And now for something completely - well, at least a little bit - different. Here now, the Pre-fab Four, The Rutles! Yes, here they are, the legendary foursome, Ron Nasty, Dirk McQuickly, Stig O'Hara, and Barry Wom, who created a musical legacy that would last a lunchtime! Those 4 moptops, their music, and their trousers. If you only have the 'official releases' from The Rutles (The Rutles and Archaeology), then you have only just scratched the surface of the festering boil that is The Rutles music. As with their slightly more famous real-life counterparts, the Rutles official releases are far outnumbered by the various bootlegs, outtakes, and rarities compilations. Here we present some of the various bootleg collections that have made the rounds.
Just like the 'other group's' bootlegs, these are a mishmash of various tracks (rehearsals, live, outtakes, demos, etc.) thrown together. There's a lot of duplication, particularly from the 1978 rehearsal sessions, and the quality varies greatly, but they all contain some different tracks as well as some annoyingly enticing but worthless rubbish (such as 'the Missing Rutles song', etc.). but as Rutles fans, we MUST have everything we can get, right? So, for you completists, here is a selection of available Rutlegs.
Yesterday's Leftovers (live, outtakes, rarities)
mp3@320 (with album artwork - Butcher cover)
Tracklist (see notes)
01. I MUST BE IN LOVE [1]
02. THE CHILDREN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL
03. I MUST BE IN LOVE [2]
04. CHEESE AND ONIONS
05. SHANGRI-LA
06. HOLD MY HAND
07. BRIAN THIGH
08. YOU NEED FEET
09. DIRK'S LOVE SONG
10. LULLABY
11. BABY S'IL VOUS PLAIT
12. MY LITTLE UKELELE
13. UNDER MY SKIN
14. RUT-A-LOT
15. I MUST BE IN LOVE [3]
16. NOT LETTING IT BE
Rutles_-_Yesterdays_Leftovers.rar
Sweet Rutle Tracks
Rehearsal sessions (1978) mp3@192
Tracklist
01. Intro & We’ve Arrived
02. Now She’s Left You
03. Number One
04. Love Life
05. Radio Spot & Interview
06. Goose Step Mama
07. It’s Looking Good
08. I Must Be In Love
09. Baby Let Me Be
10. Radio Spot
11. Good Times Roll
12. Let’s Be Natural
13. Get Up And Go
14. Old Blues Man Interview
15. Blue Suede Schubert
16. Between Us
17. Piggy In The Middle
18. Living In Hope
Rutles_-_Sweet_Rutle_Tracks_(Reharsals).rar
Savage Young Rutles
Rehearsals? mp3 @ 320k
Tracklist:
01. Baby Let Me Be
02. Blue Suede Schubert
03. Between Us
04. It’s Looking Good
05. Goose Step Mama
06. I Must Be In Love
07. We’ve Arrived
08. Now She’s Left You
09. Number One
10. Love Life
11. Good Times Roll
12. Doubleback Alley
13. Piggy In The Middle
14. Let’s Be Natural
15. Get Up And Go
16. Living In Hope
17. Plenty Of Time
Rutles_-_Savage_Young_Rutles.rar
The Last Tea Party Tapes
(live, outtakes, rarities) mp3@128k
01. I Must Be In Love (Live)
02. With A Girl Like You (Live)
03. Ouch!
04. Another Day (Live)
05. Hold My Hand (Live)
06. Now She’s Left You (Rat Keller 1962)
07. Blue Suede Schubert (Rat Keller)
08. I Must Be In Love (rehearsal)
09. It’s Looking Good (rehearsal)
10. Piggy In The Middle (Take 5)
11. Let’s Be Natural (rehearsal)
12. Good Times Roll (Edit piece 3)
13. Baby S'il Vous Plait (French version)
14. The Short Blues (Ron & Barry)
15. Bonsoir A Revoir (Ron & Barry)
16. The Missing Rutles Song (Let It Rot sessions)
17. Lullaby (Let It Rot sessions)
18. Fallen Arch Angel (Let It Rot sessions)
19. Questionnaire (early demo)
20. Get Up and Go (Take 16)
The_Rutles_-_Last_Tea_Party_Tapes.rar
Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band
mp3 @ 128k
Tracklist
From the Archives
01. Goose Step Mama
02. Between Us
03. With A Girl Like You
04. Hold My Hand
05. I Must Be In Love
06. Ouch!
07. It’s Looking Good
08. Love Life
09. Piggy In The Middle
10. Cheese and Onions
11. Get Up And Go
12. Doubleback Alley
Ron & Barry - The Backyard tapes
13. Act Naturally
14. Between Us
15. We’ve Arrived
16. Hello Goodbye
17. The Short Blues
18. Cheese and Onions
Rutles on TV
19. Cheese and Onions
Live Rutles
20. Another Day
21. With A Girl Like You
22. Ouch!
23. Hold My Hand
Rare Acetates
24. I Must Be In Love
25. Good Times Roll
26. Ging Gang Goolie (Dirk & Stig - 1978 single)
27. Mr Sheene (Dirk & Stig - 1978 single)
The_Rutles_-_Sgt._Rutters_Only_Darts_Club_Band.rar
All New Links! (Updated 11/20/23)
The Rutles are, of course, a delightful Beatles parody created by ex-Monty Pythoner Eric Idle and his songwriting partner, Neil Innes. It originally started with a brief skit (one song) for their mid-70's TV show, Rutland Weekend Televsion in 1976. The idea grew from there, and after an appearance on Saturday Night Live, Idle and Innes were encouraged to develop The Rutles into a full-length TV film (and 20 Rutles songs), entitled 'All You Need Is Cash'. An album culled from the film followed, and was later revisited over the years with a follow-up album in 1996, as well as various appearances and live performances. The Rutles live on as probably the best Beatles parody ever, certainly the most fun, with it's wickedly clever, dead-on, silly, and loving tribute to the Beatles story. And the songs are actually pretty good, too.
