Jim Beach, was also "Monty Pythons" lawyer during the time of USA broadcasting deals.. but as stated in this interview he was also friends with the Pythons.... The very last Python Show at the 02 London, Jim Beach came on stage with the Guys at the end of the concert.. (I was at this concert..) so in 2014, Jim Beach was in London, doing the Python shows, while Q+AL were touring America. After the Python shows finished, Jim then Flew out to America for the rest of the Queen Tour.... also.. the Simon Pegg movie "Absolutely Anything" was Directed by Python "Terry Jones" and also stared the Pythons in Cameos.. So the Link To Roger Taylor singing the Theme Song, is there...
I just watched the brilliant film of the last O2 show, and I recognized Beach immediately. He is also credited as producer.
The entire thing was his idea. As if we needed any more proof that he's one of the smartest people in the business.
Yep, financially very smart but, of course, artistically bankrupt. The 02 shows were a big media sensation and I enjoyed what I saw of them for their sentimental value. But they were shamelessly designed to make money to pay for Cleese's £12 million divorce settlement and also £800K the Pythons owed due to losing a court case over the musical Spamalot. Fair enough. But Beach's suggestion that the Pythons regurgitate 40 and 50 year material solely for financial reasons really created the paradigm for recent Queen+ tours. Or maybe it is the other way around -- the financial success of Queen+ gave Beach the idea to help the Pythons. Again, all well and good...from the accountant's pov anyway. And no one begrudges the Pythons the money because it is their material. But like Queen+, no one will remember Python's 02 shows as any more than a postscript to the original artistic creation.
Holly2003 wrote:
But like Queen+, no one will remember Python's 02 shows as any more than a postscript to the original artistic creation.
Fair enough, like any nostalgia tour.
But I think the Python's will still be pretty memorable. Comedians tend not to tour into their 70s, and plenty would argue that they are to modern comedy what The Beatles are to popular music. And with 5 of the 6 members there, it certainly wouldn't be seen as anything lesser than what they once were. If anything, their giggling during the parrot sketch made it all the more endearing.
Most people don't care when reunion tours are cash-ins. They got to see Monty Python live one more time after 30 years of being apart, and save for the most cynical of us, that's more than good enough. Nothing is squandered artistically by doing this.
And for the record - I don't feel like anything has been artistically squandered on any of the recent Queen+ tours, either. To 99% of people Queen is a greatest hits band, and that's exactly what they get when they go to the show. If anything (and of course this is anecdotal), I heard stories about people leaving arenas saying they didn't recognize some of the songs - and they were likely talking about It's Late and Get Down Make Love.
People complained when Bob Dylan was changing the arrangements of his songs in the early 70s. People are always going to complain about something. But old guys giving it one last go is hardly something most people will complain about, unless they're someone like Gordon Lightfoot who looks like they're about to have a coronary.