The Oz Trial, 1971

1971 British comedian Marty Feldman appeared for the defence in the Oz Trial at the sombre London criminal court, the Old Bailey, calling the judge “a boring old fart”.

The Oz case was the longest obscenity trial in British legal history. The original sentences of up to 15 months for Richard Neville and the other defendants sparked a wave of protest from many, including John Lennon. With Yoko Ono, Lennon joined the protest march against the prosecution and organised the recording of 'God Save Oz' by the Elastic Oz Band, released on Apple Records.

At the time in Britain, conspiracy to pervert the course of public morals carried a life sentence and the defence of the Oz magazine defendants was an important libertarian cause. The fuss and hilarious court case were all about Edition 28, 'The Schoolkids Issue', which was worked on by school students as well as the staff. More specifically, a sexualised cartoon of the popular children's book character Rupert Bear was the culprit.

Oz magazine was an underground magazine launched on April 1, 1963, in Sydney, Australia, where its editors – Richard Neville, Richard Walsh, and Martin Sharp – were charged under obscenity laws. In 1971, after the magazine shifted to England in 1966, Neville, Felix Dennis, and Jim Anderson were put on trial for corrupting public morals. Oz finally ceased publication in 1973.

Where did they go from there?
Felix Dennis, who was given a lesser sentence because the court viewed him as “very much less intelligent” than Neville and Anderson, went on to become one of Britain's wealthiest and most prominent publishers. Oz co-founder Richard Walsh became one of Australia’s most prominent conservative publishers. Richard Neville is one of Australia’s best selling authors and a prominent media figure. Martin Sharp is one of Australia’s best-known visual artists ...