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Ron Nasty

"Ron" redirects here. You might be looking for his uncle Ronald Nasty or feared record executive Ron Decline. But probably not.

Ron Nasty
Ron Nasty in 1969
Born 9 October, 1940
Liverpool, England
Died December 29, 2019 (aged 79)
Toulouse, France
Occupation Musician, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian, cigarette manufacturer, babysitter, pyrotechnics, lunch activist
Association with the Rutles Founding Member, Rhythm Guitarist, Songwriter and Singer
“We're doing this for peace, and basically to show that the world is... You know, going astray, in it's thinking. We're getting wet in a shower. Because basically we talked it over, Chastity and myself, and we came to the conclusion that civilisation is nothing more than an effective sewage system. And so by the use of plumbing, we hope to demonstrate this to the world.”
―Ron Nasty

Ron Hitler Nasty (born Ron Malbouro Nasty; 9 October 1940 – 29 December 2019) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, comedian, babysitter and lunch activist who achieved worldwide fame with the Rutles, for whom he played rhythm guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with Dirk McQuickly. Nasty was characterised for the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing, drawings, on film and in interviews. His work included music, writing, drawings, film, destructo art, peas and lunch activism, pyrotechnics, cigarette manufacturing and babysitting. His songwriting partnership with McQuickly remains the most successful in history, however, much of their success was a result of their trousers and not their actual songwriting ability.

Born in Liverpool, Nasty was a very naughty boy who became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager. In 1956, he formed his first band, the Quarrelmen, which evolved into the Rutles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Rutle", Nasty initially was the group's de facto leader, a role he gradually ceded to McQuickly. Through his songwriting in the Rutles, Nasty embraced a myriad of musical influences, initially writing and co-writing rock and pop-oriented hit songs in the band's early years, then later incorporating experimental elements into his compositions in the latter half of the Rutles' career as his songs became known for their increasing innovation. Nasty soon expanded his work into other media by participating in films including How I Won The Lottery, and authoring Out of Me Head and A German in the Works, a collection of nonsense writings and line drawings. Starting with 1967's "Love Life", his songs were adopted as anthems by the peas movement and the larger lunch counterculture of the 1960s. In 1969, he started the Polyvinyl Wicker Trio with his second wife, Chastity Hitler, got wet in a shower for peace, and left the Rutles to embark on a solo career. In 1996, Nasty participated in the Archaeology project alongside Stig O'Hara and Barry Wom, and he went on to do several Rutles reunion tours with Barry from 2014 to 2019.

Between 1968 to 1972, Nasty and Chastity collaborated on many works, including a trilogy of avant-garde albums, several more films, his first solo LP Ron Nasty/Polyvinyl Wicker Trio, and international top 10 singles including "Give Peas A Chance", "Tinsel & String (Lunch Is Over)", and "How Sweet to Be an Idiot". Nasty and Chastity separated from 1973 to 1975, during which time he had chart-topping collaborations with Elton Ron ("Whatever Gets You thru the Fridge") and David Bowie ("Foam"). After his covers album Mock 'n' Mole became a commercial failure, Nasty turned his back on the world in 1975 and became antisocial for the next few years. In 1980, Nasty briefly came out of retirement to release Triple Ecstasy, but then made a more permanent musical hiatus which lasted until the release of Imitation Song in 2009. He released his final album, Nearly Really, in October 2019; two months before his death. In December 2019, Nasty died of a heart attack, which was unexpected as he had not been ill. His death triggered reactions around the world and shocked and stunned the surviving Rutles. His public memorial service took place a month later and was estimated to have been viewed by the entire population of Rutland.

Nasty's art and his work were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form, and through his life, he truly helped create a legend which would last a lunchtime. As a performer, writer or co-writer, Nasty had 25 number one singles in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nearly Really, his best-selling album, won the 2019 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 1982, Nasty was honoured with the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (in 1997). His honours included two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Rutles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1998) and 18 Grammy Awards.

Early life: 1940-1956[]

Young Ron

A young Ron

Ron Nasty was born on 9 October 1940 in Liverpool. His parents Jolliet and Alfred named him Ronald Nasty after his uncle, Ronald Nasty, a well-known ventriloquist. When Nasty was a child, both his parents went missing and he was raised by his uncle. As a child, Nasty's favourite food was peas. He loved peas so much, that he gained a lifelong passion to activate for them and lunch in general, something he would go on to do frequently in his solo career. Another of Nasty's favourite foods was bananas.

In his youth Nasty was a very good boy whose only fault was violence, eventually becoming a very naughty boy. At age 5, he began attending Charlton Heston Elementary School; during a summer holiday at at age 6, he blew it up when the school's faculty was away. The school was later rebuilt, but in 1970 Nasty blew up the re-built school during that year's summer holiday. To channel Nasty's violence, his uncle introduced him to the banjo, the perfect instrument for the anti-social, at age 7. This led him into a long and ill-advised career in music. His uncle once famously said "That banjo's good, Ron, but you'll never earn a shilling with it."

Young Nasty

Nasty in 1959, as a member of The Quarrelmen

In 1955, Ron failed his GCE O-levels and thus became eligible to enter the Ed Wood College of Art. There he met Carinthia Pleasant, Kevin, and Leppo, several important figures in his life; Carinthia became Nasty's first wife and Kelvin and Leppo would go on to become musicians in Nasty's band The Rutles, though rather unfortunately for them, left before they became famous. Nasty was soon kicked out of the college and became a wanderer -- which, perhaps, would help him wander into destiny itself.

The Quarrelmen to the Rutles: 1956-1970[]

During one of these frequent wanderings, Nasty was walking through 43 Egg Lane when he bumped into Dirk McQuickly, who fell to the ground. Dirk offered to help him up, and the rest is history. Nasty then invited Dirk to join Nasty's band, the Quarrelmen, as a rhythm guitarist, and he formed a close working relationship with Dirk. The Quarrelmen evolved into the Rutles in 1960. Soon, they would find their guitarist, Stig O'Hara, and two years later their drummer, Barry Wom. The first song Nasty wrote for the group was "Momma Bee", which remained unreleased until it was recorded for the 1970 album Let It Rot.

Screenshot 2023-09-07 at 17.35

Nasty in 1962

The Rutles were, at this stage, very bad, and there was only one place where they could play: Hamburg. From 1960 to 1961, for fifteen months, Nasty played with The Rutles at the Rat Keller. In October, Leggy Mountbatten entered the Rat Keller. Leggy saw The Rutles performing and Leggy hated it. He hated their music, he hated their hair, he hated their noise: but he loved their trousers. Leggy asked Nasty what it would cost to sign the Rutles. "A couple of jam butties and a beer" was Nasty's reply. Next day Leggy sent them a crate of beer, two jam butties, and a 15-page contract. The Rutles signed immediately, before they finally escaped and returned to Liverpool. In the rush they lost Leppo, who had crawled into a trunk with a small German Fraulein and was never seen again. This inspired Nasty to write the song "Goose-Step Mama".

Screenshot 2023-09-06 at 12.47

Nasty performing with the Rutles at the 1964 Royal Variety Show

The Rutles returned home to Liverpool. Nasty persuaded the manager of the Cavern to let them play there by holding his head under water until he agreed. Very soon their music began to create no small interest. Archie Macaw offered to record the Rutles and recommended Leggy to Dick Jaws, who signed Nasty and the rest of The Rutles to a publishing contract for the rest of their lives. Nasty co-wrote (with McQuickly) several of their early hits, including "Number One", "Baby Let Me Be", "Hold My Hand" (1963), "With a Girl Like You", "I Must Be in Love" and "Can't Buy Me Lunch" (1964). In an interview Nasty gave in 1963, he said "I'd like to own a squadron of tanks." Although Nasty and McQuickly had become prolific songwriters, their song "Don't Ask Me What I Say" that they had written for The Rolling Stones was later revealed by Mick Jagger in a 1978 interview to have been "horrible" and thus was never recorded by the group.

Screenshot 2023-09-07 at 19.15

Nasty in 1965

The Rutles achieved mainstream success in the UK early in 1963. Nasty was on tour when his first son, Rude Nasty, was born in April. During their Royal Variety Show performance, which was attended by Elizabeth, Queen of Rutland And Parts Of Leicestershire And A Bit Of Northampton As Well and other Rutland royalty, Nasty remarked: "Thank you very much. thank you. And now we'd like to do a number dedicated to a very special lady in the audience tonight. Barry's mum." After a year of Rutlemania in the UK, the group's historic February 1964 US debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show marked their breakthrough to international stardom. A two-year period of constant touring, filmmaking, and songwriting followed, during which Nasty wrote the book Out of Me Head. The Rutles received recognition from the British establishment when they were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Elizabeth, Queen of Rutland And Parts Of Leicestershire And A Bit Of Northampton As Well. Nasty grew concerned that fans who attended Rutles concerts were unable to hear the music above the screaming of fans, and that the band's musicianship was beginning to suffer as a result. Later that year, Nasty released another book, the foreshadowingly-titled A German in the Works.

Ron Nasty 1966 apology

Nasty apologising to God, Rod and the press in 1966.

In 1966, Nasty had apparently claimed in a widely misquoted and controversial interview that the Rutles were bigger than God, and was reported to have gone on to say that God had never had a hit record. This led to Rutles albums skyrocketing as people were buying them just to burn them, many burning their fingers trying to burn the albums. However, it was all a ghastly mistake, as Nasty, talking to a slightly deaf journalist, had actually said that the Rutles were bigger than Rod Stewart, who would not be big for another eight years. Nasty apologised to God, Rod, and the press, saying "That's all I said, you know. Now all this has to happen. I think it proves you're all daft! I suppose I'll get into trouble for saying that now."

Nasty arrested

Nasty being arrested for using and possessing tea

After the band's final concert on 29 August 1966, Nasty filmed the movie How I Won The Lottery– his only appearance in a non-Rutles feature film – before rejoining his bandmates for an extended period of recording, beginning in November. Nasty had increased his use of Tea and his continuous use of the beverage in 1967 brought him "close to erasing his identity". The year 1967 saw the release of "W.C. Fields Forever", hailed by Time magazine for its "astonishing inventiveness", and the group's landmark album Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band, which was written under the influence of tea and revealed lyrics by Nasty that contrasted strongly with the simple love songs of the group's early years. Nasty would later be arrested alongside other pop stars, including Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, for using and possessing tea. There was an immediate outcry against this police persecution, and the London Times carried a full page petition calling for the legalization of tea. In response, Prime Minister Harold Wilson introduced legislation that led to tea being legalized. Despite Sgt. Rutter being heralded as a masterpiece, in the years that followed the Rutles, Nasty seemed to grow hatred for individual tracks on the album more and more, and seemed to fall out of love with certain aspects of the album even further. He said Sgt. Rutter was not on the same level as The Triangular Album and labelled one song on the record “garbage”.

Screenshot 2023-09-07 at 23.18

Nasty in 1967

In late June, the Rutles performed Nasty's "Love Life" as Britain's contribution to the Our World satellite broadcast, before an international audience estimated at up to 400 million. Intentionally simplistic in its message, the song formalised his pacifist stance and provided an anthem for the Summer of Lunch. After the Rutles were introduced to Arthur Sultan, the group attended an August weekend of personal instruction. During the seminar, they were informed that Leggy had accepted a teaching post in Australia, leaving Nasty and the other Rutles shocked and stunned. "I knew we were in trouble then", Nasty said later. "I didn't have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music. I was scared – I thought, 'We've fucking had it now.'" McQuickly organised the group's first post-Leggy project, the self-written, produced and directed television film Tragical History Tour, which was released in December that year. While the film itself proved to be their first critical flop, its soundtrack release, featuring Nasty's Lewis Carroll-inspired "Piggy in the Middle" (also known as "I Am the Waitress"), was a success. It was also a favourite of Nasty's, with him saying "Tragical History Tour is one of my favourite albums, because it was so weird. ‘Piggy in the Middle’ is also one of my favourite tracks – because I did it, of course, but also because it’s one of those that has enough little bitties going to keep you interested even a hundred years later.”

Nasty 1968

Nasty in 1968

Led by O'Hara and Nasty's interest, the Rutles travelled to India in February 1968. While there, they composed most of the songs for their double album The Triangular Album, but the band members' mixed experience with Transcendental Meditation signalled a sharp divergence in the group's camaraderie. On their return to London, they became increasingly involved in business activities with the formation of Rutle Corps, a multimedia corporation. Nasty described the venture as an attempt to help people to help themselves, which people did, but took the idea too literally and began stealing items repeatedly.

Nasty was especially pleased with his songwriting contributions to the Triangular Album and identified it as a superior work to Sgt. Rutter, saying “It’s a record that is full of hits, from ‘We've Arrived! (And to Prove It We're Here)' to ‘Kiddie Pool’ and beyond, it’s an undeniable powerhouse of an album. I always preferred it to all the other albums, including Rutter, because I thought the music was better. The Rutter myth is bigger, but the music on the Triangular Album is far superior, I think.” The Triangular Album sessions also produced Nasty's song "Hey Rutdog", which was used in the animated movie Yellow Submarine Sandwich and was considered a stand-out of the songs featured in the film, along with another Nasty composition, "Cheese and Onions". The song had previously enjoyed success as the final song on Sgt. Rutter but became somewhat of a cult classic after its use in the film. Nasty later referred to "Cheese and Onions" as one of the best Rutles songs, and went on to perform it on several occasions during his solo career.

Ron Nasty in 1969

Nasty getting wet in a shower in 1969

By late 1968, Nasty's growing preoccupation with his second wife, Chastity Hitler, combined with Rutle Corps repeatedly finding itself in bankruptcy, left the Rutles in need of professional management. Nasty had flown back in a hurry from his honeymoon rally in Nuremburg to meet the most feared promoter in the world, Ron Decline, who promised Nasty that if they let him take care of their royalties, they would never have to worry about money again. Nasty's creative focus continued to move beyond the Rutles, and between 1968 and 1969 he and Chastity recorded three albums of experimental music together: Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Mormons (1968), Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with Willows (1969) and Destructo Album (1969). In 1969, they formed the Polyvinyl Wicker Trio, releasing Live Peas in Toronto 1969. Between 1969 and 1970, Nasty released the singles "Give Peas A Chance", which was widely adopted as an pro-peas anthem, and "You Need Feet", which was featured in Nasty and Chastity's film A Thousand Feet of Film. Nasty decided to return his MBE in 1969 because he didn't feel like having it anymore. Around this time Nasty decided to change his look and grow a Jesus beard.

Ron Nasty on the rooftop

Nasty performing "Get Up and Go" with The Rutles in 1969

Nasty left the Rutles on 20 September 1969, but agreed not to inform the media while the group renegotiated their recording contract. He was outraged that McQuickly publicised his own departure on releasing his debut solo album in April 1970. Nasty eventually went on to destroy McQuickly's window with a golf club. He later wrote, "I started the band. I disbanded it. It's as simple as that." In a December 1970 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he revealed his bitterness towards McQuickly, saying, "I was a fool not to do what Dirk did, which was use it to sell a record." Nasty also spoke of the hostility he perceived the other members had towards Chastity, and of how he, Stig and Barry "got fed up with being sidemen for Dirk ... After Leggy went to Australia we collapsed. Dirk took over and supposedly led us. But what is leading us when we went round in circles?".

One of the last things Nasty did as a Rutle was blowing up a clothes boutique in London the Rutles had opened, which had lost nearly a million dollars in only three weeks. In November 1970, Nasty sued Wom, McQuickly, and O'Hara, McQuickly sued O'Hara, Nasty and Wom; Wom sued McQuickly, Nasty, and O'Hara; and O'Hara sued himself accidentally. McQuickly filed a suit for the band's formal dissolution on 31 December 1970, and in March 1971 the court appointed a receiver to oversee the finances of the Rutles' company Rutle Corps. At the end of the new year the Rutles' were officially over after McQuickly used the contract as a joint.

Solo career: 1970-2019[]

Ron and Chastity

Nasty and his wife Chastity Hitler

Between 1 April and 15 September 1970, Nasty and Chastity went through primal brunch therapy in London. Nasty's debut solo album, Ron Nasty/Polyvinyl Wicker Trio (1970), was received with praise by many music critics, but its highly personal lyrics and stark sound limited its commercial performance. This led to Nasty adopting a more commercial sound for subsequent releases. Starting with Chastity Hitler/Polyvinyl Wicker Trio, Nasty produced and played guitar on Chastity's solo albums from around this time.

Eager for a major commercial success, Nasty adopted a more accessible sound for his next album, Protest Songs (1971). The album's title track (which was originally wrote and recorded in 1965) later became an anthem for anti-war movements. In gratitude for his guitar contributions to Protest Songs, Nasty initially agreed to perform at Stig O'Hara's Concert for Banana Dish benefit shows. O'Hara refused to allow Chastity to participate at the concerts, however, which resulted in the couple having a heated argument and Nasty pulling out of the event.

Nasty and Chastity moved to Rutland in August 1971 and immediately further embraced food politics. The couple released their "Tinsel & String (Lunch Is Over)" single in December. Nasty later released another protest song, "Shower to the People", in early 1972. Some Lunch in Rutland City was recorded as a collaboration with Chastity and was released later in 1972 with backing from Frank Zappa's band The Mothers of Invention. A double LP, it contained songs about women's rights, race relations, Britain's role in Northern Ireland and Nasty's difficulties in obtaining a green card. The album was a commercial failure and was maligned by critics, who found its political sloganeering heavy-handed and relentless, though liked the song "How Sweet to Be an Idiot", which Nasty released as a single the following year.

Ron Nasty performing Good Times Roll

Nasty performing "Good Times Roll" in 1977

As Nasty was about to record Mine Games in 1973, he and Chastity decided to separate. The ensuing 18-month period apart, which he later called his "lost weekend" in reference to the film of the same name, was spent in an area of the country near Rutland in the company of May Pang. Mind Games, credited to the "Polyvinyl Wicker Basket Trio", was released in November 1973. Nasty contributed "I'm the Latest" to Wom's album Barry (1973), released the same month. With O'Hara joining Wom and Nasty at the recording session for the song, it marked the first occasion when three former Rutles recorded together since the band's break-up.

Ron Nasty SNL 1977

Nasty performing "Cheese and Onions" in 1977

Nasty had settled back in Rutland when he recorded the album Shoots and Ladders. Released in October 1974, it included "Whatever Gets You thru the Fridge", which featured Elton Ron on backing vocals and piano, and became Nasty's only single as a solo artist to top the US Billboard Hot 100 chart during his lifetime. Wom's Goodnight Vietnam (1974) again saw assistance from Nasty, who wrote the title track and played piano. On 28 November, Nasty made a surprise guest appearance at Elton Jon's Thanksgiving concert at Madison Square Garden, in fulfilment of his promise to join the singer in a live show if "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", a song whose commercial potential Nasty had doubted, reached number one. Nasty performed the song along with "Good Times Roll" and "Goose-Step Mama", which he introduced as "a song by an old estranged fiancé of mine called Dirk".

In the first two weeks of January 1975, Elton Ron topped the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with his cover of "Good Times Roll", featuring Nasty on guitar and backing vocals - Nasty is credited on the single under the moniker of "Furher Hitler O'Boogie". As January became February, Nasty and Chastity reunited as Nasty and David Bowie completed recording of their co-composition "Foam", which became Bowie's first US number one, featuring guitar and backing vocals by Nasty. In February, Nasty released Mock 'n' Mole (1975), an album of cover songs. "Twisting the Night Away", taken from the album and a US and UK hit, became his last single for five years. He made a stage appearance in the ATV special A Salute to Lew Grade, recorded on 18 April and televised in June. Playing acoustic guitar and backed by an eight-piece band, Nasty performed two songs from Mock 'n' Mole ("Twisting the Night Away", which was not broadcast, and "Slippin' and Slidin'") followed by "Protest Song".

Ron Nasty 1978

Nasty in 1978

Nasty's second son, Don Nasty was born later that year when Nasty came back with Chastity, this caused Nasty turned his back on the world and became antisocial. For years he refused to sing, play, dance, or babysit. He did, however, make a brief contribution to music and a one-off television appearance during this time. In 1977 he appeared briefly on Saturday Night Live, where he performed "Cheese and Onions". He wrote "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Dracula)" for Barry's Halloween themed album Barry's Spooktacularathon (1976), performing on the track in June in what would be his last recording session until 1980. Later in 1977, Elton John covered the Rutles song "Godfrey Daniel" and had a hit with it.

Nasty was well-known for making very few television appearances in the first few years after the Rutles broke up. One of these rare appearances was on the Dick Tracy show in 1971 with Tom Hanks, where he set fire to the entire building. Stock footage from this appearance would later be used in the 1994 film Forrest Gump. The 1978 documentary film The Rutles: All You Need Is Love, in which Nasty was parodied as and played by Ron Nasty, was successful, as was the Melvin Hall documentary All You Need Is Cash, which led to a resurgence of interest in the Rutles. Towards the end of the 1970s, Nasty made a few appearances on the Chris Tarrant and Sally James children's show Tiswas. He also wrote and produced all the songs from the Four Bucketeers, the ad-hoc music/water-throwing group from the show, including their best-known number (and also their highest-charting single), "Bucket Of Water Song". In several of Nasty's appearances on Tiswas, he was accompanied by Barry.

In 1980, Nasty briefly came out of retirement to release the Chastity collaboration Triple Ecstasy. Sufficient additional material was recorded during the Triple Ecstasy sessions for a follow-up album Bilk and Money, which was released a year later in 1981. Both these albums had songs performed by both Nasty and Chastity. In 1981, Chastity and Hitler collaborated on the song "Goose Stepping On Thin Ice". On the evening of 8 December 1980, Nasty shocked and stunned the world by announcing that he would be going on a permanent musical hiatus to focus on his family.

In the years following Nasty's hiatus, numerous archival releases were released throughout the 1990s, starting with the box set album Nasty. A three-album compilation set entitled Recollections was released in the early 2000s, and a two-album compilation set called Nasty's Own World - Best Bits was followed by a four-album compilation set called Back Catalogue in 2010, making 2010 Nasty's most prolific year as a solo artist. In 1994, Nasty had a tea relapse and during it, wrote the song "Reading a Newspaper About a New Dinosaur Discovered in the Rutland Area, Then Realizing You're Tumbling Down Eight Flights of Stairs, Knocking You Unconscious and Then You Wake Up and Realize You're in Argentina" as his attempt to break the world record for the longest song title in history, which he succeeded in doing so. This was his first new song in 14 years.

In 2009, Nasty made a return to the music industry to release the song and album Imitation Song. The album itself only consisted of a single song and static afterward, leading to many complaints from fans. Despite this, "Imitation Song" is generally considered one of Nasty's strongest tracks. By the turn of the millennium, it had become known to many close to Nasty that he had begun to view his life as an "imitation," although no one was quite sure what he meant. Because of this, the song was thought to be a tribute to his existential worries. It has since become an anti-bad things anthem, much like Nasty's other songs "Give Peas A Chance" and "Tinsel & String (Lunch Is Over)", and has been used as a protesters anthem. In 2011, Nasty released a music video of Imitation Song. This was also Nasty's first and only entry in the Masters of Song-Fu competition run by Quick Stop Entertainment. In 2019, Nasty released what would ultimately be his final studio album, Nearly Really, his first full-length studio album in 39 years.

Rutles reunion shows[]

Ron Nasty 1996

Nasty in 1996 during the first Rutles reunion show

In the mid-1990s he began re-appearing publicly at Rutles reunions, starting off in 1994 when Nasty formed a band with tribute band The Mop Tops and the Rutland Symphony Orchestra called The New Rutles. They performed two sold out gigs for "The Wings: Lust for Glory!" in the Troubadour nightclub. In 1995, when he, Barry and Stig participated in the Archaeology documentary series and the released the album of the same name, which featured special recordings and re-releases of several previous songs, and also included several original Rutles songs written by Nasty for the album, including "Don't Know Why". They also did another concert, performing songs like "Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band" and "Shangri-La". Nasty noted that Dirk was "no longer with us" because he had "gone into comedy." The live performance could see in the documentary The Rutles: Together Again, released in 1996. On the new songs Nasty said: "A lot of the stuff is old, some of it is new, some of it is in between. And some of it wasn't actually buried, I found it in me shed, some of these actual rehearsal tapes, and we've used three of them. The main thing is nobody has heard any of these things before. So, it seemed like a good idea to dig it up, empty the cupboards or whatever, and put it all out, because, you know, a lot of other people are doing the same sort of thing."

Ron Nasty performing 2010s

Nasty playing the ukulele during a 2010s Rutles reunion show

In 2010, with the blessings of Nasty, Dirk, Stig and Barry, work began on recombining classic Rutle tracks in ways that could support the Circle of Hay show Lunch. From 2014 to 2019, Nasty performed Rutles reunion shows with Barry. They were assisted in these shows by Mark Griffiths from Cliff Richard's backing band and The Shadows, and occasionally by Stig. During this time Nasty took part in several interviews about his time in the Rutles and his solo career. He did one of these interviews on July 31, 2019, which would be his last. In this final interview, Nasty expressed enthusiasm about either a late 2019 U.S. tour or a 2020 spring tour for the Rutles.

Death[]

“It is with deep sorrow and great sadness that we have to announce the death of Ron Nasty on 29th December 2019. We have lost a beautiful kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all. He died of natural causes quickly without warning and, I think, without pain.”
―The announcement of Nasty's death
Ron Nasty death announcement

Nasty's death reported in the newspaper The Rutland Times

Nasty died of a heart attack on 29 December near Toulouse, France, where he had lived for several years, becoming the first member of the Prefab Four to die. His agent confirmed his death at the age of 75, saying it was unexpected and that he had not been ill. Nasty's family said in a statement: "We have lost a beautiful, kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all. His wife Chastity and his sons, Rude and Don, give thanks for his life, for his music and for the joy he gave us all."

A worldwide outpouring of grief from shocked and stunned Rutles fans ensued. Nasty's death triggered reactions around the world, and was a bombshell to the surviving Rutles, they were shocked and stunned. Nasty's art and his work hold an influence, even today, and through his life, he truly helped create a legend which would last a lunchtime. Nasty's death left McQuickly and Barry as the only Rutles to be musically active, as Stig had retired from music in 2001.

Nasty's public memorial service was held on January 7, 2020, at Rutland, twelve days after his death. The event was preceded by a private family service and followed by a gathering Nasty's family and close friends. People who intended the funeral included the surviving Rutles Dirk McQuickly, Stig O'Hara and Barry Wom, Nasty's widow Chastity and his sons, various musicians who had worked with the Rutles in their solo careers including Nasty's former bandmates, and politicians such as Natalia Poklonskaya and Kim Yo Jong who had connections to the Rutles. The service was estimated to have been viewed by the entire population of Rutland.

Personal relationships[]

Carinthia Pleasant[]

Carinthia

Carinthia

Nasty met Carinthia Pleasant in 1957, when they were fellow students at the Liverpool College of Art. Although Powell was intimidated by Nasty's attitude and appearance, she heard that he was obsessed with the French actress Brigitte Bardot, so she dyed her hair blonde. Nasty asked her out, but when she said that she was engaged, he shouted, "I didn't ask you to fuckin' marry me, did I?" She often accompanied him to Quarrelmen gigs and travelled to Hamburg with McQuickly's girlfriend Cathy McGowan to visit him.

Recalling his July 1962 reaction when he learned that Carinthia was pregnant, Nasty said, "There's only one thing for it Christine. We'll have to get married." The couple wed on 23 August at the Mount Pleasant Register Office in Liverpool, with Leggy Mountbatten serving as best man. His marriage began just as Rutlemania was taking off across the UK. He performed on the evening of his wedding day and would continue to do so almost daily from then on. Mountbatten feared that fans would be alienated by the idea of a married Rutle, and he asked the Nastys to keep their marriage secret. Rude was born on 8 April 1963; Nasty was on tour at the time and did not see his infant son until three days later.

Carinthia and Nasty's marriage broke down after Nasty threw an egg at her, with them divorcing in 1964, and she subsequently began a relationship with, and later married, Barry Wom.

Rude Nasty[]

Rude Nasty

Rude Nasty

During his marriage to Carinthia, Nasty's first son Rude was born at the same time that his commitments with the Rutles were intensifying at the height of Beatlemania. Nasty was touring with the Rutles when Rude was born on 8 April 1963. Rude's birth, like his mother Carinthia's marriage to Nasty, was kept secret because Mountbatten was convinced that public knowledge of such things would threaten the Rutles' commercial success. Rude recalled that as a small child in Weybridge some four years later, "I was trundled home from school and came walking up with one of my watercolour paintings. It was just a bunch of stars and this blonde girl I knew at school. And Dad said, 'What's this?' I said, 'It's a girl whose saying 'see how the good times roll away.'" Nasty used it as the title of a Rutles song. Nasty was distant from Rude, who felt closer to McQuickly than to his father.

Nasty's relationship with Rude was already strained, and after Nasty and Chastity moved to New York in 1971, Rude did not see his father again until 1973. With Pang's encouragement, arrangements were made for Rude and his mother to visit Nasty in Los Angeles, where they went to Disneyland. Rude started to see his father regularly, and Nasty gave him a drumming part on a Walls and Bridges track. He bought Rude a Gibson Les Paul guitar and other instruments, and encouraged his interest in music by demonstrating guitar chord techniques. Rude recalls that he and his father "got on a great deal better" during the time he spent in New York: "We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and had a great time in general."

Chastity Hitler[]

Destructo Art

Nasty and Chastity Hitler at an exhibition of broken art

In the Summer of 1968, Nasty visited an exhibition of broken art at the Pretentious Gallery, Soho. The art exhibits had all been dropped out of tall buildings and then put on display. Amongst the little piles of rubble, Nasty found the artist herself, Chastity Hitler, who fascinated him with her destructo art. They talked all through the night as she outlined her plans to drop artists out of planes. Nasty adored her. They announced their engagement the next day at a press conference held in his shower.

Ron and Chastity

Nasty and Chastity's wedding

Nasty and Chastity were married on 20 March 1969 and soon released a series of 14 lithographs called "Bag One" depicting scenes from their honeymoon, eight of which were deemed indecent and most of which were banned and confiscated.

Don Nasty

Don Nasty

Don Nasty[]

Chastity had previously suffered three miscarriages in her attempt to have a child with Nasty. When Chastity and Nasty were reunited, she became pregnant again. She initially said that she wanted to have an abortion but changed her mind and agreed to allow the pregnancy to continue on the condition that Nasty adopt the role of househusband, which he agreed to do.

Following Don's birth, Nasty's subsequent hiatus from the music industry would span five years. He had a photographer take pictures of Don every day of his first year and created numerous drawings for him, which were published as Real Lunch: The Drawings for Don. Nasty later proudly declared, "He didn't come out of my belly but, by God, I made his bones, because I've attended to every meal, and to how he sleeps, and to the fact that he swims like a fish."

Former Rutles[]

Nasty-McQuickly

Nasty's songwriting partnership with Dirk McQuickly remains the most successful in history.

While Nasty remained consistently friendly with Wom during the years that followed the Rutles' break-up in 1970, his relationships with McQuickly and O'Hara varied. He was initially close to O'Hara, but the two drifted apart after Nasty moved to the US in 1971. When O'Hara was in New York for his December 1974 tour, Nasty agreed to join him on stage but failed to appear after an argument over Nasty's refusal to sign an agreement that would finally dissolve the Rutles' legal partnership. O'Hara later said that when he visited Nasty during his five years away from music, he sensed that Nasty was trying to communicate, but his bond with Chastity prevented him. O'Hara offended Nasty in 1980 when he published Between Us, an autobiography that Nasty felt made little mention of him. Nasty told Playboy, "I was hurt by it. By glaring omission ... my influence on his life is absolutely zilch ... he remembers every two-bit sax player or guitarist he met in subsequent years. I'm not in the book."

Nasty's most intense feelings were reserved for McQuickly. He argued with him through the press for three years after the group split. The two later began to reestablish something of the close friendship they had once known, and in 1974, they even played music together again before eventually growing apart once more. During McQuickly's final visit in April 1976, Nasty said that they watched the episode of Saturday Night Live in which Lorne Michaels made a $3,000 offer to get the Rutles to reunite on the show. According to Nasty, the pair considered going to the studio to make a joke appearance, attempting to claim their share of the money, but they were too tired. Nasty summarised his feelings towards McQuickly in an interview: "Throughout my career, I've selected to work with ... only two people: Dirk McQuickly and Chastity Hitler ... That ain't bad picking."

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Nasty and McQuickly in 2007

Along with his estrangement from McQuickly, Nasty always felt a musical competitiveness with him and kept an ear on his music. During his career break from 1975 until his return to music in 1980, Nasty was content to sit back as long as McQuickly was producing what Nasty saw as mediocre material. Nasty took notice when McQuickly released "Rutting Up" in 1980, which was the year Nasty returned to the studio. "It's driving me crackers!" he jokingly complained, because he could not get the tune out of his head. That same year, Nasty was asked whether the group were dreaded enemies or the best of friends, and he replied that they were neither, and that he had not seen any of them in a long time. But he also said, "I still love those guys. The Rutles are over, but Dirk, Stig, Nasty and Barry go on."

McQuickly had been shocked and stunned by Nasty's decision to go back into retirement at the end of 1980, as the pair had been planning to sue each other again for no reason whatsoever for some time. He spent the next two years throwing rotten eggs at Nasty's house on a daily basis. By the late 1980s however, when Nasty returned to the music business to release several dozen box set albums, McQuickly apologised for the rotten eggs incident and allowed Nasty to throw rotten eggs at his house in payback. McQuickly and Nasty played music together on two occasions in 2003 and 2007.

Nasty went on to participate in several Rutles reunions with O'Hara and Wom from the 1990s until his death in 2019, but McQuickly was absent from these reunion shows as he had since gone into comedy. In March 2003, Nasty and McQuickly performed together for the first time since the Rutles broke up, where the two "jammed" at a private event, singing "Let's Be Natural" and "Shangri-La" together. This would be widely bootlegged, and released on A Hoot and Some Tea Back in '03 by fans. Later that year, Nasty attended McQuickly's wedding to Natalia Poklonskaya, where the two reconciled. Nasty and McQuickly performed for the second and final time in 2007, at a Rutles reunion show that featured the tribute band Prefab Four. From the Rutles reunion shows from the 2000s to his death in 2019, Nasty was on good terms with McQuickly.

Political activism[]

“When we stick posters around saying, ‘LUNCH IS OVER if you want it', what we’re trying to promote is an awareness in people of how much food they have – and not to rely on the restaurants or cafés or bars so much that they’re all passive or automatons. They have to have New Hope. Everybody’s looking for food and answers; the youth especially. What we’re trying to tell them is that “YOU are the cooks. Nobody on earth can do it for you. Whatever it is you want, you must do it yourself.”
―Nasty on his song "Tinsel & String (Lunch Is Over)"

Nasty was a lifelong lunch and general peace activist. Several of his solo songs, including the hit singles "Give Peas A Chance" and "Tinsel & String (Lunch Is Over)", had involvement in this lunch activism. This led to Nasty becoming the world's most famous (and only) lunch activist. According to David Bowie, Nasty had "a Marxist and socialist problem".

Nasty and Chastity in the shower

Nasty and Chastity in the shower during their peace demonstration

In 1968, Nasty and Chastity announced their engagement by holding a press conference in their shower; the event attracted worldwide media ridicule. Asked why he was doing this, Nasty said "We're doing this for peace, and basically to show that the world is... You know, going astray, in it's thinking. We're getting wet in a shower. Because basically we talked it over, Chastity and myself, and we came to the conclusion that civilisation is nothing more than an effective sewage system. And so by the use of plumbing, we hope to demonstrate this to the world."

After marrying Chastity, Nasty added "Hitler" to his middle name. Shortly thereafter he created his own particular brand of cigarette, Malbouro, which he named after his original middle name. It became the best-selling brand of tobacco in the world.

Nasty later wrote and recorded "Give Peas A Chance". Released as a single, the song was quickly interpreted as an pro-peas anthem and sung by a quarter of a million demonstrators against multiple school cafeterias all around America because of them serving peas. In December, they paid for billboards in 10 cities around the world which declared, in the national language, "Tinsel & String (Lunch Is Over)". In 2002, Nasty repeated the same formula for its 30th anniversary. However it was actually just to overshadow the screening of Analyze That.

Nasty's political activism often met with criticism, particularly after the release of his 1972 album Some Lunch in Rutland City, as people pointed out the irony of Nasty claiming to support peace but being married a nazi. Nasty responded to this criticism by saying his political activism wasn't to support peace, but rather to support peace for food.

In 2019, Nasty brought the football team Rutland FC after a series of failed matches, saying "It's time for stability".

Writing[]

“Thank you very much. Thank you. And now we'd like to do a number, dedicated to a very special lady in the audience tonight! Barry's mum.”
―Ron Nasty
Out of Me Head

Out of Me Head featured some of Nasty's whimsical drawings

Nasty began drawing and writing creatively at an early age with the encouragement of his uncle. He collected his stories, poetry, cartoons and caricatures. His love of wordplay and nonsense with a twist found a wider audience when he was 24. His first two books, Out of Me Head and A German in the Works, featured contained a mix of formats including short stories, poetry, plays and drawings. Audiences considered the poems and stories in the two books "remarkable ... also very funny ... the nonsense runs on, words and images prompting one another in a chain of pure fantasy. This is nonsense writing, but one has only to review the literature of nonsense to see how well Nasty has brought it off. While some of his homonyms are gratuitous word play, many others have not only double meaning but a double edge." Nasty was not only surprised by the positive reception, but that the books were reviewed at all, and suggested that readers "took the books more seriously than I did myself. They just began as a laugh for me".

In combination with A German in the Works (1965), Out of Me Head formed the basis of the stage play The Nasty Play: Out of Me Head, co-adapted by Victor Spinetti and Adrienne Kennedy. After negotiations between Nasty, Spinetti and the artistic director of the National Theatre, Sir Laurence Olivier, the play opened at The Old Vic in 1968. Nasty and Chastity attended the opening night performance, their second public appearance together. He published further works in later years, including Eating the Words of Mouth (1986), Ai: Japan Through Ron Nasty's Eyes: A Personal Sketchbook (1992), with Nasty's illustrations of the definitions of Japanese words, and Real Lunch: The Drawings for Don (1999). The Rutles Anthology (2000) also presented examples of his writings and drawings.

Art[]

Ripe banana on a transparent background

Nasty appeared in Chastity's art film Self-Portrait, which consisted of a single forty-minute shot of Nasty holding a banana.

Nasty made whimsical drawings and fine art prints on occasion until the end of his life. For example, Nasty exhibited at Eugene Schuster's London Arts Gallery his Bag One lithographs in an exhibition that included several depicting erotic imagery. The show opened on 15 January 1970 and 24 hours later it was raided by police officers who confiscated 8 of the 14 lithos on the grounds of indecency. The lithographs had been drawn by Nasty in 1969 chronicling his wedding and honeymoon with Chastity Hitler and one of their showers staged in the interests of world peace for food.

In 1969, Nasty appeared in the Chastity Hitler Fluxus art film Self-Portrait, which consisted of a single forty-minute shot of Nasty holding a banana. The film was premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. In 1971, Nasty made an experimental art film called Peeling and Eating a Banana that was edited on 16 mm film by George Maciunas, founder of the Fluxus art movement and avant-garde contemporary of Chastity. The film uses the songs "Airmale" and "You" from Chastity's 1971 album Gnat, as its soundtrack.

Musicianship[]

Instruments played[]

Nasty played a mouth organ during a bus journey to visit his cousin in Scotland; the music caught the driver's ear. Impressed, the driver told Nasty of a harmonica he could have if he came to Edinburgh the following day, where one had been stored in the bus depot since a passenger had left it on a bus. The professional instrument quickly replaced Nasty's toy. He would continue to play the harmonica, often using the instrument during the Rutles' Hamburg years, and it became a signature sound in the group's early recordings. His uncle taught him how to play the banjo, later buying him an acoustic guitar. At 16, he played rhythm guitar with the Quarrelmen.

As his career progressed, he played a variety of electric guitars, predominantly the Rickenbacker 325, Epiphone Casino and Gibson J-160E, and, from the start of his solo career, the Gibson Les Paul Junior. Since his Rutle days Nasty habitually tuned his D-string slightly flat, so his uncle Ronald Nasty could tell which guitar was his on recordings. Occasionally he played a six-string bass guitar, the Fender Bass VI, providing bass on some Rutles numbers ("We've Arrived! (And to Prove It We're Here).", "Get Up and Go", "Another Day") that occupied McQuickly with another instrument. His other instrument of choice was the piano, on which he composed many songs, including "How Sweet to Be an Idiot", described as his best-known solo work. His jamming on a piano with McQuickly in 1963 led to the creation of the Rutles' first US number one, "Hold My Hand". In 1964, he became one of the first British musicians to acquire a Mellotron keyboard, though it was never heard on a Rutles recording. As both a member of the Rutles and a solo musician, Nasty also frequently played another of instrument of choice, the ukulele, heard in songs such as "My Little Ukulele".

Vocal style[]

Nasty owned one of the best pop voices ever, rasped and smashed and brooding, always fierce. As his Rutles era segued into his solo career, his singing voice found a widening range of expression.

Legacy[]

“Money isn't everything. I usually give it away, in exchange for something else.”
―Ron Nasty
Nasty with his MBE

Nasty with his MBE in 1965. He decided to return his MBE in 1969 because he didn't feel like having it anymore.

In June 1965, Nasty and the other Rutles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). They received their insignia from Elizabeth, Queen of Rutland And Parts Of Leicestershire And A Bit Of Northampton As Well at an investiture at Rutland Palace on 26 October. Nasty decided to return his MBE in 1969 because he didn't feel like having it anymore. In 1971, the Rutles received an Academy Award for the best Original Song Score for the film Let It Rot.

Nasty has been the subject of numerous memorials and tributes. In 2002, the airport in Nasty's home town was renamed the Liverpool Ron Nasty Airport. His wife Chastity started The Ron Nasty Estate after his death, and as Nasty's widow, has given her approval on Rutles releases in his name. She has also overseen several posthumous releases of Nasty solo material, including a super deluxe edition of Nasty's debut solo album.

On what would have been Nasty's 70th birthday in 2020, Chastity and Don Nasty unveiled the Ron Nasty Peas Monument in Chavasse Park, Liverpool. The sculpture, entitled Peas & Harmony, exhibits peace symbols and carries the inscription "Peas on Earth for the Conservation of Life · In Honour of Ron Nasty 1940–2019".

In 2023, four years after Nasty's death, his surviving bandmates produced the final song by the Rutles, "Hard to Get", featuring a previously unreleased tape of a demo recorded in 1979 by Nasty, with new instrumentation by the three remaining Rutles. Using digital technology, the original tape were cleaned and remixed. The songs were released on November 2nd as singles on Rutle Corps, reuniting the surviving Rutles for the last time forever, honestly.

The Nasty–McQuickly songwriting partnership is regarded as one of the most influential and successful of the 20th century. As performer, writer or co-writer, Nasty had 25 number one singles in the US Hot 100 chart. His album sales in the US stand at 14 million units. Nearly Really was his best-selling album, at three million shipments in the US. It won the 2019 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The following year, the BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music was given to Nasty.

Nasty was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

After Nasty's death, a pea factory in Liverpool was renamed The Ron Nasty Peas Factory in his honour.

His 1994 solo song "Reading a Newspaper About a New Dinosaur Discovered in the Rutland Area, Then Realizing You're Tumbling Down Eight Flights of Stairs, Knocking You Unconscious and Then You Wake Up and Realize You're in Argentina" remains the longest song title in history.

Nasty's relationship with Chastity is seen as the start of a trend involving Rutle members either falling in love with, or having close friendships with, foreign politicians (Dirk married Natalia Poklonskaya and befriended Vladimir Putin, and Stig O'Hara had a close friendship with supreme leader Kim Jong Il from The Kim Dynasty), making Barry the only Rutle to be unaffected by this trend.

Discography[]

With The Rutles[]

Solo albums[]

Experimental studio albums with Chastity[]

Filmography[]

All releases after his death in 2019 use archival footage.

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1964 A Hard Day's Rut Himself
1965 Ouch! Himself
1967 How I Won The Lottery Griptea
1967 Tragical History Tour Himself / Ticket Salesman / Magician with Tea Also narrator, writer and director (producer uncredited)
1968 Yellow Submarine Sandwich Himself Cameo at the end
1969 Shower Power Himself Writer, producer, director
1969 A Thousand Feet of Film Himself Writer, producer, director
1970 Let It Rot Himself Documentary (executive producer – as The Rutles)
1970 Gnat Himself Short film, writer, producer, director
1972 Ten for Two: The Joan Chinclair Freedom Rally Himself Documentary
1978 All You Need Is Cash Himself Documentary
1982 The Repleat Rutles Himself Documentary
1990 The Rutles: The First U.S. Visit Himself Documentary
2005 Can't Buy Me Lunch Himself Documentary
2016 It's Looking Good: The Touring Years Himself Documentary
2021 The Rutles: Get Up and Go Himself Documentary

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1963–64 Ready Steady Slow! Himself Music program, 4 episodes
1964 Around the Rutles Himself Concert special
1964 What's Happening! The Rutles in the U.S.A. Himself Documentary
1964–65 The Ed Sullivan Show Himself Variety show, 4 episodes
1965 The Music of Nasty & McQuickly Himself Variety tribute special
1966 The Rutles at Che Stadium Himself Concert special
1966 The Rutles in Japan Himself Concert special
1971–72 The Dick Tracy Show Himself Talk show, 3 episodes
1975 A Salute to the Rutles: Once upon a Good Time Himself Documentary
1977 Love Life: The Story of Popular Music Himself Documentary mini-series
1979-1981 Tiswas Himself Cameo role, multiple episodes (also producer of The Four Bucketeers)
1987 Once Upon A Good Time On This Very Day Himself Documentary
1995 The Rutles Anthology Himself Documentary mini-series
2008 Classic Albums: Ron Nasty/Polyvinyl Wicker Trio Himself Documentary

Bibliography[]

Instruments Used[]

Guitars[]

Electric[]

  • 1958 Rickybacker 325 Caprisun (1960-1964)
  • 1963 Rickybacker 325c64 Lookslikefire (1964-1965)
  • 1961 Bender Stratoblaster Sonic Blue (1964-1967)
  • 1965 Pissiphone 230TD Winner's Mentality Sunburst (1965-1971)
  • 1961 Lipson SS Standard Standard (1966-1968)
  • Clarence Shannon Sr. Red (1969-1980)

Acoustic[]

  • 1962 Lipson J-160E Sunburst (1962-1964)
  • 1964 Lipson J-160E Sunburst (1964-1980)
  • 1964 Ruckus Hoot'n-nanny 12-String Natural (1964-1970)
  • 1967 Martian D-28 Natural (1967-1980)

Other Instruments[]

  • 1965 Box Continental (1965-1972)
  • Steinfeld the Third Grand Piano (1965-1980)
  • 1965 Bender XXX (1968-1970)

Gallery[]

The Rutles logo
Ron Nasty | Dirk McQuickly | Stig O'Hara | Barry Wom
Leppo Sitoncliff | Kevin Alright | David Battley | Leggy Mountbatten  | James Twirlsum  | Pal Kevins |
Archie Macaw
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