The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of

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 ...

to raise funds for its research and campaign work in 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 ...

field. It was the second of many shows to bear the celebrated "Secret Policeman's" title that became the iconic series known informally as The Secret Policeman's Balls. The show took place at the Drury Lane theatre in London over four nights between Wednesday 9 September and Saturday 12 September 1981. It was a successor to the 1979 show

The Secret Policeman's Ball ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...

. Not all artists appeared at all performances:

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 ...

, for example, could not commit to all four and was present at the last two shows only. The show was directed by

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

alumnus

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 produced by Martin Lewis and Peter Walker (Amnesty's fundraising officer). It subsequently yielded two separate movies (one version for the UK, directed by

Julien Temple Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...

, and a quite different version for the US) and two record albums (one each of comedy and music performances). The film was distributed by

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

. The budget of the 1981 film was £125,000. It made $1.8 million. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada The show was very influential in galvanizing rock musicians to become involved in the human rights issue and in other political and social causes in subsequent decades. Musicians who performed at the show who subsequently became activists in various fields include Sting,

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

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 ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

and

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

Track listing of the music album

;Side 1 # " Roxanne" – Sting (3:06) # " Message in a Bottle" – Sting (3:44) # Cause We've Ended as Lovers" –

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, ...

and Eric Clapton (3:47) # " Farther Up the Road" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton (4:46) # "Crossroads" – Jeff Beck and Clapton (4:15) # "

I Don't Like Mondays "I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish new wave group the Boomtown Rats about the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, '' The Fine Art of Surfacing''. The so ...

" – Bob Geldof and Johnny Fingers (4:54) ;Side 2 # "

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 ...

" – Phil Collins (5:10) # "The Roof Is Leaking" – Phil Collins (3:34) # " The Universal Soldier" –

(3:00) # "

Catch The Wind "Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Pye Records released "Catch the Wind" backed with "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" as Donovan's debut release (Pye 7N.15801) in the United Kingdom on 28 ...

" – Donovan (2:32) # " I Shall Be Released" – The Secret Police (9:20)

Charts

Track listing of the VHS

# "Roxanne" – Sting # "Message in a Bottle" – Sting # "Farther Up The Road" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton # Cause We've Ended as Lovers" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton # "The Roof Is Leaking" – Phil Collins # "In The Air Tonight" – Phil Collins # " Sunshine Superman" – Donovan # "Catch The Wind" – Donovan # "

Colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

" – Donovan # "I Don't Like Mondays" – Bob Geldof and Johnny Fingers # " Glad to Be Gay" –

Tom Robinson Living people Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits " Glad to Be Gay", " 2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with hi ...

# "

Won't Get Fooled Again "Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It was released as a single in June 1971, reaching the top 10 in the UK, while the full eight-and-a-half-minute ver ...

" –

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 ...

# "Drowned" – Pete Townshend # "I Shall Be Released" – The Secret Police

Track listing of the comedy album

;Side 1 # ''A Word of Thanks'' (w:Rowan Atkinson/John Cleese/Ronald Eyre) performed by Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese and John Bird. # ''Road Safety'' – Rowan Atkinson. # ''Australian Motor Insurance Claims'' –

Jasper Carrott Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, writer, actor, singer and television presenter. His credits include '' An Audience With Jasper Carrott'' (1978), '' The Secret Policeman ...

. # ''Card Dance'' (w:Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Marty Feldman for 'At Last the 1948 Show') performed by John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. They are dressed in evening suits but are pretending to be naked - and each perform with two pieces of cardboard discreetly placed (Tim's pieces of paper get progressively smaller during the routine). # ''Had It Up To Here'' –

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...

. # ''Men's Talk'' (w:Alan Bennett) performed by Alan Bennett and John Fortune. # ''What's on in Stoke Newington'' –

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th g ...

. ;Side 2 # ''The Royal Australian Prostate Foundation'' (w:Chris Langham) performed by

Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, ...

. # ''Denis on the Menace'' – John Wells. # ''Beekeeping'' (w:Brooke-Taylor/Chapman/Cleese and Feldman for 'At Last the 1948 Show') performed by Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese. # ''Song in a French Accent'' –

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 comedy rock group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the Monty Py ...

. # ''Divorce Service'' (w:John Cormack) performed by Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Pamela Stephenson and John Fortune. # ''Reading the Riot Act'' –

Chris Langham Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC sitcom ''The Thick of It'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on ...

. # ''Top of the Form'' (w:John Cleese) performed by John Cleese, Griff Rhys Jones, John Fortune, Rowan Atkinson, Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Bird and Graham Chapman. # ''Drinking'' – Billy Connolly.

Performers

The performers in the stage production were: *

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

, John Bird,

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 ...

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 humour, surrealist comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel (Monty Py ...

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

, John Fortune,

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

Pamela Stephenson Pamela Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, actress and comedian. She moved with her family to Australia in 1953 and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). After playi ...

, Sting,

, John Wells and

References

External links

* * ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' VHSat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Policeman's Other Ball, The 1982 films Amnesty International Benefit concerts in the United Kingdom Films directed by Julien Temple British comedy films September 1981 in the United Kingdom 1981 in London 1980s English-language films 1980s British films