***ing smallest TV company in the U.K.

see also:

• wikipedia The Rutles