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Finland (comedy Song)
"Finland" is a Monty Python comedy song written and performed by Michael Palin and arranged by John Du Prez with a guitar accompaniment by Brian Willoughby. It first appeared on the album ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' from 1980 and was later included on the 1989 compilation ''Monty Python Sings''. It purports to be a celebration of Finland, a country that is overlooked when travelling abroad as "a poor second to Belgium", despite the fact that it "has it all" with lofty mountains and tall trees and pleasures including: pony trekking, camping or "just watching TV". (In reality, "mountains so lofty" are not characteristic of Finland as the Scandinavian Mountains only just touch the northwesternmost corner of the country.) Michael Palin was filmed singing a verse from "Finland" during an episode of his 1992 travelogue series ''Pole to Pole'' during a segment in which he is shown traveling across that country. A heavily edited version of "Finland" is used as the open ...
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Monty Python
Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and influence, including touring stage shows, films, albums, books and musicals. The Pythons' influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Regarded as an enduring icon of 1970s pop culture, their sketch show has been referred to as being "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy". Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' was conceived, written and performed by its members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach aided by Gil ...
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Comedy Song
Comedy music or musical comedy is a genre of music that is comic or humorous in nature. Its history can be traced back to the first century in ancient Greece and Rome, moving forward in time to the Medieval Period, Classical and Romantic eras, and the 20th century. Artists in the 20th century include Allan Sherman, Frank Zappa, Tiny Tim, Barenaked Ladies, Randy Newman, and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Artists in the 21st century include Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords, The Lonely Island, Ninja Sex Party and The Axis of Awesome. Comedy music is often associated with counterculture, due to the subversive messages it displays. This informative nature of comedy music also contributes to the improvement of learning inside and outside the classroom. Forms of entertainment like musical theatre often incorporate comedy music as well. To create comic effects in music, Composers have developed several principal compositional techniques, including the use of comic text, musical parod ...
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Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin wrote most of his comedic material with fellow Python member Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows including the ''Ken Dodd Show'', ''The Frost Report'', and ''Do Not Adjust Your Set''. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic", "Dead Parrot sketch", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Spanish Inquisition", " Bicycle Repair Man" and "The Fish-Slapping Dance". He also regularly played a Gumby. Palin continued to work with Jones away from Python, co-writing ''Ripping Yarns''. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Ac ...
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John Du Prez
John Du Prez (born Trevor Jones; 14 December 1946) is a British musician, conductor and composer. He was a member of the 1980s salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several film scores including ''Oxford Blues'' (1984), '' Once Bitten'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990), and the final Carry On film, ''Carry On Columbus'' (1992). He contributed to ''The Wild'' (2006) soundtrack.Du Prez, John, Internet Movie Database Filmography, ccessed24 April 2011. He is also known for his extensive collaborations with Monty Python, having worked on several films and shows by members of the troupe, including composing, conducting, and arranging for '' Monty Python’s Life of Brian'' (1979), ''Time Bandits'', ''Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' (both 1982), ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' (1983), ''A Private Function'' (1984), '' A Fish Called Wanda'' (1988), ''The Wind in the Willows (1996), ''Spamalot'' (2004), ''Not the Messiah (He's a Very ...
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Brian Willoughby
Brian Willoughby (born 20 September 1949) is a British guitarist. He has worked with many musicians, notably Dave Cousins and The Strawbs, Mary Hopkin, as well as releasing solo work. Discography (UK releases unless stated otherwise) Albums Solo *''Black and White'' (1998) *''Fingers Crossed'' (2004) With other artists *''Old School Songs – with Dave Cousins'' (1979) *''The Contractual Album – Monty Python'' (1980) *''Suspended Animation (The Monks)'' (UK band) (Gold Album in Canada 1981) *''Don't Say Goodbye Strawbs'' (1987) *''Ringing Down the Years Strawbs'' (1991) *''The Bridge – with Dave Cousins'' (1994) *''Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) – Nanci Griffith'' (1998) *''Baroque & Roll – Acoustic Strawbs'' (2001) *''Pigg River Symphony – Cathryn Craig'' (2001) *''I Will – with Cathryn Craig'' (2002) *''Blue Angel – Strawbs'' (2003) *''Full Bloom – Acoustic Strawbs'' (2005) live at Natural Sound, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (2004) *''Live at ...
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Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album
''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' is the final studio album by Monty Python, released in 1980. As the title suggests, the album was put together to complete a contract with Charisma Records. Besides newly written songs and sketches, the sessions saw re-recordings of material that dated back to the 1960s pre-Python shows '' I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'', ''The Frost Report'', ''At Last The 1948 Show'' and ''How To Irritate People''. One track, "Bells", dates from the sessions for ''Monty Python's Previous Record'', while further material was adapted from Eric Idle's post-Python series ''Rutland Weekend Television''. The group also reworked material written but discarded from early drafts of ''Life Of Brian'', as well as the initial scripts for what would eventually become '' The Meaning Of Life''. Background The group had not recorded an all-studio album since '' Matching Tie and Handkerchief'' in 1973 and were initially unenthusiastic about returning to the re ...
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Monty Python Sings
''Monty Python Sings'' is a compilation album of songs by English comedy troupe Monty Python. Released in 1989 to celebrate their 20th anniversary, it contains popular songs from their previous albums and films. The album was dedicated to the memory of founding member Graham Chapman, who died two months before its release. Songs The album contained two previously unreleased tracks: "Oliver Cromwell" (originally performed by John Cleese on the 1960s radio series '' I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'') was recorded during sessions for ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' in 1980, while a studio recording of Terry Gilliam's live standard "I've Got Two Legs" was recorded in 1974 for the Drury Lane shows, where it was to be mimed onstage, but discarded once Gilliam decided to perform it live instead. The album also has a longer version of "Medical Love Song," with added instrumentation and previously unheard verses which mix out Eric Idle's guide vocals and push Graham Chapma ...
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Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of with a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. Finnish, alongside Swedish, are the official languages. Swedish is the native language of 5.2% of the population. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes. Finland was first inhabited around 9000 BC after the Last Glacial Period. The Stone Age introduced several differ ...
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Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ...
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Scandinavian Mountains
The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the northeast they gradually curve towards Finland. To the north they form the border between Norway and Sweden, reaching high at the Arctic Circle. The mountain range just touches northwesternmost Finland but are scarcely more than hills at their northernmost extension at the North Cape (). The mountains are relatively high for a range so young and are very steep in places; Galdhøpiggen in South Norway is the highest peak in mainland Northern Europe, at ; Kebnekaise is the highest peak on the Swedish side, at , whereas the slope of Halti is the highest point in Finland, at , although the peak of Halti is situated in Norway. The Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands terrestrial ecoregion is closely associated with the mountain ...
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Pole To Pole
''Pole to Pole with Michael Palin'' is an eight-part television documentary travel series made for the BBC, and first broadcast on BBC1 in 1992. The presenter is Michael Palin, this being the second of Palin's major journeys for the BBC. The first was ''Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin'', a 7-part series first broadcast on BBC One in 1989, and the third was ''Full Circle with Michael Palin'', a 10-part series first broadcast on BBC One in 1997. The trip from the North Pole to the South Pole went via Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, parts of Europe, and through the heart of Africa. The intention was to follow the 30-degree east line of longitude, which would cover the most land. A last-minute diversion to Chile included South America in the series. Using aircraft as little as possible, the whole trip lasted 5½ months. The programme has been sold to many television stations around the world. It was also released on video tape and later on DVD. Following the trip, Pa ...
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Spamalot
''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion picture, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian legend, but it differs from the film in many ways. The original 2005 Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, received 14 Tony Awards nominations, winning in three categories, including Best Musical. During its initial run of 1,575 performances, it was seen by more than two million people and grossed over $175 million. Tim Curry starred as King Arthur in the original Broadway and West End productions. It was one of eight UK musicals commemorated on Royal Mail stamps, issued in February 2011. A Paramount Pictures film adaptation, directed by Casey Nicholaw in his directorial debut from a script by Idle, was in pre-production as of 2021. Synopsis Before the show A recording encour ...
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