Vivian Stanshall
English musician, artist and author
Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (as a radio series for John Peel, as an audio recording, as a book and as a film), and for acting as Master of Ceremonies on Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells.
Early life and education
Stanshall was born on 21 March 1943 at the Radcliffe Maternity Home Shillingford, Oxfordshire. His father, Victor George Stanshall (born Vivian), was, at the time of his son's birth an RAF corporal, later a company secretary, then company director (FCIS). His mother was Eileen Monica Prudence (née Wadeson). He was christened Victor Anthony. He lived with his mother while his father served in the RAF during the Second World War. Stanshall described this early period as the happiest time of his childhood.
When the war ended his father returned, but the young Victor found him difficult and comparatively stern after having been alone with his mother. His father made him speak with a "plummy" accent for which he later became known. The family moved to the father's hometown of Walthamstow, Essex, where Stanshall's younger brother Mark was born in 1949.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Vivian Stanshall” as english musician, artist and author. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as english musician, artist and author. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q249966. VIAF identifies the subject as 59276135. The Library of Congress control number is no98020054. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1943, 1995 and 1949.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Vivian Stanshall” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.