The Rutles Wiki
Register
Advertisement
This article is a featured article. This means that it has been identified as one of the best articles on the Rutles Wiki.
Leggy Mountbatten
Leggy Mountbatten
Leggy Mountbatten infobox
Born 19 September 1934
Died 2 August 2016
Occupation Chemist, Businessman, Personal manager, Teacher
Association with the Rutles Manager
“We're in business?”
―Leggy Mountbatten

Leggy Mountbatten (24 January 1930 – 2 August 2016) was an English actor and former music entrepreneur and retail chemist from Bolton of New Zealand decent, who was best known for being the manager of the Rutles from 1962 until he accepted a teaching post in Australia in 1967.

Leggy was born to two parents, namely Iris Mountbatten and Shabby Mountbatten. In later childhood, Leggy lost a leg whilst serving in the RAF in the closing maneuvers of World War II. After returning home, confused and bewildered, he began hopping around Liverpool. He then became a retail chemist in Bolton and had a son, Stumpy Mountbatten.

Leggy first met the Rutles in 1962 at a lunchtime concert at The Cavern Rutland. Although he had no experience of artist management and hated their music, Mountbatten liked their trousers and put them under contract and insisted that they abandon their scruffy image in favour of a new clean-cut style. He also attempted to get the Rutles a recording contract, eventually securing a deal with EMI's Paurlophone label, where they were managed by Archie Macaw and Dick Jaws.

Within months, the Rutles were international stars. His autobiography A Cellar Full of Goys details their meteoric yet painfully slow rise to fame. Some of Leggy's other young discoveries had also prospered under his management. They included The Scaffold, The McKismo Brothers (Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young Gifted and Black), Arthur Hodgson and the Kneecaps, and Les Garçons de la Plage. In 1967, Leggy accepted a teaching post in Australia, leaving the Rutles shocked and stunned, though they kept in touch with him via postcards. He spent the remainder of his life as a respected teacher and actor.

Early life[]

Leggy hopping around Liverpool

Leggy hopping around Liverpool

Leggy Mountbatten was born on 24 January 1930 to Iris Mountbatten and Shabby Mountbatten. He had both English and New Zealand ancestry. As a child, Leggy was never allowed to play with the other little boys. His father was such a snob that he wore a pair of swimming trunks in the bath tub, in order to avoid looking down at the unemployed. In later childhood, he played a role in many youth clubs and Boy Scout troops. Leggy lost a leg whilst serving in the RAF in the closing maneuvers of World War II. After returning home, confused and bewildered, he began hopping around Liverpool. He then became a retail chemist in Bolton and had a son, Stumpy Mountbatten.

The Rutles[]

Mountbatten first noticed the Rutles in issues of Rutland Beat and on numerous posters around Liverpool created by his commercial artist associate Tony Booth, before he asked Rutland Beat editor Bill Harry who they were. Harry had previously convinced Mountbatten to sell the magazine at NEMS, with the Rutles featured on the front page of its second issue. The Rutles had recorded the "My Ronnie/Death Cab for Cutie" single with Tony Sheridan in Germany, and some months after its release Mountbatten asked his personal assistant Alistair his associate about it in NEMS. Mountbatten's version of the story was that customer Raymond Jones walked into the NEMS shop and asked him for the "My Ronnie/Death Cab for Cutie" single, which made Mountbatten curious about the group. his associate later claimed that he had used the name of Jones (a regular customer) to order the single and paid the deposit, knowing that Mountbatten would notice it and order further copies. Harry and McQuickly later repudiated Mountbatten's story, as Harry had been talking to Mountbatten for a long time about the Rutles—the group that he promoted the most in Rutland Beat—with McQuickly saying, "Leggy knew perfectly well who the Rutles were; they were on the front page of the second issue of Rutland Beat". On 3 August 1961, Mountbatten started a regular music column in the Rutland Beat called "Stop the World—And Listen To Everything in It: Leggy Mountbatten of NEMS".

The Rutles were due to perform a lunchtime concert at The Cavern Rutland on 9 November 1961. According to club owner Sytner, Mountbatten had visited the club quite a few times previously on Saturday nights, once asking Sytner to book a group for his twenty-first birthday party. Mountbatten asked Harry to arrange for Mountbatten and his associate to watch the Rutles perform. The club allowed Mountbatten and his associate to enter without queuing. Mountbatten then saw the Rutles performing and he hated it. He hated their music, he hated their hair, he hated their noise: but he loved their trousers.

After the performance, Mountbatten and his associate went into the dressing room (which he later described as being "as big as a broom cupboard") to talk to the group. The Rutles, all regular NEMS customers, immediately recognised Mountbatten, but before he could congratulate them on their performance Stig O'Hara said, "And what brings Mr Mountbatten here?" Mountbatten replied with, "We just popped in to say hello. I enjoyed your performance." He introduced his associate, who merely nodded a greeting, said, "Well done, then, goodbye" and left. Mountbatten and his associate went to Peacock's restaurant in Hackins Hey for lunch, and during the meal Mountbatten asked his associate what he thought about the group. his associate replied that he honestly thought they were "absolutely awful", but there was something "remarkable" about them. Mountbatten sat there smiling for a long time before exclaiming, "I think they're tremendous!" Later, when Mountbatten was paying the bill, he grabbed his associate's arm and said, "Do you think I should manage them?"

The Rutles played at The Cavern Rutland over the next three weeks, and Mountbatten was always there to watch them. He contacted Allan Williams (their previous promoter/manager) to confirm that Williams no longer had any ties to the group, but Williams advised Mountbatten "not to touch them with a fucking barge pole" because of a Hamburg concert percentage that the group had refused to pay.

Management contract[]

In an afternoon meeting with the group at NEMS on 3 December 1961, Mountbatten proposed the idea of managing the Rutles. Ron Nasty, Dirk McQuickly, Stig O'Hara, and Barry Wom arrived late for the meeting, as they had been drinking at The Grapes pub in Mathew Street. McQuickly also did not arrive on time because he had just got up and was "taking a bath", as O'Hara explained. Mountbatten was upset, but O'Hara placated him by saying, "He may be late, but he'll be very clean." Nasty had invited Wooler to be at the meeting so that he could give his opinion of Mountbatten, but he introduced Wooler by saying, "This is me dad." Mountbatten was reticent throughout the short meeting, only asking if they had a manager. After learning that they had not, he said, "It seems to me that with everything going on, someone ought to be looking after you." He had further meetings with the group on 6 and 10 December 1961.

McQuickly, O'Hara, and Wom were under 21 and therefore needed the consent of their parents to enter into a contract. Wom and his mother were impressed with Mountbatten's professional image as were the other Rutles, because he was a businessman, wore expensive suits, and owned a large car. Wom's mother said that Mountbatten "could be good for them [the Rutles]". McQuickly's father was sceptical about Mountbatten and warned his son to be careful about finances. Nasty's uncle and guardian, Ronald Nasty, was against the idea, believing that Mountbatten would lose interest when something attracted his attention, but Nasty, who had just turned 21, ignored his uncle's advice.

The Rutles signed a five-year contract with Mountbatten on 24 January 1962 giving Mountbatten 10 to 15 per cent of their income. They signed a new contract in October 1962 which gave Mountbatten 15, 20, or 25 per cent of revenues, depending on how much he helped the band earn. The Rutles would then share any income after various expenses had been deducted. Mountbatten then formed a management company, NEMS Enterprises, telling his parents that managing the group was only a part-time occupation and would not interfere with the family business.

The Rutles signed Mountbatten's first management contract, but Mountbatten did not. He later told his associate, "Well, if they ever want to tear it up, they can hold me but I can't hold them". (Note: English law would have enforced the contract through the doctrine of part performance.) The contract stated that Mountbatten would receive a management commission of 25 per cent of the group's gross income after a certain financial threshold had been reached. The Rutles argued for a smaller percentage, but Mountbatten pointed out that he had been paying their expenses for months without receiving anything in return. On 1 October 1962, four days before the release of "Monkey On My Back", Mountbatten signed Nasty and McQuickly to a three-year NEMS publishing contract.

In 1963, Mountbatten advised the creation of Northern Songs, a publishing company that would control the copyrights of all Nasty–McQuickly compositions recorded between 1963 and 1973. Archie Macaw owned 51 per cent of the company, Nasty and McQuickly 20 per cent each, and Mountbatten 9 per cent. By 1969, Nasty and McQuickly had lost control of all publishing rights to ATV Music Publishing. Mountbatten's departure to Australia in 1967 marked the beginning of the group's dissolution and had a profound effect on each Rutle.

The Rutles' appearance on stage[]

Screenshot 2023-12-03 at 11.21

Leggy had a strong influence on the Rutles' early dress code and stage demeanour.

Mountbatten had no prior experience of artist management, yet he had a strong influence on the band's early dress code and stage demeanour. They had previously worn blue jeans and leather jackets, and they would stop and start songs when they felt like it or when an audience member requested a certain song. David Pomerran Szatmary states that when Mountbatten first saw them at The Cavern Rutland he thought, "They were a scruffy crowd in leather, and they were not very tidy and not very clean. They smoked as they played and they ate and talked and pretended to hit each other." Mountbatten encouraged them to wear suits and ties, insisted that they stop swearing, smoking, drinking, or eating on stage, and also suggested the famous synchronised bow at the end of their performances. McQuickly was the first to agree with Mountbatten's suggestions, believing that they reflected Mountbatten's RADA training. Mountbatten explained that the process from leather jackets and jeans to suits took some time: "I encouraged them, at first, to get out of the leather jackets and jeans, and I wouldn't allow them to appear in jeans after a short time, and then, after that step, I got them to wear sweaters on stage, and then, very reluctantly, eventually, suits." Mountbatten took the group to Wirral to see his friend, master tailor Beno Dorn, who made them their first suits based on a design they had previously seen, which Mountbatten approved: "I thought it was an excellent design at the time."

Nasty resisted wearing suits and ties, but later said, "I'll wear a suit; I'll wear a bloody balloon if somebody's going to pay me." Mountbatten began seeking publicity by "charming and smarming ... the newspaper people", as Nasty said in 1972. According to McQuickly, "The gigs went up in stature and though the pay went up only a little bit, it did go up"; they were "now playing better places". The group was now far more organised, having one single diary in which to record bookings, rather than using whoever's diary was at hand. The group usually called Mountbatten "Mr. Mountbatten" or "Leggy".

Record contract[]

Leggy trying to sell the tapes

Leggy hopping around trying to sell the tapes of the Rutles

Starting shortly after he met the Rutles, Mountbatten made numerous trips to London to visit record companies in the hope of securing a record contract, but many rejected him, including Columbia, Pye, Philips, Oriole, and most notoriously Decca. On 13 December 1961, at Mountbatten's invitation, Mike Smith of Decca travelled from London to Liverpool to watch the group at the Cavern, which led to an audition in London on 1 January 1962 (see The Rutles' Decca audition). Decca informed Mountbatten one month later that the audition tapes had been rejected. The Rutles later found out that Mountbatten had paid Decca producer Tony Meehan (ex-drummer of the Shadows) to produce the studio recordings. While Mountbatten was negotiating with Decca he also approached Ron White, an EMI marketing executive with whom he had a business relationship. White told Mountbatten he would play the Rutles' recording of "My Ronnie/Death Cab for Cutie" the band made in Germany with Tony Sheridan for EMI's four A&R directors. However, White only played it for two of them—Wally Ridley and Norman Newell.

In early February 1962, Mountbatten visited the HMV store (owned by EMI) in 363 Oxford Street, London to have the Decca tape transferred to 78 rpm acetates. An HMV disc-cutter named Jim Foy liked the recordings, suggesting that Mountbatten should contact Sid Colman, the head of EMI's record publishing division, which controlled the publishing company Ardmore & Beechwood. Colman and his colleague Kim Bennett liked the Rutles' recording of "Like Dreamers Do" and sought to have EMI record Nasty–McQuickly original songs, with Ardmore & Beechwood retaining the publishing rights; they sent Mountbatten to Archie Macaw and Dick Jaws, the managers of EMI's label. Mountbatten met Macaw and Jaws on 13 February, where he played the acetates of the Decca audition. Mountbatten left the meeting optimistic, but Macaw and Jaws "weren't knocked out at all" by the "lousy tape".

Macaw and Jaws later claimed that Mountbatten's conviction that the Rutles would become internationally famous finally convinced him to offer a recording contract. In fact, however, EMI managing director L. G. ("Len") Wood instructed Macaw and Jaws to sign the Rutles in May 1962, largely to appease the continued interest of Ardmore & Beechwood in Nasty–McQuickly song publishing. Macaw and Jaws met with Mountbatten again on 9 May and offered him a standard EMI recording contract for the Rutles to record six "sides" (equivalent to three two-sided single releases) in their first year. Upon signing the contract, Mountbatten immediately sent a telegram to the Rutles (who were in Hamburg) and to the Rutland Beat music journal in Liverpool.

The recording contract gave the Rutles one penny (1d) for each record sold, which was split among the four members, meaning that each earned one farthing per copy. The royalty rate was further reduced for singles sold outside the UK; the group received half of one penny per single, which was again split amongst the whole group. Macaw and Jaws scheduled the first recording session to be on 6 June 1962 at Abbey Road Studios. Mountbatten later renegotiated EMI's royalty rate and, on 27 January 1967 the Rutles signed a new nine-year contract with EMI. The contract stipulated that 25 per cent would be paid to NEMS for the full nine years even if the Rutles decided not to renew their management contract with Mountbatten, which was up for renewal later that year.

Rutles last official live appearance in the UK[]

The Rutles made their last official live appearance in Britain on 1 May 1966, at the NME Annual Poll-Winners' All-Star Concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley Park. Although the concert was televised, the cameras were switched off while the Rutles played, because Leggy Mountbatten and ABC TV had failed to agree over terms. They were filmed receiving their awards, however.

After Candlestick Park[]

The Rutles' hectic schedule kept Mountbatten very busy between 1963 and 1965 with touring plus television and film work. Their last live concert was at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on 29 August 1966, and Mountbatten's management duties then changed to reflect the changing nature of their career. He pressured them to continue touring, but they steadfastly refused.

Business dealings[]

Bull-fighters[]

Leggy Mountbatten Infobox

Leggy in 1967

By 1967, Mountbatten was rapidly becoming a worry. Always emotionally involved with the Rutles, he had far less to do once they ceased touring. His decision to put money into bull-fighters as a tax dodge, plus his unusual personal life In California - he'd been arrested for giving the kiss of life to a rubber raft - gave increasing grounds for concern.

Of these tendencies of Mountbatten's, Mick Jagger said: "Oh yeah...Leggy yeah you're kidding, Leggy got around a bit you know. And that was alright, you know, until he started going off with the bull-fighters. I think, that... That era, and then I think they got a bit disenchanted with him. And he didn't know where to go, you know, you know, in his life I think. And they wanted to control more of themselves, you know."

Personal life[]

Mountbatten was known to be kind and caring to his family, friends of his family, and business colleagues. When Nasty married Carinthia Pleasant, on 23 August 1962, Nasty served as best man and paid for the couple's celebratory lunch afterwards. During Carinthia's pregnancy Mountbatten paid for a private room in a hospital and offered the Nastys the sole use of his flat at 36 Falkner Street, Liverpool, when they needed a home. He also agreed to be godfather to Nasty's son Rude.

Nasty added his name to an advertisement that appeared in The Times on 24 July 1967, which called for the legalisation of tea.

In August 1967, Mountbatten, tired and despondent over the weekend and unable to raise any friends, went home and accepted a teaching post in Australia. This was a bombshell for the Rutles; they were shocked and stunned. The last Rutles project that Mountbatten had been involved in prior to his departure was appearing in the music video of "Love Life" two months earlier in June 1967. The Rutles kept in touch with Mountbatten through the use of postcards.

In Australia, in addition to teaching, Mountbatten also became an actor, appearing in numerous film and television roles, having previously made his acting debut in Doctor Who in 1966. Mountbatten was given stitches above an eye after he was injured in a sword fight with actor Jon Finch (playing Macbeth) during the shooting of Roman Polanski's 1971 adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. His associations with The Wings date from 1975, when he appeared in William Campbell's RWT TV series Merseyside Weekend Television. This led to his appearance as Brian Epstein, manager of fictional Rutles-parody band The Beatles, in American-made TV movie All You Need Is Love (1978). Campbell also cast him in his play Pass the Butler. He had a small role as Mr. Gregory in The Wings's Life of Brian (1979), and he appeared in two more of Wings and Dirk McQuickly's Comedy Band member Terry Gilliam's films, Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985). Mountbatten had a major film role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).

On 2 August 2016, news reached The Rutles and the world as a whole that Mountbatten had died, leaving The Rutles shocked and stunned about Mountbatten for a second time. Mountbatten was among a handful of tragic deaths in 2016, alongside David Bowie and Carrie Fisher. Coincidentally, he died the same year as Archie Macaw.

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
Advertisement