The influence of Pink Floyd on Monty Python’s biggest blockbuster
The success of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of The Moon changed everything. Following some very turbulent times, the group’s 1973 album made them one of Britain’s most successful and revered rock bands. With copies of the album selling faster than anyone could have predicted, the Floyd boys began debating what to do with all their newfound wealth and free time.
Speaking to The Guardian in 1978, David Gilmour bemoaned “having to go to board meetings, and meetings with investment companies. You either give money to the tax-man or stick it into businesses. There are all sorts of things I wouldn’t normally think about, but it’s got to go somewhere. So there’s things like a hire-car company, an electronics company, and a slice of the last Monty Python film…”
Monty Python’s The Holy Grail, a surreal re-telling of the King Arthur legend, was, in many ways, an experiment in faith. Neither Terry Gilliam nor Terry Jones had directed a film before. They assured those around them that it would be a learning experience and that they would learn how to make a film simply by, well, making one.
This ‘hope for the best’ attitude would surely have been impossible had the film not been funded by members of the rock elite. In 2021, Eric Idle revealed that several bands had helped fund the project, including Pink Floyd, who used money from the sales of Dark Side of The Moon. Without a board of financiers peering over their shoulders, Monty Python were free to do whatever they liked.
“There was no studio interference because there was no studio; none of them would give us any money,” Terry Gilliam told The Guardian. “This was at the time income tax was running as high as 90%, so we turned to rock stars for finance. Elton John, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, they all had money, they knew our work, and we seemed a good tax write-off. Except, of course, we weren’t. It was like The Producers.”
In total, Pink Floyd contributed something like £21,000 to the project. Led Zeppelin were even more generous, providing a whopping £31,500. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, meanwhile, handed over £6,500. They were smart investors. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a huge hit on release, raking in an estimated $175 million at the box office. Though best known for their era-defining albums, it would appear Pink Floyd also contributed to bringing to life one of the most celebrated British comedies of all time.
