Syd Mead (1933-2019) and Neil Innes (1944-2019)

There were two obits that meant a lot to me, the American illustrator Syd Mead and the British singer and songwriter Neil Innes. 

I saw Mead's illustrations in magazines in the 1960s, when he did a lot of work for Ford painting of the vehicles of the future. His cars and motorcycles were low and sleek and alluring. My illustrator friends Alan Ponder and Armand Cabrera were both big fans of Mead's work, and they were by no means alone. In the 1970s and 1980s, many films brought him in as a visual consultant, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, Aliens and TRON. George Lucas credits Mead as the inspiration for the AT-AT design as well. Unfortunately, Elon Musk gave Mead a nod as inspiration on the design of his Cybertruck, but Musk's vision missed the elegance that made Mead great.

Talking to Alan Ponder, he gave a reason for the enduring popularity of Mead's work. He shows a hopeful future based on mid-20th Century optimism, but more than that, his cars look possible. These weren't actual working designs, but Mead's cars make it clear they have enough room for the engine and drive train. There are other futurists from the era, but many of their designs make vehicles so compact, the engine would have to be the size of a small briefcase.

Neil Innes has three claims to fame. His breakthrough work was with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, which I first heard on Dr. Demento in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I didn't learn more about them until I was in The Wonders of Science in the early 1980s and co-founder Michael Dresbach played the album Gorilla, after which I bought my own copy. He worked with Monty Python, most notably on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where he is credited with writing Knights of the Round Table and Brave Sir Robin. 

But for me, his crowning achievement is writing the music for the mock documentary All You Need is Cash, the story of the rise and breakup of The Rutles, a legend that would last a lifetime. From left to right we have Stig, Dirk, Barry and Nasty, played by Ricky Fataar, Eric Idle, John Halsey and Neil Innes, respectively. Watching the documentary, one could easily come to the conclusion that this is a star turn for Eric Idle, who has two major roles as Dirk and the narrator. There are lots of cameos from musicians, one from Michael Palin and several from cast members of Saturday Night Live. But All You Need is Cash works because of the 20 songs written by Neil Innes. In my mind, these are Beatles's songs, much in the same way Galaxy Quest counts as one of the good Star Trek films in my head canon. John Lennon liked it so much he failed to return the tape he got for advanced viewing, and warned Innes that Get Up and Go might be too close to Get Back. Lennon thought the company that then owned the rights to the Beatles' catalog might sue. (They never did.) George Harrison was one of the executive producers and he loved it, of course, Ringo and Paul were more ambivalent. To be honest, I think Eric Idle as Dirk McQuigley is somewhere between loving tribute and cruel satire. The look on his face when he sings A Girl Like You mocks Paul's cute puppy dog act when he sang the slower tunes.

Since I mentioned that Get Up and Go might be too close to Get Back, here is a video you can watch to make up your own mind.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Syd Mead and Neil Innes, from a fan.

We shall never see their like again.