The Secret Policeman's Ball
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''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
organisation
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but later included leading musicians and actors. The ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years. Co-founded by Monty Python member
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, campaigner Peter Luff (Assistant Director Amnesty International 1974–1978), and entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis, there have been four distinct eras of the Amnesty benefit shows. The shows of the first era (1976–1981), featuring five members of Monty Python and newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson, yielded films, television specials, home-videos, and albums that have since been widely seen and heard internationally. The three subsequent eras (1987–1989, 1991–2001 and 2006 onwards) have primarily featured locally popular British performers – and spin-off products have been released mainly in the UK. In March 2012, ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' took place in the United States for the first time. The one-night show at New York's Radio City Music Hall on 4 March was part of Amnesty's 50th anniversary commemorations. In January 2013, the website for ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' was set to redirect to Amnesty International's; its registration has since expired. However, in 2019, the show was adapted as ''The Secret Policeman's Tour,'' performing at Hackney Empire in London, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Manchester Palace Theatre.


Overview

The series was created and developed by Monty Python member
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, Peter Luff (Assistant Director Amnesty International 1974–1978) and entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis who subsequently worked with Peter Walker (Amnesty's Fund-Raising Officer from 1978). Cleese, Lewis and Luff worked together on the first two shows (1976 and 1977). After this, Cleese and Lewis worked on the next two shows (1979 and 1981) with Luff's replacement at Amnesty, Peter Walker – using the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' title for the first time in 1979 and developing the series identity. Cleese credits Lewis with coining the '' Secret Policeman's Ball'' title. In an interview aired on BBC TV on 22 June 1979, Cleese told interviewer Michael Billington "It's Martin Lewis' title, I can pin that one on him. But I thought it was quite funny." Although the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' title was not used until the third show in 1979, the two preceding shows in 1976 and 1977 were retrospectively treated as part of the ''Secret Policeman's'' canon. Cleese and Lewis subsequently worked individually on other Amnesty projects. Cleese made brief cameo appearances in the 1987 and 1989 shows and co-directed the latter. Lewis produced two American films drawn from the first four shows (released in the US in 1982 and 1983) and then helped expand the participation of rock musicians for Amnesty (that he first engendered in the 1979 and 1981 shows) with his contributions to the 1986 '' Conspiracy of Hope'' US tour and the 1988 ''
Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...
'' world tour. The first wave of shows took place approximately every other year, and three of the first four shows were filmed and released theatrically as movies with corresponding record albums. Because multi-artist benefit shows with contemporary performers were a new phenomenon in Britain in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, they were accorded considerable media coverage and public attention. After 1981, there was a six-year hiatus. When Amnesty International re-commenced staging benefit shows, it did so without the benefit of the Amnesty staff members and outside producers who had successfully guided the first wave of shows. The new team running Amnesty International re-commenced staging benefit shows in 1987, and the shows were on a noticeably smaller scale and consequently generated less media attention. The shows from 1987 onwards were videotaped to be shown as TV specials and/or released on home video in Britain rather than filmed as movies with prospects for international release. The sole exception to the smaller scale events was an ill-fated attempt in June 1988 to stage a weekend concert event titled "Amnesty International Festival of Youth" at the 65,000 capacity Milton Keynes Bowl. The event was a massive failure and for the first time ever, one of Amnesty's fund-raising benefit events lost money. Only two more of Amnesty's benefit shows (in 1987 and 1989) carried a ''Secret Policeman's Ball''-related title. Between 1991 and 2001 Amnesty staged four more benefit events and though they were comedy shows in the same vein as their predecessors, none of them carried the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' title. When Amnesty staged a 40th anniversary show in 2001 it was stated that the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' title had run its course and would not be revived. However, in October 2006, following a 17-year gap, the name was revived, and also used for shows in October 2008 and March 2012.


Lasting impact

The first four shows (1976–1981) and their spin-offs are credited by many prominent comedians, musicians, actors and producers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years. Rock stars Bob Geldof, Bono and Sting have all attributed their involvement in humanitarian issues to their exposure to the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows: Geldof, Sting and Clapton as participants with Bono as an audience member. Bono told ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine in 1986: "I saw 'The Secret Policeman's Ball' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." In 2001, Bono described ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' to an Amnesty audience as "a mysterious and extraordinary event that certainly changed my life..." In 1986, Sting told NBC's '' Today'' "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years, due to an entertainment event called 'The Secret Policeman's Ball' and before that I did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world." Bob Geldof and
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...
singer Midge Ure first met and worked together at 1981's '' The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' which was the first benefit show that either of them had performed at. Geldof credits the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' series with having inspired his own charity show endeavours. The earliest shows predated the proliferation of comedy and rock benefit shows that took place in the UK and US in the mid-1980s such as Live Aid, Farm Aid, Prince's Trust concerts, The Free Nelson Mandela Concert and
Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
. The Amnesty shows are considered to have been the pioneering charity events that helped inspire the later shows. Amnesty directly attributes the leaps in awareness of the human rights issue, the significant increases in its membership (especially among the young) and its dramatically increased fundraising achievements to the impact of the various shows, their spin-offs and successor Amnesty events such as the Conspiracy of Hope and
Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...
tours. Some of the films received international cinema release, and the soundtrack albums enjoyed commercial success worldwide, all of which generated considerable international awareness of the original shows, together with a growing grassroots awareness of Amnesty International and the human rights issue. Amnesty states that public awareness of Amnesty increased by 700% between the first and third shows. Membership of the organisation increased sharply.


Introduction to an American audience

The films and records of the first three Amnesty benefit shows did not initially receive much exposure in the US, but this started to change in 1981–1982. The original British versions of the two ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' movies were presented at the 1981 and 1982 '' Filmex Los Angeles International Film Festival''. Media coverage of the screenings in magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'' created awareness of the benefit shows. The album ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball – The Music'' was released by Island Records/ Warner Bros. Records in March 1982 and became a Top Thirty album in the '' Billboard'' charts. The third major element in bringing the Secret Policeman's Balls to the U.S. was the acquisition of the UK films by American distributors Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, founders of the independent distribution company Miramax Films. They had acquired the US rights to the film of the 1979 show ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' and subsequently its successor ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. They determined that neither film would be successful in the American marketplace because some of the content was too parochial for American tastes. With Amnesty's blessing, they decided to combine the two films for the US. Original producer Martin Lewis distilled the best performances from both films into one new 110-minute film for the American market, with an opening sequence narrated by ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' announcer Don Pardo. The new film premiered in New York in May 1982 as a fund-raiser for the U.S. section of Amnesty; it received enthusiastic reviews and went on to box office success. The film is recognised as Miramax's first hit. The American version of the film was released on home video by
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
-UA later in 1982. The US film (though drawn from the UK films of both the 1979 and 1981 shows) used as its title ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' – a title that by May 1982 had some resonance in the US marketplace because of the success of the music soundtrack album and media coverage of the film festival screenings. In 1983, the Weinsteins and Lewis produced an 80-minute sequel TV special for
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
/ Cinemax later released on home video by Media Home Entertainment titled ''The Secret Policeman's Private Parts''. The program compiled material from the first two Amnesty shows (the 1976 and 1977 benefits) and the best of the content from the original 1979 and 1981 films that had not been used in the 1982 US version of ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''.


American offshoots (1986 and 1988)

In the early 1980s, Amnesty had a low profile in the US, and its Executive Director Jack Healey was looking for a way to raise the organisation's profile, especially among young people. In a 1986 profile in ''Rolling Stone'' Healey related how he decided to find out if the goodwill towards Amnesty of rock musicians that he had seen in the US version of ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' could be put to service to help improve Amnesty's profile in America. Consulting with Martin Lewis, Healey conceived and produced Conspiracy of Hope, a 10-day/6-concert rock tour of the US that took place in June 1986 in celebration of Amnesty's 25th anniversary. The tour was headlined by a mixture of British and Irish artists – Sting, The Police, Peter Gabriel and U2 – with American and Canadian musicians Jackson Browne,
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
,
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...
, The Neville Brothers and
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...
. The tour was promoted by rock impresario Bill Graham. The tour concluded with a major all-day concert at Giants Stadium in New Jersey that was televised live by MTV. The final concert featured additional artists including Bob Geldof, Joan Armatrading, Rubén Blades, Carlos Santana, Howard Jones,
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
and
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
. Just one month after the tour, the membership of Amnesty in the USA had increased by 45,000 members. Subsequent to the ''A Conspiracy of Hope'' tour, Lewis and Healey conceived the 1988 Amnesty world tour
Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...
, that featured Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Tracy Chapman. Lewis and Healey's intention was to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
by staging a tour that would visit all five continents. The aim was to raise consciousness of human rights issues rather than fund-raising. The six-week/20-concert tour was produced by Healey and Bill Graham. The tour staged concerts in 19 different nations in all five continents – and was considered successful in raising considerable awareness of the human rights issue throughout the world. The two tours were the cornerstone of what subsequently became known collectively as the Human Rights Concerts – a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986 and 1998.


First four shows 1976–1981


1976 – ''A Poke in the Eye''

In early 1976, the British section of Amnesty International was seeking a way to simultaneously raise funds for itself and elevate the very low profile of human rights issues in British public discourse. It decided to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Amnesty parent organisation with a simple one-night benefit show with a few entertainers contributing services as was the norm with charity events in that era. There was no anticipation that the event might be filmed or recorded to be shared with an audience beyond the people attending the benefit, and no anticipation that it might be anything other than a one-off event. Amnesty's Assistant Director Peter Luff approached
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
of the Monty Python comedy troupe to seek his participation. Cleese was taken with the idea and volunteered to assist the event by helping to "round up a few friends". Cleese's "few friends" turned out to be colleagues in Monty Python, pals in the earlier British comedic ensemble '' Beyond The Fringe'', his ''
Footlights The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...
'' and ''
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that was developed from the 1964 University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Footlights revue, ''Cambridge Circus (comedy), Cambridge Circus ...
'' peers (including The Goodies), and other members of the British comedy community from the 1960s and 1970s (primarily those described as " Oxbridge" comedians). Luff, working with his Amnesty colleague David Simpson, obtained the use of Her Majesty's Theatre, free of charge. The tickets for the show were advertised solely in the satirical magazine '' Private Eye'' and were sold out within four days. The other member of the production team was Martin Lewis, a young record industry executive who initially undertook to produce a record album of the show and then became closely involved with Cleese, Luff and Simpson on the show production – which evolved into a three-night run. TV documentary maker Roger Graef, approached the team offering to make a "fly-on-the-wall"-style documentary about the production of the show and to film the show itself. The resulting film was titled ''Pleasure at Her Majesty's''. Lewis also undertook responsibility for publicising the show and its film and record spin-offs.


Show

The show – titled by Cleese '' A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)'' – took place on 1–3 April 1976 as a series of late-night galas at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End theatre district. The show was directed by ''Beyond The Fringe'' alumnus Jonathan Miller. The shows started at 11.30 pm, after the performance of the theatre's regularly scheduled play. Being late-night events became a hallmark of subsequent shows. In addition to Lewis' audio recording team, Roger Graef, used a small 16 mm crew, to film rehearsals and performances. The footage was later assembled into the film '' Pleasure at Her Majesty's'', which premiered in November 1976 at the 20th annual London Film Festival, and was broadcast by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in December 1976. Subsequently, the film received a modest theatrical release at art-house cinemas in 1977. A record album of the show, titled ''A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)'', was released in November 1976 by Transatlantic Records and was a commercial success. The original working title for the show had been ''An Evening Without David Frost'' – an allusion to the fact that most of the performers had worked with, or for, David Frost early in their careers.


1977 – ''The Mermaid Frolics''

In May 1977 a second Amnesty benefit was held to build on the success of the first show and with the intent of developing momentum for a regularly scheduled benefit show. The returning production team included Amnesty Assistant Director Peter Luff and Martin Lewis. The show was directed by Monty Python member Terry Jones. This show was unlike the first show and its primary successors in three key aspects. It was a single-night event rather than consisting of multiple performances, it started at 8:00 pm on a Sunday evening, and the show was videotaped as a TV special rather than filmed for theatrical release. The show took place at London's Mermaid Theatre and was titled ''An Evening Without Sir Bernard Miles'', an affectionate reference to the actor/manager who had founded the Mermaid Theatre. The title grew out of the discarded working title of the previous year's show. The comedic performers in the 1977 show included several who had performed in the first show – such as Peter Cook, Terry Jones, John Cleese – joined by his then wife Connie Booth – and some newcomers including Sir Peter Ustinov. There were also a handful of musical performers including classical guitarist
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
, actress/singer Julie Covington and folk troubadour Pete Atkin. The album of the show and the TV show were given a fresh title by producer Lewis: ''The Mermaid Frolics''. The album was released on
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
in December 1977 and the TV special was shown on the ITV network that same month through Granada TV. The title of the TV show and record album has since become the name by which the original stage show itself is referred to.


1979 – ''The Secret Policeman's Ball''

Amnesty decided not to present a benefit show in 1978, in order to consider how to make better use of the performing talent so favourably disposed to assist it in raising funds. Peter Luff left Amnesty in 1978 and the organisation's new fund-raising officer, Peter Walker, was deputed to work with Lewis on reconfiguring the show to raise more money and greater awareness of Amnesty. Lewis and Walker determined that the third show needed to be produced in the same vein as the first show (i.e. multiple performances, late-night and filmed for theatrical release) but with a more professional approach to exploiting the film. They approached John Cleese who agreed to be involved again. He also agreed to direct the show, though requesting that his credit read "''slightly'' directed by John Cleese." He also recruited the majority of the comedic performers – including Peter Cook and fellow Pythons Michael Palin and Terry Jones. He also selected a newcomer on the British comedy scene named Rowan Atkinson. Lewis recruited Scottish comedian Billy Connolly with whom he had worked while employed at Transatlantic Records. Connolly was the first non- Oxbridge comedian to perform at an Amnesty benefit – a distinction he made fun of at the show. Lewis proposed to Cleese that in addition to the comedy performances the show should feature some contemporary rock musicians. Cleese delegated this responsibility to Lewis who recruited Who guitarist
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
to perform, as well as new wave singer-songwriter Tom Robinson. Cleese and Palin promoted the forthcoming show in an interview conducted by Michael Billington, transmitted on BBC television on 22 June 1979. Cleese and Palin explained their support for Amnesty and their reasons for doing the shows. The shows took place over four consecutive nights at Her Majesty's Theatre in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
on 27–30 June 1979. The shows were again filmed by a rudimentary 16 mm documentary crew and the resulting 100-minute film – also titled '' The Secret Policeman's Ball'' was released theatrically by ITC in June 1980 heralded by a special preview attended by many of the show's participants. (A one-hour television special drawn from the performances aired on Britain's ITV network by London Weekend Television in December 1979, to coincide with the release of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' record album on
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
, produced by Lewis, of the comedy performances.) A second record was released to coincide with the release of the film, a 12-inch EP containing eight musical performances from the show including three Townshend songs. Peter Cook's nine-minute parody of the summing up of Mr Justice Cantley in the Thorpe Trial, "Entirely A Matter for You," was so successful that the audio recording of the live performance was released as an album on Virgin Records entitled ''Here Comes the Judge: Live''. The film and record albums enjoyed critical and commercial success in the UK and sparked international interest. The film was released in several countries with notable success in Australia. For the first time there was also interest in the US with the EP of the musical performances being released as an album by Atco/
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
and the US movie rights being acquired by fledgling independent distributor Miramax Films. The iconic ''Secret Policeman's'' cartoon character used to promote the show, film and record albums made its first appearance in 1979. It was created by
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
cartoonist Colin Wheeler who had been commissioned by Peter Walker. This film, plus four others, is included on the ''Secret Policeman's Balls'' DVD.


1981 – ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''

Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/''Monty Python''/''Beyond The Fringe'' orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson's colleagues from the BBC TV show '' Not the Nine O'Clock News'' including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle whom Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
,
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
,
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
, Donovan and Bob Geldof. The show was presented at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on four consecutive nights on 9–12 September 1981. Cleese invited theatre director Ron Eyre to co-direct the show with him. Walker secured funds to have the show filmed (at Lewis' suggestion) by new wave filmmaker Julien Temple. For the first time an Amnesty show was filmed with a full 35 mm film crew. The resulting film was released in the UK by UIP in March 1982. It became a commercial success on both its theatrical release and its subsequent home video release. Two record albums were also released by Springtime/
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
. One featured highlights of the comedy material, while the other featured the musical performances. In addition to the movies and albums, Methuen published a large coffee-table book edited by Lewis and Walker, featuring transcripts of the sketches from the show, photographs and some specially written comedic notes by Michael Palin and Terry Jones.


Distinctive elements of early shows

The reputation of the original four shows has endured and grown over the years. In September 2006, 30 years after the first show, a profile in the respected British newspaper ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' referred to the "talismanic power of the words The Secret Policeman's Ball" and "the show's folkloric status". There are many factors that contributed to the reputation of the shows, particularly those of the 'first wave': * The galas were the first stage shows in the UK to feature a broad cross-section of the baby boomer generation of contemporary comedic performers who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s. Media reviews at the time described the 1976 show as a gathering of the tribes. * They were the first stage shows in the UK to present comedic performers (such as Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson) in the same setting and shows as their contemporaries in rock music. * Solo live performances by rock musicians of their hits was not a familiar phenomenon prior to the ''Secret Policeman's'' shows. This changed with Townshend's performance of " Pinball Wizard", Sting singing " Message in a Bottle" and " Roxanne",
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
performing "
In The Air Tonight "In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value (album), Face Value'', in January 1981. It was selected as the s ...
". * The shows presented unusual permutations of performers, in the 1976 show, Peter Cook of '' Beyond The Fringe'' became an honorary member of ''Monty Python'' for their ''Courtroom Sketch''. Terry Jones of ''Monty Python'' took the place of the absent Dudley Moore in ''Beyond The Fringe's'' ''Shakespeare skit''. In a later show, Rowan Atkinson was a guest performer with three members of ''Monty Python'' for the '' Four Yorkshiremen sketch''. John Cleese had the opportunity to perform in "two-handers" (skits for just two performers) with two of his mentors: Jonathan Miller in 1977 and Peter Cook in 1979. In 1981, it was Cleese's turn to fulfil the role of mentor in a two-hander with Rowan Atkinson. * The out-of-the-ordinary pairings extended to musical performers. In the 1979 show, producer Martin Lewis arranged for rock guitarist
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
to duet with classical guitar virtuoso
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
on
The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
's " Won't Get Fooled Again". Lewis also arranged for new-wave rock performers Sting and Bob Geldof to perform in a specially assembled super-group (named "The Secret Police") with 1960s guitar icons
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
and
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
on a grand finale performance of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
's " I Shall Be Released". * Much of the material performed in the much heralded first four shows (1976–1981) came from the repertoire of sketches and skits created in the preceding 15 years by ''Beyond The Fringe'' alumni, and by ''Monty Python'' and its radio and TV antecedents, this radio or TV material was presented on stage. For example: several skits from the cult 1960s TV show '' At Last the 1948 Show'' were resuscitated by John Cleese (one of that show's creators) and performed by him with cast members, including fellow Pythons ( Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman) and other peers ( John Bird, John Fortune and
Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies. Brooke-Taylor became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and beca ...
(the last also an '' At Last the 1948 Show'' writer and performer), along with younger performers ( Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones), and Cleese's then wife, actress/writer Connie Booth. * The shows were also the first to present a new wave of comedians to a wider audience, such as Billy Connolly and Alexei Sayle. By the time of the second and third waves of ''Secret Policeman's'' shows (in 1987–1989 and 1991–2001, respectively), "alternative comedians" had become the new mainstream, succeeding the Oxbridge comedy school of the 1960s and 1970s. The later Amnesty shows followed the lead of the earlier shows in presenting the most popular comedy performers of the era, such as Ben Elton, French & Saunders, and Eddie Izzard.


Aftermath

Following the success of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows, there was a substantial increase in the number of benefit shows and charity projects in the UK in the early to mid-1980s – for a wide variety of causes. Many of the shows were modelled on the format of the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows. At a certain point the media started to refer to a phenomenon described as "benefit fatigue" a term coined to describe the attitude towards the glut of benefit shows – many featuring the same group of performers – that were taking place each year. By 1982, Amnesty had lost the services of two key staff members, Peter Luff and Peter Walker, who had guided the first 4 benefit shows. The British Section of Amnesty responded to these two factors by taking a break from staging new benefit shows for six years. When it restarted the ''Secret Policeman's'' series in 1987 it scaled back from producing theatrical movies of its shows to making them into TV and home video specials.


1987–2001 shows


1987 – ''The Secret Policeman's Third Ball''

When the British Amnesty shows finally resumed in 1987 after a six-year hiatus, the show format was retooled in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of rock musicians supporting Amnesty. Instead of the live show being primarily a comedy show with a few musical cameos, the event made a point of giving equal emphasis to comedy and music. The show's four nights were divided up into two nights of comedy and two nights of music. The line-up of musicians included several who were already veterans of earlier Amnesty benefits in the UK and/or USA: Bob Geldof, Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne and
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
. Other performers included
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Joan Armatrading,
Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
, World Party and
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
. Most of the comedic performers in the 1987 show were talents familiar primarily just to British audiences. This made the film of the show far less appealing to overseas audiences and unlike its predecessors it did not find major international distribution in lucrative markets such as the US and Canada. Comedic performers included:
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
& Hugh Laurie, Mel Smith & Griff Rhys Jones, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax, Hale and Pace, Lenny Henry, Rory Bremner,
Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...
, Ben Elton and the '' Spitting Image'' puppets. The shows took place at The London Palladium over four consecutive nights 26–29 March 1987. The shows were videotaped and a home video special was created integrating performances from the two comedy nights and two music nights. It was released by Virgin Vision. Two TV specials were created and transmitted – one featuring musical performances, the other featuring comedy performances. Following the pattern established by the 1979 and 1981 shows, separate albums of the comedic and musical performances was released by
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
. The shows were produced by Tony Hollingsworth, and the videos were produced by Hollingsworth and Neville Bolt. The 92-minute TV and video specials were subsequently criticised for the increased musical content. While all the musical performances were presented in full, the comedic performances were often edited heavily. The TV version also prominently featured spoof documentary segments by newcomer Ruby Wax, which took time from the performances of the comedians and musicians. This reflected the fact that, unlike the previous shows (which had been stage events that integrated comedy and music) the performances were edited together from two entirely different types of stage show.


1988 – ''Amnesty International Festival of Youth''

In 1986, the US Section of Amnesty International had organised the very successful Conspiracy of Hope tour featuring leading rock musicians on an 11-day/6-concert tour of the US. This tour built upon the participation of rock musicians in the 1979 and 1981 ''Secret Policeman's'' shows. In early 1988, the US Section of Amnesty announced plans for a world tour featuring major musicians to take place later that year. Titled
Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...
the tour would commemorate the 40th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
. The primary artists who had signed on to perform were Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour and Tracy Chapman. It was also announced that the world tour would commence with a gigantic kick-off concert in England – a salute to the fact that Amnesty had been founded in UK. The choice of England for the first concert was also in acknowledgement of the English ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' shows that had pioneered the deployment of rock musicians for Amnesty's benefit, and the presence in the line-up of two prominent English musicians, Sting and Peter Gabriel. Shortly after the announcement of the forthcoming concert in England, the British Section of Amnesty International announced that it too had decided to salute the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a rock concert in England. The British Section of Amnesty scheduled its own concert to take place less than ten weeks prior to the announced date of the
Human Rights Now! Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on it ...
English concert already organised by their American sister organisation. Amnesty's British Section then booked one of Britain's largest concert venues, the 65,000 capacity Milton Keynes Bowl and at very short notice staged a weekend-long extravaganza titled ''Amnesty International Festival of Youth''. Fatally for the event, Amnesty's in-house producer Pat Duffy scheduled the event to follow just one week after the long-announced '' Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' at England's 82,000 capacity Wembley Stadium. The Nelson Mandela concert had already lined up appearances by many of Amnesty's most prominent supporters in the music community – including Sting, Peter Gabriel,
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
,
Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...
, Jackson Browne, Steven van Zandt, Midge Ure, Simple Minds, Youssou N’Dour, Joan Armatrading – all of whom declined to partake in the new Amnesty show taking place just one week later. This made it virtually impossible for the comparatively last-minute Amnesty event, with less celebrated performers, organised by people without much previous experience, to succeed. Amnesty resisted recommendations to postpone or cancel the event and proceeded with the weekend. Amnesty's ''Festival of Youth'' weekend featured: Aswad,
Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...
, Big Country, The Stranglers, Aztec Camera, Motörhead, The Bhundu Boys, Go West, The Damned, Spear of Destiny, Martin Stephenson and the Daintees, New Model Army, The Icicle Works, Rhythm Sisters, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Transvision Vamp, So, World Domination Enterprises, Runrig. Positioned chronologically between the two previously announced major benefit concerts that summer in the UK – the ''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert'' and Amnesty's own ''Human Rights Now!'' concert, both of which featured far more stellar line-ups. Thus the ''Festival of Youth'' was a major financial disaster for Amnesty. Uniquely among all the Amnesty benefit shows, Amnesty failed to find a film studio, television network, radio broadcaster, home-video distributor or record company to partner with it on the event and this compounded the substantial financial losses sustained by Amnesty.


1989 – ''The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball''

After the criticisms of the 1987 production's disproportionate focus on music – and the financial disaster of its music-only ''Festival of Youth'' weekend concert in 1988 – Amnesty returned to the original formula that had been so successful in the 1976–81 era with a primary focus on comedy. Pat Duffy was dropped from organising any further benefit events for Amnesty and for the 1989 show, Amnesty hired producer Judith Holder.
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
and Michael Palin made brief cameo appearances, establishing a connection to the original shows. Also returning was Peter Cook – on this occasion performing with his longtime comedic partner, Dudley Moore – and satirist John Bird. Several performers from the 1987 show returned including:
Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...
,
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
& Hugh Laurie, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders, Lenny Henry, Rory Bremner, Ben Elton,
Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...
, Willie Rushton and the '' Spitting Image'' puppets. Performances took place at the
Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and const ...
between 30 August and 2 September. The show was directed by Jennifer Saunders and John Cleese, and a videotape was televised in October 1989.


1991 – ''Barf Bites Back'' and ''Big 30''

In early 1991, Amnesty held a comedy gala at the Duke of York's Theatre in London to commemorate its 30th anniversary. The event was the first Amnesty comedy show since 1979 which did not use the ''Secret Policeman's'' title. The performers were primarily alternative comedians including: Tony Slattery, Lee Evans, Simon Fanshawe, Martin Soan, Eddie Izzard and Richard Vranch. The show was videotaped and televised by Granada TV in August 1991. At the end of 1991, a second event commemorating Amnesty's 30th anniversary was organised as a TV special. The cast included Ben Elton, Lenny Henry, Steve Coogan, Julian Clary,
Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
, Paul Merton, Vic Reeves and comedic music from Spinal Tap. The show's musical directors were David Gilmour of
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
and Jools Holland. Musical guests included Dave Stewart, Seal, Tom Jones,
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
, EMF, Jason Donovan, Kim Wilde, Rick Astley, Daryl Hall and Lisa Stansfield. The show was hosted by Jonathan Ross and Alexei Sayle. Unlike Amnesty's previous shows, these shows took place in a television studio. The performers were videotaped at
Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...
Studios,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, on 13 and 15 December 1991 and the resulting TV show was televised later that month.


1997 & '98 – ''So You Think You're Irish'' and ''So You Think You're Irish 2''

In early 1997, Amnesty held a comedy gala at the Gaiety Theatre in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. The performers were primarily Irish performers including: Barry Murphy, Brendan O'Carroll, Pauline McLynn, Dermot Morgan, Kevin McAleer, Owen O'Neill, and Kevin Gildea. The show was videotaped and televised on ITV in March 1997. In 1998, Amnesty staged a reprise of "So You Think You're Irish" in Dublin. The performers were again primarily Irish performers including: Milo O'Shea, Barry Murphy, Pauline McLynn, Dylan Moran, Dara Ó Briain, Tommy Tiernan, Ed Byrne, Kevin McAleer, Owen O'Neill, Ian Coppinger, Eddie Bannon, Brendan Dempsey and Kevin Gildea. The show was videotaped and televised on ITV in August 1998.


2001 – ''We Know Where You Live''

In June 2001, Amnesty staged a benefit show that was video-taped as a TV special to commemorate its 40th anniversary. Titled ''We Know Where You Live'' the show was a one-night performance at the
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...
. The show was coordinated by comedian Eddie Izzard. The majority of the performers were British comedians popular in their homeland but not well known internationally. Performers included Izzard, Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse, Vic Reeves, Sean Lock, Harry Hill, Jeremy Hardy, Phill Jupitus, Richard Blackwood, Dom Joly, Simon Day and Jonathan Ross – with cameo appearances by actors Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Richard E. Grant, Tim Roth, Emma Thompson, and Julie Walters. In a salute to the original '' Secret Policeman's Ball'', the finale of the show was a re-creation by Alan Rickman, Vic Reeves, Eddie Izzard and Harry Enfield of the ''Four Yorkshiremen'' sketch that had been performed at the 1979 Amnesty show by John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Rowan Atkinson. Coordinator Eddie Izzard also acknowledged the show's heritage in an interview in London's ''Evening Standard'' (31 May 2001) saying: "The musical elements will follow the previous format because it's the son of ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' – so they're more acoustic than electric..." Explaining the show's new title, Izzard told the Evening Standard: "The title is designed to streamline the message of ''Secret Policeman's Ball'', which was a bit more ambiguous. ''We Know Where You Live'' is about gangsters or governments who run countries and withhold human rights." The audience saw a musical performance on a giant video screen by U2 via satellite. Also acknowledging the heritage of the show, Bono introduced U2's performance by saying: "Right, what we'd like to do now is go live from Toronto to London, to ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' – which is a mysterious and extraordinary event that certainly changed my life..." (Notwithstanding the description of the show as "live" the U2 performance had actually been pre-recorded in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
two weeks earlier on 21 May 2001.) Other live musical performances included
Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh pop and rock music, Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (Stereophonics), Richard Jones (n ...
, Badly Drawn Boy and Tom Jones.


Shows since 2006

On 18 August 2006,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
announced that it was reviving the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' title for its forthcoming benefit show – a one-night show to be held at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, London, on 14 October 2006. The name that had by then become the colloquially used umbrella title for all of Amnesty's fund-raisers. The 2006 show was coordinated by British comedian Eddie Izzard – who had coordinated the 2001 Amnesty show.


2006 – ''The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006''

The 13th show in the Amnesty series took place at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, London, on 14 October 2006. Unlike the first (1976–1981) era of Amnesty shows featuring mainly internationally known stars – the line-up mirrored the later (1987–1989 and 1991–2001) eras of Amnesty shows with the vast majority of performers being little known outside the UK. The one internationally known British performer – Eddie Izzard – headlined a roster of locally popular acts – including Russell Brand, Jon Culshaw, Al Murray, The Mighty Boosh and Meera Syal. Four American performers also made cameo appearances: comedic actor
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
appeared in a skit along with actor Seth Green – and comedians Jimmy Fallon and Sarah Silverman also performed. There was a cameo from actor Richard E. Grant and animations featuring familiar voices including Jennifer Saunders. Music was supplied by The Zutons and The Magic Numbers. The 2006 edition of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' was not filmed for international theatrical release, but was instead videotaped for a UK TV special of highlights that was broadcast by Britain's
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
on 31 October 2006. A DVD with 90 minutes of highlights from the three-hour event was also issued. There was also a "cinecast" in which the event was shown live in 17 cinemas in major British cities.


2008 – ''The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008''

In July 2008, Amnesty announced that it would present another show to be titled ''The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008''. Like its immediate predecessor, the show was a single-night event at London's Royal Albert Hall which took place on Saturday 4 October 2008. The majority of the performers were again British (or UK-based) and not well known outside Great Britain, (one Canadian comedian Russell Peters and one American comedian Kristen Schaal were involved). There were contradictory announcements about the cast list for the show, with one "finalised line-up" for the event announced on Amnesty's webpage and a different "finalised cast list" announced by the event's broadcaster Channel Four indicating a lack of coordination between the two wings of the production. The show included appearances from
Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), known professionally as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
, Alan Carr,
Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...
, Sean Lock, Kristen Schaal, Fearne Cotton, Matt Berry, Katherine Parkinson, Mitchell and Webb, Jason Manford, Shappi Khorsandi, Russell Howard, Katy Brand,
Tim Minchin Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...
, Sarah Millican, Kayvan Novak, Meera Syal, Shaun Williamson, Sharon Horgan, Nick Mohammed, Dan Clark, David Armand, Eddie Izzard, Ed Byrne, Deborah Meaden, Jon Culshaw, Gok Wan, and Mike Fenton Stevens. Additionally, Keane and Razorlight gave musical performances while Russell Peters appeared via video-tape. The three-hour event was video-taped and a 95-minute television version was broadcast the following day on Britain's Channel Four. There was also a "cinecast" in which the event was shown live in 35 cinemas in major British cities in addition to four cinemas in Australia and cinemas in six of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories. The Cineplex cinema chain made the film available on 50 of its 1,317 screens.


2012 – ''The Secret Policeman's Ball 2012''

Coinciding with Amnesty's 50th anniversary, the 2012 edition of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' took place outside of the UK for the first time under that title. It was staged on 4 March 2012 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The three-hour show featured a mix of prominent comedians from both Britain and the United States. After a taped introduction by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the live comedy lineup included US comedic performers: Jon Stewart, Ben Stiller, Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis, Bobby Moynihan, Jay Pharoah, and Taran Killam (from ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''), Rachel Dratch, David Cross & Bob Odenkirk, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Hader (as
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
), Rex Lee (as Kim Jong-un), comedic music by Reggie Watts. Participating UK comedians were : Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard, Peter Serafinowicz, David Walliams, Jimmy Carr, Catherine Tate, Noel Fielding, Matt Berry, Micky Flanagan, Jack Whitehall, John Oliver. Also appearing were actors Tim Roth and Liam Neeson. Neeson introduced a short presentation by formerly imprisoned Burmese comedian and political activist Zarganar. There was a cameo appearance by Richard Branson in one skit. There were music sets, each of three songs, by Mumford & Sons and
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
. There were real-time comedic commentaries on the show from Statler and Waldorf of the Muppets and from
Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...
in animated sequences. Monty Python alumni Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and Terry Jones appeared in pre-recorded video segments explaining comedically why they were not there. The event was streamed live in the USA on Epix, and televised by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in the UK.


Shows and performers


List of shows

* 1976: '' A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)'' – the film version was titled '' Pleasure at Her Majesty's'' – ( Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 1–3 April 1976) * 1977: ''An Evening Without Sir Bernard Miles'' – TV and album versions were titled ''The Mermaid Frolics'' – (The Mermaid Theatre, London, 8 May 1977) * 1979: ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'', (Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 27–30 June 1979) * 1981: '' The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'', (
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
, London, 9–12 September 1981) * 1987: ''The Secret Policeman's Third Ball'', (The London Palladium, London, 26–29 March 1987) * 1988: ''Amnesty International Festival of Youth'', ( Milton Keynes Bowl, 18–19 June 1988) * 1989: ''The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball'', (The
Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and const ...
, London, 30 August – 2 September 1989) * 1991: ''Barf Bites Back'', ( Duke of York's Theatre, London, 1991) * 1991: ''Big 30'' (Amnesty's 30th Anniversary), (
Central Independent Television ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the ITV (TV network), Independent Television franchisee in Midlands, the English Midlands ...
Studios,
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, 13 & 15 December 1991) * 1997: ''So You Think You're Irish'', ( Gaiety Theatre, Dublin) * 1998: ''So You Think You're Irish 2'', (
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
) * 2001: ''We Know Where You Live'', (
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...
, London, June 2001) * 2006: ''The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006'', (
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, London, 14 October 2006) * 2008: '' The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008'', (
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, London, 4 October 2008) * 2012: '' The Secret Policeman's Ball 2012'', ( Radio City Music Hall, New York City, 4 March 2012)


List of performers 1976 to 2001


Comic performers


= Comedy troupes

= * The Monty Python team of Graham Chapman,
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. (The sole exception is Eric Idle who did not participate in any Amnesty shows until the 2012 Secret Policeman's Ball) * The Beyond the Fringe team: Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller. ( Dudley Moore participated in just one show with Peter Cook – but not as part of ''Beyond The Fringe'') * The Goodies team of
Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies. Brooke-Taylor became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and beca ...
, Graeme Garden and
Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English actor, artist, birder, comedian, conservationist, musician, songwriter, television presenter and writer. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinton ...
.


= Solo performers and "double-acts"

= Rowan Atkinson, Eleanor Bron, Connie Booth, Jasper Carrott, Billy Connolly, Dawn French,
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
, Lenny Henry, Chris Langham, Hugh Laurie, Griff Rhys Jones, John Bird, John Fortune, Jimmy Mulville, Sir Peter Ustinov,
Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...
,
Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Jonathan Lynn, John Wells, Ben Elton,
Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...
, Alexei Sayle, Carol Cleveland, Jennifer Saunders, Victoria Wood, and Ruby Wax.


Musical performers

Tim Minchin Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter. Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...


= Solo performers

= Joan Armatrading,
Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
,
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
, Bob Geldof,
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler,
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
, Tom Robinson, Sting,
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
,
John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
, Neil Innes, Donovan,
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
, Peter Gabriel and
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...


= Bands

= U2,
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
, World Party,
Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh pop and rock music, Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (Stereophonics), Richard Jones (n ...


Cameo appearances

Public figures who have made cameo appearances in the shows: * 1979 show: Anna Ford, Mike Brearley, Melvyn Bragg, Clive Jenkins * 1987 show: Richard Branson * 2001 show: Kate Moss


Film, video and audio formats

Adaptations of the shows have been released in various film, video and audio formats over the years. Because there have been many different versions released in different configurations in different countries over the years, there has been some public confusion as to which version is which. The confusion is most notable in respect of the two widely different versions of the film ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. The only home-video/DVD version presently available is based on the UK version of the film. There is currently no home-video version of the very different, original 1982 US version of the film. The first two Amnesty productions ''Pleasure at Her Majesty's'' (1976) and ''The Mermaid Frolics'' (1977) have only been released on home video in truncated form. Video reissues of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' (1979) and ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' (1981) have also had original sequences edited out. The US compilation ''The Secret Policeman's Private Parts'' (1983) – that featured special additional content and outtakes not included in the original UK films – has not been available in any format since the early 1980s and was only released in the US. The most recent home-video release has been a 5-disc box set of DVDs entitled ''The Secret Policeman's Ball: 25th Anniversary Silver Box Set''. Released on region zero international format. The discs feature the edited, truncated versions of the earlier films. The original audio albums of comedy and music from the shows have not been commercially available since the early 1990s. Shout! Factory released ''The Secret Policeman's Balls'' in January 2009. The 3-DVD set includes ''Pleasure at Her Majesty's'' (1976), ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' (1979), ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' (1981), ''The Secret Policeman's Third Ball'' (1987) and ''The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball'' (1989). In early 2010, Shout! Factory released the DVD ''The Secret Policeman's Private Party'', featuring the best comedic moments from various Secret Policeman's Balls. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Secret Policeman's Ball, Shout! Factory partnered with Amnesty International on a collection of musical highlights entitled "The Secret Policeman Rocks." The 14-track CD was released on 29 September 2009. A DVD of the 2012 US edition was released in North America in 2013.


Books

* ''The Very Best of... The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Greatest Comedy Line-up Ever'' (2014) Tagline: "The very best of British comedy, from Monty Python to Russell Brand in one amazing anthology"
Publisher: Canongate UK () * ''The Secret Policeman's Third Ball'' (1987) Book containing transcripts of skits and monologues, lyrics of songs, photographs, of the 1987 show.
Publisher: Sidgwick and Jackson (1987) () * ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' (1981) Book containing transcripts of skits and monologues, lyrics of songs, photographs, of the 1981 show. Also features production notes and comedic observations about the show by Michael Palin and Terry Jones.
Editors: Martin Lewis & Peter Walker
Publisher: Eyre Methuen (1981) ()


References


Print media

* Jim Henke, ''Human Rights Now!'' (Bloomsbury 1988) * Douglas L. McCall, ''Monty Python: A Chronological Listing of the Troupe's Creative Output, and Articles and Reviews about Them, 1969–1989'' * Peter Biskind, ''Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film'' * Rolling Stone Magazine – 20 July 1982 – ''British Comedy Has a Ball for Amnesty International'' * Los Angeles Times – 4 September 1994 – ''Now For Something Completely Retro'' * UK Daily Telegraph – 30 September 2006 – Historical profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Policeman's Balls, The Amnesty International Benefit concerts