Monty Python Live At Drury Lane

Monty Python Live At Drury Lane.

Anyone got a copy on video? I have the audio tape, which is still available but would love to see it again as only have snatches of it in my memory.

I understand that Amnesty has all the rights to Python, but after many, many phone calls to them I got nowhere.

Couple of the sketches would be considered non PC now (Yawn) but Curry and Chips has been released!

Is Monty Python Live At Drury Lane the proper title? I'm only aware of the album by that name, not a video version.

Quote: Aaron @ March 20 2012, 6:47 PM GMT

Is Monty Python Live At Drury Lane the proper title? I'm only aware of the album by that name, not a video version.

Well, the video for the show MP Live at the Hollywood Bowl is called that and so I assume.........
Long time ago since I saw it on TV, but I think that it would be titled the same as the audio (?)

Well I've not heard of a video performance by that name, and can't find any reference to one in an (admittedly brief) Internet search. I think you're getting confused between the Monty Python album Live At Drury Lane, which was recorded there, and the later Amnesty International benefits, only one of which waes performed there.

I do know that the team appear in those early Secret Policeman's Balls, but rarely as a complete 'Python' outfit, and often with guests such as Peter Cook and Tim Brooke Taylor.

The earliest 'Ball', 1976's Pleasure At Her Majesty's, seems to have the most complete Python line-up, and includes Pet Shop (parrot sketch), Court Room, Japes Lecture, and Lumberjack.

Crucially, the shows weren't about the Pythons though, hence not having the title you were searching for.

You'll want the following if you're just looking for the one show and that sounds like it:


See Amazon product listing
[p=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/101178/The-Secret-Policeman-Ball-The-Early-Years/Product.html]

Alternative, there's the following box set, which contains all 7 balls from 1976 to 1991:


See Amazon product listing
[p=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/105377/The-Secret-Policeman-Ball/Product.html]
See Amazon product listing (earlier release)

Quote: Aaron @ March 20 2012, 7:43 PM GMT

Well I've not heard of a video performance by that name, and can't find any reference to one in an (admittedly brief) Internet search. I think you're getting confused between the Monty Python album Live At Drury Lane, which was recorded there, and the later Amnesty International benefits, only one of which waes performed there.

I do know that the team appear in those early Secret Policeman's Balls, but rarely as a complete 'Python' outfit, and often with guests such as Peter Cook and Tim Brooke Taylor.

The earliest 'Ball', 1976's Pleasure At Her Majesty's, seems to have the most complete Python line-up, and includes Pet Shop (parrot sketch), Court Room, Japes Lecture, and Lumberjack.

Crucially, the shows weren't about the Pythons though, hence not having the title you were searching for.

You'll want the following if you're just looking for the one show and that sounds like it:


See Amazon product listing
[p=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/101178/The-Secret-Policeman-Ball-The-Early-Years/Product.html]

Alternative, there's the following box set, which contains all 7 balls from 1976 to 1991:


See Amazon product listing
[p=http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/105377/The-Secret-Policeman-Ball/Product.html]
See Amazon product listing (earlier release)

Ummmm, thanks for that Aaron. Maybe I am getting mixed up, but I've checked the Amazon link you supplied for the full set of 7 and natch. they don't mention particular sets. I'm still convinced though that it was an MP prog. only, being a video version of the tape, but I'm happy to be corrected if it was from the Ball series, although one of the Amazon reviews said there were sketches missing.

The particular sketch I am thinking of was where they enter a cocktail bar and to the horror of one of them, each person going up to the bar orders a weird cocktail with sometimes a "squeeze of lemming". It was Michael Palin, I think who orders a "Mallard Fizz" and the barman squeezes the duck into a glass ( ducks quacking in pain). When the barman asks him if he wants a refill, Palin, now feeling quite sick says he will but can the barman make it a bit less 'ducky'.
The sketch dissolves when someone comes in and asks for a 'dog turd' cocktail.

Also in the same show (I'm sure?!) was the one where John Cleese comes on as the ice cream lady at the intermission shouting "Albatross" and this is all he has in his tray (a full size albatross). When Terry Jones comes up and asks for an ice cream, JC says he only has albatross and when TJ asks what flavour it was, JC shouts "F***ing sea bird flavour - what bleedin' flavour did you think an albatross would be!?!"

Love it!!

Has anyone got the full Secret Policemans Ball set of DVDs who can tell me IF they are in that set?

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ March 21 2012, 5:10 PM GMT

Ummmm, thanks for that Aaron. Maybe I am getting mixed up, but I've checked the Amazon link you supplied for the full set of 7 and natch. they don't mention particular sets. I'm still convinced though that it was an MP prog. only, being a video version of the tape, but I'm happy to be corrected if it was from the Ball series, although one of the Amazon reviews said there were sketches missing.

The particular sketch I am thinking of was where they enter a cocktail bar and to the horror of one of them, each person going up to the bar orders a weird cocktail with sometimes a "squeeze of lemming". It was Michael Palin, I think who orders a "Mallard Fizz" and the barman squeezes the duck into a glass ( ducks quacking in pain). When the barman asks him if he wants a refill, Palin, now feeling quite sick says he will but can the barman make it a bit less 'ducky'.
The sketch dissolves when someone comes in and asks for a 'dog turd' cocktail.

Also in the same show (I'm sure?!) was the one where John Cleese comes on as the ice cream lady at the intermission shouting "Albatross" and this is all he has in his tray (a full size albatross). When Terry Jones comes up and asks for an ice cream, JC says he only has albatross and when TJ asks what flavour it was, JC shouts "F***ing sea bird flavour - what bleedin' flavour did you think an albatross would be!?!"

Love it!!

Has anyone got the full Secret Policemans Ball set of DVDs who can tell me IF they are in that set?

PART TWO!

Had further thoughts overnight:-

If the sketches above that I remember watching on TV were from one of the Secret P. Ball, then why was the audio tape that I have of that show (exact audio of the video) called MP Live at Drury Lane?

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you!

The albatross sketch is used in Live At The Hollywood Bowl. I'm unaware of it having been performed elsewhere (aside from the original Flying Circus TV appearance of course).

I can't see any indication of the cocktail bar sketch you describe being in the SPB set, no. Curious.

Where are you thinking you would have seen this live show? Is there any possibility it could have been some kind of bootleg video recording of the live show that the album was produced from?

Or is there a chance you're mixing up numerous different shows: the Drury Lane album, Hollywood Bowl, and the Policeman's Balls; to 'remember' just one?

I don't claim to be a Python expert myself, but I don't recall ever having heard mention of a video version of Drury Lane in the past, and the relevant Wikipedia entries - which have been compiled by complete Python geeks - also fail to make any mention whatsoever of such a video recording, official or otherwise.

(Which, incidentally, suggests that even if such a show does exist, it'll be the other side of forever before you see it again.)

Quote: Aaron @ March 22 2012, 9:45 AM GMT

The albatross sketch is used in Live At The Hollywood Bowl. I'm unaware of it having been performed elsewhere (aside from the original Flying Circus TV appearance of course).

I can't see any indication of the cocktail bar sketch you describe being in the SPB set, no. Curious.

Where are you thinking you would have seen this live show? Is there any possibility it could have been some kind of bootleg video recording of the live show that the album was produced from?

Or is there a chance you're mixing up numerous different shows: the Drury Lane album, Hollywood Bowl, and the Policeman's Balls; to 'remember' just one?

I don't claim to be a Python expert myself, but I don't recall ever having heard mention of a video version of Drury Lane in the past, and the relevant Wikipedia entries - which have been compiled by complete Python geeks - also fail to make any mention whatsoever of such a video recording, official or otherwise.

(Which, incidentally, suggests that even if such a show does exist, it'll be the other side of forever before you see it again.)

Well Aaron, thank you, and the plot thickens.

I definitely saw this on TV, "Live From Drury Lane" probably in the late 70s.

Having now waded through You Tube (I stopped at vid. No.28 when I noticed that there were......wait for it! 25,500 MP clips available!!) I now find this printed under the audio version:

"Live version of an original Python sketch that was pulled from the TV show."

So it didn't dream it! And the likelyhood of ever seeing it again is slim to zero!! Damn!