Life of Neil Innes, Suffolk's 7th Python, told in new book

Encapsulating the life of Neil Innes seems an impossible task – but this is precisely what his wife of more than 50 years, Yvonne, has managed to do, rising at 5am each morning for three months to commit their most cherished memories to paper.

For some, Neil Innes will be a name instantly familiar through his time spent with the Beatles.

For others, it will be his Monty Python sketches and hilarious songs which stand out in the memory. Or else, you may know him as one of the co-founders of the band Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah.

“He wasn't so much the Seventh Python as the First Neil Innes,” said Sir Michael Palin, speaking after Neil’s death in 2019, aged 75.

“We were very lucky to have him on board. He was a great writer and he was eccentric and he was clever without being pretentious. And he was the warmest of people to be with... he was a most lovely friend.”

Neil's dazzling career spanned five decades. (Image: PA) Yvonne Innes spent three months compiling her memoir, Dip My Brain in Joy: A Life with Neil Innes. (Image: Yvonne Innes) Yvonne and Neil Innes were married for 53 years. (Image: Yvonne Innes) Neil was born in Danbury, near Chelmsford, in 1944. He attended Norwich School of Arts before studying drama at Goldsmiths College in London, which is where he and Yvonne met.

They married in 1966.

At the time, Neil contemplating a career either in art or music. He plumped for music, explained Yvonne, after meeting Vivian Stanshall, another of Bonzo Dog’s co-founders.

“The first time he met Viv, he was wearing brogues, a tartan suit, and he had these huge plastic ears on,” remembered Yvonne. “So, he thought that music would be much more fun!”

The Bonzos would go on to appear in the Beatles’ 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour, which is how Neil came to befriend the late George Harrison, with whom he remained great friends until Harrison’s death in 2001.

Neil also co-founded The Rutles, which was originally a fictional band for a sketch in Eric Idle’s comedy series Rutland Weekend Television.

The band proved so popular that Idle wrote the television film All You Need Is Cash, with Neil writing 20 original songs described as “pastiches” of tunes from the Beatles.

During 1968 and ’69, the Bonzos appeared weakly in the children’s TV series Do Not Adjust Your Set, which also featured Monty Python members Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam.

“John [Cleese] and Graham [Chapman] said they used to race home to see this children’s show,” explained Yvonne. “The Bonzos were completely mad – they always were, but beautifully mad.

“Neil was the one who kept it all together.”

Neil was, in a way, the bridge between the Bonzos and the Pythons, who were intrigued by this unruly band.

“He loved being with the Pythons,” said Yvonne. “He had an incredible memory, he liked being challenged.”

The Pythons on the set of Life of Brian. Left to right: Michael Palin, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. (Image: PA) Yvonne's memoir has been described as: It is tribute to life inside the circus, with the gentlest and wisest of clowns. (Image: PA) Neil went on to write several of the iconic songs from the sketches, including all songs from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, including Knights of the Round Table and Brave Sir Robin.

Yvonne also believes her husband is one of the whistlers in the classic Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

“Eric [Idle] was having a hard time with the song, it just wasn’t gelling,” explained Yvonne. “Neil said he did the whistling, and then the song was OK – but having said that, so many other people have claimed to have done the whistling.”

In 1980, Neil and Yvonne decided to move out of London with their three sons.

The village of Debenham became their sanctuary, in a small cottage  “up a river” – so much so that when they arrived, their belongings had to be transferred to a smaller removal van, as the lorry hadn’t a hope of getting close to the house.

Neil Innes with his producer Matthew Townsend (left) in 2011. (Image: PA) Neil, pictured here with his producer Matthew Townsend (left). (Image: Newsquest) They remained in Suffolk for many years, before relocating to France.

After Neil’s sudden death in 2019, Yvonne decided to return to the county which had welcomed her.

Now, five years on, she is the proud author of Dip My Brain in Joy: A Life with Neil Innes.

The memoir will be published on October 24, with a launch at Aldeburgh Bookshop on Saturday, October 26, at 6pm.

For fans of Neil’s work from any stage of his career, the book provides a behind-the-scenes view of Neil’s world, including not just the highlights of his working life, but snippets of his home life, juggling raising his three sons in Suffolk with a sparkling career.

A celebration of Neil’s life, paying homage to all aspects of his impressive career, will also be held at the O2 Arena in London on November.