When Vic Reeves, Jimmy Page and Paul McCartney played ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ at Jeff Beck’s wedding
Amid the ascent of Artificial Intelligence, there are fears that a point will arise whereby machines preordain our future. This is a worrying contemplation that can briefly pull you away from the physical wonder of realism. In a reaffirming fashion, there are certain stories that come along that remind you of the joyous absurdity of life. Stories like Vic Reeves, Jimmy Page and Paul McCartney playing ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ at Jeff Beck’s wedding. Even the most troubleshooting robot would fail to grasp the surreal beauty of such a gratifying assortment.
For those outside of Britain wondering who Vic Reeves is, the comic and artist whose real name is Jim Moir, might just be the finest propagator of joyous absurdity since that nut Salvador Dalí. He was also once a pop star, scoring a number one UK single with ‘Dizzy’ in collaboration with The Wonder Stuff. He is a genius—and just because he is a comic genius doesn’t mean that his reverence should be diminished. Nevertheless, it also seems inherently bananas for him to be rocking out with musical royalty.
During his time as a pop star, Reeves was acquainted with many of these rock stars. Naturally, they were curious about him too. After all, it is a well-established rule that musicians are in awe of comics and comics are in awe of musicians. One musical legend that Reeves and his family became great friends with was the late Jeff Beck.
At his wedding, madness ensued. What would you expect? A Cliff Richard paddling pool party? As Reeves recalls on The Adam Buxton Podcast: “I was at Jeff Beck’s wedding and there was a rockabilly band on stage. People were getting up and singing. Jeff said, ‘go up and do something’. So, I was on stage with Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page.”
For some reason, these giants of music then proceeded to consult Reeves about what they should do. After absolutely no contemplation, Reeves suggested that the song he would like to sing with one of the most esteemed duos in music history was the daft track ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’.
“So, I did [‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’]. And there is no evidence of me doing this, but it did happen. So, I’m stood with Paul McCartney on one side and Jimmy Page on the other, and I’m like the lead singer in the middle,” he amusingly continues. The only problem was his comic lack of foresight in quipping ‘I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts’ on command left him hoisted by his petard because he only actually knew the first verse.
Luckily, a Beatle was on hand to pick up the slack. As Reeves explains, “Paul McCartney is one of those people who will know the words and tune and be able to play anything.” And strangely, amid the tome of stories told about ‘Macca’ and his artistry, this oddity proves peculiarly revealing—I, for one, never knew he was some sort of musical savant in the recital sense.
However, for Reeves, it offered up another lesson that we can all hope to take heed of one day in our wildest AI fantasies: “When you go on stage, especially with legends, always know all of the lyrics. Or you can just do as I did and say, ‘Over to you Paul’.” Beck was, no doubt, left cackling at this comic commotion as the humorous fellow he evidently was.
