Rutles - Photoscapes

by Bill Gray

published: 6 / 6 / 2014

Bill Gray photographs spoof Beatles act the Rutles at a show at the ABC2 in Glasgow

Article

The Rutles started out in 1975 as a imaginary act, which was created by Neil Innes and Eric Idle in a short sketch for 'Monty Python' member Eric Idle's television series,'Rutland Weekend Television'. They then years later eventually became a real group. The Rutles, an affectionate parody of the Beatles, went on to appear in two spoof documentaries, 1978's 'All You Need is Cash', in which George Harrison notably appeared, and then 2002's 'The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'. The films featured several Beatles' music pastiches written by Neil Innes, and the group have now recorded two albums of them, 'The Rutles' (1978) and 'Archaeology' (1996). They have been a touring act since 1997, featuring original members Innes (piano, guitar and vocals) and John Halsey (drums and vocals) who have been joined by Mark Griffiths (bass guitar and vocals), Mickey Simmonds (keyboards and vocals), Ken Thornton (lead guitar and vocals) and JJ Jones (percussion). They perform songs from both Innes's solo career and also the Rutles solo career. These photographs of the Rutles were taken by Bill Gray at a show in front of a fantatical and ecstatic audience on the 2nd June at the ABC2 in Glasgow .