History Music / TheRutles

** ContestedSequel ''Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'' contains character cameos from Creator/RobinWilliams, Catherine O'Hara, Kevin Nealon, and Jimmy Fallon, and return appearance by Bill Murray as Bill Murray the K. Celebrities appearing as themselves in interviews (and playing along with the Rutles legend) include Creator/TomHanks, Creator/SalmanRushdie, Creator/SteveMartin, Creator/DavidBowie, Creator/CarrieFisher, Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon, who worked closely with Paul McCartney), Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, James Taylor (who was an early signing to Apple Records), Creator/GarryShandling, and several others. Though almost no-one regards this sequel as fondly as the original, the assembled pop culture star power is one reason it has its defenders.

** ContestedSequel ''Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch'' contains character cameos from Creator/RobinWilliams, Catherine O'Hara, Kevin Nealon, and Jimmy Fallon, and return appearance by Bill Murray as Bill Murray the K. Celebrities appearing as themselves in interviews include Creator/TomHanks, Creator/SalmanRushdie, Creator/SteveMartin, Creator/DavidBowie, Creator/CarrieFisher, Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon), Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, Creator/JamesTaylor, Creator/GarryShandling and several others. Despite the assembled pop culture star power, the sequel is universally considered a disappointment.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: In-universe. All of Chastity's art is seen as evoking this trope, especially by Ron. At one point, Ron and Chastity sit in a bathtub with their clothes on and the water running as a meaningful act of symbolism. The press is there, of course.

* LongTitle: "Major Happy's Up and Coming Once Upon a Good Time Band". Also "Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band".

* DullSurprise: The group's reaction to [[spoiler: Leggy Mountbatten moving to Australia]] is chock full of this.

** Also applies to a Rutles boutique they start. It ends up losing loads of money in a matter of weeks. The solution? [[spoiler: Nasty blows up the place.]]

Fricasse chorus girl's thigh\\

!!Since Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has sporadically been removing and re-adding the lists of tracks parodied by each individual Rutles track, both albums' track lists are reproduced here with said notes:

** "Good Times Roll" similarly takes the wordplay of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" UpToEleven.

** Several ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' personalities make cameos throughout the film: Creator/JohnBelushi as Ron Decline, Creator/DanAykroyd as Brian Thigh (the executive that turned down the Rutles), Creator/GildaRadner as Mrs. Emily Pules (a woman interviewed on the street about the Rutles), Creator/BillMurray as Bill Murray the K, Creator/AlFranken as one of Ron Decline's henchmen, and ''SNL'' producer Creator/LorneMichaels as a sleazy merchandiser.

* {{Corpsing}}: During the scene in which Ron Nasty and Chastity are giving a press conference under a shower (parodying John and Yoko's love-ins), it's clear that Chastity's actress is trying her damnedest not to laugh. Even Neil Innes (Ron Nasty) seems to be wrestling with this; at the end of the scene, when saying, "We came to the conclusion that civilization is nothing more than an effective sewage system, and so by the use of plumbing we hope to demonstrate this to the world," his voice noticeably breaks when saying "world" as if trying to stiffle a laugh.

* PetTheDog: In-uiverse example. Mick Jagger mentions how the Rutles, particularly Dirk, helped out the up-and-coming Rolling Stones by writing a song for them. Turns out to be a subversion, since the Stones played the song, decided it was horrible, and never recorded it.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Subverted; while the Rutles are off with Arthur Sultan, manager Leggy Mountbatten, plagued by business failures and lonely, goes home and tragically...accepts a teaching job in Australia.]]

** "Piggy in the Middle" might be even more bizarre than its role model "I am the Walrus".

WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse\\
Even Pluto too''

* AsHimself: Music/MickJagger, Music/PaulSimon, and Liverpool poet/playwright Roger [=McGough=] appear as themselves in cameos, being interviewed by the narrator (although [=McGough=] doesn't manage to get a word in). Eric Idle even noted Jagger was probably more talkative and relaxed waxing about the Rutles than he would be if interviewed about the Beatles.

* AsHimself: Music/MickJagger, Music/PaulSimon and Liverpool poet/playwright Roger [=McGough=] appear as themselves in cameos, being interviewed by the narrator (although [=McGough=] doesn't manage to get a word in). Eric Idle even noted Jagger was probably more talkative and relaxed waxing about the Rutles than he would be if interviewed about the Beatles.

** Several ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' cast members make cameos throught the film: Creator/JohnBelushi as Ron Decline, Creator/DanAykroyd as Brian Thigh (the executive that turned down the Rutles), Creator/GildaRadner as Mrs. Emily Pules (a woman interviewed on the street about the Rutles), Creator/BillMurray as Bill Murray the K, Creator/AlFranken as one of Ron Decline's henchmen, and SNL producer Creator/LorneMichaels himself as a sleazy merchandiser.

** Mick Jagger's wife at the time Bianca Jagger appears as Martini, Dirk [=McQuickly's=] wife.

* AmbiguouslyGay: According to Leggy Mountbatten's mother Mrs. Iris Mountbatten, he was interested in The Rutles because he loved their... tight trousers... which left nothing... to the imagination. ("Everything was perfectly outlined.") Besides that comment, however, Leggy isn't shown demonstrating any attraction to men (or any gender, for that matter).

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: When describing the "Paul Is Dead"-like {{Urban Legend|s}} Stig has been subject to, the narrator says that one of the "clues" it proclaims is that the band supposedly sings "I buried Stig" on "I Am the Waitress." The narrator then says that it's actually "E burres stigano," which according to him is Spanish for "Have you a water buffalo?" In reality, it doesn't sound even remotely close to anything in Spanish. (Though the narrator does say that it was "very bad Spanish".)

* AmbiguouslyGay: According to Leggy Mountbratten's mother Mrs. Iris Mountbatten, he was interested in The Rutles because he loved their... tight trousers... which left nothing... to the imagination. ("Everything was perfectly outlined.") Besides that comment, however, Leggy isn't shown demonstrating any attraction to men (or any gender, for that matter).

Standing, from left to right: Dirk [=McQuickly=] (Creator/EricIdle), Stig O'Hara (Ricky Fataar), Ron Nasty (Neil Innes).\\
Seated: Barry Wom (John Halsey).]]

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_rutles_i_must_be_in_love_45.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:330:The Pre-Fab Four.\\
Standing, from left to right: Dirk [=McQuickly=] (Creator/EricIdle), Stig O'Hara (Ricky Fataar), Ron Nasty (Neil Innes). Seated: Barry Wom (John Halsey).]]

The Rutles were a FakeBand who produced real music that [[BorrowingTheBeatles parodied/satirized]] that of Music/TheBeatles. They are the subject of ''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'', a 1978 [[{{Mockumentary}} Mocku]]-{{Rockumentary}} that tells their story from their founding to the present. Creator/EricIdle played an accident-prone narrator, as well as the Rutles' bassist Dirk [=McQuickly=] (although he lip-synced his performances, with the actual singing performed by Ollie Halsall, who died in 1992). The rest of the "Pre-Fab Four" were rhythm guitarist Ron Nasty, performed by Neil Innes; lead guitarist Stig O'Hara, performed by erstwhile [[Music/TheBeachBoys Beach Boys]] member Ricky Fataar; and drummer Barry Wom, performed by John Halsey.

When Eric Idle guest-hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' a year later, he brought over two ''RWT'' segments to air as shorts: "Pommy", a parody of ''Music/{{Tommy}}'', in which the hero tries to escape from a Creator/KenRussell film, and the Rutles. Idle was especially proud of Pommy, but naturally Creator/LorneMichaels chose the Rutles; ''SNL'' was in the midst of publicly "wooing" the Beatles to reunite on the show. The short proved to be a wild success, with many viewers calling in to ask about the Rutles (some of them even believing they were actually the Beatles incognito). After Idle returned to England, he began writing a feature-length {{Mockumentary}} for the BBC, but after meeting up again with Michaels, who offered a larger budget with Creator/{{NBC}}, he committed to doing it with them.[[note]]Idle was fed up with shoestring budgets. ''RWT'' wasn't given the funding for a BBC light entertainment (comedy/sketch) show, but that for a chat (talk) show, which meant that they had to make props and do shoots for the money it takes to tape talking heads. Not fun.[[/note]]

''The Rutles'' was perhaps the first ''SNL'' spinoff to be made, but because of its initial failure and the nature of its rehabilitation, they aren't consistently linked. When it originally aired on NBC, it was the lowest-rated program on that night. (Apparently, it aired ''just'' before the revival of Beatlemania.) It has since been VindicatedByHistory and VindicatedByCable. It is also important because it is one of the few films about the Beatles (more or less) that was made before Music/JohnLennon was killed and got the PosthumousPopularityPotential effect.

The ersatz group first appeared in a 1975 sketch on Idle's post-[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Python]] [[Creator/TheBBC BBC2]] sketch show ''Series/RutlandWeekendTelevision'', a program that ranged from SugarWiki/FunnyMoments to SoOkayItsAverage. One of its strengths was the musical numbers, most of which were written by Innes, perviously a core member of [[Music/TheBonzoDogBand The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]] and occasional supporting act on Creator/MontyPython. The Rutles were born from a psychiatric patient who was sick with love songs (ItMakesSenseInContext — sort of). Neil Innes played the patient, singing "I Must Be in Love," which directly segued into a parody of ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' combined with the Beatles' appearance on ''Series/TheEdSullivanShow''. Because ''RWT'' was the source of the band's name, the u is short — "Rut-les."

The Rutles were a FakeBand who produced real music that [[BorrowingTheBeatles parodied/satirized]] that of Music/TheBeatles. They are the subject of ''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'', a 1978 [[{{Mockumentary}} Mocku]]-{{Rockumentary}} that tells their story from their founding to the present. Creator/EricIdle plays an accident-prone narrator, as well as the Rutles' bassist Dirk [=McQuickly=] (although he lip-synced his performances, with the actual singing performed by Ollie Halsall, who died in 1992). The rest of the "Pre-Fab Four" were rhythm guitarist Ron Nasty, performed by Neil Innes; lead guitarist Stig O'Hara, performed by erstwhile [[Music/TheBeachBoys Beach Boys]] member Ricky Fataar; and drummer Barry Wom, performed by John Halsey.

* ThePeteBest: In-universe: Leppo, the Fifth Rutle. Technically, Leppo was a spoof on deceased Beatles bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. Extended canon in the Rutles universe claims that their pre-Barry drummer was named Kevin. Leppo is also a reference to Zeppo Marx, ThePeteBest of the Creator/MarxBrothers.

** The filmmakers had access to the Beatles archive decades before ''Anthology'', down to using StockFootage from actual screaming Beatles fans.

The ersatz group first appeared in a sketch on Idle's post-[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Python]] [[Creator/TheBBC BBC2]] sketch show ''Series/RutlandWeekendTelevision'', a program that ranged from SugarWiki/FunnyMoments to SoOkayItsAverage. One of its strengths was the musical numbers, most of which were written by Innes, perviously a core member of [[Music/TheBonzoDogBand The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]] and occasional supporting act on Creator/MontyPython. The Rutles were born from a psychiatric patient who was sick with love songs (ItMakesSenseInContext — sort of). Neil Innes played the patient, singing "I Must Be in Love," which directly segued into a parody of ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' combined with the Beatles' appearance on ''Series/TheEdSullivanShow''. Because ''RWT'' was the source of the band's name, the u is short — "Rut-les."

When Eric Idle guest-hosted ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', he brought over two segments from ''RWT'' to air as shorts: "Pommy", a parody of ''Music/{{Tommy}}'', in which the hero tries to escape from a Creator/KenRussell film, and the Rutles. Idle was especially proud of Pommy, but naturally Creator/LorneMichaels chose the Rutles; ''SNL'' was in the midst of publicly "wooing" the Beatles to reunite on the show. The short was a wild success, and the show received many calls asking about the Rutles (some of them even thinking that these were the Beatles). When Idle returned to England, he began writing a feature-length {{Mockumentary}} for the BBC, but when he again met up with Michaels, who offered a larger budget with Creator/{{NBC}}, he committed to doing it with them.[[note]]Idle was fed up with shoestring budgets. ''RWT'' wasn't given the funding for a BBC light entertainment (comedy/sketch) show, but that for a chat (talk) show, which meant that they had to make props and do shoots for the money it takes to tape talking heads. Not fun.[[/note]]

The ersatz group first appeared in a sketch on Idle's post-[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Python]] [[Creator/TheBBC BBC2]] sketch show ''Series/RutlandWeekendTelevision'', a program that ranged from SugarWiki/FunnyMoments to SoOkayItsAverage. One of its strengths was the musical numbers, which were mostly written by Innes, a core member of [[Music/TheBonzoDogBand The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band]] and occasional supporting act on Creator/MontyPython. The Rutles were born from a psychiatric patient who was sick with love songs (ItMakesSenseInContext — sort of). Neil Innes played the patient, singing "I Must Be in Love," which directly segued into a parody of ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' crossed with the Beatles' appearance on ''Series/TheEdSullivanShow''. This again mutated into the {{Mockumentary}}. ''RWT'' is the source of the band's name, so the u is short — "Rut-les."