Hudson Brother embarks on solo tour

It was a month ago that we brought you the exclusive photo of the first Hudson Brothers reunion in twenty years, and only a few days later that we revealed the sudden appearance of a Hudson Brothers MySpace page. Now, we learn that a Hudson Brother solo tour is about to begin. In the grand tradition of Ray Davies, Neil Innes and Frank Sinatra and brother Mark Hudson's Livin' On the Edge tour will take the audience through a rolickin' past and into the future. Find the latest information here and here. Meanwhile, here’s the release on the Mark Hudson solo tour that we’ll bet will include guest shots from Brett and Bill somewhere along the way:

LIVIN' ON THE EDGE
A ONE MAN SHOW FEATURING MARK HUDSON
MUSIC, STORIES & COMEDY

Mark Hudson is the Forrest Gump of Rock & Roll. He was with John Lennon during his famous lost weekend. He was with Led Zeppelin when they tried to set light to Elton John at a party. He was asked by Cher to do something very private that had always eluded her. This is just the beginning. Mark always seemed to be in the room when something historic, funny or just plain unbelievable was occurring.

In "Livin' on the Edge", Mark talks about his experiences with rocks' elite through monologues, funny anecdotes, impersonations and lots of music. The stories will leave you in stitches and the songs will keep playing in your head. His colourful outfits, colourful facial hair and colourful wit will hook you right from the start.

Mark wrote the Grammy winning song "Livin' on the Edge" for Aerosmith. He went on to write a dozen other Aerosmith songs, as well as producing several of their albums. He co-wrote "The Reason" with Carole King which became a huge smash for Celine Dion. He has produced tracks for Ozzy Osbourne, Hanson, Elmopalooza, Ringo Starr, Baha Men and many more.

Mark was the vocal director and backup vocalist for artists such as David Cassidy, Wayne Newton, Cher, Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi, Aaron Neville, Harry Nilsson, Hanson, Leif Garrett, Night Ranger and more.

In addition, Mark starred in a Prime Time music/comedy series with his brothers in 1974 entitled "The Hudson Brothers Show." This led to a Saturday morning show entitled, "The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show." Mark's TV career landed him a spot as the band leader on the "Late Show with Joan Rivers" on Fox and most recently on the X Factor in England; a show starring Simon Cowell which also stars Sharon Osbourne. (Mark is known in England as "Weird Beard" for his brightly colored beard.)

Oh and by the way, Mark is also the uncle to Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson!

Neil Innes-Hudson Brothers power combo helps turn The Seventh Python into greatest hit at Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans

With its star, supporting cast, director, producer and music supervisor in prominent attendance and a special, surprise late-night screening that followed up the packed, enthusiastic showing on Saturday morning, the unreleased Neil Innes biopic The Seventh Python is surely the hottest news to come out of The Fest for Beatles Fans that continues with overflow crowds today in Chicago.

The film from our pals at Frozen Pictures had its world premiere in June at Martin Lewis' Mods & Rockers Film Festival in Hollywood and is on the march to a New York City screening soon to be announced as producers look for theatrical distribution for what's proving to be a crowd pleaser that has audiences cheering, laughing, crying and singing along!

Neil Innes with superfan, Barbara Poudrier, who’s developed and runs several Innes fansites.

Key to The Seventh Python mania among the thousands of fans who’ve lined up this weekend with Python memorabilia and posters, is the approachable charisma of the movie’s star, Neil Innes, who's become a key figure at these Beatles Fests-- and an unexpected comeback of Seventies pop stars and John Lennon compadres The Hudson Brothers, who teamed up with Innes onstage and at signing sessions.

Mark and Brett Hudson eat in public.

Mark Hudson, familiar to Beatle Fest fans for writing with and producing Ringo Starr (and in a remarkable coup, filling for a lost friend by recording a tracks with George, Paul and Ringo ) was joined by brother Brett, who returns to performing after 28 years. A noted television and film writer and producer, Brett is producer and writer of The Seventh Python (Mark is music supervisor).

The trio was a triple-threat of promotion and star quality, joined occasionally by non-celeb Seventh director Burt Kearns.



Brett Hudson and Kearns entertained a large crowd last night with their stories of the making of The Seventh Python, a forum in which Brett revealed publicly that there will indeed be a Hudson brothers reunion (probably in New York City) and a documentary film produced by himself and Kearns.


Their talk was dwarfed by the no-standing-room-left Mark and Brett discussion moderated by Martin Lewis ("A Brit a A Brett & A Brat"). The fest continues today, and will be capped by another huge concert featuring the Hudsons (two out of three, so far) and Neil Innes.

Brett Hudson surrounded by the Mark Hudson power sales and promotion team, borrowed for The Seventh Python promotion: Still Nancy, Killer Heels, Soft Focus and Cheryl.

Mark Hudson wrestles The Seventh Python

Tabloid Baby was there at the legendary Whatinthewhatthe studios in Los Angeles as writer-producer Mark Hudson worked on the musical soundtrack for the Neil Innes biopic that our pals at Frozen Pictures are getting ready for the movie circuit.

Along with ace engineer Sami Diament, Mark produced, tweaked, mixed and added some of his trademark background vocals to the landmark concert material featured in The Seventh Python.



Best known as writer and producer for Ringo Starr Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne (he wrote 'Smith's "Living On The Edge"), Mark's laid down tracks in the tiny studio with musicians and legends like Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty, Sarah Hudson and many others.


The colorful Mark (see photos) first had legions of fans as a member of The Hudson Brothers and is now a favorite in homes across the UK for his rolw on the popular X Factor TV series. He and Neil Innes go "way back," both being intimates of various Beatles, and having performed together at various Beatlefests. "I love Neil. He's a great parodist. You can name any band, any style of music and Neil will come up with a song that's as good as any of them. And funny, too! He's also simply a great songwriter and performer. Neil is the best."


Python's director Burt Kearns had similar words for Mark Hudson's work. "Mark gave us all a lesson in the inner sanctum of rock 'n'roll. He listened to these raw tracks with a smile on his face then jumped right in and spun the raw material into gold-- and all the while, he was spinning stories, taking calls and playing host. He's a wizard, like a Todd Rundgren with a great personality. And hey, he had some great Neil stories. Now we want him in the picture, too!"


(See more photos here...)

Brett Hudson stuns, inspires crowd at Fest for Beatles Fans, announces plans for cancer film, foundation project

A routine question-and-answer session about the making of The Seventh Python turned into a newsmaking and emotional highlight of The NY Metro Fest for Beatles Fans this afternoon, when producer Brett Hudson broke from the script to deliver a broadside against the American medical establishment and a call to arms in the fight against cancer.

The Seventies pop star-turned-Hollywood writer and producer, who's been performing at the Fest with his brother Mark Hudson, has received international attention and kudos since it was revealed early last year that he was battling throat cancer and had succeeded against great odds thanks to state-of-the-art treatment not widely available in the United States. His advocacy of other cancer patients and the crucial importance of individual determination of treatment and a positive attitude, displayed on a widely-circulated blog, has attracted a worldwide following and given Hudson a new mission that he pushed to the forefont today.

Well-attended

Hudson had earlier introduced The Seventh Python with director Burt Kearns and star Neil Innes at a well-attended afternoon screening, and had rushed from an autograph session to join Kearns was onstage at the Crystal Ballroom to discuss the making of the film.


The discussion had led to future Frozen Pictures projects, including a Hudson Brothers reunion and a film about Sixties rocker Chris Montez, when Hudson stopped the session to bring up the project that has been foremost on the Frozen Pictures agenda.

"On August 27, 2007, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer. My doctors told me to get my affairs in order and that I wouldn't survive six months. I proved them wrong.

"I was headed toward a morbid operation to remove my larynx when my dear friend Cher, whom I've known for 35 years, led me to a doctor in Germany, and today I don't have cancer.


"Bottom line: You go to Germany, they'll cure your cancer. You stay in America, they'll cure you if you survive the treatment."

Help!

The crowd, there to hear the dishy show business behind the scenes stories and scandals, wastransfixed as Hudson, wrapped in a scarf that many assumed was worn in homage to the skiing sequence in Help! but which he explained he wore to protect his radiation-scarred neck from sunlight, took them down a dark alley that each and every one could relate to. He explained that Frozen Pictures is already at work producing a nonfiction film called The Klinik, which uses his own experience as the jumping-off point for a larger-themed story about innovations and obstacles in cancer treatment.

"I don't care if you see the film or buy the DVD, but go to the website The Klinik Movie dot com, Klinik spelled 'k-l-i-n-i-k' and spread the word."

Farrah

Hudson then detailed some of the most intimate details of his illness, spoke movingly about others who've sought him out for help and amazed the crowd as he told of the state-of-the art treatments that removed 14 tumours from Farrah Fawcett's liver-- not to mention his own throat cancer.

After revealing that his treatment has cost him more than $400,000-- despite insurance-- he broke the big news:

Foundation

"I will take my fee for this film-- with the exception of the Writers Guild payment, because I need their insurance, which is great-- and I will use it to start a foundation. I'm not going to put my name on it, I don't need that. I'm going to use it to help people who can't afford to get treatment. The way it is now, if you've got the money you can live, if you don't have money, you don't have the choice. I want to pay for transportation to treatment centers, for medicine. I want people to have the same choices I have."

(clockwise from top: Greg Hawkes, Martin Lewis,

Earl Slick, Brett Hudson, Neil Innes, Mark Hudson)

New website features Mark Hudson & his music

The Hudson Brothers comeback continues today with the arrival of a new website dedicated to the work of middle brother Mark Hudson.

MarkHudsonMusic.com is launched the same day that Mark’s latest production, Ringo Starr’s Liverpool 8 album, hits stores and websites. Mark, the incredibly influential producer, songwriter and performer who's been Ringo’s main collaborator and career resuscitator for a decade, cowrote most of the songs, laid down the tracks for Ringo to add his drums and vocals and had the album for release last year—until Ringo got huffy and cut off the partnership when Mark’s television work conflicted with one of Ringo’s All Starr tours. Ringo brought the tapes (files) to Dave Stewart, who added his trademark overgloss to the project and now shares production credit.

Mark, meanwhile, carries on (he's music supervisor of The Seventh Python project) and it’s too bad for Ringo so late in life, since Mark and his fellow musos brought a sense of down-to-earth reality and mateship to guy whose sense of entitlement betrays the fact that he's been used to having his ass tickled with a feather for the past 45 years.

When last heard from, the Mark Hudson pop idol machine was offering a sexy 2008 calendar featuring twelve months of the fabled “weird beard” in various poses. The new MarkHudsonMusic.com website, designed by Keren, includes a shop, blog, news, videos, photos, links and much more. It's a regular musical history tour.

Our favorite part, though, is the homepage which features a mock up of an album cover that is obviously a tribute to our Tabloid Baby icon (above left). The twist: most every face is Mark's.

Blogger reconsiders The Hudson Brothers

We’ve been writing for a while now about a revival of interest in the Hudson Brothers, the rock n roll trio turned pop culture legends thanks to their unexpected turn as Seventies variety television stars and friendships and collaborations with the likes of John Lennon, Harry Nilsson and M. Richard Monda. The combination of new fan-created MySpace pages, video clips on YouTube, attention on the Internet and their work together behind the scenes on The Seventh Python film was enough to win them our 2007 Comeback of The Year award.

And now we hear that LA’s Mark & Brian morning radio team took time out from their time-killing hours of playing Trivial Pursuit on the air (either the most passive-aggressive work action in the medium’s history or a brilliant Kaufmanesque take on Godot) for a riff that went from Britney Spears’ shaved head to Brett Hudson’s short haircut to the Grammy Awards and whether the show will include a Hudson Brothers tribute.

Though we suspect they were “making fun,” M&B must be aware of the grassroots movement to boycott The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and its czar Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone magazine if they continue to refuse to seriously consider the very influential Hudsons in the Performer or Lifetime Achievement categories.

And the movement spreads, as reflected in "Maybe I had them pegged all wrong," a posting this week from journo Erik Hogstrom’s Route 1 blogsite. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reporter, Heartland hipster and self-professed “music geek” writes about compiling an iPod playlist “full of songs my sister Inger and I would have heard on KFRC 610 -- a former Bay Area Top 40 station we enjoyed during the heyday of AM radio”:

“While compiling my playlist, I have discovered three categories of songs:

1) Songs I will always love ("Chevy Van" by Sammy Johns).

2) Songs I will always hate ("Playground in my Mind" by Clint Holmes).

3) Songs I once hated, but now I think I might like them -- but -- maybe --
OK, yeah I like them.

This latter category includes "So You Are a Star" by THE HUDSON BROTHERS.

I always thought there was something phony about The Hudson Brothers when I was a kid. I watched them on "The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show," for one thing. The kids' show also featured Rod Hull and that Emu puppet of his. I hated them. Now, more than three decades later, I am starting to think I might have been wrong about Mark, Bill and Brett. "So You Are a Star" sounds a little like Wings, which is OK.

I also now know that Mark Hudson is a bit of a musical savant. He has co-written a dozen Aerosmith songs and produced Ringo Starr, among others. Bill Hudson holds the distinction of having married not one but *TWO* of my childhood dreamgirls -- Goldie Hawn and Cindy Williams. Brett Hudson became a television producer.

So, there was apparently some talent in those boys from Portland, Ore., even if I couldn't see it at the time.

EXCLUSIVE! THE HUDSON BROTHERS TO REUNITE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 28 YEARS; ONE CONCERT & DOCUMENTARY FILM; 300 TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR PERFORMANCE!

The Hudson Brothers are preparing to perform together for the first time in 28 years.

The announcement that the Seventies teen idols-- one of the top rock and comedy acts of the decade-- would reunite for a single concert performance and documentary film feature was announced this afternoon in a message posted at 5:11 pm by youngest Brother Brett Hudson on the Hudson Brothers MySpace page:

Hi,
This is Brett Hudson... My brothers and I are about to do a documentary feature about our lives and career. We will be doing a "one time only" concert. It will be the first time in 28 years that the three of us have performed together. There will only be 300 tickets available and the audience will be a part of the movie. www.myspace.com/bhudson1.

The announcement has already caused hysteria among Hudson Brothers fans across the Internet, who have remained faithful to their heroes for decades, and managed to freeze Brett's site where he directed inquiries.

The reunion is prompted by unprecedented demand for the DVD release of the Hudson's Saturday morning show from the Sebenties, The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show. Amazon.com is carrying the set and has sold out several times in the past week.

Little word has been released about the film project, though Brett confirms it will be produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures and cover the Hudsons' career through the reunion.

The reunion of Bill, Mark and Brett has been hinted at in the past weeks, in wake of the world premiere of The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes biopic produced by Brett, with Mark Hudson as musical supervisor and Bill contributing to the audio production. Mark and Brett appeared onstage together at The Fest for Beatles Fans in Las Vegas last month and will be at the Fest in Chicago August 8-10.

Brett Hudson talks about Hudson Brothers highs

With the Hudson Brothers revival in full swing with the release of the Razzle Dazzle Show on DVD this week, Tabloid Baby pal Brett Hudson from Frozen Pictures is back in the spotlight. Since Toronto is where the Razzle Dazzle Show was filmed, journo Marc Weisblott of Toronto's Eye Weekly has the inside track with a great article on the Brothers' illustrious decade. Be sure to click here for the original piece with all the artwork and lots of vintage Hudson Brothers video. Meanwhile some highlights from The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle follow, including Bret's artful plugging of the premiere of The Seventh Python:

...The Hudson Brothers were welfare-raised Italian teens from Portland, Oregon who won a battle-of-the-bands contest in 1967, the prize being a single released under the name of its automotive sponsor — The New Yorkers. From there, the trio traded up through a series of record labels, each one willing to take a gamble on heartthrobs who could harmonize, and be America’s own Bee Gees.

“To be perfectly honest, it was usually the female assistants and secretaries that got us in the door,” Brett Hudson, now a 55-year-old film producer, tells Scrolling Eye. “And once we got in, put the three of us together, would own the room. We might have been overpowering, overbearing, or borderline obnoxious, but we knew we were entertaining. I think the confidence came through because we were real brothers who wore our hearts on our sleeves.”

There was enough momentum to move to Hollywood, even if it meant lodging together in the empty cells rented out as hostel space in the Santa Monica Jail. Their willingness to wallpaper the house of a record executive for a party, in exchange for being able to attend, led to a deal with the Playboy Records label...
Hudson, the album, didn’t produce any hits. But they didn’t need to work as hard for the party invitations, either — their next contract was with Elton John’s startup record company, Rocket, and Bernie Taupin was flying them to France to try working his magic on a follow-up, Totally Out of Control.

Just before leaving, though, they met Sonny and Cher’s television producer Chris Bearde — who was bowled over by how the brothers intuitively crossed one leg over another in synch when they sat down on the couch to talk.

...They were asked to come in to CBS Television City to improvise before cameras, not thinking much of the results. Turned out, they were edited just right to get them a five-week stint as the summer replacement for Sonny and Cher, whose supporting cast were brought over from Toronto, where the earlier seasons had been filmed.

While those primetime episodes were slated to air through August 1974, a deal was struck to make the Hudson Brothers a half-hour fixture on Saturday mornings — translating the formula of the prime-time music and comedy shows for a younger audience. The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show would also allow them to salvage the services of Sonny and Cher’s sidekicks...
While the early 20s Hudson Brothers had top billing on the program, the episodes start with them admonished by a redheaded runt television executive. Razzle Dazzle might’ve been unearthed from the vaults sooner had the role gone to another kid who auditioned for the part, Mike Myers...
Brett had already perfected his own recurring character, Chucky Margolis, based on an insufferable dweeb who’d hover around the Hudson Brothers shows in Portland, desperate for anyone to listen to him slur tall tales — the kind of character unlikely to be mocked in a modern-day kids show.
“The whole motivation for me as a performer was to make my brothers laugh,” says Brett. “And I know they felt the same way. But, in general, the things we did back then are things we’d either get arrested or sued for today. Just a few years later, suddenly the qualification to create sketch comedy on television was a degree from Harvard, because that’s who executives related to.”

Where the Hudson Brothers found a kindred spirit for a year, following their return to Los Angeles, was John Lennon — who, it turned out, recognized them immediately at a party: “You’re the kings of Saturday morning.”
“What we had in common was that working-class mentality,” says Brett. “You could have been in the Beatles, but you never get over looking for the cheapest drink.” The Hudsons also spent a long evening at Harry Nilsson’s house where Lennon was arguing that he didn’t have a good enough singing voice. Finally convinced otherwise after hours of needle-drops, he serenaded them with “In My Life” on a battery-powered portable piano at 5:30am.

“It’s not simply that these things don’t happen to me anymore,” says Brett. “The fact is, these things don’t happen to anyone anymore.”
Two singles broke into the top 30 during Razzle Dazzle’s run: “So You Are a Star” and “Rendezvous”.
...From there, the brothers retained the stature of on-call television personalities good for ad-libbing on any chat show, although that didn’t translate into sales of the records they kept getting deals to make. The Hudsons tried kids television again, following The Muppet Show formula of going to the UK to produce Bonkers!, syndicated across the pond in 1978. There was also a comedy-horror movie, Hysterical, in 1983 — a disaster that led them to amicably call the act off.

Bill Hudson was married to Goldie Hawn, co-producing a future movie star in the process. Then he was married to Cindy Williams... and they later produced The Father of the Bride movies.
Mark Hudson stuck it out in music, frequently collaborating with Aerosmith and Ringo Starr...
Brett Hudson, on the other hand... landed behind the scenes, initially pitching and selling, if not necessarily writing a finished product. But his efforts have built momentum over the past few years, leading to the recent completion of a documentary about a kindred spirit of sorts, Neil Innes, called The Seventh Python. Premiering next week at the Mods & Rockers film festival in Hollywood, plans are afoot to shop it around this fall at the Toronto International Film Festival.
...And typical for someone whose day job involves rifling through other people’s archives, Brett isn’t in a hurry to sit down and watch 34-year-old footage of his 21-year-old self.
“I’ll get around to watching an episode or two eventually,” he says. “But I can already tell you what my reaction will be: Who the fuck put us in those outfits?”

BOYCOTT ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE UNTIL THE HUDSON BROTHERS ARE INDUCTED INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME!

Let the movement begin now.

Let the movement begin here.

Boycott Rolling Stone magazine…

Until The Hudson Brothers
are inducted into
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

And let the inspiration come from the picture above: former Mickey Mouse and Lou Perlman ward Justin Timberlake on his knees before disco pop queen Madonna, not at a Bravo, Nickelodeon or VH1 awards show-- but at last night’s Rock Hall induction ceremony.

As of last night, Madonna is in. Tina Turner is not.

Leonard Cohen is in. Lou Reed is not.

John Mellencamp is in. The MC5 are not. Neither are The Faces, The Stooges, or The Monkees.

Or The Hudson Brothers.

The weakening of the Hall is the work of Jann Wenner, the Rolling Stone magazine publisher who has inserted enough of his minions onto the Hall’s board to control the voting and keep out the greats out while putting cronies and personal favorites in (see Fox.com's Roger Friedman's story on the "Rock Hall of Shame".

And high on the list of the neglected, forgotten greats are Bill, Mark and Brett Hudson, the brothers who were the kings of youth and pop culture in the Seventies, who worked and palled with the group including Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson and John Lennon, whose work was influenced and equally by The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys, and who continue to be relevant and influential thirty years on, working with the likes of Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne and Neil Innes.


The Hudson Brothers were an American rock ‘n’ roll band from Portland,Oregon that rose to international fame in the Seventies with hits like "So You are a Star" (1974; Billboard #21), "Rendezvous" (1975; Billboard #26), "Lonely School Year" (1975; Billboard #57), and "Help Wanted" (1976; Billboard #70).

The group was formed in the 1960s by young Beatles-influenced school kids Bill, Mark and Brett Hudson, and first named The New Yorkers (after the Chrysler), after winning a "battle of the bands" contest. In spring 1967 they released "When I'm Gone" (SCE-12190) on Scepter Records, following that in August 1967 with the Indian-influenced "Mr. Kirby" (SCE-12199) and "Show Me The Way To Love" (SCE-12207) in the falloff that year. By October 1968, The New Yorkers had switched to Jerry Dennon's Pacific Northwest label Jerden Records and issued "Adrianne" (#906), and, in March 1969, "Land of Ur" (#908) in March 1969. Also in 1969, The New Yorkers recorded "Lonely" (#7318) for Warner Bros. Records and "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" (#32569) for Decca Records.

They changed their name to Everyday Hudson in early 1970, releasing "Love Is The Word" (Decca #32634).

For the spring 1971 release of "Love Nobody" on Lionel Records (L-3211), their name was shortened to Hudson. This name was also used in 1972 after switching to the newly re-activated Playboy Records, with the release of "Leavin' It's Over" (P-50001), Billboard Bubbling Under Chart #110. In 1973 Hudson signed with Elton John's Rocket Records and released "If You Really Need Me" (MCA-40141), which was recorded in France and produced by Bernie Taupin. It was followed by "Sunday Driver" (MCA-40317).

Their first record release as The Hudson Brothers came in September 1974 with their chart record "So You Are A Star" on Casablanca Records (NES 0108; Billboard #21), followed by "Coochie Choochie Coo" (NES 816) in 1975, Billboard Bubbling Under Chart #108. They returned to Rocket Records for more 45 RPM charted songs in 1975 with producer Bernie Taupin, later switching to Arista Records in 1976. Yet another name change back to Hudson came in 1980 on Elektra Records, and then to The Hudsons in 1983 on Columbia Records.

The Hudson Brothers albums include "Totally Out of Control" on Rocket Records, Billboard 179 in 1974; "Hollywood Situation" on Casablanca Records, Billboard 176 in 1974; "Ba-Fa" on Rocket Records, Billboard 165 in 1975; "The Truth About Us" on Arista Records in 1978; and "TV's Hudson Brothers" on First American Records, also in 1978. "Those Damn Kids" on Elektra Records in 1980 was released under the name Hudson.

They also starred in The Hudson Brothers Show, a TV variety hour Wednesday nights on CBS in the summer of 1974, followed by The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show on CBS Saturday mornings, from September 7, 1974 to August 30, 1975, in a half-hour format, and Bonkers!, a half-hour syndicated comedy show in 1978, produced in Britain by ATV and distributed by ITC. The three brothers also starred in Hysterical, a horror-comedy film released in 1983.

All three remain active today in the music and movie fields. More on their influence to come. Meanwhile...

No Hudson Brothers?

No Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Exclusive! Spend 2008 with Mark Hudson

Colorful songwriter and producer Mark Hudson, who's produced and written hits for stars like Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Ringo Starr and Celine Dion, has now produced a calendar. Twelve months of Mark are available for unveiling for each month in 2008.

The calendar is being released in conjunction with the launch of his historic one-man show on October 28th at the Puck in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and comes in two sizes-- the standard 8.5" x 11" and a whopping 13.5" x 19" Exclusive Limited Premium Edition. All full-colour, all candid, some featuring Mark with celebrities he's worked with, and none, as far as we can tell, nude.

Mark has just finished remixing the music for The Seventh Python, the Neil Innes musical biopic produced by our friends at Frozen pictures-- including Mark's kid, and fellow former Hudson, brother, Brett. Mark's work with the Python music, says director Burt Kearns, "is facking awesome."

So until the soundtrack CD arrives, click here.

...and another tip of the Tabloid Baby hat to Stephie...

The Seventh Python movie and two-thirds of The Hudson Brothers combine for a historic evening at The Comedy Shrine

The Comedy Shrine in Naperville, Illinois was the center of the show business universe last night with a screening of The Seventh Python and a performance by its producer Brett Hudson and brother Mark Hudson in a special evening outside Chicago.

Frozen Pictures' acclaimed, award-winning film about Monty Python cohort Neil Innes made its fourth Chicago area appearance at the legendary comedy club and museum, while the Hudson brothers took time from their fan-flocked weekend at the Fest for Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

The crowd of comedy and music fans gave a rousing reception to both segments of the evening. A delay in getting the Hudsons from the Beatlefest to the club was covered by a raffle and a Q&A by Seventh director Burt Kearns that began to reach its stretching point around the time he played the audience music from his iPhone to explain Frozen Pictures' new film about Chris Montez (which will be previewed at noon today at The Fest for Beatles Fans).


It was generally agreed that the Hudsons were hilarious, working off Mark Hudson's solo show material that was highlighted by his story of a Hudson Brothers song about Joni Mitchell whose trajectory to hit status was derailed by the line, "Joni, I want you to blow me..." The fact that the next phrase was "blow me a kiss..." didn't matter.


The Comedy Shrine, with its extensive comedy collection (just about every inch of the 4800 square-foot place is filled with comedy memorabilia), is one of the most unique attractions in all of America. Located in an upscale minimall in downtown Naperville, the pop culture treasure is the brainchild and labour of love of veteran comedian and Emmy winner Dave Sinker, a longtime friend of the Hudsons.

Dave Sinker in his Comedy Shrine

More on The Comedy Shrine to come...

Why are The Hudson Brothers hot again?

Our pop culture watchers have noticed a strange phenomenon taking place in the nostalgia market. Suddenly, more than 30 years after their heyday and 25 years after their break-up as a performing act, The Hudson Brothers are hot again.

Hours after our exclusive post of the first group photo of the legendary brothers in 20 years (the first since Bill, Mark and Brett appeared together on Mark & Brett's Offshore Comedy television comedy show), a Hudson Brothers page has suddenly popped up on MySpace, and is already filling up with "friends."

Members of the Hudson Brothers fan and friends community are surprised by the unannounced arrival, though it does comes in advance of the DVD release of the fondly-remembered yet rarely-seen seasons of The Hudson Brothers Comedy Hour and The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show from the Seventies-- and amid talk that the siblings may be joining up for an ultimate TV reality series.

The Hudson Brothers were a rare act that won praise as legitimate rock musicians, comedy entertainers and teen idols. They're also among the few with a Top 10 legacy to refuse to cash in on the nostalgia market. While every Seventies star, from Barry Williams to the Bay City Rollers, has made more than one money-grubbing comeback attempt in the past thirty years, each Hudson has carried on with successful second acts-- Mark as a top music producer and writer, Bill as a film and music producer, Brett as a television and film writer and producer.

Bottom line: You haven't seen them on the VH1 nostalgia shows.

The Hudsons' hard-won status as a legit rock band was sabotaged by their success as comedy and teen stars on network television, but through the Seventies, they earned the respect of their fellow artists, and in fact were part of the gang of LA rabblerousers that included Harry Nilsson and John Lennon. The Hudsons are now working together on the soundtrack of Frozen Pictures' Neil Innes film, The Seventh Python.

The renewed publicity for the Hudson Brothers may even opay off for these guys, a different group of "Hudson Brothers" who showed up on YouTube earlier this month:

...and a tip of the Tabloid Baby hat to Stephieann for the story tip!