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. It was the second of many shows to bear the celebrated "Secret Policeman's" title that became the iconic series known informally as The Secret Policeman's Balls.
The show took place at the Drury Lane theatre in London over four nights between Wednesday 9 September and Saturday 12 September 1981. It was a successor to the 1979 show The Secret Policeman's Ball. 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.
The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and produced by Martin Lewis and Peter Walker. It subsequently yielded two separate movies and two record albums. The film was distributed by Miramax.
The budget of the 1981 film was £125,000 with finance coming from Amnesty.

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."
It made $1.8 million.
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
  2. "Message in a Bottle" – Sting
  3. Cause We've Ended as Lovers" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton
  4. "Farther Up the Road" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton
  5. "Crossroads" – Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton
  6. "I Don't Like Mondays" – Bob Geldof and Johnny Fingers
;Side 2
  1. "In The Air Tonight" – Phil Collins
  2. "The Roof Is Leaking" – Phil Collins
  3. "The Universal Soldier" – Donovan
  4. "Catch The Wind" – Donovan
  5. "I Shall Be Released" – The Secret Police

    Charts

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 performed by Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese and John Bird.
  2. Road Safety – Rowan Atkinson.
  3. Australian Motor Insurance Claims – Jasper Carrott.
  4. Card Dance 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.
  5. Had It Up To Here – Victoria Wood.
  6. Men's Talk performed by Alan Bennett and John Fortune.
  7. What's on in Stoke Newington – Alexei Sayle.
;Side 2
  1. The Royal Australian Prostate Foundation performed by Dame Edna Everage.
  2. Denis on the Menace – John Wells.
  3. Beekeeping performed by Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese.
  4. Song in a French Accent – Neil Innes.
  5. Divorce Service performed by Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Pamela Stephenson and John Fortune.
  6. Reading the Riot Act – Chris Langham.
  7. Top of the Form 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: