The Secret Policeman's Balls
Encyclopedia
The Secret Policeman's Balls is the collective name informally used to describe the long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights
organisation Amnesty International
. The shows started out in the mid-1970s primarily as comedy galas featuring popular British comedic performers and later expanded to include leading musical performers.
The shows have yielded movies, TV specials, home-videos, albums and books that have been distributed worldwide and had a considerable international impact. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows and their spin-offs are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.[1] Musicians such as Bob Geldof
, Bono
, Sting and Peter Gabriel
have credited the shows with inspiring benefit events that they subsequently helped organise such as Live Aid
and Live 8
– and triggering their activism leading to social issue organisations with which they are associated including the Band Aid
Trust, the Live Aid
Foundation, the Witness
human rights group, The Rainforest Foundation
, the ONE Campaign
, the Debt, AIDS & Trade in Africa DATA charity and the Global Elders
.
To date there have been four distinct eras of the Amnesty benefit shows. The first era (1976–1981) featured internationally known British performers and were widely seen and heard internationally via theatrical films, TV specials, home-videos and record albums. The three subsequent eras (1987–1989, 1991–2001 and 2006 onwards) have featured primarily British performers popular in their homeland – and the spin-off products have been released mainly just in the UK.
Rock stars Bob Geldof
and Bono
who were both knight
ed for their humanitarian work (in 1986 and 2006 respectively) and Sting and Eric Clapton
who were both made Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) for their charity work (in 2002 and 2004 respectively) have all attributed their involvement in humanitarian issues to their exposure to the Secret Policeman's Ball shows – Geldof, Sting and Clapton as participants – Bono as an audience member.
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 fund-raising 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!
tours.
The Secret Policeman's Ball title was not actually used until the third of Amnesty's benefit shows in 1979. However, the two preceding shows in 1976 and 1977 were clearly antecedents to that 1979 show and have been retroactively considered part of the Secret Policeman's canon. (The 2004 DVD box set titled The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Complete Edition included edited versions of the films of the 1976 and 1977 shows.)
The series was created and developed by Monty Python
alumnus John Cleese
and Peter Luff (Assistant Director Amnesty International 1974–76) assisted by entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis who subsequently worked with Peter Walker (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 name Secret Policeman's Ball for the first time and developing the series identity. 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!
world tour.
The earliest shows (1976–1981) 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 the British and American versions of Comic Relief. The Amnesty shows are considered to have been the pioneering charity events that helped inspire those later shows.
U2
’s Bono
told Rolling Stone
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 the BBC "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years, due to an entertainment event called 'The Secret Policemans 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
singer Midge Ure
– who went on to create the Band Aid
records, Live Aid
, and Live 8
– 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 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. Some of the movies received international theatrical release (including important markets for British comedy such as the US, Canada and Australia), 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 exponentially.
There was then 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 (1976–1981). 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 considerably less media attention. The second wave of shows (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 Live Aid style music extravaganza – 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 a 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 seventeen-year gap since the last show with Secret Policeman's in the title, the name was revived for a benefit show that used the identical title as the 1979 show. The merit in returning to use of the original title was underscored by Amnesty electing to use the Secret Policeman's Ball name once again for a show in October 2008.
Amnesty's Assistant Director Peter Luff approached John Cleese
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 his colleagues in Monty Python, pals in the earlier British comedic ensemble Beyond The Fringe
, his Footlights
/I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
peers in the contemporary British comedic ensemble The Goodies
, and other members of the British comedy community from the 1960s and 1970s (primarily those described as "Oxbridge
" comedians).
Luff obtained a theatre provided free of charge working with his Amnesty colleague David Simpson. 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 documentarian 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' background was in publicity and marketing and he also undertook responsibility for publicising the show and its film and record spin-offs.
– 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. This idea for the show to be a late-night event became a hallmark of many of the subsequent shows, and contributed to the lively atmosphere of the shows.
In addition to Lewis' audio recording team, Roger Graef, using a small 16mm film crew, documented the 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
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 working title for the show was An Evening Without David Frost – a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the fact that David Frost
was a common frame of reference for all the performers, most of whom had worked with him – or for him – early in their careers.
. 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 celebrated actor/manager who was the founder of the Mermaid Theatre. (The idea for the title grew out of John Cleese's recollection of the discarded working title for 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 acoustic musical performers including classical guitarist John Williams
, actress/singer Julie Covington
and folk troubadour Pete Atkin
.
The record album of the show and the TV show were given a fresh title: The Mermaid Frolics. The album was released on Polydor Records
in December 1977 and the TV special was shown on the ITV network that same month through Granada TV
. The title accorded to the TV show and record album has subsequently become the name by which the original stage show itself is known.
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 documented on film for theatrical release) but with a more professional approach to exploiting the film of the show. 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." Cleese 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 in his performances 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
to perform, as well as New Wave
singer-songwriter Tom Robinson
.
Cleese and Palin promoted the upcoming show in a rare joint TV interview transmitted on BBC TV on 22 June 1979. Cleese and Palin explained their support for Amnesty and their reasons for doing the shows. They also talked about the origin of the show name with Cleese crediting producer Lewis for coining the Secret Policeman’s Ball
title. "It's Martin Lewis' title, I can pin that one on him. But I thought is was quite funny."
The shows took place over four consecutive nights at Her Majesty's Theatre in London from 27–30 June 1979.
The shows were again filmed by a rudimentary 16mm 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 TV 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
, 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.
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 USA with the EP of the musical performances being released as an album by Atco
/Atlantic Records
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
cartoonist Colin Wheeler who had been commissioned by Peter Walker.
This film, plus four others, is included on the Secret Policeman's Balls DVD.
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
who 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
, Eric Clapton
, Jeff Beck
, 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
. 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.
referred to the “talismanic power of the words The Secret Policeman's Ball” and “the show's folkloric status”.
There are many factors that have contributed to the reputation of the shows, particularly from the first wave (1976–1981):
• 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 (such as Pete Townshend
, Eric Clapton
and Sting).
• The shows became famous for presenting unusual permutations of performers. By way of example 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. 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.
• Much of the material performed in the heralded first four shows (1976–1981) came from the rich repertoire of sketches and skits created in the preceding 15 years by Beyond The Fringe and the subsequent work of its alumni, and by Monty Python and its many stage, radio and TV antecedents. In some cases, material that had been created for radio or TV shows was revived and 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 various Amnesty show cast members, including fellow Pythons (Michael Palin
, Terry Jones
, Graham Chapman
) and other peers (John Bird
, John Fortune
and Tim Brooke-Taylor
(the last also an At Last the 1948 Show
writer/star), younger performers (Rowan Atkinson
and Griff Rhys Jones
), and Cleese's then wife, actress/writer Connie Booth
.
• The out-of-the-ordinary pairings were not limited to the comedic performers. In the 1979 show, producer Martin Lewis arranged for rock guitarist Pete Townshend
to duet with classical guitar virtuoso John Williams
on The Who
’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
and Jeff Beck
on a grand finale performance of Bob Dylan
’s I Shall Be Released.
• 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
performing "In The Air Tonight
".
• The shows were also the first to present the new wave of working-class comedians (sometimes described as “alternative comedians”) such as Billy Connolly
and Alexei Sayle
to a wider audience. 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, and many of these were the newer, alternative comedians such as Ben Elton
, French & Saunders
, and Eddie Izzard
.
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 festival screenings in magazines such as Rolling Stone created some awareness of the existence 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 an American distributor. Harvey Weinstein
and Bob Weinstein
, founders/owners of the new independent distribution company Miramax Films
had previously acquired the US rights to the film of the 1979 show The Secret Policeman’s Ball and they subsequently acquired the rights to its successor The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. They determined that neither film would be successful in the American marketplace in their original incarnations because some of the comedy content was too parochial for broader American tastes. They decided that the two films needed to be melded into one movie for the US. With Amnesty's blessing, they decided to combine the two films into one.
Original producer Martin Lewis was asked to create a new version of The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball specially for the American marketplace. Lewis distilled the best performances from both films into one new 110-minute film with a special American opening sequence narrated by Saturday Night Live
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-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/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.
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 explore if some of the goodwill for 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
, an 11-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
, Kate Bush
, Peter Gabriel
and U2
– with American and Canadian musicians Jackson Browne
, Lou Reed
, Joan Baez
, The Neville Brothers
and Bryan Adams
. 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 by MTV. The final concert featured multiple additional artists including Bob Geldof
, Joan Armatrading
, Rubén Blades
, Carlos Santana
, Howard Jones
, Miles Davis
and Joni Mitchell
. Just one month after the tour, the membership of Amnesty in the USA had increased by 45,000 members.
Subsequent to Conspiracy Of Hope, Lewis and Healey collaborated in conceiving the 1988 Amnesty world tour Human Rights Now!
, that featured Bruce Springsteen
, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour
and Tracy Chapman
. Lewis and Healey's intention was to commemorate of the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
by staging a tour that would visit all five continents. The aim was to raise consciousness of the human rights issue rather than be a fund-raising exercise.
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 1986–1998 that built upon the Secret Policeman's Ball shows staged in the UK.
By 1982, Amnesty had lost the services of two key staff members who had successfully guided the first wave (1976–1981) of their benefit shows: Peter Luff (the 1976 & 1977 shows) and Peter Walker (the 1979 & 1981 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.
US tour. 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 the comedy and the music. The show’s four nights were divided up into two nights of comedy and two nights of music.
The resulting 92-minute TV and video special was subsequently criticised for the increased musical content in place of comedy. 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 by the established 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.
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
. Other performers included Kate Bush
, David Gilmour
, Mark Knopfler
, Joan Armatrading
, Chet Atkins
, World Party
and Duran Duran
.
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 USA and Canada.
Comedic performers included: Stephen Fry
& Hugh Laurie
, Mel Smith
& Griff Rhys Jones
, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders
, Hale and Pace
, Lenny Henry
, Rory Bremner
, Robbie Coltrane
, Ruby Wax
, 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
. The shows were produced by Tony Hollingsworth, who also provided the risk finance, and the videos were produced by Hollingsworth and Neville Bolt.
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!
the tour would commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
. 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 England. 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!
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 any chance of success 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
, Phil Collins
, Bryan Adams
, 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 at short notice just one week later. The Nelson Mandela Concert was the largest such event since 1985's Live Aid
and the line-up also featured: Dire Straits
, George Michael
, Eurythmics
, Joe Cocker
, Ashford & Simpson
, Natalie Cole
, Tracy Chapman
, Wet Wet Wet
, Bee Gees
, UB40
, Chrissie Hynde
, Hugh Masakela, Jerry Dammers
, Whitney Houston
, Meat Loaf
, Salt-N-Pepa
, Stevie Wonder
and many more. The vast publicity for the one-year-in-the-planning Mandela concert which was receiving massive worldwide live television coverage in the style of Live Aid 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 that it postpone or cancel the event and proceeded with the weekend.
Amnesty's Festival Of Youth weekend featured: Aswad, Joe Strummer
, 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, and with the inexperience of the organisers – the Festival Of Youth was destined to fail and the show 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.
John Cleese
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
, Stephen Fry
& Hugh Laurie
, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders
, Lenny Henry
, Rory Bremner
, Ben Elton
, Robbie Coltrane
, Willie Rushton
and the Spitting Image
puppets.
The shows took place at the Cambridge Theatre
from 30 August – 2 September 1989. It was directed by Jennifer Saunders and John Cleese. The show was videotaped and televised in October 1989.
in London to commemorate its 30th anniversary. The event was the first Amnesty comedy show since 1979 for which Amnesty 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.
, Lenny Henry
, Steve Coogan
, Julian Clary
, Frank Skinner
, Paul Merton
, Vic Reeves
and Alexei Sayle
. The musical director was David Gilmour
of Pink Floyd
and musical guests included Roger Daltrey
Dave Stewart
, Seal
, Spinal Tap
, Tom Jones
, Morrissey
, EMF
, Jason Donovan
, Rick Astley
, Daryl Hall
, Lisa Stansfield
.
The show was hosted by Jools Holland
, Paula Yates
and Jonathan Ross
,
Unlike Amnesty's previous shows that had been stage shows or concerts taking place in theatres or concert venues, these shows took place in a television studio. The performers were videotaped at Central Independent Television
Studios, Nottingham, on 13 and 15 December 1991 and the resulting TV show was televised later that month.
, Pauline McLynn
, Dermot Morgan
, Kevin McAleer, Owen O'Neill, and Kevin Gildea. The show was videotaped and televised on ITV in March 1997.
, 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.
Titled We Know Where You Live the show was a one-night performance at the Wembley Arena
. The show was coordinated by comedian Eddie Izzard. The majority of the performers were British comedians popular in their homeland but lacking appeal to a broad international audience. Performers included Izzard, Dawn French, Harry Enfield
, Vic Reeves
, Phill Jupitus
, 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
that was the show's direct inspiration – the finale of the show was a re-creation by four performers (Alan Rickman, Vic Reeves, Eddie Izzard and Harry Enfield) of the celebrated Four Yorkshiremen
sketch that had been performed at the 1979 Amnesty gala 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
two weeks earlier on 21 May 2001.)
announced that it was reviving the Secret Policeman's Ball title for its upcoming benefit show – a one-night show to be held at the Royal Albert Hall
, London, on 14 October 2006.
In a conscious reprise of the Amnesty benefit shows of the 1970s and early 1980s that had heralded the organisation's breakthrough in public awareness and fund-raising – the new show was given the same title as the 1979 show – The Secret Policeman's Ball – the name that had by now 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.
, London, on 14 October 2006.
Unlike the first (1976–1981) era of Amnesty shows featuring primarily internationally known stars – the line-up mirrored the second (1987–1989) and third (1991–2001) eras of Amnesty shows with the vast majority of performers being known only to UK audiences. There was one internationally known British comedic performer – Eddie Izzard – headlining a roster of locally popular acts – including Russell Brand
, Jon Culshaw
, Al Murray
, The Mighty Boosh
and Meera Syal
. Four performers from America also made brief cameo appearances. Comedic actor Chevy Chase
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 various familiar voices including Jennifer Saunders
. Music was supplied by The Zutons
and The Magic Numbers
.
In common with the more parochial nature of the latter-era Amnesty shows (1987–2001) – the 2006 edition of The Secret Policeman's Ball was not filmed for international theatrical release as a movie but was instead videotaped for a UK TV special of highlights that was broadcast by Britain's Channel 4
network on 31 October 2006. A DVD with 90 minutes of edited highlights from the three-hour event was also issued. There was also a "cinecast" in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 17 cinemas in major British cities.
In common with other Amnesty benefit shows in recent years, the majority of the performers were British (or UK-based) – well-known primarily just in Great Britain. (There was one Canadian comedian Russell Peters
– who appeared via a pre-recorded video-tape.)
Confusingly, there were contradictory announcements about the cast list for the show, with one "finalised line-up" announced on Amnesty's webpage for the event and a different "finalised cast list" announced on the webpage of the event's broadcaster Channel Four indicating a lack of coordination between the two wings of the production.
Performers who were featured on both lists were: Frank Skinner
, Alan Carr
, Graham Norton
, Sean Lock
, Kristen Schaal
, Fearne Cotton
, Matt Berry
, Katherine Parkinson
, Mitchell and Webb
, Jason Manford
, Shappi Khorsandi, Russell Howard
, Russell Peters
(via video-tape).
Performers who were listed as due to appear according to Amnesty's website but who were not listed on the Channel Four website were: Katy Brand
, Tim Minchin
, Sarah Millican
, Kayvan Novak
, Meera Syal
, Sean Williamson, Sharon Horgan
, Nick Mohammed, Dan Clark, David Armand
.
Performers who were listed as due to appear according to the Channel Four website but who were not listed on the Amnesty website were: Eddie Izzard
, Ed Byrne
, Deborah Meaden
, Jon Culshaw
, Gok Wan
, Mike Fenton Stevens, Keane, Razorlight
,
The 3-hour event was video-taped and a 95-minute television special adapted from the show is scheduled to be broadcast the following day (Sunday 5 October 2008) on Britain's Channel Four. There was also a "cinecast" in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 35 cinemas in major British cities. It was also available live in 4 cinemas in Australia. The "cinecast" was available in 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. In Canada, Amnesty and Cineplex made a public announcement about the Canadian "cinecast" on Wednesday 1 October 2008.
, Eleanor Bron
, Connie Booth
, Jasper Carrott
, Billy Connolly
, Dawn French, Stephen Fry
, Lenny Henry
, Chris Langham
, Hugh Laurie
, Griff Rhys Jones
, John Bird
, John Fortune
, Jimmy Mulville
, Sir Peter Ustinov
, Robbie Coltrane
, Clive James
, Jonathan Lynn
, John Wells
, Ben Elton
, Adrian Edmondson
, Alexei Sayle
, Carol Cleveland
, Jennifer Saunders
, Victoria Wood
, and Ruby Wax
.
, Kate Bush
, Bob Geldof
, Phil Collins
, David Gilmour
, Sting, Pete Townshend
, John Williams
, Neil Innes
, Donovan
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 confusion is apparent from consumer comments and complaints on e-tailer websites such as Amazon.com
.
The first two Amnesty productions Pleasure At Her Majesty's (1976) and The Mermaid Frolics (1977) have never been released on home video in their original unedited form – only 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 has never been released outside 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.
In celebration of 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 anniversary CD was released on 29 September 2009.
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 & Terry Jones.
Editors: Martin Lewis & Peter Walker
Publisher: Eyre Methuen (1981) ISBN 0-413-50080-2
* 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) ISBN 0-283-99530-0
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organisation Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. The shows started out in the mid-1970s primarily as comedy galas featuring popular British comedic performers and later expanded to include leading musical performers.
The shows have yielded movies, TV specials, home-videos, albums and books that have been distributed worldwide and had a considerable international impact. The Secret Policeman's Ball shows and their spin-offs are credited by many prominent entertainers with having galvanised them to become involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.[1] Musicians such as Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, Sting and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
have credited the shows with inspiring benefit events that they subsequently helped organise such as Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
and Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
– and triggering their activism leading to social issue organisations with which they are associated including the Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
Trust, the Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
Foundation, the Witness
Witness (human rights group)
WITNESS is a human rights non-profit organization based out of Brooklyn, NY. Their mission statement is "WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations...
human rights group, The Rainforest Foundation
The Rainforest Foundation
The Rainforest Foundation Fund is a charitable foundation dedicated to the preservation of the rainforest by defending the rights of the indigenous peoples living there....
, the ONE Campaign
ONE Campaign
The ONE Campaign is an international, nonpartisan, non-profit organization which aims to increase government funding for and effectiveness of international aid programs....
, the Debt, AIDS & Trade in Africa DATA charity and the Global Elders
Global Elders
The Elders is an international non-government organisation of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007...
.
To date there have been four distinct eras of the Amnesty benefit shows. The first era (1976–1981) featured internationally known British performers and were widely seen and heard internationally via theatrical films, TV specials, home-videos and record albums. The three subsequent eras (1987–1989, 1991–2001 and 2006 onwards) have featured primarily British performers popular in their homeland – and the spin-off products have been released mainly just in the UK.
History
The early shows (1976–1981) spawned movies, TV specials, albums and books that were distributed worldwide and had an impact far beyond the London theatre audiences who saw the original events. Those four shows and their spin-offs are credited by many prominent comedians, musicians, actors and producers with having galvanised them to become proactively involved with Amnesty and other social and political causes in succeeding years.Rock stars Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
who were both knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed for their humanitarian work (in 1986 and 2006 respectively) and Sting and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
who were both made Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) for their charity work (in 2002 and 2004 respectively) have all attributed their involvement in humanitarian issues to their exposure to the Secret Policeman's Ball shows – Geldof, Sting and Clapton as participants – Bono as an audience member.
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 fund-raising achievements to the impact of the various shows, their spin-offs and successor Amnesty events such as the Conspiracy Of Hope
A Conspiracy of Hope Tour
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rights and of Amnesty's work on its 25th anniversary, and...
and Human Rights Now!
Human Rights Now! Tour
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 its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty...
tours.
The Secret Policeman's Ball title was not actually used until the third of Amnesty's benefit shows in 1979. However, the two preceding shows in 1976 and 1977 were clearly antecedents to that 1979 show and have been retroactively considered part of the Secret Policeman's canon. (The 2004 DVD box set titled The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Complete Edition included edited versions of the films of the 1976 and 1977 shows.)
The series was created and developed by Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
alumnus John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Peter Luff (Assistant Director Amnesty International 1974–76) assisted by entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis who subsequently worked with Peter Walker (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 name Secret Policeman's Ball for the first time and developing the series identity. 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
A Conspiracy of Hope Tour
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rights and of Amnesty's work on its 25th anniversary, and...
US tour and the 1988 Human Rights Now!
Human Rights Now! Tour
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 its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty...
world tour.
The earliest shows (1976–1981) 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
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, Farm Aid
Farm Aid
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, held to raise money for family farmers in the United States...
, Prince’s Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
concerts, The Free Nelson Mandela Concert
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on June 11, 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. It was also referred to as Freedomfest, Free Nelson Mandela Concert and Mandela Day...
and the British and American versions of Comic Relief. The Amnesty shows are considered to have been the pioneering charity events that helped inspire those later shows.
U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
’s Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
told Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
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 the BBC "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years, due to an entertainment event called 'The Secret Policemans 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
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
and Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
singer Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
– who went on to create the Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
records, Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, and Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
– first met and worked together at 1981’s The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field...
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 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. Some of the movies received international theatrical release (including important markets for British comedy such as the US, Canada and Australia), 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 exponentially.
There was then 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 (1976–1981). 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 considerably less media attention. The second wave of shows (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 Live Aid style music extravaganza – 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 a 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 seventeen-year gap since the last show with Secret Policeman's in the title, the name was revived for a benefit show that used the identical title as the 1979 show. The merit in returning to use of the original title was underscored by Amnesty electing to use the Secret Policeman's Ball name once again for a show in October 2008.
Origin of the first show
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 Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
of the Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
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 his colleagues in Monty Python, pals in the earlier British comedic ensemble Beyond The Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
, his Footlights
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
/I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which originated from the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus...
peers in the contemporary British comedic ensemble The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
, and other members of the British comedy community from the 1960s and 1970s (primarily those described as "Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
" comedians).
Luff obtained a theatre provided free of charge working with his Amnesty colleague David Simpson. The tickets for the show were advertised solely in the satirical magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
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 documentarian Roger Graef
Roger Graef
Roger Arthur Graef OBE is a criminologist and film-maker. Born in New York, he moved to Britain in 1962, where he has made ground-breaking documentary films with his ability to gain access to hitherto closed institutions, including Government ministries and court buildings.-Early life:Graef was...
, 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' background was in publicity and marketing and he also undertook responsibility for publicising the show and its film and record spin-offs.
Show
The first show – titled by Cleese A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)
A Poke In The Eye is the title of the first show in what became the iconic Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefit shows for human rights organization Amnesty International...
– took place on 1–3 April 1976 as a series of late-night galas at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London's West End theatre district. The show was directed by Beyond The Fringe alumnus Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
. The shows started at 11.30 pm, after the performance of the theatre’s regularly scheduled play. This idea for the show to be a late-night event became a hallmark of many of the subsequent shows, and contributed to the lively atmosphere of the shows.
In addition to Lewis' audio recording team, Roger Graef, using a small 16mm film crew, documented the rehearsals and performances. The footage was later assembled into the film Pleasure At Her Majesty's
Pleasure At Her Majesty's
Pleasure At Her Majesty's was the name given to the filmed release of A Poke In The Eye , the first of the Amnesty International comedy benefit galas. The title is a play on the phrase at Her Majesty's pleasure...
, which premiered in November 1976 at the 20th annual London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
, and was broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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
Transatlantic Records
Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. It was established in 1961. It started began primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records - by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom. Within a couple of years, the company had...
and was a commercial success.
The working title for the show was An Evening Without David Frost – a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the fact that David Frost
David Frost
Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
was a common frame of reference for all the performers, most of whom had worked with him – or for him – early in their careers.
II: The Mermaid Frolics (1977)
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 JonesTerry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
. 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
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
and was titled An Evening Without Sir Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
, an affectionate reference to the celebrated actor/manager who was the founder of the Mermaid Theatre. (The idea for the title grew out of John Cleese's recollection of the discarded working title for 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
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Terry Jones, John Cleese – joined by his then wife Connie Booth
Connie Booth
Constance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
– and some newcomers including Sir Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
. There were also a handful of acoustic musical performers including classical guitarist John Williams
John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
, actress/singer Julie Covington
Julie Covington
Julie Covington is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina".-Career:...
and folk troubadour Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin
Pete Atkin is a British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle.-Early life:...
.
The record album of the show and the TV show were given a fresh title: The Mermaid Frolics. The album was released on Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
in December 1977 and the TV special was shown on the ITV network that same month through Granada TV
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
. The title accorded to the TV show and record album has subsequently become the name by which the original stage show itself is known.
III: The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
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 documented on film for theatrical release) but with a more professional approach to exploiting the film of the show. 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." Cleese recruited the majority of the comedic performers – including Peter Cook and fellow Pythons Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
and Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
. He also selected a newcomer on the British comedy scene named Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
. Lewis recruited Scottish comedian Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
with whom he had worked while employed at Transatlantic Records. Connolly was the first non-Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
comedian to perform at an Amnesty benefit – a distinction he made fun of in his performances 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
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
guitarist Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
to perform, as well as New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
singer-songwriter Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson
Tom Robinson is an English singer-songwriter, bassist and radio presenter, better known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band...
.
Cleese and Palin promoted the upcoming show in a rare joint TV interview transmitted on BBC TV on 22 June 1979. Cleese and Palin explained their support for Amnesty and their reasons for doing the shows. They also talked about the origin of the show name with Cleese crediting producer Lewis for coining the Secret Policeman’s Ball
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
The Secret Policeman's Ball took place over four consecutive nights in London in June 1979. It was a successor to the 1976 show A Poke In The Eye and the 1977 show The Mermaid Frolics.The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker...
title. "It's Martin Lewis' title, I can pin that one on him. But I thought is was quite funny."
The shows took place over four consecutive nights at Her Majesty's Theatre in London from 27–30 June 1979.
The shows were again filmed by a rudimentary 16mm documentary crew and the resulting 100-minute film – also titled The Secret Policeman’s Ball
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
The Secret Policeman's Ball took place over four consecutive nights in London in June 1979. It was a successor to the 1976 show A Poke In The Eye and the 1977 show The Mermaid Frolics.The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker...
was released theatrically by ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
in June 1980 heralded by a special preview attended by many of the show's participants. (A one-hour TV special drawn from the performances aired on Britain's ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
in December 1979 to coincide with the release of the Secret Policeman’s Ball record album on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
, produced by Lewis, of the comedy performances.)
A second record was released to coincide with the release of the film, a 12-inch EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
containing eight musical performances from the show including three Townshend songs.
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 USA with the EP of the musical performances being released as an album by Atco
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
/Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
and the US movie rights being acquired by fledgling independent distributor Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
.
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
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
cartoonist Colin Wheeler who had been commissioned by Peter Walker.
This film, plus four others, is included on the Secret Policeman's Balls DVD.
IV: The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1981)
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
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
including Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Helen Stephenson Connolly is a New Zealand-born Australian clinical psychologist and writer now resident in the United Kingdom. She is best known for her work as an actress and comedian during the 1980s...
and Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
; comedian Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
and regional comic Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...
. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
who 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
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
and Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
.
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
Ronald Eyre
Ronald Eyre was an English theatre director, actor and writer.Eyre was born at Mapplewell, near Barnsley, Yorkshire and he taught at Giggleswick School. He became a leading director for the cinema, opera, television and the theatre...
to co-direct the show with him. Walker secured funds to have the show filmed (at Lewis’ suggestion) by new wave filmmaker Julien Temple
Julien Temple
Julien Temple is an English 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 And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-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
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
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
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
. One featured highlights of the comedy material, while the other featured the musical performances. In addition to the movies and albums, Methuen
Methuen & Co. Ltd.
Methuen Publishing Ltd is a British publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen and began publishing in London in 1892. E. V...
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 the first four shows (1976–1981)
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 TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
referred to the “talismanic power of the words The Secret Policeman's Ball” and “the show's folkloric status”.
There are many factors that have contributed to the reputation of the shows, particularly from the first wave (1976–1981):
• 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
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
and Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
) in the same setting and shows as their contemporaries in rock music (such as Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Sting).
• The shows became famous for presenting unusual permutations of performers. By way of example in the 1976 show, Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
of Beyond The Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
became an honorary member of Monty Python for their Courtroom Sketch. Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
of Monty Python took the place of the absent Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
in Beyond The Fringe’s Shakespeare skit. Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
was a guest performer with three members of Monty Python for the Four Yorkshiremen sketch
Four Yorkshiremen sketch
The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch is a parody of nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. Four Yorkshiremen reminisce about their upbringing, and as the conversation progresses, they try to outdo one another, their accounts of deprived childhoods becoming increasingly...
. John Cleese had the opportunity to perform in "two-handers” (skits for just two performers) with two of his mentors: Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
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.
• Much of the material performed in the heralded first four shows (1976–1981) came from the rich repertoire of sketches and skits created in the preceding 15 years by Beyond The Fringe and the subsequent work of its alumni, and by Monty Python and its many stage, radio and TV antecedents. In some cases, material that had been created for radio or TV shows was revived and presented on stage. For example: several skits from the cult 1960s TV show At Last the 1948 Show
At Last the 1948 Show
At Last the 1948 Show is a satirical TV show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions , in association with Rediffusion London...
were resuscitated by John Cleese (one of that show’s creators) and performed by him with various Amnesty show cast members, including fellow Pythons (Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
, Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
, Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
) and other peers (John Bird
John Bird (actor)
John Bird is an English satirist, actor and comedian.-Early life:Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and educated at High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham, Bird briefly joined the Socialist Party of Great Britain, while still at school...
, John Fortune
John Fortune
John Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...
and Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
(the last also an At Last the 1948 Show
At Last the 1948 Show
At Last the 1948 Show is a satirical TV show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions , in association with Rediffusion London...
writer/star), younger performers (Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
and Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
), and Cleese's then wife, actress/writer Connie Booth
Connie Booth
Constance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
.
• The out-of-the-ordinary pairings were not limited to the comedic performers. In the 1979 show, producer Martin Lewis arranged for rock guitarist Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
to duet with classical guitar virtuoso John Williams
John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
on The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
’s Won't Get Fooled Again
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
. Lewis also arranged for new-wave rock performers Sting and Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
to perform in a specially assembled super-group (named "The Secret Police") with 1960s guitar icons Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
on a grand finale performance of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
’s I Shall Be Released.
• 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
Pinball Wizard
"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
", Sting singing "Message In A Bottle
Message in a Bottle (song)
"Message in a Bottle" is a 1979 song by The Police, from their second album, Reggatta de Blanc.The song is ostensibly about a story of a castaway on an island, who sends out a message in a bottle to seek love. A year later, he has not received any sort of response, and despairs, thinking he is...
" and "Roxanne
Roxanne (song)
"Roxanne" is a hit song by the rock band The Police, first released in 1978 as a single and on their album Outlandos d'Amour. It was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.- History :...
", Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
performing "In The Air Tonight
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.-The song/recording:The...
".
• The shows were also the first to present the new wave of working-class comedians (sometimes described as “alternative comedians”) such as Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
and Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
to a wider audience. 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
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
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, and many of these were the newer, alternative comedians such as Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, French & Saunders
French & Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
, and Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
.
American Introduction to the First Four Shows
The films and records of the first three Amnesty benefit shows did not 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
Filmex
Filmex was an annual Los Angeles film festival held in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was the predecessor of the American Film Institute's Los Angeles International Film Festival...
Los Angeles International Film Festival. Media coverage of the festival screenings in magazines such as Rolling Stone created some awareness of the existence of the benefit shows.
The album The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball – The Music was released by Island Records/Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
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 an American distributor. Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
and Bob Weinstein
Bob Weinstein
Robert "Bob" Weinstein is an American film and theatre producer, the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films, and current head, with his brother Harvey Weinstein, of The Weinstein Company.-Career:...
, founders/owners of the new independent distribution company Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
had previously acquired the US rights to the film of the 1979 show The Secret Policeman’s Ball and they subsequently acquired the rights to its successor The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball. They determined that neither film would be successful in the American marketplace in their original incarnations because some of the comedy content was too parochial for broader American tastes. They decided that the two films needed to be melded into one movie for the US. With Amnesty's blessing, they decided to combine the two films into one.
Original producer Martin Lewis was asked to create a new version of The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball specially for the American marketplace. Lewis distilled the best performances from both films into one new 110-minute film with a special American opening sequence narrated by Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
announcer Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
. 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-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/Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
later released on home video by Media Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band....
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.
Two American offshoots of the Secret Policeman’s Ball shows (1986 and 1988)
In the early 1980s, Amnesty had a low profile in the US, and its Executive Director Jack HealeyJack Healey
Jack Healey is an American human rights activist and pioneer. A leader in the human rights movement for over 47 years, Jack has helped move the topic of human rights from closed-door diplomatic negotiations to widespread awareness, public debate, and direct citizen action...
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 explore if some of the goodwill for 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 Conspiracy of Hope Tour
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rights and of Amnesty's work on its 25th anniversary, and...
, an 11-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
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
– with American and Canadian musicians Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...
and Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. The tour was promoted by rock impresario Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
. The tour concluded with a major all-day concert at Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
in New Jersey that was televised by MTV. The final concert featured multiple additional artists including Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
, Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Howard Jones
Howard Jones (musician)
Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. Just one month after the tour, the membership of Amnesty in the USA had increased by 45,000 members.
Subsequent to Conspiracy Of Hope, Lewis and Healey collaborated in conceiving the 1988 Amnesty world tour Human Rights Now!
Human Rights Now! Tour
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 its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty...
, that featured Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
and Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
. Lewis and Healey's intention was to commemorate of the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
by staging a tour that would visit all five continents. The aim was to raise consciousness of the human rights issue rather than be a fund-raising exercise.
The six-week/20-concert tour was produced by Healey and Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
. 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
Human rights concerts
The Human Rights Concerts is the collective name informally used to describe the series of 28 rock concerts presented worldwide 1986-1998 to raise funds for – and awareness of - the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Amnesty International....
– a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986–1998 that built upon the Secret Policeman's Ball shows staged in the UK.
Aftermath in Britain of the first four shows
Following the success of The Secret Policeman's Ball shows, there was a virtual explosion 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 who had successfully guided the first wave (1976–1981) of their benefit shows: Peter Luff (the 1976 & 1977 shows) and Peter Walker (the 1979 & 1981 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.
V: The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball (1987)
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, especially after the 1981 show and the 1986 Conspiracy Of HopeA Conspiracy of Hope Tour
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rights and of Amnesty's work on its 25th anniversary, and...
US tour. 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 the comedy and the music. The show’s four nights were divided up into two nights of comedy and two nights of music.
The resulting 92-minute TV and video special was subsequently criticised for the increased musical content in place of comedy. 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
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
, which took time from the performances by the established 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.
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
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
. Other performers included Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
, Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
, Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, World Party
World Party
World Party is a British pop/alternative rock band, which is essentially the solo project of its sole member, Karl Wallinger. He started the band in 1986 in London after leaving The Waterboys.-Career:...
and Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
.
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 USA and Canada.
Comedic performers included: Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
& Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
& Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
, Hale and Pace
Hale and Pace
Hale and Pace are an English comedy duo who have starred in several TV sketch series.-Early career:Gareth Hale and Norman Pace met at Avery Hill teacher training college in Eltham South East London. They discovered much in common, particularly humour, and began playing clubs in a comedy band. One...
, Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
, Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
, Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
and the Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
puppets.
The shows took place at The London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
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
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. The shows were produced by Tony Hollingsworth, who also provided the risk finance, and the videos were produced by Hollingsworth and Neville Bolt.
VI:Amnesty International Festival Of Youth (1988)
In 1986, the US Section of Amnesty International had organised the very successful Conspiracy Of HopeA Conspiracy of Hope Tour
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. The purpose of the tour was not to raise funds but rather to increase awareness of human rights and of Amnesty's work on its 25th anniversary, and...
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! Tour
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 its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty...
the tour would commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
. The primary artists who had signed on to perform were Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Sting, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
and Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
. 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 England. 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! Tour
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 its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty...
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 any chance of success 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
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute was a popular-music concert staged on June 11, 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London and broadcast to 67 countries and an audience of 600 million. It was also referred to as Freedomfest, Free Nelson Mandela Concert and Mandela Day...
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
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, Steven van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt is an Italian-American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve...
, Midge Ure
Midge Ure
James "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
, Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...
, Youssou N’Dour, Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
– all of whom declined to partake in the new Amnesty show taking place at short notice just one week later. The Nelson Mandela Concert was the largest such event since 1985's Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
and the line-up also featured: Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Ashford & Simpson
Ashford & Simpson
Nickolas Ashford , and Valerie Simpson , were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists....
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
, Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish pop rock band that formed in the 1980s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band is composed of Marti Pellow , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell...
, Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, UB40
UB40
UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
, Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
, Hugh Masakela, Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
and many more. The vast publicity for the one-year-in-the-planning Mandela concert which was receiving massive worldwide live television coverage in the style of Live Aid 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 that it postpone or cancel the event and proceeded with the weekend.
Amnesty's Festival Of Youth weekend featured: Aswad, Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
, Big Country
Big Country
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife in 1981. They were most popular in the early to mid-1980s, but they still release material for a cult following...
, The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
, Motörhead, The Bhundu Boys, Go West
Go West (band)
Go West is an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist and drummer Peter Cox ; and guitarist and vocalist Richard Drummie...
, The Damned, Spear of Destiny
Spear of Destiny (band)
Spear of Destiny is a British rock band, established in 1982 by singer and songwriter Kirk Brandon and bassist Stan Stammers. It has had an ever-changing line-up through the years.-Biography:...
, Martin Stephenson and the Daintees
Martin Stephenson and the Daintees
Martin Stephenson & the Daintees are a British rock/folk/pop band combining elements of "rockabilly, show tunes, rootsy pop, straight-ahead rock and punk". The band is fronted by songwriter/guitarist Martin Stephenson.-Career:...
, New Model Army
New Model Army (band)
New Model Army are an English rock band, who were formed in Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1980. They have been variously classified by Allmusic as post-punk and alternative rock.-Overview:...
, The Icicle Works, Rhythm Sisters, The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush , Paul Simmonds , Philip "Swill" Odgers , Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley .- Controversy and success:Their first single, "The Green Fields...
, Transvision Vamp
Transvision Vamp
Transvision Vamp were a British alternative rock group. Formed in 1986 by Nick Christian Sayer and Wendy James the band enjoyed chart success in the late 1980s...
, So
So (band)
So are an English duo from London active in the late 1980s, that featured Marcus Bell and Mark Long, who were previously members of a band called The Opposition. The duo were managed by Steve Weltman of Esta Management, and were contemporaries of acts such as Climie Fisher, Blue and Waterfront...
, World Domination Enterprises
World Domination Enterprises
World Domination Enterprises were an English indie rock band, who were active in the 1980s. The band mixed elements of indie rock, post-hardcore , and dub.World Domination Enterprises' sound was defined by their atonal guitar...
, Runrig
Runrig
Runrig are a Scottish Celtic rock group formed in Skye, in 1973 under the name 'The Run Rig Dance Band'. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The current line-up also includes longtime members Malcolm Jones, Iain Bayne, and more...
.
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, and with the inexperience of the organisers – the Festival Of Youth was destined to fail and the show 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.
VII:The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball (1989)
After the criticisms of the 1987 show’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 1976–1981 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 Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
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
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
– and satirist John Bird
John Bird (actor)
John Bird is an English satirist, actor and comedian.-Early life:Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and educated at High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham, Bird briefly joined the Socialist Party of Great Britain, while still at school...
. Several performers from the 1987 show returned including: Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
& Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
, Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
, Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
, Willie Rushton
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
and the Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
puppets.
The shows took place at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
from 30 August – 2 September 1989. It was directed by Jennifer Saunders and John Cleese. The show was videotaped and televised in October 1989.
VIII: Barf Bites Back (1991)
In early 1991, Amnesty held a comedy gala at the Duke of York's TheatreDuke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
in London to commemorate its 30th anniversary. The event was the first Amnesty comedy show since 1979 for which Amnesty did not use the Secret Policeman’s title. The performers were primarily alternative comedians including: Tony Slattery
Tony Slattery
Anthony Declan James "Tony" Slattery is an English actor and comedian who has appeared on British television regularly since the mid 1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? As a film actor, both comedic and serious, his credits include The...
, Lee Evans
Lee Evans (comedian)
Lee Evans is an English comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. He left Bristol at the age of 13 and then went to The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...
, Simon Fanshawe
Simon Fanshawe
Simon Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe is a writer and broadcaster. He contributes frequently to British newspapers, TV and radio...
, Martin Soan, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
and Richard Vranch
Richard Vranch
Richard Leslie Vranch is a British comedian, actor and musician.Vranch improvises comedy on stage with the Comedy Store Players every Wednesday and Sunday at The Comedy Store in London. He has voiced British Airways TV and radio commercials since 2003, and he narrates TV documentaries...
. The show was videotaped and televised by Granada TV in August 1991.
IX: The Big 3-0 (1991)
A second event commemorating Amnesty's 30th anniversary was organised as a TV special at the end of 1991. The cast included Ben EltonBen Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
, Julian Clary
Julian Clary
Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
, Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
, Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
, Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
and Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
. The musical director was David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
and musical guests included Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
Dave Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
, Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
, Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, EMF
EMF (band)
EMF were an indie dance band from the United Kingdom. The band, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During its initial eight year run , EMF had released three studio albums and had gone on hiatus and reformed twice...
, Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
, Rick Astley
Rick Astley
Richard Paul "Rick" Astley is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries...
, Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...
, Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Stansfield is an English singer and songwriter.-Early years:Stansfield was born to Marion and Keith Stansfield in Heywood, Lancashire, in England, where she attended Redbrook School, Rochdale. Her first television appearance was on a talent programme in the Granada TV area in 1982...
.
The show was hosted by Jools Holland
Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...
, Paula Yates
Paula Yates
Paula Elizabeth Yates was a British television presenter and writer, best known for her work on two television programmes, The Tube and The Big Breakfast.-Early life:...
and Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011...
,
Unlike Amnesty's previous shows that had been stage shows or concerts taking place in theatres or concert venues, these shows took place in a television studio. The performers were videotaped at Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
Studios, Nottingham, on 13 and 15 December 1991 and the resulting TV show was televised later that month.
X: So You Think You're Irish (1997)
In early 1997, Amnesty held a comedy gala at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. The performers were primarily Irish performers including: Barry Murphy, Brendan O'CarrollBrendan O'Carroll
Brendan O'Carroll is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and director. Best known for portraying the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch Mrs. Brown, O'Carroll has been a popular comedian in Ireland since the early 1990s.-Early life:...
, Pauline McLynn
Pauline McLynn
Pauline McLynn is an Irish actress, comedienne and author, best known for playing Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, and Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless.- Early life :...
, Dermot Morgan
Dermot Morgan
Dermot John Morgan was an Irish comedian, actor and former schoolteacher, who achieved international renown for his roles as Father Ted Crilly in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted and a strip club MC in Taffin....
, Kevin McAleer, Owen O'Neill, and Kevin Gildea. The show was videotaped and televised on ITV in March 1997.
XI: So You Think You're Irish 2 (1998)
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'SheaMilo O'Shea
-Early life:He was born and raised in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street, along with his friend Donal Donnelly.He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the "37 Theatre Club" on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street...
, Barry Murphy, Pauline McLynn
Pauline McLynn
Pauline McLynn is an Irish actress, comedienne and author, best known for playing Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, and Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless.- Early life :...
, Dylan Moran
Dylan Moran
Dylan Moran is an Irish stand-up comedian, writer, actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his sardonic observational comedy, the UK television sitcom Black Books , and his work with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run...
, Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....
, Tommy Tiernan
Tommy Tiernan
Tommy Tiernan is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. He and Hector Ó hEochagáin present The Tommy and Hector Show on i102-104FM. Tiernan also featured in Father Ted.-Early life:...
, Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...
, 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.
XII: We Know Where You Live (2001)
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
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
. The show was coordinated by comedian Eddie Izzard. The majority of the performers were British comedians popular in their homeland but lacking appeal to a broad international audience. Performers included Izzard, Dawn French, Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...
, Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
, Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
, and Jonathan Ross – with cameo appearances by actors Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
, Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
, Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
, Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
, and Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
.
In a salute to the original Secret Policeman's Ball
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
The Secret Policeman's Ball took place over four consecutive nights in London in June 1979. It was a successor to the 1976 show A Poke In The Eye and the 1977 show The Mermaid Frolics.The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and producers Martin Lewis and Peter Walker...
that was the show's direct inspiration – the finale of the show was a re-creation by four performers (Alan Rickman, Vic Reeves, Eddie Izzard and Harry Enfield) of the celebrated Four Yorkshiremen
Four Yorkshiremen sketch
The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch is a parody of nostalgic conversations about humble beginnings or difficult childhoods. Four Yorkshiremen reminisce about their upbringing, and as the conversation progresses, they try to outdo one another, their accounts of deprived childhoods becoming increasingly...
sketch that had been performed at the 1979 Amnesty gala 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
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
two weeks earlier on 21 May 2001.)
Revival of the Secret Policeman's Ball title in 2006
On 18 August 2006, Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
announced that it was reviving the Secret Policeman's Ball title for its upcoming benefit show – a one-night show to be held at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, London, on 14 October 2006.
In a conscious reprise of the Amnesty benefit shows of the 1970s and early 1980s that had heralded the organisation's breakthrough in public awareness and fund-raising – the new show was given the same title as the 1979 show – The Secret Policeman's Ball – the name that had by now become the colloquially used umbrella title for all of Amnesty's fund-raisers. The 2006 show was coordinated by British comedian Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
– who had coordinated the 2001 Amnesty show.
XIII: The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006
The thirteenth show in the Amnesty series took place at the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, London, on 14 October 2006.
Unlike the first (1976–1981) era of Amnesty shows featuring primarily internationally known stars – the line-up mirrored the second (1987–1989) and third (1991–2001) eras of Amnesty shows with the vast majority of performers being known only to UK audiences. There was one internationally known British comedic performer – Eddie Izzard – headlining a roster of locally popular acts – including Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
, Jon Culshaw
Jon Culshaw
Jonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....
, Al Murray
Al Murray
Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray , is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, The Pub Landlord, a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy...
, The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
and Meera Syal
Meera Syal
Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
. Four performers from America also made brief cameo appearances. Comedic actor Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
appeared in a skit along with actor Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
– and comedians Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
and Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
also performed. There was a cameo from actor Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
and animations featuring various familiar voices including Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
. Music was supplied by The Zutons
The Zutons
The Zutons are an English indie rock band from Liverpool. They were formed in 2001 but did not release their first album, Who Killed...... The Zutons?, until May 2004. They achieved their biggest hits with "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?" and "Valerie", both taken from their second studio album...
and The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
.
In common with the more parochial nature of the latter-era Amnesty shows (1987–2001) – the 2006 edition of The Secret Policeman's Ball was not filmed for international theatrical release as a movie but was instead videotaped for a UK TV special of highlights that was broadcast by Britain's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
network on 31 October 2006. A DVD with 90 minutes of edited highlights from the three-hour event was also issued. There was also a "cinecast" in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 17 cinemas in major British cities.
XIV: The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008
In July 2008, Amnesty announced that it would present another show in the series to be titled "The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008". Like its immediate predecessor, the show was a single-night live event at London's Royal Albert Hall. It took place on Saturday 4 October 2008.In common with other Amnesty benefit shows in recent years, the majority of the performers were British (or UK-based) – well-known primarily just in Great Britain. (There was one Canadian comedian Russell Peters
Russell Peters
Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
– who appeared via a pre-recorded video-tape.)
Confusingly, there were contradictory announcements about the cast list for the show, with one "finalised line-up" announced on Amnesty's webpage for the event and a different "finalised cast list" announced on the webpage of the event's broadcaster Channel Four indicating a lack of coordination between the two wings of the production.
Performers who were featured on both lists were: Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
, Alan Carr
Alan Carr
Alan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Born in Weymouth, he was raised in Northampton before moving to Manchester during his early 20's....
, Graham Norton
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
, Sean Lock
Sean Lock
Sean Lock is an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian. He won the British Comedy Award in 2000 in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. He is also well known for his appearances on television and radio...
, Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...
, Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
, Matt Berry
Matt Berry
Matthew Charles "Matt" Berry is an English actor, writer, comedian and musician. Berry is perhaps best known for his appearances in The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh; he also had his own series, Snuff Box...
, Katherine Parkinson
Katherine Parkinson
Laura Katherine Parkinson is an English actress and comedian who is known for playing the part of Jen Barber in the Channel 4 comedy series The IT Crowd...
, Mitchell and Webb
Mitchell and Webb
Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, comprising David Mitchell and Robert Webb . They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show....
, Jason Manford
Jason Manford
Jason John Manford is an English comedian, television presenter and actor.- Early life :Manford was born to an Irish family in Salford, Greater Manchester, a son of Sharon , who is a Catholic and Ian Manford. He grew up in poverty in a terraced house in Manchester...
, Shappi Khorsandi, Russell Howard
Russell Howard
Russell Joseph Howard is an English comedian best known for his TV show Russell Howard's Good News and his appearances on the topical panel TV show Mock The Week...
, Russell Peters
Russell Peters
Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
(via video-tape).
Performers who were listed as due to appear according to Amnesty's website but who were not listed on the Channel Four website were: Katy Brand
Katy Brand
Katy Brand is an English actress, comedian and writer known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4....
, Tim Minchin
Tim Minchin
Timothy David "Tim" Minchin is a British-Australian comedian, actor, and musician.Tim Minchin is best known for his musical comedy, which has featured in six CDs, three DVDs and a number of live comedy shows which he has performed internationally. He has also appeared on television in Australia,...
, Sarah Millican
Sarah Millican
Sarah Millican is an English stand-up comedian. Millican won the if.comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.-Career:...
, Kayvan Novak
Kayvan Novak
Kayvan Novak is an award-winning British Iranian television actor and voice artist.- Voice actor :Novak has provided voice work for three video games: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo...
, Meera Syal
Meera Syal
Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
, Sean Williamson, Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan is an Irish actress, writer and comedienne.Horgan was born in London and moved to Dublin at age seven. She grew up in Bellewstown, Co. Meath, Ireland. She went to school in the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Drogheda. Later she went on to an English degree at Brunel University...
, Nick Mohammed, Dan Clark, David Armand
David Armand
David Armand is an English comedian, actor and writer who has performed on stage, film, radio and most notably, television, where the shows he has appeared in include Fast and Loose , How Not To Live Your Life, Pulling, The Armstrong and Miller Show, Swinging, and Peep Show.He is one of the...
.
Performers who were listed as due to appear according to the Channel Four website but who were not listed on the Amnesty website were: Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne
Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish stand-up comedian, voice over artist and actor. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on various television panel games...
, Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden
Deborah Meaden is a British business woman who ran a multi-million pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout...
, Jon Culshaw
Jon Culshaw
Jonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....
, Gok Wan
Gok Wan
Gok Wan is a British fashion consultant, author and television presenter of British Chinese heritage. He is known for his appearances on many television programmes , for providing fashion advice to celebrities and for contributing his views to fashion magazines published internationally.-Early...
, Mike Fenton Stevens, Keane, Razorlight
Razorlight
Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
,
The 3-hour event was video-taped and a 95-minute television special adapted from the show is scheduled to be broadcast the following day (Sunday 5 October 2008) on Britain's Channel Four. There was also a "cinecast" in which the Royal Albert Hall event was shown live in 35 cinemas in major British cities. It was also available live in 4 cinemas in Australia. The "cinecast" was available in cinemas in six of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
. The Cineplex cinema chain made the film available on 50 of its 1,317 screens. In Canada, Amnesty and Cineplex made a public announcement about the Canadian "cinecast" on Wednesday 1 October 2008.
List of shows/locations/dates
- A Poke in the Eye (With A Sharp Stick) (the film of which was titled Pleasure At Her Majesty'sPleasure At Her Majesty'sPleasure At Her Majesty's was the name given to the filmed release of A Poke In The Eye , the first of the Amnesty International comedy benefit galas. The title is a play on the phrase at Her Majesty's pleasure...
) (Her Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, London, 1–3 April 1976) - An Evening Without Sir Bernard Miles (the TV special and album of which was titled The Mermaid Frolics) (The Mermaid TheatreMermaid TheatreThe Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
, London, 8 May 1977) - The Secret Policeman's Ball (Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 27–30 June 1979)
- The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (Theatre Royal, Drury LaneTheatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, London 9–12 September 1981) - The Secret Policeman's Third Ball (The London PalladiumLondon PalladiumThe London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, 26–29 March 1987) - Amnesty International Festival Of Youth (Milton Keynes Bowl, 18–19 June 1988)
- The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball (The Cambridge TheatreCambridge TheatreThe Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
, London, 30 August – 2 September 1989) - Barf Bites Back (Duke of York's TheatreDuke of York's TheatreThe Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
, London, 1991) - The Big 3-0, Amnesty's 30th Anniversary (Central Independent TelevisionCentral Independent TelevisionCentral Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
Studios, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, 13 & 15 December 1991) - So You Think You're Irish (Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, 1997)
- So You Think You're Irish 2 (Dublin, 1998)
- We Know Where You Live (Wembley ArenaWembley ArenaWembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
, London, June 2001) - The Secret Policeman's Ball 2006 (Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, London, 14 October 2006) - The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 (Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, London, 4 October 2008)
Comedy troupes
- The Monty PythonMonty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
team of Graham ChapmanGraham ChapmanGraham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
, John CleeseJohn CleeseJohn Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
, Terry GilliamTerry GilliamTerrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
, Terry JonesTerry JonesTerence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
, and Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
. (The sole exception is Eric IdleEric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
who has not participated in any Amnesty shows) - The Beyond the FringeBeyond the FringeBeyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
team: Alan BennettAlan BennettAlan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
, Peter CookPeter CookPeter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Jonathan MillerJonathan MillerSir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
. (Dudley MooreDudley MooreDudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
participated in just one show with Peter Cook – but not as part of Beyond The Fringe) - The GoodiesThe GoodiesThe Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
team of Tim Brooke-TaylorTim Brooke-TaylorTimothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
, Graeme GardenGraeme GardenDavid Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
and Bill OddieBill OddieWilliam "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
.
Solo performers and "double-acts"
Rowan AtkinsonRowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron
Eleanor Bron is an English stage, film and television actress and author.-Early life and family:Bron was born in 1938 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin...
, Connie Booth
Connie Booth
Constance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
, Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott
Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...
, Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
, Dawn French, Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, Chris Langham
Chris Langham
Christopher "Chris" Langham is an English writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost...
, Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
, John Bird
John Bird (actor)
John Bird is an English satirist, actor and comedian.-Early life:Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and educated at High Pavement Grammar School, Nottingham, Bird briefly joined the Socialist Party of Great Britain, while still at school...
, John Fortune
John Fortune
John Fortune is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was educated at Bristol Cathedral School and King's College, Cambridge, where he was to meet and form a lasting friendship with John...
, Jimmy Mulville
Jimmy Mulville
James Thomas "Jimmy" Mulville is an English comedian, comedy writer, producer and television presenter. Jimmy Mulville is best known for co-founding in 1986 the British independent television production company Hat Trick Productions with Denise O'Donoghue and Rory McGrath...
, Sir Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
, Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
, Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
, Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Lynn
Jonathan Lynn is an English actor, comedy writer and director. He is best known for being the co-writer of Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Personal life:...
, John Wells
John Wells (satirist)
John Wells was an English actor, writer and satirist, educated at Eastbourne College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford...
, Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
, Carol Cleveland
Carol Cleveland
Carol Cleveland is a British actress/comedienne, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus.-Early life:...
, Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
, Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
, and Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
.
Solo performers
Joan ArmatradingJoan Armatrading
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Sting, Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
, John Williams
John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
, Neil Innes
Neil Innes
Neil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
, Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
Celebrities making cameo appearances
Celebrities who are neither comedic nor musical performers who have made cameo appearances in skits at some of the shows- 1979 show: Anna FordAnna FordAnna Ford is a retired English journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader....
, Mike BrearleyMike BrearleyJohn Michael Brearley OBE is a former cricketer who captained the England cricket team in 31 of his 39 Test matches, winning 17 and losing only 4. He was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2007–08.-Early life:...
, Melvyn BraggMelvyn BraggMelvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
, Clive JenkinsClive JenkinsDavid Clive Jenkins was a British trade union leader. "Organising the middle classes", his stated recreation in Who's Who, sums up both his sense of humour and his achievements in the British trade union movement.... - 1987 show: Richard BransonRichard BransonSir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
- 2001 show: Kate MossKate MossKate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
The shows on 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 multiple 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 confusion is apparent from consumer comments and complaints on e-tailer websites such as Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.
The first two Amnesty productions Pleasure At Her Majesty's (1976) and The Mermaid Frolics (1977) have never been released on home video in their original unedited form – only 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 has never been released outside 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
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
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.
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Secret Policeman's Ball, Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
partnered with Amnesty International on a collection of musical highlights entitled "The Secret Policeman Rocks." The 14-track anniversary CD was released on 29 September 2009.
Books created from the shows
* 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 & Terry Jones.
Editors: Martin Lewis & Peter Walker
Publisher: Eyre Methuen (1981) ISBN 0-413-50080-2
* 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) ISBN 0-283-99530-0