How Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull all contributed to ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’
One of the most celebrated comedy exports the UK has ever produced, the Monty Python troupe of John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, and signature collage stop motion animator Terry Gilliam crafted a uniquely surreal and anarchic form of absurdist sketch show, capturing the imaginations of future comedians both sides of the Atlantic with their fourth-wall breaking irreverence and gleeful mockery of England’s post-war society.
Their influence was seismic in America, shaping the comic stylings of upcoming The Second City and Saturday Night Live stars, Mike Myers telling BBC America in 2019: “Everything I’ve ever done can be distilled to at least one Python sketch. If comedy had a periodic element table, Python would have more than one atom on it.”
Inevitably, the movie world beckoned, dropping 1971’s And Now for Something Completely Different to moderate UK success but little fanfare stateside. It was their second feature that made a bigger critical and commercial splash, ’75’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail‘s Arthurian lampoon introducing a bevvy of much-loved skits and characters including the knights who say “Ni!”, the killer rabbit of Caerbannong, and the duelling black knight’s unwavering fighting spirit despite missing limbs.
Acclaim doesn’t necessarily generate income, however. Despite their international stature in the comedy world, the Monty Python team’s foray into feature filmmaking was a financially dicey venture, relying on generous funding from all manner of fans and well-wishers from the music industry. In a 2021 X post, Idle revealed that …Holy Grail‘s total £17,350 budget featured generous contributions from Island Records, Charisma Records, Chrysalis Records, and even West End songsmith Tim Rice’s Heartaches cricket team.
Bands, too, opened their purse strings to help the Monty Python team. Three of the biggest names in rock coughed up thousands for their second feature, Led Zeppelin forking out £31,500, Pink Floyd gifting £21,000, and Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson personally putting up £6,300 of his own money.
It was serious cash. Adjusted for inflation, it’s a combined donation of over £761,900 in today’s money. Idle further discussed the musical funders on X, highlighting the little interest in visiting the locations due to filming in Scotland and jokes they still “couldn’t afford horses”, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant did attend the film’s London premiere in April ’75.
Monty Python would continue to be bankrolled by those in the music biz. For their ’79 follow-up Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the biblical satire was funded by George Harrison’s HandMade Films production and distribution company formed post-Beatles, re-mortgaging his house to help realise the project.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2018, Idle revealed Harrison’s wisdom when struck with a pang of insecurity as to his fellow Python’s big characters: “Once I was moaning a little bit on Brian, saying, ‘It was hard to get onscreen with Michael Palin and John Cleese.’ He said, ‘Well, imagine what it’s like trying to get studio time with Lennon and McCartney.’ I said, ‘All right. Absolutely. Got it. OK. Check. I’ll shut up now.’ Then it occurred to me that yes, in fact, we were slightly the outsiders, playing similar roles in our groups.”
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