Editing Vivian Stanshall (section)

==1970s==
Stanshall regularly performed live with [[Grimms]], as well as occasionally working with [[The Alberts]] and The Temperance Seven during the first few years of the decade. He was also a frequent contributor to BBC radio at this time, appearing weekly on ''[[Start The Week]]'' and ''[[Jack de Manio]] Precisely'', and also on the BBC television satire series ''[[Up Sunday]]''.

In 1973, Stanshall recorded tracks for the soundtrack album of the movie ''[[That'll Be the Day (film)|That'll Be the Day]]'' backed by Moon, [[Ronnie Wood]], [[Graham Bond]] and [[Jack Bruce]], and collaborated on numerous musical projects, making a memorable appearance as the Master of Ceremonies on [[Mike Oldfield]]'s 1973 album ''[[Tubular Bells]]''. (He reprised the role for ''[[Tubular Bells II]]'' in 1992, but the final release featured [[Alan Rickman]] instead.) Stanshall made guest appearances on a number of other artists' recordings including [[John Entwistle]]'s ''[[Smash Your Head Against the Wall|Smash Your Head Against The Wall]]'' in 1971, [[Mike Hart (singer/songwriter)|Mike Hart]]'s ''Basher, Chalky, Pongo and Me'' in 1972, [[Pete Brown]]'s ''The Not Forgotten Association'' in 1973, and [[Robert Calvert]]'s 1974 concept album ''[[Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters]]''.

In early 1974, Stanshall wrote, arranged, and quickly recorded his first solo album, ''[[Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead]]''. A rather more serious work than many would have expected, its darkly comic lyrics detailed Stanshall's alcoholism and troubled emotional state, laced with surreal poetic imagery and literary reference. Other lyrics included implicit references to other musicians and the music business, and a rather more explicit satire of the author's relationship with his own penis. Musically, while certain tracks display Stanshall's usual keen sense of rock and roll parody, most of the album has a 'tribal' or 'fusion' flavour. Prominently featuring the Nigerian musician [[Gasper Lawal]] and with many tracks infused with richly textured African percussion and chorus vocal stylings, the album (and its contemporary single "Lakonga") can justifiably lay claim to being an early, unheralded example of a crossover between world music and rock music. Stanshall's long-standing friends and colleagues Innes, White, [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]]'s [[Steve Winwood]], [[Jim Capaldi]], [[Ric Grech]] and [[Rebop Kwaku Baah]], [[Doris Troy]] and [[Madeline Bell]] also made notable guest appearances. Deleted after its first pressing and out of print for many years, the album was finally re-released on CD in 2012.

The BBC documentary ''One Man's Week'', broadcast on 9 April 1975, documented a week in Stanshall's life and included footage of him at [[The Manor Studio|The Manor]] recording studio during the sessions for ''Men Opening Umbrellas Ahead'', where he played with White, Lawal, Mongezi Feza, and Derek (or Deryk) Quinn.

In 1975, Stanshall provided the narration for ''[[Peter and the Wolf (1975 rock album)|Peter and the Wolf]]'', produced by [[Robin Lumley]] and [[Jack Lancaster]] and featuring, among others, [[Gary Moore]], [[Manfred Mann (musician)|Manfred Mann]], [[Phil Collins]], [[Bill Bruford]], [[Stéphane Grappelli]], [[Alvin Lee]], [[Cozy Powell]], [[Brian Eno]] and [[Jon Hiseman]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Various – Peter and the Wolf|url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-Peter-And-The-Wolf/release/2672908|website=Discogs|date=15 August 1975 |access-date=10 July 2016}}</ref> 1976 saw the release of his single "[[The Young Ones (song)|The Young Ones]]", where the old [[Cliff Richard]] standard was delivered in the style of [[Boris Karloff]].

In 1977, Stanshall and his companion, [[Ki Longfellow|Pamela 'Ki' Longfellow]], moved into a houseboat, ''The Searchlight'', moored on the [[Thames]] between [[Chertsey]] and [[Shepperton]]. During this period, Stanshall compiled and re-recorded material from his popular BBC Radio 1 broadcasts for Peel, which was released as ''[[Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (recording)|Sir Henry at Rawlinson End]]'' in 1978. He also wrote the script for the film adaptation of the same name, later produced for [[Tony Stratton Smith]]'s [[Charisma Records]] company in 1980.