My pink half of the drainpipe..

Boris Johnson today unveiled a very large blue cock on the now famous fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. At the time of writing, the most vociferous complaint so far has been made to Westminster City Council by the Thorney Island Society. Like many, I was struck by the potentially endless double entendres.  Until I saw a picture of it. I can't imagine what must have been in my head but the said sculpture is that of a particularly large cockerel in a shade of blue which will linger long in the memory. The Thorney Island Society objects on the grounds of its obvious French character. After all, they argue, Trafalgar Square commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar - the scene in 1805 of one of the key naval encounters which led to the demise of Napoleon.

Well, you can please some of the people some of the time...In recent years, the fourth plinth has become a showcase for controversial art. I was there a few years ago when the plinth featured a naked heavily pregnant woman with no arms or legs. Its intention to shock was given impetus by the prominence of its location. It was shocking and it was interesting to observe the reactions of people as they saw it for the first time. Anything outside our personal expectations of normal is shocking so the fourth plinth has been an inspired idea. Anything which provokes thought is fine by me.

The British are famously prudish and artists have delighted in this fact over the years. In the sixties, the music scene was dominated by a number of groups who frankly took themselves and their music just a little too seriously. It was therefore with relief for many people that groups such as the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band came along. Of the many things which they could be accused of, taking themselves too seriously definitely wasn't one of them. The Beatles were huge fans of theirs because to them, the Bonzos must have represented a bit of normality when compared to the frenzied glare of their own lives.

The Bonzos in common with many of their contemporaries had met at Art School. There the similarity ended. Inspired by the concept of Dadaism which would ultimately lead to surrealism, the Bonzos were led by the musical prowess of Neil Innes and the peerless wit and humour of their charismatic frontman, the late and very much missed Vivian Stanshall. With his beautifully crafted sepulchral tones, Stanshall could give the impression of taking the song seriously despite all around him suffocating from excess laughter. A bit of a rogue even by his own admission, his antics were truly legendary.

Their songs often boasted thought provoking song titles such as "the canyons of your mind" and "the urban spaceman". The former was produced by Apollo C. Vermouth - a pseudonym used by a somewhat more well known musician who wanted to keep his name firmly detached from theirs - Paul McCartney! Some of their song titles though were a bit more puzzling. "Equestrian statue", "Mr. Apollo", "The Strain and "My pink half of the drainpipe" spring to mind. I took a friend of mine to see the Bonzos on tour in 2006 and have seldom seen anybody laugh so much as when they played "The Strain". Written about the sometimes painful subject of constipation, the rendition of this bunged up masterpiece was delivered with customary straining noises by Ade Edmondson. Juvenile I know but Viv would have been proud because this song was always one of his particular favourites.

While I adore most of their back catalogue, I have to profess a fondness for "My pink half of the drainpipe". Taken off their 1968 album "The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse", this gem of a song is set to romantic music which would be more appropriate for a French cafe in the 1930s. The lyrics are rather different. The song tells the mundane story of a trivial property dispute between suburban British neighbours. The background is filled with irrelevant muttering featuring a good mix of drivel and codswallop. I could spend the next hour trying to convey it but could never achieve what the record can. The closest thing to the Bonzos these days would be a group like the Divine Comedy although they are second class by comparison.

Viv had the unique ability to be able to put his shoulder out of joint on account of him being double jointed. At one gig in the sixties, he had actually broken his collarbone and as he was lifted off writhing in what the fans thought was feigned agony, they all cheered and clapped. He even managed to have false blood pouring out of his mouth just to confuse matters. Viv became heavily dependent on alcohol following the break up of the Bonzos and he was prescribed liberal quantities of the valium to which he would remain addicted while on tour in America in the late sixties. In spite of this, he still managed to turn out an impressive body of work following the release of their final album "Let's all make up and be friendly" in 1972.

His creation Sir Henry at Rawlinson End had legions of loyal fans and can still be heard on the splendid Radio 4extra. Each instrument was introduced by him on Mike Oldfield's seminal album "Tubular Bells" although true to form, he was out by one as each instrument made its appearance..For a younger generation he became the voice of "Mr Cadbury's Parrot" in a well known TV advert and he made several serious collaborations with no less a musical God than Steve Winwood! "Arc of a diver" is co-written by the two of them.

The epitomy of the English eccentric, there are now too few people of his calibre in public life to take us out of the tedium of everyday life. I have no doubt he would have adored the massive blue cock on public display in Trafalgar Square. I think a suitable song wouldn't have been too long in the making..