Barking Bonzos at the BFI

An anarchic night with the greatest Dada band of all time.

Dec 10, 2024

Welcome New Dimensions readers! If you’ve been following along, then you know that I left off the most recent leg of my England travel journals in the midst of heavy record shopping, before returning to my mate’s flat to freshen up, for the call of the Bonzos rung high across the rooftops of London, awaiting my presence…

Let me back up and explain. It was announced several months prior that the British Film Institute (or BFI, as it will be referred to from hereon) was staging a one-night film retrospective of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, with the centerpiece being a restored and re-imagined edition of their 1968 television spectacular Colour Me Pop. As if I needed any more arm-twisting, I promptly purchased a ticket and awaited that magical night. And what a night it was. I’ll let my words, written in bed after the evening’s event, whilst the images and memories were still fresh in my brain, tell the story:

“Tonight was a very special, as I attended the one-night only BFI screening of the Bonzo Dog Band’s “Still Barking” retrospective screening at South Bank in London. It was a thrilling, emotional, wild, joyous evening, and I’m still high on Doo-Dah.

When I first became involved with the Bonzos boxset over seven years ago during its initial planning, never in my wildest dreams did I think it would result nearly a decade later in going thousands of miles to wind up hanging out in London with the Bonzos themselves. It’s been a long, crazy Dada journey but to get to this point is nothing short of wonderful, not least for the members of band themselves. You can see the obvious joy that they feel as they are finally being celebrated for the art they created. Its about time! It’s only a shame that Neil, Vivian, Sam Spoons and Vernon weren’t alive to share in the joy, but they were recognized on screen. They would have basked in the audience’s love.

When I first discovered the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band as a teenager, it felt like being a member of a secret club. It was only as I got older and started to meet others who were similarly enthusiastic about them that I realized that they had a lot of fans, and really cool ones no less. Getting to befriend many of them, and better yet, work with them, was an absolute joy.

Tonight was a whirlwind of an event. I got to hang out with Roger, Rodney and Larry from the Bonzos, all wonderful guys. I celebrated with (Richard Allen), who spearheaded the project, and (Dan Abbott), who designed the gorgeous artwork for the upcoming boxes. I got to connect with longtime FB friends and fellow Bonzos enthusiasts like (Louise Marriott) and (Adam Smith), and not least had the pleasure of viewing the restored footage by the talented (Michael Livesley) of the band’s 1968 appearance on groundbreaking music television program “Colour Me Pop”…and got to shake the hand of Steve Turner, the very modest man who produced the series back in the 60s. That’s not something I get to say everyday! I’m still in awe.

And more on the screening. I knew it was going to be special, but I didn’t realize how truly special until I was right there, viewing a newly constructed edit of what was once a lost television programme. And doing so with a packed audience of fellow fans. You have to understand: amongst Bonzos enthusiasts, their appearance on CMP (as commonly abbreviated) was considered a holy grail find. An hour long colour TV program entirely scripted (or non-scripted) by a music/art group in 1968 was completely abd totally unheard of. Steve Turner gave the Bonzos complete creative freedom, and the result was a groundbreaking hour of television. And no one had seen much of it since then.

Fast forward several decades, when it was discovered that Turner had reels of footage from CMP in his shed. Including the Bonzos show, and outtakes. I’m profoundly grateful he didn’t just toss them out years earlier. This was BIG news for archivists and fans. Unfortunately due to the state of the film, not all of it was able to be restored, but thanks to a separate audio track, Michael was able to reconstruct the show. And what a magnificent job he did. By the time the end credits began to roll while the Bonzos performed an anarchic rendition of “The Intro and the Outro”, I was practically in tears of joy. I can’t quite explain how special this screening was, but I’m so extremely glad I was able to attend.

Not surprisingly, the Q&A with the Bonzos was hilarious and anarchic - I’m STILL laughing just thinking of the stories! And the after party was wonderful, getting to chat with longtime friends and colleagues. And the after-after party in the pub was a blast as well. (As Richard reminded me, the same exact pub that Larry and Keith Moon got up to shenanigans back in the day.)”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As you can tell, it was quite an adventure. I got to the venue before the doors opened, making my way to the green room, where I spent a lovely time pre-show hanging out with Rodney, Roger and Larry of the Bonzos and other music industry pals and friends involved with the Boxset. It was a joy to connect and swap stories with everyone, after all we’d been waiting seven years - about time! After the screening, the Bonzos members and our group went back to the green room to chat….until the staff at the BFI kicked us all out, because they needed the room for another party and screening! Some reception! (But I jest.) By this point, Rodney, Roger and Larry had received rides home, and everyone else in our party continued the celebration at the BFI bar and lounge. Getting to chat with Colour Me Pop producer Steve Turner was wonderful (many thanks to Adam Smith for bringing him to the event), as was conversing at length with friends from both the music and Bonzo worlds. There was a warmth shared by all of us who’d worked so hard to make this night a reality, and it was an absolute joy to revel in the moment.

Meeting the lovely and talented producer Steve Turner

After the BFI bar closed, a group of us made our way to the Hole in the Wall pub, which, as I mentioned above, was the site of many a Vivian Stanshall and Keith Moon evening out….until they closed at 1 AM and kicked us all out, upon which time we dispersed into our corners of London.

In the meantime, here’s some photos I took from that evening to enjoy. Many of these were taken at the pre-show green room party, and others at the event itself. (All photos © Chaim O’Brien-Blumenthal).