''Monty Python Live at Drury Lane'' is a live album released by

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 ...

in 1974. It was recorded on the final night of their four-week run at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

earlier that year and edited onto disc with new studio linking material by

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broadwa ...

and

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 w ...

. The majority of the sketches are from ''

Flying Circus Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

'' and vary slightly from their

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

counterparts, although "Cocktail Bar" was written for the third series but not used. The team also revived sketches from ''

At Last The 1948 Show ''At Last the 1948 Show'' is a satirical television show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions (although it was not credited on the programmes), in association with Rediffusion London. Transmitted on Britain's ITV network in 19 ...

'', including "Secret Service", "

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

" and "

Four Yorkshiremen The "Four Yorkshiremen" is a comedy sketch that parodies nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. It features four men from Yorkshire who reminisce about their upbringing. As the conversation progresses they try to ...

" - the latter on its way to being adopted as a Python standard.

Neil Innes Neil James Innes (; 9 December 1944 – 29 December 2019) was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the Mon ...

provided the musical interludes, while Eric Idle's then wife

Lyn Ashley Lyn Ashley (born Lynette Rumble; 18 March 1940) is an Australian actress who worked in the United Kingdom on television during the 1960s. Early life Ashley was born Lynette Rumble in Townsville, Queensland, on 18 March 1940. She is the daughte ...

replaced regular Python actress

Carol Cleveland Carol Cleveland (born 13 January 1942) is a British-American actress and comedian, particularly known for her work with Monty Python. Early life Born in East Sheen, London, she moved to the United States with her mother and U.S. Air Force step ...

in supporting roles. As with its predecessor, the second side of the original UK vinyl release had a cryptic message by

George Peckham George "Porky" Peckham (born 1942, Blackburn, Lancashire) is an English record engineer, widely recognised as among the most accomplished in the business. He has been responsible for producing the master discs from which many vinyl records have ...

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 The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

was issued free with the 25 May 1974 edition of

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

entitled '' Monty Python's Tiny Black Round Thing'' which contained an extended version of "Election Special" and "

Lumberjack Song "The Lumberjack Song" is a comedy song by the comedy troupe Monty Python. The song was written and composed by Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Fred Tomlinson. It first appeared in the ninth episode of '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', "The ...

" with new linking material from

. The album was the group's most successful to date, reaching No. 19 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. 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 ''Monty Python Live at City Center'' is a US-only live album by Monty Python, recorded at the New York City Center in April 1976 and rush released by Arista Records the following month. In order to get the album out in the shops quickly, the reco ...

'', released in 1976. The album's cover was designed by

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

'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.

Track listing

Side one

# Introduction # Llamas #

Gumby ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation Media franchise, franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length ''Gumby: The Movie'', and oth ...

- Flower Arranging # Secret Service #

Communist Quiz Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

# Idiot Song #

Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

# Colonel # Nudge, Nudge # Cocktail Bar # Travel Agent

Side two

# Spot the Brain Cell # Bruces #

Argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialectic ...

I've Got Two Legs "I've Got Two Legs" is a song by the British comedy troupe Monty Python that was composed by Terry Gilliam. It most prominently appears in the concert film '' Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl'', the concert LP ''Monty Python Live at Drury La ...

# Election Special #

# Parrot Sketch An interview is added to the 2006 special edition

Personnel

Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

Additional performers

Music credits

The following is the list of musical works included on the album. They comprise a mixture of Studio G, Keith Prowse and De Wolfe library music, self-penned Python and Neil Innes songs and short extracts of famous songs referenced in "Election Special". #

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

( Dorothy Dodd & Agustin Lara) # Happy Movement (J. Harpham) # World In Action (K. Mansfield) # Idiot Song (Neil Innes) # Comic Giggles (J. Pearson) # Bruces Song (Eric Idle) #

(Terry Gilliam) # Prestige Theme (K. Mansfield) # We'll Keep a Welcome ( Mai Jones, Lyn Joshua & James Harper) #

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film '' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it ...

(

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

) #

Don't Sleep In The Subway "Don't Sleep in the Subway" is a song written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent and recorded by British singer Petula Clark, for whom it was an April 1967 single release. It received a 1968 Grammy award nomination for best contemporary song, los ...

(

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

Jackie Trent Yvonne Ann Burgess (6 September 1940 – 21 March 2015), better known by her stage name Jackie Trent, was an English singer-songwriter and actress. She was best known for co-writing (with Tony Hatch) several hits for Petula Clark in the 1960s an ...

) #

Climb Every Mountain "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''The Sound of Music.'' It is sung at the close of the first act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an inspirational piece, to encourage people to take every s ...

(

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

) #

(Michael Palin, Terry Jones & Fred Tomlinson) #

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

(

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dist ...

, arr. Sheriff)

References

{{Authority control Monty Python live albums 1974 live albums Live albums recorded at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Charisma Records live albums