The Bonzos
As Michael was best-known for his stage interpretation of the work of Bonzos frontman, Vivian Stanshall, it was only natural that sooner or later he would come to the attention of the late, great Neil Innes. Michael first met Neil when he attended the London premiere of Sir Henry at Rawlinson End in October 2011.
Neil immediately suggested that they perform together leading to 2 nights at Liverpool's Epstein Theatre, entitled How Nice to be in England, in October 2012.
Over the next 3 years, various collaborations beckoned until, in 2015, Neil asked Michael if he would be interested in singing for The Bonzos on their upcoming tour. For Michael, this was a Roy of the Rovers moment. Michael had been a fan of the Bonzos from the first time that he had seen them in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.
The first show featuring Michael on vocals took place at Koko, London in 2015. This was filmed and later broadcast as a TV Special entitled I Should Koko.
Following this, further shows took place, including one at the London Palladium featuring Tim Brooke-Taylor.
During the tour, one of the band's founders - Rodney 'Rhino' Slater - suggested to Michael that once the tour was over, they convene to record an album. This project ended up being named 'Rodney Slater's Parrots' - in reference to the famous Bonzos song, and in 2017 the album 'Parrotopia' was recorded at Michael's studio, which was then situated in his garden shed, deep in the heart of the Test Valley. Aside from co-writing the album, Michael also produced it, and designed the album artwork, aside from the cover, which was painted by Tom Connell.
In 2019, Michael attended a record label dinner at the Landmark Hotel, London, during which the details of an upcoming box set and reunion show were discussed. Sadly, the passing of Neil Innes just a few weeks later, meant that the Bonzos were denied their last bow.
With the sad passing of Neil, Michael assumed that his very happy association with the world of The Bonzos was over. However, in 2022, he was asked to produce 2 'new' albums of Vivian Stanshall's work, then came the offer to get the surviving Bonzos back together to celebrate what would have been Vivian Stanshall's 80th birthday for a live event at London's Union Chapel.
Following the success of the albums, Madfish asked Michael if he would like to collate the band's video archive and produce the material for their upcoming Bonzos' box set. Michael was thrilled be involved and, as part of this project, has recently completed a reconstruction of the long-lost BBC2 Colour Me Pop from 1968.