Dip My Brain in Joy: A Life with Neil Innes: The Official Biography

By Yvonne Innes

The official biography of Neil Innes--songwriting powerhouse and the "seventh Python"--written by the person closest to him

Nominated for the Chortle Comedy Awards 2025

"A lovely writer and performer. A very sweet man, much too nice for his own good..." -- John Cleese

"He was a great writer, eccentric, and clever without being pretentious." -- Michael Palin

Few individuals have shaped British culture over the past fifty years as profoundly as comedy and music icon Neil Innes. He was the songwriting force behind the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a Beatles muse and collaborator, and a key figure in injecting art-school surrealism into 1960s television comedy. His work helped spark a creative revolution that led directly to Monty Python's Flying Circus, a group he repeatedly joined on screen and on stage.

Innes was also Ron Nasty, co-founder of the much-loved The Rutles, the legendary "pre-fab four," and the accidental originator of the phrase Cool Britannia. A cherished children's TV storyteller, thinker, maker, and creator, he became an undisputed national treasure--Britain's gentle idiot laureate.

Through it all, Neil remained one of the kindest and brightest figures in show business. Musicians, comedians, and fans alike loved being around him. He created music, joy, and art wherever he went. And the person who loved having him around more than anyone else was Yvonne.

Neil and Yvonne met at Goldsmiths College in the 1960s and went on to walk hand in hand through life for more than fifty years, until Neil's untimely death in 2019.

This book is a heartfelt, eyewitness account of the life of one of British culture's quiet geniuses--a tribute to life inside the circus, told by and about the gentlest and wisest of clowns.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1785121669
• ISBN13: 9781785121661
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Nine Eight Books
• Length: 272 Pages