A Rockin' Rutles Reunion

It was a Ruttling good time for all at the Egyptian Theater Monday night as the American Cinematheque presented a 30th anniversary screening of NBC's 1978 Beatles spoof, "All You Need is Cash," starring the Rutles.

All four original members were in attendance:  Eric "Dirk McQuickly" Idle (who wrote and co-directed the spesh), Neil "Ron Nasty" Innes (who wrote the songs), John "Barry Wom" Halsey and Ricky "Stig O'Hara" Fataar. Since the Rutles had never had a public event in their original incarnation, Idle quipped, "It's the first time a band has reunited before they've united."

Asked how it felt to be back in the Rutles saddle, Innes said "We're not really in the saddle, we're more in the sidecar." The group had no plans to perform, leaving that to the Fab Four (pictured above with the Rutles), the cover band who are performing "Rutlemania" at the Ricardo Montalban Theater. Yet at the after-party, the original Rutles were coaxed onstage to play in public for the first time.

Before the show, Idle called the Rutles the ultimate in  "unreality TV" and denied he would be basking in the adulation of his fans. "Basking is done at home, in the bath," he said.  Fataar, who has toured as the drummer for Bonnie Raitt and other music notables, deadpanned that "(The Rutles) have dogged me every step of the way," before admitting "It's a musician's band, they're musicians' jokes, and musicians really like it." 

Which may explain why Mick Jagger, who appeared in the spesh as himself, sent a message: "After all the on-and-off promises and canceled shows, I can't believe you have finally decided — at your great age — to defy all the odds and recreate your magnificent past. I wish I could be there. If only to laugh."

Notables in the aud included The Police's Andy Summers, Jeff Lynne (E.L.O. and Broadway's "Xanadu"), Aimee Mann, Stephen Bishop and Homer Simpson himself, Dan Castellaneta.

VIPs at the pre-show reception received copies of Monday's Variety with its Rutles page, which Idle called, "The end of news as we know it." (D. Cohen)

Pictured above:  The Rutles - John Halsey, Neil Innes, Eric Idle and Ricky Fataar - with their tribute-band counterparts in The Pre-Fab Four/ Photo:  Lee Christian