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===''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows===
Members of Python contributed their services to charitable endeavours and causes—sometimes as an ensemble, at other times as individuals. The cause that has been the most frequent and consistent beneficiary has been the human rights work of [[Amnesty International]]. Between 1976 and 1981, the troupe or its members appeared in four major [[Benefit concert|fund-raisers]] for Amnesty—known collectively as the ''[[The Secret Policeman's Ball|Secret Policeman's Ball]]'' shows—which were turned into multiple films, TV shows, videos, record albums, and books. The brainchild of John Cleese, these benefit shows in London and their many spin-offs raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, raised public and media awareness of the human rights cause, and influenced many other members of the entertainment community (especially rock musicians) to become involved in political and social issues.<ref name="Guardian2012" /><ref name="Amnesty Ball">{{cite news |title=How the Secret Policeman's Ball Got Rolling... |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/secret-policemans-ball_b_1318876 |access-date=24 September 2019 |work=Huffington Post}}</ref> Among the many musicians who have publicly attributed their activism—and the organisation of their own benefit events—to the inspiration of the work in this field of Monty Python are [[Bob Geldof]] (organiser of [[Live Aid]]), [[U2]], [[Pete Townshend]], and [[Sting (musician)|Sting]].<ref name="Guardian2012">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/02/secret-policemans-ball-new-york-amnesty Secret Policeman's Ball recruits New York's finest to Amnesty celebration]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 24 April 2012</ref><ref name="Amnesty"/> [[Bono]] told ''Rolling Stone'' in 1986, "I saw ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..."<ref name="Amnesty">{{cite news |title=50 years of working with celebrities: comedy |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/24000/act300752011en.pdf |access-date=21 August 2019 |website=Amnesty International}}</ref> Sting
''Ball'' co-founder Cleese and Jones had an involvement (as performer, writer or director) in all four Amnesty benefit shows, Palin in three, Chapman in two, and Gilliam in one. Idle did not participate in the Amnesty shows. Notwithstanding Idle's lack of participation, the other five members (together with "Associate Pythons" Carol Cleveland and [[Neil Innes]]) all appeared together in the first ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit—the 1976 ''[[A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick)|A Poke in the Eye]]'' held at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] in London's [[West End theatre|West End]]—where they performed several Python sketches. In this first show, they were collectively billed as ''Monty Python''. Peter Cook deputised for the absent Idle in a courtroom sketch.<ref name="Guardian2012" /> In the next three shows, the participating Python members performed many Python sketches, but were billed under their individual names rather than under the collective Python banner. The second show featured newcomer [[Rowan Atkinson]] and Scottish comedian [[Billy Connolly]].<ref name="performers">{{cite news |title=Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074qw2 |access-date=21 August 2019 |website=BBC}}</ref> The ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' were the first stage shows in the UK to present comedic performers (such as Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson) in the same setting and shows as their contemporaries in rock music (which included [[Eric Clapton]], Sting and [[Phil Collins]]).<ref name="performers"/> After a six-year break, Amnesty resumed producing ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' benefit shows which were held at the [[London Palladium]] in 1987 (sometimes with, and sometimes without, variants of the title) and by 2006 had presented a total of twelve shows. Since 1987, the Balls featured newer generations of British comedic performers, such as [[Stephen Fry]], [[Hugh Laurie]], and puppets from the satirical TV show ''[[Spitting Image]]'', with many attributing their participation in the show to their desire to emulate the Python's pioneering work for Amnesty. Cleese and Palin made a brief cameo appearance in the 1989 Amnesty show; apart from that, the Pythons have not appeared in shows after the first four.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Amnesty International Comedy Podcast from the Edinburgh festival: episode 5 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/audio/2010/aug/17/amnesty-international-comedy-podcast |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
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