My January 2015 castaway is Legs Larry Smith. He was not only photographed with the Beatles but also appeared in their 1967 film The Magical Mystery Tour. Larry and George Harrison became the best of friends and, in 1975, George wrote a song about him. “His Name Is Legs (Ladies and Gentlemen)“, which was released on Extra Texture (Read All About It). “Legs” Larry Smith can count Stephen Fry as one of the fans of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in which he eventually played the drums after starting out on the tuba. He also accompanied Elton John and Eric Clapton on tours of the States often tap dancing in a tutu with half-a-dozen chorus girls.
You can see from the illustration below( click on link) that he has been preparing for Oxtopia! As long as future castaways don’t feel it obligatory to follow suit its enormous fun.
Nancy Hunt of the Nasio Trust is November and Richard Bruce Parkinson, Professor of Egyptology, is our December castaway.They couldn’t be more different but that is the delight of Oxtopia. With all their talent and diversity what kind of society will they create?
Four castaways are coming to Kennington on November 15 to debate Is Oxford Oxtopia?
What aspects of Oxford life would they like to recreate on the island and what would they like to leave behind? At the moment, planning fauxpas and traffic jams will probably feature in the latter!
Contact me for tickets.They are going v fast.OXTOPIA ILLUSTRATION legs larry