Editing Vivian Stanshall (section)

==1980s==
{{main|Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera}}
[[File:Vivwork2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Stanshall painting the doors into the hold of ''[[The Thekla]]'']]
Following 'Sir Henry', Stanshall wrote the songs for his third album ''[[Teddy Boys Don't Knit]]'' (1981), which included three songs about his family, and contributed a lyric to Winwood's ''[[Arc of a Diver]].'' He and Longfellow married in 1980, and together they wrote some of the songs they later used for a [[musical comedy]], ''[[Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera]]''.

In 1982, Stanshall provided a spoken word segment on "[[Lovely Money]]", a single by [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]].

After ''The Searchlight'' eventually sank, the Stanshalls lived and worked on ''[[The Thekla]]'', a Baltic Trader, which Ki sailed 732 nautical miles (1,356&nbsp;km) from [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] to be moored in the [[Bristol Harbour|Bristol Docks]]. Ki had bought the vessel and converted her into a floating theatre called 'The Old Profanity Showboat'. Stanshall joined her on it in 1983, when they opened the doors of the theatre. By this time, he was already suffering from alcohol and drug abuse, having become addicted to [[Valium]] while trying to control his anxiety.

In December 1985, The Old Profanity Showboat produced the debut of their work ''Stinkfoot, A Comic Opera''. Stanshall wrote 27 original songs for the opera, sharing book and [[Lyrics|lyric]] writing with his wife. It has proved popular over the years, and was revived in London some years later, with Peter Moss as [[musical director]]. It was also produced in concert form in [[Bristol]], in July 2010.

Having returned to London alone in 1986 while his wife recovered from an illness, Stanshall saw ''Stinkfoot'' briefly, but unsuccessfully, revived at the [[Bloomsbury Theatre]]. After this, he returned to the stage again, touring in a solo show, 'Rawlinson Dog-Ends', initially with support from musicians including [[Jack Bruce]]. When Bruce quit, over a lack of adequate rehearsals, Moss stepped in to provide bass.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vivarchive.org.uk/live.htm|title=Vivian's Live performances|website=Vivarchive.org.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150808080911/http://www.vivarchive.org.uk/live.htm|archive-date=8 August 2015}}</ref>