The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band was officially noted as being formed in West Dulwich, a suburb of London, England. Rodney Slater was an art student who played (saxophone) and was sharing a flat with a mate who found Vivian Stanshall to join them awaiting a boxing match broadcast live from Chicago on TV with Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston. A three-hour wait, they passed the time with word games which produced the strange phrase Bonzo Dog Doo Dah. Bonzo was in reference to Bonzo the Dog, a cartoon character illustration in the 1920s by George Studdy.

Rod (sax), Tom (sousaphone), with Roger Wilkes (trumpet) and Trevor Brown (banjo) were art college students and performed together playing jazz and dadaism music at parties and school events. It was then that they decided to add Vivian who could play (tuba). They became The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band playing odd jazz at pubs and colleges. After a couple months they fell apart but Rod and Viv sought others to continue. Viv met Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell (guitar, bass, banjo) and Neil Innes (guitar, piano) at a pub, who agreed to join. They brought in Martin Ash (Sams Spoons), who played (drums and spoons), Roger Ruskin Spear (saxophone, kazoo) and Legs Larry Smith (tapdancing and general stage weirdness).

Vivian was outlandish, into the avant-garde and theatre of the absurd and recast himself as (vocalist). He was also into the old clay 78 discs from the 1920s and 30s. He and Rod would peruse through thrift stores finding odd titled 78 records like “I’m Gonna Bring A Watermelon to My Girl Tonight”, "Eve Cost Adam Just One Bone", “With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm” and others. 

Viv would revise the words for many of the tunes into sexual innuendos. They dressed in suits, odd ties, spectator shoes and wore wigs and masks setting up elaborate stage props performing at local cabarets. The stage set up was a statement against everything. There could be as little as six players up to 15 on stage. You never knew who would show up.

The idea was to play as loud as they could and as badly as possible until somebody noticed. Completely freelance, all the chaos and comedy sold out shows to standing room only at every event. Roger Spear had an interest in sculpture, robotics, electronic gadgets and weird making sound instruments and provided the stage props for their performances. Legs Larry Smith tap danced during the shows. Never pretending to be very good, a lot of the audience turned up just to see what they could get away with.

Gerry Bron produced and managed the band scheduling and booking them 5-6 nights per week.

Liberty Records signed the band and they went to EMI/Abbey Road Studios to record their first album, Gorilla. Suddenly they were part of the aspiring psychedelic music scene with the Pirate Radio stations in England playing songs like “Jollity Farm” and “The Intro and The Outro”. The Beatles found them delightful and they were invited to be part of The Magical Mystery Tour film project, performing “Death Cab For Cutie”. Vivian Stanshall showed up in a long clear overcoat with fake fried eggs sewn in all over. He was the “Eggman” vocalized in their song “I Am The Walrus”.

The album songs on Gorilla were all like novelty songs and the label wanted a hit tune from the band. Vernon and Sam Spoons were fired. Legs Larry Smith filled in on (drums). Neil Innes wrote “I’m The Urban Spaceman” that had a rock feel about it. Paul MacCartney, listed as Apollo C. Vermouth, produced the song which peaked on the UK charts at #5. The B side included “Canyons of Your Mind” written by Vivan Stanshall. They went to Morgan Studios and completed a second album, The Doughnut In Granny’s Greenhouse with Joel Druckman on (bass), who joined the band.

Regular appearances began on John Peels BBC1 radio show Top Gear. Great interest in the USA prompted a tour backing The Who and The Kinks but other than dates at The Fillmore East & West and a few small club dates, most of the tour included the band renting a station wagon with Neil driving around America viewing the sights. 

Back in England an album was put together involving some tracks recorded for a weekly TV program they were involved with called Do Not Adjust Your Set. Cast members included Eric Idol, Michael Palin and Terry Jones who all went on to perform with Monty Pythons Flying Circus. The Bonzo Dog Band shortened their name and provided songs from that show expecting a soundtrack album. Tadpoles became their top selling album.

Vivian decided to fire Gerry Bron, their manager, and take those duties on as well. The band as a whole, as weird as they sounded and looked, were not into drugs of any kind with an occasional pint of beer. But the pressure on Viv took its toll and he changed. Not as witty as he once was, he developed stage fright and got heavy into Valium and drinking.

Supporting bands like Cream, Traffic, Free and other heavy bands made them realize that music was serious business. The fun was no longer there. One more disastrous US tour happened with two more albums recorded and after five years together the band broke apart.

Vivian continued to write music and recorded a solo effort. He married and bought a huge ship where they lived for a couple years. It was called The Profanity Showboat and they moored it on Bristol Bay. Vivian wrote musicals and hired players to perform his stage plays on the boat. Things went well for a while but they eventually divorced. He performed sporadically until his death in March 1995.

Musically, whimsical comedy, hard rock, rock-a-billy, psychedelic weirdness with guitars, horns, sax, echoes, piano, special studio effects. Short on comparisons but influenced by the 50's Spike Jones antics in a rock format. The Monty Python of music. Outrageously good. Several notable songs were played as staples on underground FM radio. "Jollity Farm", "The Intro and the Outro", “I’m The Urban Spaceman”, “Hunting Tigers Out in Indiah”, “Shirt”, “Mr. Apollo”, “Canyons of Your Mind”, "Trouser Press" to name a few.

This was their second LP. An original US Imperial label press. The UK version of this album was called The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse.

GRADING DETAILS - SHIPPING DETAILS - RETURNS - FEEDBACK - ETC.

Auctions are listed for 7 days.  

ITEMS PULLED FROM THE AUCTION LIST - Keep in mind that if I continue to relist auction items that have been sitting for weeks with NO ACTION and several watchers with NO BIDS, I may pull the record and sell it to my local buyer. This can occur before the auction ends. LPs will typically be discounted before this happens. So, please bid if you are at all interested. Bids can always be retracted for no reason.

All records are Graded to the best of my ability and are rated VINYL FIRST / THEN COVER. For Double LPs Vinyl / Vinyl / Cover. 

GRADING DETAILS – Everything I list will be at least VG+ or better, both visually and audibly, unless I state otherwise. 95% of what is offered and up for bid is very clean with maybe 1 or 2 minor flaws. If it’s very rare, it may be offered with obvious visual marks, scratches, warps and might make some low-level noise. But this would be a rare instance. I’ll describe any flaws as best I can. I ASK THAT YOU READ THE FULL DETAILS AS DESCRIBED BY ME ABOUT THE LOOKS AND SOUND OF THE RECORD. Don’t base everything on a simple grading rate M, EX, VG++, etc. I’m not that good at it.

AUDIBLE GRADING – All vinyl records are played before they are listed. Some records look bad and play good. Others look perfect but play badly. Any visual flaws that I see will be described and I will let you know if they make an audible noise. 95% of the records up for bid are very clean sounding. You may hear a minor tick or click as its spinning but typically light hairline scratches and sleeve marks Do Not Affect Play (DNAP) and should not detract from your overall listening pleasure.

VISUAL GRADING - PLEASE READ THIS!!!

COVERS - I'm a 73-year-old guy with Strabismus (an eye disorder). I try to visually describe every flaw that I can see, but sometimes I miss a small tear or a tiny seam split.

SHELF WEAR generally means that the cellophane was removed when the LP was new and it sat on a shelf or in a box without a plastic sleeve, before they were available, for several years, so there can be some rub blemishes, sticker residue if it was purchased used, tiny tears, slight seam splits and other defects.

EDGE WEAR usually means the picture wrap around the edge has been worn, sometimes into the cardboard itself. This usually happens on the top or bottom edge.

CORNER WEAR is the same as edge wear but sometimes there will be a dent or ding at the corner. All 4 sides are suspect for this occurrence.

RING WEAR occurs when a record was not stored in a protective sleeve for a very long time. Back in the day, plastic sleeves were not easily available. Most of us as teenagers, ripped off the cellophane and didn’t consider how the record cover was being stored. Most of the record covers laid on the floor or were stored in the closet or on a shelf for easy access. If they sat for a long time, earth movement, that nobody feels, causes vibration and the record sleeves would rub together and wear on the cover picture or illustration causing the ring wear and other flaws.

THE VINYL RECORD ITSELF - I will try to visually grade both sides of the vinyl record. There might be some sleeve rubs or marks on some of these. All of my records were played more than once, unless they are sealed. If I mention ticks and or clicks in the description, that means that you can visually see and sometimes hear the imperfection. Most of these Do Not Affect the Play (DNAP). I try my best to see any flaws but understand I don’t Inspect these LPs with a High Lumens Tactical Light and a Magnifying Glass. If the visual flaws are obvious or severe, I try and describe these as best as I can. If there are a lot of visual scratches, it won’t be listed. The exception is if the LP is very rare. I will list a rare record that looks bad but plays pretty good without skips.

SPINDLE MARKS can be obvious if a record was popular and played a lot. The record label material and finish will determine if marks are visible. Most of the big labels don't have this problem because the finish is unusually pretty solid and durable. It's the small and private labels or a matted finish where most spindle marks will be noticed. I don't mention these for any of my listings but if that is a concern to you, ask me before you make a bid.

INNER SLEEVES - Most of the inner sleeves are simple paper sleeves and have slight splits, bends and tears on older LPs. If they’re really bad or split in half, I replace them with a newer paper or plastic sleeve. GENERIC means a blank paper sleeve.

WARPED RECORDS normally occur when they are stored near high heat. I will never send a warped record unless it is very slight and doesn't affect play. If you live somewhere in the world that has high temperatures that could affect package delivery. Insurance is a must to guarantee no loss on the item you bought. You are responsible for this request and there is an additional charge for insurance. Let me know. There is NO REFUND for a record that was sent not warped when packed but was delivered as warped and unplayable. I cannot put records on ice for delivery to high heat areas of the world. Buy package insurance so there won't be any $$$$$ loss in case this happens.

HIGH END RECORDS - There will be a few more pictures for any records that are high end items. I will give a more critical inspection and description of both cover and vinyl. Ask for more pictures if you need them and I can send them to you.

PACKAGING - LPs will be packaged in the proper corrugated cardboard box, we all know about, with extra cardboard pads. Each LP will have a clear plastic sleeve. The record itself will be removed and shipped within the inner sleeve, outside the cover or inside the fold of a gatefold cover all within a plastic outer sleeve to prevent any seam splits. All of the boxes I package records in are new and there are typically no problems. I can also ship in a Whiplash Box which protects the edges and corners. But I will only do this if you request it. 

SEALED RECORDS - The vinyl record will NOT be removed from a sealed LP purchase for shipping. I would advise you to add additional insurance for all sealed LPs that are being shipped to high heat areas due to possible heat warping. No obligation, but it safeguards against some potential problems.

PAYMENT - Payment is good only through E-Bay options, either PayPal or Credit Card, and is due within 7 days unless you let me know. I will send you at least three invoices with reminders to pay during the 7-day period. If payment has NOT been received within that 7-day payment period and you have NOT contacted me, the order will be canceled and the record will be offered to the second place bidder or will be relisted. 

I WILL SHIP WORLDWIDE, BUT INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING IS DETERMINED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE PACKAGE. DO NOT MAKE A PAYMENT UNTIL I SEND YOU AN INVOICE.

INVOICES - E-Bay will always send you an invoice for each item ordered. If you ordered one item, there is no problem. Go ahead and make the payment. But, they DO NOT combine the shipping cost for multiple purchase orders. So, when they invoice you, the minimum shipping cost will multiply times that of however many items you won. Example: 5 items won will appear as 5 times the minimum postage rate. DO NOT PAY the separate E-Bay invoices you receive for multiple orders. Only I can discount the postage rate for two or more items ordered. So, wait for me to invoice you if you've won two or more items. I package them all together and send you an invoice with discounted postage costs.

PAYMENT EXTENTION - If you have won an auction and see another item that ends beyond the 7-day maximum payment period, let me know and I will hold your item until that bid period ends. This would be a special circumstance that would not typically extend beyond 10 days. I will invoice you for the full amount and expect payment at that point.

POSTAGE COST - Typically, the minimum cost for USPS Media mail in the USA would be 1-2 LPs $5.50 USD. Canada 1-2 LPs around $24.00 USD. Europe, Japan and other countries around the world, $33.00 USD for 1-2 LPs. Additional LPs as per total weight. I will send an invoice with the total postage cost. Everything is shipped via USPS. I don't use the E-Bay International shipping. 

TRACKING - Each package will be assigned a USPS tracking number. Tracking for International shipping only covers destinations within the USA and only gives Dates of Arrival for all countries outside of the USA. Customs delays can and do occur. Your package may have arrived in your country and/or city, but it is probably sitting at your customs depot. (Sometimes for weeks) It would be up to you to call them and provide the tracking number for details about your package.

POSTAGE DISCOUNT - I combine the shipping for multiple record purchases but will only send a maximum of 10-12 records per package. Additional postage will be determined by the total weight of the package. An invoice will be sent to you by me.

ADDITIONAL COSTS - Priority Mail, Insurance, etc. is available at additional costs. Let me know and I will send an invoice.

REFUNDS - I will Refund for any item purchased and received that was not fully as described. Grading is difficult and is the usual cause of concern. We're talking used and 30-60 years old. THERE ARE NO PERFECT RECORDS. Even sealed records can have visual and audible flaws, ticks, clicks, skips and heat warps. IF YOU OPEN A SEALED RECORD AND IT IS WARPED SO BADLY THAT IT DOESN'T PLAY, that usually means it was stored near or shipped in high heat. I have no way of knowing. All sealed records should be insured, just in case that happens. But with regard to a warped record that was sealed and is unplayable, contact me anyway, I will make it right. Any other flaws found on a sealed record that was opened by you, deems the LP non-refundable. If there is a concern, please contact me. We can always work things out.

DAMAGES DURING DELIVERY CAUSED BY THE POSTAL SERVICE - Any damages that are caused due to unfortunate circumstances during the delivery process, broken records, scrapes, heavy package dents caused by something heavy set on the box, warpage caused by excessive heat during delivery, etc. should be handled through E-Bay. They guarantee that packages arrive in the condition as described. If there are obvious damages to the package and the record is unplayable, email me with pictures of the record and the package as delivered and let me know. I mark all packages with "Fragile. Do Not Bend" notices marked in RED, so they should be careful. But $&#t happens. I will not be responsible for damages that were not incurred by me. But E-Bay can refund the transaction with proof. Pictures speak a thousand words.

Please message me through E-Bay to discuss any problems or concerns. ANY OBVIOUS MISTAKES I MADE IN THE DESCRIPTION OF AN ITEM PURCHASED WILL BE HONORED AND PARTIALLY OR FULLY REFUNDED. But email me through E-Bay to discuss the situation first. I'm always happy to work things out. Every customer is cherished.

Positive Feedback is happily accepted and reciprocated.