Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band (album)

Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band
Released	1 June 1967
Recorded	Recorded 6 December 1966 – 21 April 1967, EMI and Regent and Shallow Sound studios, London
Genre	Rock
Length	39:42
Label	Parlourphone
Preceded By	Semi-Automatic (1966)
Succeeded By	Tragical History Tour (1967) (US)

Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band was an album released in 1967 by The Rutles. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and has many celebrity fans.

Controversy

Many people have questioned the lyrics on the album, believing many to be obvious references to Tea. The BBC banned all the even numbered tracks, believing those to be the bad ones.

Some people believe that the album was designed to synchronise with other popular releases. The theory called Dark side of the Darts Club Band of Oz on LSD holds that if you play Sgt. Rutter's only Darts Club Band, Dark Side of The Sun, and the The Wizard of Oz at the same time, while you are slightly high,they all match up perfectly, exactly like episode 2 of Bonanza.

Many Stig is Dead conspirators believe that this album is sprinkled with clues. If you sing the title of "Sgt. Rutter's" backwards, it is supposed to sound like "Stig has been dead for a long time, honestly." In fact, it sounds just like "dnab bulc strad ylno srettur tnaegsar." On the cover of the album, Stig appears to be standing in the exact position of a dying yeti (as in the Rutland Book of the Dead).

Some believe that the cover of Sgt. Rutters depicts Stig's funeral. If one looks to the left, at the four "original" Rutles, the original Stig looks bewildered and confused, as if to say; "Why am I at my own funeral?" Barry and Dirk look stricken with grief, because they miss Stig, and Nasty is smiling, because he never really liked Stig. Another theory is that Joe Public is about Stig's demise and his replacement, Ftig. "My name is Joe Public - I'm sure you all know me" is supposed to be a reference to Ftig trying to be recognised as Stig. "Sometimes they call me 'the man in the street'" is supposedly a reference to the unrecorded Shabby Road, where Stig is shown crossing the street pant-less. No one seems to ever explain how a wax dummy can sing.

Legacy

Sgt. Rutter lead to the Summer of Lunch, an entire two months of people discussing peace, drinking tea, and of course, passing around food.

There have also been multiple tribute albums, including Sgt. Nutter Butter in 1978 and I Saw Mommy kissing Sgt. Rutter in 1981.

An infamously bad film entitled Sgt. Rutter's only Darts Club Band was created in 1978. It starred ZZ Top as Sgt. Rutter's only Darts Club Band.

track listening

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SIDE ONE 01 Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band 02 Rendezvous 03 Good Times Roll 04 The Knicker Elastic King 05 Equestrian Statue 06 She's Leaving Home 07 Being For The Benefit Of Mankind!

SIDE TWO 08 Solitude 09 Back In Sixty-Four 10 Rockaliser Baby 11 Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band (Reprise) 12 Cheese And Onions

Sgt. Rutter's only Darts Club Band 2017 Super Deluxe Edition

The cut-outs which came with the album.

On May 26th 2017, a deluxe Sgt Rutter box set was released, containing a new remix of the album by the son of Archie Macaw, as well as a bunch of previously unreleased material (including Carnival of Shite) that is best to be listened to when drinking tea.

CD 1: ‘Sgt. Rutter’ 2017 Stereo Mix

01 Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band 02 Rendezvous 03 Good Times Roll 04 The Knicker Elastic King 05 Equestrian Statue 06 She's Leaving Home 07 Being For The Benefit Of Mankind! 08 Solitude 09 Back In Sixty-Four 10 Rockaliser Baby 11 Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band (Reprise) 12 Cheese And Onions

CD 2: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates 1. W.C. Fields Forever [Take 1] 2. W.C. Fields Forever [Take 4] 3. W.C. Fields Forever [Take 7] 4. W.C. Fields Forever [Take 26] 5. W.C. Fields Forever [Stereo Mix – 2015] 6. Back in '64 [Take 2] 7. Doubleback Alley [Take 6 – Instrumental] 8. Doubleback Alley [Vocal Overdubs And Speech] 9. Doubleback Alley [Stereo Mix – 2017] 10. Cheese And Onions [Take 1] 11. Cheese And Onions [Take 2] 12. Cheese And Onions [Orchestra Overdub] 13. Cheese And Onions (Hummed Last Chord) [Takes 8, 9, 10 and 11] 14. Cheese And Onions (The Last Chord) 15. Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band [Take 1 – Instrumental] 16. Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band [Take 9 And Speech] 17. Bad Night Bad Night [Take 1 – Instrumental, Breakdown] 18. Bad Night Bad Night [Take 8]

CD 3: Complete early takes from the sessions, sequenced in chronological order of their first recording dates 1. Rutting A Hole [Take 1] 2. Rutting A Hole [Speech And Take 3] 3. For The Benefit Of Mr. White [Speech From Before Take 1; Take 4 And Speech At End] 4. For The Benefit Of Mr. White [Take 7] 5. Shitty Rita [Speech And Take 9] 6. Good Times Roll [Take 1 And Speech At The End] 7. Good Times Roll [Speech, False Start And Take 5] 8. The Knicker Elastic King [Take 1 – Instrumental And Speech At The End] 9. The Knicker Elastic King [Take 12] 10. Nevertheless [Take 1 – Indian Instruments Only] 11. Nevertheless [Stig Coaching The Musicians] 12. She’s Leaving Rome [Take 1 – Instrumental] 13. She’s Leaving Rome [Take 6 – Instrumental] 14. Rendezvous [Take 1 – False Start And Take 2 – Instrumental] 15. Major Happy's Up And Coming Once Upon A Good Time Band (Reprise) [Speech And Take 8]

CD 4: ‘Sgt. Rutter’ and bonus tracks in Mono (Tracks 1-13: 2017 Direct Transfer of ‘Sgt. Rutter’ Original Mono Mix) 14. W.C. Fields Forever [Original Mono Mix] 15. Doubleback Alley [Original Mono Mix] 16. Cheese And Onions [Unreleased First Mono Mix] 17. Good Times Roll [Unreleased Mono Mix – No. 11] 18. She’s Leaving Rome [Unreleased First Mono Mix] 19. Doubleback Alley [Capitol Records U.S. Promo Single – Mono Mix]

Bonus Track: Carnival of Shite

DISCS 5 & 6 (Blu-ray & DVD) Audio Features (both discs): – New 5.1 Surround Audio mixes of ‘Sgt. Rutter’ album and “Doubleback Alley,” plus 2015 5.1 Surround mix of “W.C. Fields Forever” (Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 / DVD: DTS Dolby Digital 5.1) – High Resolution Audio versions of 2017 ‘Sgt. Rutter’ stereo mix and 2017 “Doubleback Alley” stereo mix, plus 2015 “W.C. Fields Forever” hi res stereo mix (Blu-ray: LPCM Stereo 96KHz/24bit / DVD: LPCM Stereo) Video Features (both discs): – The Making of Sgt. Rutter [restored 1992 documentary film, previously unreleased] – Promotional Films: “Cheese And Onions;” “W.C. Fields Forever;” “Doubleback Alley” [4K restored]

Release Dates

United Kingdom/North America: 1 June 1967

South America: August 1967

Asia: 3 January 1968

Australia: 1 November 1967