Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life Live

Eric Idle has announced a UK tour for September for a show dubbed a ‘one-man musical’ albeit with a virtual backing band.

Always Look On The Bright Side of Life, Live! plays eight datess in September following a tour of Australia and New Zealand. It is billed as  ‘containing everything including comedy, music, philosophy and one fart joke’ 

A rare survivor of pancreatic cancer, Idle sings ‘this may be the last time you see me’ in an evening of ‘rude songs, inappropriate remarks, reminiscences of fame, fortune and rare footage, plus a virtual band and surprise guests’.

The show includes tributes to George Harrison, Robin Williams, and Neil Innes with a salute to The Rutles, the Beatles parody movie he created

Idle’s last solo UK performance was in front of a global audience of two billion at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony where he led an 80,000-strong crowd in a singalong of Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. 

Two years later,  he reunited with Monty Python for their ten-night run at The O2. Idle also wrote the musical  Spamalot with John Du Prez, which returned to Broadway a year ago, while his book The Spamalot Diaries, an behind-the-scenes look at the making of that show, was released last year.

He and fellow Python John Cleese have in recent years been involved in a public spat over money, with Idle declaring their friendship over, and declaring that the management of the Python catalogue  is the reason why he still has to tour at 82. 

And Michael Palin’s recent biography described the misgivings the rest of the troupe had with Spamalot, saying that ‘the edges have been rubbed off’ the Holy Grail film it was based on.

Once the play was a hit, Idle began pushing for  another musical based on Life of Brian – however it appears the plan was vetoed.

Palin’s diary read: ‘All of us wary of Eric’s most recent suggestion — inevitable though it is — that he and John Du Prez be allowed to work their magic on Brian. General feeling that this is a different kettle than Grail.’

Tickets for the new tour go on sale at 10am on Friday

» Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life Live dates and tickets

Published: 1 Apr 2025