Neil Innes: The Fab Fool
Comedy historian Jem Roberts salutes the Eighth Python and Nicest Rutle in the first exploration of The Beatles comedy careers
Writing comedy history non-fiction to get rich is like cosplaying as a slug to get laid, but there are many good reasons for devoting your life to the pursuit: celebrating the greatest feats in laughter-making history, walking that fine line between waffly analysis and all-too-wacky levity, sharing classic laughs while keeping the metaphorical frog alive.
For me, a crucial justification for what I do is the preservation of the anecdotes and comedy tips of the greats – this is a particular passion of mine, not least because comedy geniuses just keep on dying all the time.