The Alberts were a jazz-comedy outfit with ties to both The Goon Show and the Temperance Seven, and an inspiration to the Scaffold and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. They were founded by Bruce Lacey, formerly a special effects engineer whose background included work on The Goon Show and a bubble-blowing automaton. Dressing in Victorian clothing and utilizing a variety of outré props, they gigged regularly and had a residency at Peter Cook's Establishment Club in London. Though very popular and well-liked, they appear to have recorded very little before their breakup, with one single as the Massed Alberts ("Blaze Away," coupled with "Goodbye Dolly Grey" on Parlophone) and a pair of tracks on a compilation shared with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and the Temperance Seven. Neil Innes was briefly a member of the ensemble. ~ Steven McDonald, Rovi