‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Polythene Pam’, ‘Hey Jude’ – just some of the characters who appear in the vast musical world of The Beatles. Throughout their tenure, the Fab Four did a lot of name-dropping within their discography, often using names as song titles – even if those names were only loosely based on real people or acted as an amalgamation of multiple people.
After all, it is that human connection which makes the band’s songwriting so universally beloved. Even still, George Harrison often stayed away from this avenue of songwriting inspiration, rarely writing songs about specific people.
With the possible exception of the anonymous ‘Taxman’, Harrison’s songwriting contributions during his Beatles years were often rooted in himself and his own emotions – ‘Don’t Bother Me’, ‘I Want to Tell You’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Still, Harrison’s songwriting contributions were far too often placed on the back burner when it came to The Beatles; it was only with the advent of his incredible solo career that the songwriter and guitarist got the chance to fully explore the inner reaches of his writing inspiration.
Harrison was the first Beatle to release a solo album, with Wonderwall Music arriving in 1968, and he certainly made the most of his independence. Crafting an incredibly diverse discography and incorporating a wide range of influences into his work, Harrison was let off the leash with his solo work, which is perhaps why he boasted some of the most expansive and beloved solo works of any of his former bandmates.
Still, the songwriter eventually returned to the roots of his Beatles comrades: writing songs about specific people. According to a 1975 interview with Melody Maker, the first song George Harrison ever consciously wrote about a real-life person came on his often overlooked record, Extra Texture (Read All About It), and the closing track, ‘His Name Is Legs (Ladies and Gentlemen)’.
That song, which saw Harrison adopt the conventions of funk-rock for a brief and beautiful moment, was written about Larry Smith, who also went by ‘Legs’. For the uninitiated, Smith was the drummer of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, an otherworldly outfit of art students who married surrealist humour with music hall, jazz, and psychedelic sounds. In time, the band would inspire the next generation of comedians, with Ade Edmonson – of Young Ones and Bottom fame – being a notable Bonzo devotee.
That cult following amassed by the band also included The Beatles, who cast Smith and the band in the Magical Mystery Tour film, leading Harrison and the drummer to strike up something of a friendship.
“I noticed on meeting him how eccentric and yet how English and Oxford he appeared,” Harrison once remarked of the drummer. After all, George Harrison always fostered a deep appreciation for comedy, going back to his obsession with The Goon Show back in the 1950s.
‘His Name Is Legs (Ladies and Gentlemen)’ was the culmination of those comedy influences and Harrison’s clear appreciation for the otherworldly comedy stylings of the Bonzos. The track, in many ways, predicted Harrison’s later partnership with the Monty Python gang, including his production of ‘The Lumberjack Song’ and willingness to fund The Life of Brian in later years.
All in all, then, ‘His Name Is Legs’ forms an essential moment in the life and discography of the former Beatle, reflecting his own individual influences and interests out of the shadow of his former band.
