Vivian Stanshall The Biography

Vivian Stanshall is the quintessential pop hero of the 60s, 70s, and 80s who first shot to fame in 1968 in the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Viv was well known too for his ribald tales of the upper-class Rawlinsons and Maynards who were the bees’ knees for anyone with a warped sense of humor.

Born in 1943 in Oxfordshire, his family settled in the coastal town of Leigh-on-Sea. After being a bingo-caller to painting fairground attractions (with a spell in the merchant navy), Stanshall enrolled at London’s Central School of Art and Design. It was there in 1962, that he met Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, Larry Smith, and Neil Innes and formed the Bonzo Dog Band.

They appeared in the Beatles ' Magical Mystery Tour' movie in 1967, and enjoyed an off-kilter Top 10 hit with `I’m The Urban Spaceman’ a year later,

After the Bonzo’s split in early 1970 (LPs: `Gorilla’, `The Doughnut In Granny’s Greenhouse’, `Tadpoles’ and `Keynsham’), Viv explored his unique musical madness on several smashing LPs and 45s.

As contractual duties led Viv back to the Bonzos to 1972’s 'Let’s Make Up And Be Friendly’ – showcasing the sophisticated, spoken-wordsmith’s introduction to Sir Henry, via `Rawlinson End’.

Thinking Mike Oldfield’s titanic `Tubular Bells’ would never be the success it became, Stanshall’s MC-sonic word-play was an essential ingredient. He never got paid.

Vivian tragically passed away on March 5, 1995, in a London flat fire at the age of 51. The fire was believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette, and Stanshall, living alone at the time, died from smoke inhalation. His death was a shocking loss to the world of music and the avant-garde, as Stanshall was known for his wit, surrealist humor, and innovative contributions to British rock and comedy.

© 2025 Icon Audio Arts (Audiobook): 9781834070261

Release date

Audiobook: 7 February 2025