rarities: seldom-heard songs and sketches

Ferret Song (MP3)
(Performed by John Cleese, 1967, from At Last the 1948 Show)

Rhubarb Tart Song (3.54 MP3 by SirKobble)
(Performed by John Cleese, 1968, from At Last the 1948 Show)

German (or Polish?) Heavy Metal Version of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (MP3)
(by a band whose name I can't recall at the moment)
(Jared Strand writes: This might be the Polish band Acid Eaters, from their album Strip Tease. We're not sure yet, though.)

Otto's Suicide Squad Song (.MP3)
(full version! a number cut from Life of Brian. from the unreleased Hastily Cobbled album, see below)

Rudyard Kipling (.MP3 file, 620 KB)
(Song from the unreleased Hastily Cobbled album, see below)

Ballad of Sir Robin in Japanese, by the Tokyo Porcupine Syndicate
(Realaudio file, requires Realplayer - thanks to neilinnes.org)

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - 1991 Radio Edit (Piece of Spit) - MP3 by Jonathan "Squidy" Sloman
This is a very rare version of Eric Idle singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." It's the same as the familiar version, except that for radio play, the line "Life's a Piece of Shit" has been rerecorded as "Life's a Piece of Spit," and more interestingly, the entire ending to the song has been rerecorded (in 1991) with Eric saying completely new things about the song being played on the radio. "Put on something depressing like the news ..."

Bookshop sketch 1967 Version - the original from At Last the 1948 Show

With John Cleese and the real Marty Feldman instead of a Graham Chapman impersonation of same. This same performance is on the 1948 Show album which is also at this page.

At Last the 1948 Show - The Album (29.8 MB, MP3)
The entire original album from the pre-Python series At Last the 1948 Show, starring John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Mary Feldman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Aimi Macdonald. I have also included in this file the songs sung by John Cleese, "Ferret Song" and "Rhubarb Tart," which were released as singles. This album features many sketches from the first series of At Last the 1948 Show, including the "Bookshop" sketch which was later reperformed for Monty Python's Contractual Obligation album.

Pre-Python John Cleese "Courier" monologue from I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again.
Cleese makes life hell for some passengers on a bus holiday in this rare Pre-Python sketch.

John and Mary - Infidelity (from I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, 1967)
More rare Pre-Python John Cleese. A John and Mary sketch, with John Cleese and Jo Kendall. I'm fairly sure that this is from a 1967 I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again album.

Judge Not (The Courtroom Sketch That's Not as Silly As the Other Courtroom Sketch)
John Cleese, Cambridge Circus, 1966 (MP3)
More rare Pre-Python John Cleese. Judging from the sound quality, this would seem to be from the LP of the Cambridge Circus Broadway show. Notes say that a "Judge Not" sketch was also done on Frost and the 1948 Show ... a clip of this was shown in "Life of Python."

Theatre Bar (Critic) Sketch - The Frost Report On Everything, 1967 (Mp3)
More rare Pre-Python Cleese. A Frost Report skit, probably from the 1967 L.P. "The Frost Report On Everything." This is actually not a Cleese starrer but a proper ensemble piece. Which is nice.

Monty Python Unreleased Courtroom Sketch (.MP3 by Squidy, 4.2 MB)
(This never-before-heard sketch was hidden in an obscure part of the 7th Level Meaning of Life game. It features a jury of pepperpots who all want to hang the defendant. This sketch was probably recorded during the sessions for the Contractual Obligation album, but was not used - nor even included on the unreleased outtake album Hastily Cobbled Together For a Fast Buck ... which you can download below.)

Monty Python - Teach Yourself Heath (.MP3 by TJ, 3.3 MB)
(This Eric Idle/Michael Palin sketch was included on a rare flexidisc given away with the December 1972 issue of Zig-Zag and a limited number of copies of Previous Record. It's a very funny lesson on how to talk like politician Edward Heath.)

Eric Idle - Mr. Sheene (.MP3 file by SirKobble, 3.3 MB)
(A rare B-side Eric Idle did with Rikki Fataar, of the Rutles. They performed this as "Dirk and Stig." The A-side was "Ging Gang Goolie," which got its own music video, also rare.)

Eric Idle - That's Death (.MP3, 2.6 MB)
(Eric Idle starred as the voice of Rincewind the sorcerer in two CD-ROM video games based on Terry Pratchett's insanely popular Discworld fantasy/humor novels. For the game Discworld 2, Eric Idle sang this single, "That's Death.")

RADIO FIVE with Eric Idle (Christmas Episode, 1974)
Eric Idle's own 70s comedy radio show! Inbetween songs on BBC Radio 1 in 1974 or so, Eric Idle hosted a show called "Radio Five" (there were only four BBC Radio stations at the time). He would play songs and perform skits and sketches, most of which have not been heard since. This was a sort of dress rehearsal for his TV series Rutland Weekend Television, which would debut in 1975. Some of the sketches performed on his Radio Five performances would later show up on Rutland Weekend Television, and elsewhere. The show featured Lyn Ashley (Eric's then-wife, who appeared on the Monty Python shows, and in the stage shows, as "Mrs. Idle," and who was a regular on Rutland Weekend Television). There were also songs by Neil Innes. Here's a Christmas Episode of the show, featuring the sketch "Penny For Your Warts" which would later appear on Rutland. Other sketches include "Missing Persons" and "Radio Call-In." Keep in mind that this is the full uncut broadcast, so half of it will be songs. You can fastforward through them if you want and skip to the Eric bits ... Here's a transcript of one scene by SirKobble.

A Liar's Autobiography, read by Graham Chapman - part 1 (.MP3, 52 MB)
One of the last projects Graham Chapman completed before his death was a book-on-tape reading of his classic autobiography. Here is the first 45 minutes of that recording.

Monty Python's Tiny Black Round Thing - Side One (.MP3, 3.1 MB)
Monty Python's Tiny Black Round Thing - Side Two (.MP3, 2.7 MB)
This rare single contains some new spoken bits by Michael Palin, and an extended version of "Election Night Special" from the album Monty Python Live at Drury Lane. "Tiny Black Round Thing" was a small flexidisc given away free with the May 1975 copy of NME to promote the Drury Lane album.

Eric Idle - One Foot in the Grave (.MP3 by Sir Kobble, 4 MB)
Eric Idle composed and sang the theme song to the popular sitcom starring Richard Wilson. Here is the extended single version of the song, featuring Idle and Wilson.

Monty Python Examines The Life of Brian - Side One (.MP3 by SOTCAA, 23.3 MB)
Monty Python Examines The Life of Brian - Side Two (.MP3 by SOTCAA, 26.3 MB)
This rare interview album was a promo given away only to radio stations. It's an hourlong interview with the Pythons about the controversy surrounding their film The Life of Brian. There's even a contribution by George Harrison. (With thanks to SOTCAA, Sir Kobble and James Gent.)

Monty Python - Summarizing Proust (.MP3 by Andrew Hollinrake, 3.2 MB)
This sketch was recorded for Monty Python's Previous Record but not used. It later turned up on the Instant Record Collection.

Monty Python - Farewell to John Denver (.MP3, 249 KB)
(Ah, controversy! Included on some, but not all copies of the Contractual Obligation album. John Denver threatened legal action, and the sketch was removed.)