LAUGHED at and loved in equal measure The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band were famed for their wacky live shows.

Their inspired lunacy, comic sketches and exploding robots gained the band a lasting cult following in the mid to late 1960s.

And now Accrington-born pianist Dave Glasson has teamed up with three of the original Bonzo Band members to re-live the magic memories.

While it’s no longer possible to reunite the whole team, following the death of front man Vivian Stanshall in 1995, three original Bonzos Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater and Sam Spoons have joined Dave to form Three Bonzos and a Piano.

Dave was a founder member of Bob Kerr’s Whooppee Band, an offshoot of the eclectic Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, with former Bonzo Bob Kerr as front man — also a hit in the 1960s.

The current Bonzo line-up — who are all over 60 — are now enjoying something of a comeback with non-stop gigs all over the country.

“We had our kicks in the 60s then we all went off for various careers, and now we’re back together and its perfect,” said Dave, who at 64, is the band’s youngest member.

“We started with a monthly night in Brighton and it was amazing how it grew in popularity. People from all over the country came to see us. And it’s just spiralled ever since.”

Retiring from a second career as a music teacher to form the band in 2008, Dave said the trademark Bonzo stage antics were still a key part of their show.

“It’s a very visual gig and with it we’ve embarked on a sort of constant tour,” he said. “We do about four shows a month. So it’s not too few that we forget what we’re doing, but enough to keep us ticking over.

“We get the audience to help us with the singing these days too because we don’t remember all the words,” laughed Dave, who played with the band at this summer’s Glastonbury.

Now a resident of East Sussex, Dave learned to play the piano when he was eight and living in Clarendon Street, Accrington.

The former Accrington Grammar School pupil said: “All my aunties and uncles lived in Hodder Street and Garfield Street and all the cousins went to Benjamin Hargreaves Primary School.

“I used to sneak out of school, and hide behind a drain pipe of a house round the corner, but my auntie would always see me and ring my mum.

“Another time my cousin John and I once went into Accrington town centre on our bikes, when we only about five, and we had to get brought back by the police.

“But one thing I was good at as a child was reading music. And that was down to my music teacher in Avenue Parade, Mrs Sergeant, she was great.”

And with Three Bonzos and a Piano Dave will be returning to Lancashire for a gig at The Platform in Morcambe later this month. He said: “I’m really looking forward to coming back up north to see some of my old haunts. My two uncles and aunts still live in Accrington but I haven’t been up for several years.

“I’m hoping they’ll come over to Morcambe. One of my cousins will be coming so it’ll be a bit of a family reunion. We'll be doing the old standards in honour of Viv and some new songs from our album (Hair Of The Dog, released in February) that reflect the angst of our age – songs like Senior Moments and Old Geezer Rock.

“We actually sell a lot of our CDs to America,” said Dave, who runs the band’s website. “We’re considering a tour in the US. We’ll be the first pensioners to break into America. I might be 64 and losing my hair, but I have no plans to retire any time soon, we’ve only just got started again. ”

l Three Bonzos And A Piano — The Platform, Station Buildings, Marine Road West, Morecambe, Saturday November 20. Call 01524 582 803.