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Fortunately, Rhino again stepped in to make Rutles material available. They bought the right to release the show on home video, and reissued the videotape on February 22, 1996. Despite the sticker-like yellow circle printed on the cover of the Rhino release, this version is the same as the previous home video issued by Pacific Arts. |
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The home video releases of All You Need Is Cash, as well as the
version shown in syndication, differ slightly from the version as
originally aired on NBC in 1978. Aside from the expected differences
inherent in taking a program built around commercial breaks and making
it a smoothly-flowing presentation, one scene is entirely different.
The interview with Brian Thigh, the man who turned down the Rutles, was originally longer, and (in my opinion, at least), funnier. This is the scene as it originally played. (654kwav file) |
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Thanks to MJ 'Simo' Simpson and Errol Bruce-Knapp, we know that "You Need Feet" was originally recorded and released in England by Bernard Bresslaw, a very tall, slow-spoken British comedy actor who starred as Popeye, the "dumb-as-a-stick" conscript, in the immensely popular ITV sitcom "The Army Game" in 1957. (There's a further Beatles connection here as well. Starring with Bresslaw in "The Army Game" was Charles Hawtrey, who John Lennon mentions as playing the deaf-aids on the "Let It Be" album.)
"You Need Feet" was a low-level UK chart entry around 1959. It was a parody of the hit song "You Need Hands," which had just been popularized in the U.K. by British singer/entertainer Max Bygraves.
The song does go back quite a few years before its use in the Rutles story. Although I don't have a 45 copy of Bresslaw's renditon of the song (hint, hint), I do have a performance that predates All You Need Is Cash by 14 years.
In an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show entitled "The Return of Edwin Carp," which aired originally on April 1, 1964, the character of Edwin Carp recites "You Need Feet" (525K wav) on "The Alan Brady Show." Edwin Carp is portrayed in the show by Richard Haydn, and the show credits the song "You Need Feet" to R. Irnin, arranged by Sid Colin.
According to Harris Sherman, "You Need Feet" is also "regretfully on Chad and Jeremy's 'The Ark' LP. A stupid inclusion to an otherwise very good album!"
The song is credited on the album as "YOU NEED FEET (You Need Hands)" by R. Irwin (ASCAP)
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A short-lived Rutles Fan Club, called RutleManiacs International,
was created and run by David Rosenbaum in the year after All You Need Is Cash aired. In the third issue of the fan club newsletter "Rutles Forever," an interview with Eric Idle
conducted by Mr. Rosenbaum was published in the summer of 1979.
In this interview, Idle talks about the origin of the idea, some problems involved in making the TV movie, and is able to discuss it with some perspective, since almost a year had passed since the airing of the show. |
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