| Stig O' Hara | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Born: |
25 Febuary 1943 Liverpool, England |
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Occupation(s): |
Singer, Songwriter, Rutle, Air Hostess |
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Associated Acts: |
The Rutles, Karran Shiva, The Flames, Les Garçons de la Plage, Travelways Buslines, Mhani O'Hara , Air India |
Stig O'Harold O'Hara is a founding member of The Rutles who also has a popular solo career. He was a guitarist of no fixed hairstyle. Called "the quiet one", he was the thinnest of all the Rutles.
In 1970, after The Rutles breakup, Stig started work at Air India as an Air Hostess. In 1978, Stig had one son with his wife Gertrude Strange, Mhani O'Hara, who is also a musician. In 2001, his overtime work meant he was unable to focus as much on his music career, but has nevertheless occasionally participated in Rutles reunions.
Bibliography
Stig O'Hara was born on 25 February 1943 in Liverpool, England. He joined a band called "The Flames" at age 9. The group would go on to be produced by Claude Wilsoneaux of Les Garçons de la Plage. Stig released albums with this group at the same time he was with The Rutles, but the band ultimately wouldn't last.
Stig in 1963.
In 1968 Stig released his first solo album, Wonder Ball Music. In 1970, after the Rutles' breakup, Stig accepted a job offer from Air India to be an Air Hostess. He also appeared in 1978 in a mockumentary, "The Beatles: All You Need Is Love", where he played an interviewer. The parody of Stig in The Beatles was George Harrison.
Stig O'Hara's stint with Air India took him around the world, but over time he took fewer and fewer flights. O'Hara grew a partnership with other airline professionals that led to the formation of a new group they called Travelways Buslines. They soon found out there was already a bus company called Travelways in Canada, so they abandoned the effort after only two chartered trips. In 2001, Stig decided to work overtime on flights, and has done so since, winning him the Nobel Peas Prize for Air Hostesses 7 years in a row.
Stig was a perfectionist in his youth. Here he is rehearsing his role in The Rutles with his brothers Wig, Pig and Oilrig, several years before The Rutles even formed.
During a layover between flights in 2000, Stig befriended the founder of renowned square dancing troupe Circle of Hay. Over beers in the Concourse bar, they discussed the idea of doing a new show using Rutles music but lost touch after Stig began to work overtime. With the blessings of Dirk and Barry, who were easily reached, work began on recombining classic Rutle tracks in ways that could support the Cirque du Soleil show Lunch.
Discography
- Wonder Ball Music (1968)
- Electronic Rut (1969)
- "Ging Gang Goolie" / "Mr. Sheene" (1970, with Dirk McQuickly)
- All Things Fall Down (1970)
- The Concert For Banana Dish (1971)
- Living in the Mineral World (1973)
- Lame Duck (1974)
- Low Resolution (Rut All About It) (1975)
- In 1975, after the failure of his attempt at touring in America and the underperformance of his 1975 album, Stig went full-time at Air India and ceased producing music. He would try to make an album in 1976, but a near-fatal case of writer's cramp would cancel these plans.
- Stig O'Hara (1979)
- Somewhere in Rutland (1981)
- Gone Commando (1982)
- Cloud Nine from Outer Space (1987)
- Best of Lame Duck 1979–1989 (1989)
- Stig O'Hara Live in Japan (1992)
- Stig is not a wax replica please stop asking. (1993)
- Brain Mashed (2002)
- The Lame Duck Years 1979–1992 (2004)
- Kazooborations (with Karran Shiva)
- Early Takes: Volume 1 (2012)
- Early Takes Volume 2 (2013)
- The Banana Years 1968–75 (2014)
Footnotes
- ↑ Rutles Forever issue 4