More on Eric Idle at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester

I'm down so many rabbit holes at the moment that I feel like a portly ferret, but here's a little more on Eric Idle at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester.

The Leicester Daily Mercury for 7 December 1965 ran a short profile of him, complete with a Rutlesesque photo:

Phoenix Face

Cambridge graduate, Eric Idle, who has joined the Phoenix Theatre company for the current production "Oh, What A Lovely War" and "One For The Pot," gained his first theatrical experience with The Footlights company and the university's Amateur Drama Club.

He went to the Edinburgh Festival for two consecutive years with university groups and after obtaining an Arts degree in English went into cabaret at The Rehearsal Room and The Blue Angel. Eric's choice of career followed his interest in script writing and acting for the Cambridge revues.

One of the Cambridge productions was "The Tempest," directed Carey Harrison - new assistant director at the Phoenix.

Eric has written material for the B.B.C. 3 programme, and is releasing a comedy record with the next few months. He is also writing a musical.

The record must have been The Tiger, written with John Cameron, whose release 'this week' was announced in the 1 February 1966 edition of the Mercury. I can find no other reference to it online.

It does occur to me, though, that 'Eric Idol' would have been a great name for a Larry Parnes artist.