Diaries 1969-1979_ The Python Years - Michael Palin [67]
Tuesday, January 9th
Reading my Daily Mirror, my eyes fall on an item ‘Monty Python Axed’. The story ran that the BBC were stopping Monty Python and were not making any more. It also ran the story of two sketches being cut from the last show, as if to imply that the show had been cut by the Beeb on grounds of indecency. The inaccuracy of the headline, and the fact that it appeared in a paper which boasts on its front page ‘Largest European Sale’, moved me to ring the Mirror. The TV man who had instigated the story was very pally and ‘Hello Michael’ with me, but I think a little taken aback that I attacked a small news item so bitterly. It was, he said, part of a much longer article which he had written, and the headline had not been composed by him.
However, Jill Foster did ring the BBC and Bill Cotton did send out a press release denying the story. But the Evening Standard rang up during the day to say that they noticed some confusion between the Mirror story and a Philip Purser interview with me in the Daily Mail (implying that Python would go on) and Radio Sheffield sent round a man to do an interview about Python’s plans. So I became a minor celebrity for a day – and lost a lot of work time too.
Thursday, January 25th
Met Tony Smith1 – the man who is probably going to land the first ever Python road tour.
He was a surprise. Longish hair, unkempt, shirt pulled over what must be a beer-belly – a friendly open face, and a total absence of traditional promoter’s accoutrements – cigars, sharp suits and big talk. He was quietly confident that a Python tour would be a sell-out. Bannister Promotions have offered us a guarantee of £17,500, but Tony Smith reckons that we could make 21 or 22 grand – on a percentage split with him. I must put this to the rest of the team. Smith has fairly impressive credentials, including recent sell-out tours with The Who and Led Zeppelin.
At 1.15 gave an interview to a Belgian journalist for a radio programme which is featuring the new Python record on one of its shows – which is more than they do here, and the record isn’t even for sale in Belgium! I said Mr Heath ought to take his trousers off once a year. The Belgian evidently felt this was quite a risible Eurojoke.
Saturday, January 27th
Winter this year is being very unfriendly to romantics. No snow, let alone a blizzard, winds moderate, weather warm, and now, to cap it all, bright sunshine. At 2.00 we had a Python meeting at John’s. We decide to do the Python tour with Tony Smith. We talk about details of performance and dates and places. I find it extraordinary that John can undertake such a violent month of really hard work repeating basically old material – and yet will not countenance doing another series of Python. I suppose it’s all a question of time and money. My God, we’re getting so mercenary. Eric is almost totally involved in ads. He has been the most successful of us – with his ‘Nudge-Nudge’ selling Breakaway chocolate, and another ad in the offing. This afternoon he rang me to say that Gibbs toothpaste had approached him to ask if he could set up a five-minute film for their sales conference. It had to be made quickly and fairly cheaply. Eric proposed that we set it up as a package, with the two of us and Terry. It sounded like good experience – it wasn’t for general commercial purposes, and it could be rude. What’s more, it’s work. I accepted on behalf of us both.
Thursday, February 1st
To Portman Square for presentation of the Gibbs film script. Waiting outside the office was Rita Allen, of Selling and Sellers Ltd, who is a conference organiser and