live at drury lane

Monty Python Live at Drury Lane

Monty Python Live at Drury Lane (1974)

Recorded in the splendour of one of the world’s greatest theatres, The Theatre Royal in Drury Lane.

Recorded on the L.M.S. Mobile.
Mixed & edited at Sunrise Music.
Neil Innes appears courtesy of United Artists Records.
Thanks to John and Tony Smith Entertainments for allowing the show to be recorded.

Made & Printed by Bruin B.V., Zaandam-Holland
Marketed by B & C Records, 37 Soho SQ, London W.1. ℗ 1974
Copyright Control except “Idiot Song” United Artists Music
Manufactured and Distributed by B&C Records Ltd.

Monty Python Live at Drury Lane is a live album released by Monty Python in 1974. It was recorded on the final night of their four-week run at the Drury Lane Theatre in London earlier that year and edited onto disc with new studio linking material by Eric Idle and Michael Palin. The majority of the sketches are from Flying Circus and vary slightly from their television counterparts, although “Cocktail Bar” was written for the third series but not used. The team also revived sketches from At Last The 1948 Show, including “Secret Service”, “Wrestling” and “Four Yorkshiremen” – the latter on its way to being adopted as a Python standard. Neil Innes provided the musical interludes, while Eric Idle’s then wife Lyn Ashley replaced regular Python actress Carol Cleveland in supporting roles.

As with its predecessor, the second side of the original UK vinyl release had a cryptic message by George Peckham etched onto the runout groove, which read “THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PORKY TRISHY MELLY YEAH”. This message was missing from the second pressings, the label of which added the musical titles used on the album (notably for the many songs referenced in “Election Special”). To promote the album’s release, a double-sided 33rpm Flexi disc was issued free with the 25 May 1974 edition of New Musical Express entitled Monty Python’s Tiny Black Round Thing which contained an extended version of “Election Special” and “Lumberjack Song” with new linking material from Michael Palin.

The album was the group’s most successful to date, reaching No. 19 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was released in Canada in 1975 (distributed by GRT of Canada Ltd. 9211-4) but was not issued in the US until 1994, when it was included in the box set The Instant Monty Python CD Collection. Until then, the only live Python album released in the US had been Monty Python Live at City Center, released in 1976.

The album’s cover was designed by Terry Gilliam’s assistant Katy Hepburn (misspelled as “Hebbern” on the back cover). Three decades later, it made a surprise appearance in Gilliam’s 2005 film Tideland, where it can be seen at the front of a box of LPs. The performance featured Eric Idle muttering “Breakaway!” during the “Nudge, Nudge” sketch (Idle was advertising the Breakaway chocolate bar at this time), which resulted in an unexpectedly strong laugh from the audience. This moment was removed from subsequent compilations.

Although originally released in stereo, the 2006 special edition CD has the whole album mixed into mono. This is the only one of the 2006 reissues to contain no new material, with the exception of an interview placed at the end of the disc.

SIDE ONE

01 Introduction :51 Intro
02 Llamas 1:45 llamas
03 Gumby Flower Arranging 1:06 Gumby
04 Link :20 Link
05 Secret Service 4:51 Secret
06 Wrestling 2:04 Wrestling
07 Communist Quiz 3:32 Communist
08 Idiot Song 2:59 Idiot
09 Albatross 1:18 Albatross
10 Colonel :19 Colonel
11 Nudge Nudge 2:49 Nudge
12 Cocktail Bar 4:47 Cocktail
13 Travel Agent 5:03 Travel

SIDE TWO

14 Spot the Brain Cell 3:24 Spot
15 Bruces 2:05 Bruces
16 Argument 2:55 Argument
17 Four Yorkshiremen 3:15 4 Yorkshiremen
18 Election Special 6:47 Election
19 Lumberjack Song 2:36 Lumberjack
20 Theme Song 1:01 Theme
21 Parrot Sketch 5:44 Parrot
22 Theme Song 2 1:34 Theme2

CREDITS

Design [Sleeve Design] – Katy Hebbern
Mastered by – MELLY*, Porky (5)
Mixed and Edited by – Andre Jacquemin*, Dave Howman*
Performered and Written-by – Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Photography by – Barry Wentzell*
Recorded by – Alan Bailey
Recorded at – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Recorded with – Ronnie Lane’s Mobile Studio
Mixed and Edited at – Sunrise Music (2)

SIDE ONE

01 Introduction :51 Intro

Announcer Eric Idle

Announcer Hello, and welcome to London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Here tonight, before an uninvited audience and in the gracious presence of Her Dummy Royal Highness, we’ll be seeing jokes, many of which are appearing for the very last time before retiring. Amongst the glittering audience here tonight I can see, uhm…oh…what’s his name, uhh, the…the fellow with the glasses on the telly. And next to him is, um…oh, uh, the lady with the big knockers in the jam commercial. Oh, and now Her Dummy Royal Highness has given the traditional royal sign to the audience and the performance is about to begin. The lights fade. The audience is hushed and another great chapter is about to be written in the history of Drury Lane.

02 Llamas 1:45 llamas

From Monty Python’s Flying Circus season 1 episode 9 sketch 1

03 Gumby Flower Arranging 1:06 Gumby

From Monty Python’s Flying Circus season 2 episode 12 sketch 8

04 Link :20 Link

Announcer Terry Jones

(music

Announcer And so, the show had begun. For these seven young boys and a girl it was their chance of a lifetime, a dream come true. The spotlight was on them, fame stood on tiptoe in the wings. The audience WAAAGGH

05 Secret Service 4:51 Secret

Interviewer John Cleese
Mr Leyton Eric Idle
Miss Jackson Graham Chapman

Interviewer John Cleese Ah Mr… Mr Leyton do come in. Please sit down and make yourself at home. Good, so you are interested in joining the secret service are you?

Mr Leyton Yes I am.

Interviewer Splendid splendid, now in this branch we need alert, intelligent, active young men with good nerves. You have good nerves don’t you?

Mr Leyton Yes, I think so.

Interviewer Good absolutely essential in the kind of work we do (sound of phone ringing) hello, ah yes Miss Jackson would you bring in Mr Leyton’s file please, thank you. Sorry to keep you waiting, I’ll just be one moment now. Ah there you are Miss Jackson thank you so much. Wait a moment, you’re not Miss Jackson. Oh yes you are, good disguise Miss Jackson. Um one thing before you go what did you do with the big file that was on my desk here yesterday the one marked ‘top secret’ about all the nuclear nonsense

Miss Jackson Ah yes, I gave it to that foreign-looking gentleman who called in yesterday sir.

Interviewer (in a very loud voice) Do you play cricket? You’re fired! (yells) You’re fired! (in normal voice) Do you play cricket?

Mr Leyton No, no, no I play tennis actually.

Interviewer Tennis really, I use to play cricket. I remember on one occasion I was bowling to an ex county player actually, I gave him a half volley just outside the off stump, he put his left foot down the wicket, he hit the ball back at me like a bullet didn’t have chance to move, ball hit me straight between the eyes. I gave him a half volley just outside the off stump, he put his left foot down the wicket, he hit the ball back at me like a bullet didn’t have chance to move, ball hit… I’m so sorry um, where was I?

Mr Leyton Bowling.

Interviewer Bowling, that’s right next ball I gave him a shorter faster one, he went on the back foot, he hit the ball back at me like a bullet didn’t have chance to move, couldn’t protect myself the ball over my head down to the sidescreen fielder ran round picked the ball up, threw it in I was watching the wicket keeper the ball landed right on the bu, bu, bu, bu, bu, bu, last ball of the over I gave him a slower one, threw it right up in the air he came all the way down, he took the ball on the full toss, hit the ball back at me like a bullet didn’t have chance to move, couldn’t protect myself, ball hit me straight, smack, plumb between the eyes, course I was getting used to it by then. Now ah, where were we, where were we? Now languages, what languages do you speak? French?

Mr Leyton Oui.

Interviewer Good. Aaaahhh German? Sprechen sie deutsche?

Mr Leyton Javoul mein herr

(continues in unintelligible German)

Interviewer You’re not German are you?

Mr Leyton No.

Interviewer Good, fine, top hole, top hole. Now do you think you could take pain? You could stand up to physical torture?

Mr Leyton Oh yes I hope so.

Interviewer Good, good, cause I had five years in a Jap camp you know. Or was in Malaya? No no Japanese that was it. Got over it though, thank god hey, I should say so. (sound of banging) And now Mr Leyton tell me why do you want to join the secret, why do you want to join the secret, why do you want to join the secret, why do you want to join the secret why, why do you want to, why do you to, why do you want to

(keeps speaking in a very silly voice and then screams)

Why do you want to join the secret service?

Mr Leyton Well I, I…

Interviewer Why do you want to join the Secret Service?

Mr Leyton Ah I thought it would be…

Interviewer Why do you want to join the Secret Service?

Mr Leyton Well…

Interviewer Can you keep a secret?

Mr Leyton Yes.

Interviewer Good, well you’re in then, well done, well done. Now, one small thing I noticed back here, where are we? Ah yes, your middle name Olbalinskavichski, not Russian are you?

Mr Leyton Yes.

Interviewer You are Russian?

Mr Leyton Yes.

Interviewer Well that’s no good we don’t want Russkies in the secret service, it wouldn’t be secret, out you go then. Smith and Wesson .42 new revolving cotter-pin holster-fire, you know that when they bought that gun out (sound of a gunshot) in 1967 I think it was. One of the problems (pause) Miss Jackson would you make that just one coffee please? Thank you!!

06 Wrestling 2:04 Wrestling

Announcer Michael Palin
Ringside Announcer John Cleese
Colin ‘Bomber’ Harris Graham Chapman

Announcer Hello, good evening and welcome to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Bowl, here in the pretty little L.A. suburb of Hollywood. Well, we’re about to go in all for wrestling, brought to you tonight, ladies and gentlemen, by the makers of Scum, the world’s first ever combined hair oil, foot ointment, and salad dressing. And the makers of Titan, the novelty nuclear missile! You never know when it’ll go off! Surprise your friends, amuse your enemies, start the party with a bang! Introducing, ladies and gentlemen, tonight, all the way from a mudwrestling tour of the OPEC countries…in the red corner: Colin ‘Bomber’ Harris!…and, ladies and gentlemen, in the blue corner…all the way from a mudwrestling tour of the OPEC countries…Colin ‘Bomber’ Harris!

Ringside Announcer Well, now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time that Colin ‘Bomber’ Harris has met himself. A few formalities now, any moment now, we’ll be ready for the start of Round One. There goes the bell! Colin moves to the middle of the ring there, he’s looking for an opening, going for the handhold…