The Secret Policeman's Other Ball

Last updated

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. It was the second of many shows to bear the celebrated "Secret Policeman's" title that became the iconic series known informally as The Secret Policeman's Balls.

Contents

The show took place at the Drury Lane theatre in London over four nights between Wednesday 9 September and Saturday 12 September 1981. It was a successor to the 1979 show The Secret Policeman's Ball. Not all artists appeared at all performances: Phil Collins, for example, could not commit to all four shows, and was only present at the last two shows. [1]

The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and produced by Martin Lewis and Peter Walker (Amnesty's fundraising officer). [2] It subsequently yielded two separate movies (one version for the UK, directed by Julien Temple, and a quite different version for the US) and two record albums (one each of comedy and music performances). The film was distributed by Miramax.

The budget of the 1981 film was £125,000 with finance coming from Amnesty. [3]

Reception

In 1982 it was reported the film's commercial performance was "Up to expectations though slower than wished. Nevertheless is doing better business than the first film. Is a good stayer." [4]

It made $1.8 million. [5]

The show was very influential in galvanizing rock musicians to become involved in the human rights issue and in other political and social causes in subsequent decades. Musicians who performed at the show who subsequently became activists in various fields include Sting, Bob Geldof, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Donovan and Midge Ure.

Track listing of the music album

Side 1
  1. "Roxanne" – Sting (3:06)
  2. "Message in a Bottle" – Sting (3:44)
  3. "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton (3:47)
  4. "Farther Up the Road" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton (4:46)
  5. "Crossroads" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton (4:15)
  6. "I Don't Like Mondays" – Bob Geldof and Johnny Fingers (4:54)
Side 2
  1. "In The Air Tonight" – Phil Collins (5:10)
  2. "The Roof Is Leaking" – Phil Collins (3:34)
  3. "The Universal Soldier" – Donovan (3:00)
  4. "Catch The Wind" – Donovan (2:32)
  5. "I Shall Be Released" – The Secret Police (9:20)

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] 17
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [7] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [8] 31
US Billboard 200 [9] 29

Track listing of the VHS

  1. "Roxanne" – Sting
  2. "Message in a Bottle" – Sting
  3. "Farther Up The Road" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton
  4. "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton
  5. "The Roof Is Leaking" – Phil Collins
  6. "In The Air Tonight" – Phil Collins
  7. "Sunshine Superman" – Donovan
  8. "Catch The Wind" – Donovan
  9. "Colours" – Donovan
  10. "I Don't Like Mondays" – Bob Geldof and Johnny Fingers
  11. "Glad to Be Gay" – Tom Robinson
  12. "Won't Get Fooled Again" – Pete Townshend
  13. "Drowned" – Pete Townshend
  14. "I Shall Be Released" – The Secret Police

Track listing of the comedy album

Side 1
  1. A Word of Thanks (w:Rowan Atkinson/John Cleese/Ronald Eyre) performed by Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese and John Bird.
  2. Road Safety – Rowan Atkinson.
  3. Australian Motor Insurance Claims – Jasper Carrott.
  4. Card Dance (w:Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Marty Feldman for 'At Last the 1948 Show') performed by John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. They are dressed in evening suits but are pretending to be naked - and each perform with two pieces of cardboard discreetly placed (Tim's pieces of paper get progressively smaller during the routine).
  5. Had It Up To Here – Victoria Wood.
  6. Men's Talk (w:Alan Bennett) performed by Alan Bennett and John Fortune.
  7. What's on in Stoke Newington – Alexei Sayle.
Side 2
  1. The Royal Australian Prostate Foundation (w:Chris Langham) performed by Dame Edna Everage.
  2. Denis on the Menace – John Wells.
  3. Beekeeping (w:Brooke-Taylor/Chapman/Cleese and Feldman for 'At Last the 1948 Show') performed by Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese.
  4. Song in a French Accent – Neil Innes.
  5. Divorce Service (w:John Cormack) performed by Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Pamela Stephenson and John Fortune.
  6. Reading the Riot Act – Chris Langham.
  7. Top of the Form (w:John Cleese) performed by John Cleese, Griff Rhys Jones, John Fortune, Rowan Atkinson, Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Bird and Graham Chapman.
  8. Drinking – Billy Connolly.

Performers

The performers in the stage production were:

References

  1. ↑ Coleman, Ray (1997). Phil Collins The Definitive Biography (illustrated ed.). London: Simon & Schuster. p. 110. ISBN   0-684-81784-5.
  2. ↑ "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball". Variety . 31 December 1981. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  3. ↑ BRITISH PRODUCTION 1981 Moses, Antoinette. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 51, Iss. 4, (Fall 1982): 258.
  4. ↑ Moses, Antoinette (Autumn 1982). "British film production 1981". Sight and Sound. p. 263.
  5. ↑ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 296. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 322. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6461". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – The Secret Policeman's (Other) Ball". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard . 15 May 1982. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.