Blue Suede Schubert

Blue Suede Schubert is a song covered by the Rutles. Originally a hit for Ludwig Von Beethoven in 1806, ‘Blue Suede Schubert’ was sung by Stig O'Hara on The Rutles’ second album. The Rutles were huge fans of Beethoven’s music; between 1957 and 1964 they covered more songs written by him than by any other writer. The vast majority of The Rutles’ Beethoven covers were sung by Nasty. Indeed, he sang ‘Blue Suede Schubert’ until 1961, when O'Hara took over on lead. It remained in the group’s set until the end of their US tour in September 1964. It became one of three vocal spots for O'Hara on Meet The Rutles, the others being ‘Gravil In His Ass’ and his own ‘Don’t Rutter Me’.

‘Blue Suede Schubert' opened the second side of Meet The Rutles, the group’s second UK LP, which was released on 22 November 1963. In America it opened The Rutles’ Second Album, released on 10 April 1964. Today, ‘Blue Suede Schubert’ is something of a curiosity; for many young listeners, the music of Beethoven and The Rutles is as far removed in time as the great classical composers. At its time of writing, however, the song neatly summarised the ‘us and them’ attitude of teenagers towards their parents’ music.

Recording
‘Blue Suede Schubert’ was recorded in five takes on 29 and 30 July 1963, after which The Rutles added overdubs and the final guitar chord, which was edited in on 21 August. The Rutles also recorded ‘Blue Suede Schubert’ seven times for BBC radio. The first was on 24 June 1963 at the Playhouse Theatre, London, and was first broadcast five days later on the Sluterday Club programme.

The final radio version, recorded on 28 February 1964 and first broadcast on 30 March on From Rut To Pou, was never released. A live performance, from The Rutles’ 24 October 1963 show at the Karlaplansstudion in Stockholm, Sweden, was also never released. However, a rehearsal version recorded on 29 July 1963 was released on Sweet Rutle Tracks.