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The 20th of February 1974

Official U.K. Albums Chart results from Sunday the 17th to Saturday the 23rd of February 1974

Cut-off for sales figures was up to the end of Saturday the 16th of February

Results counted from Sunday the 17th,

and published on Wednesday the 20th of February 1974.

Monty Python

The Monty Python Matching Tie And Handkerchief

At No.49, on the “The Top 50 U.K. Album Chart”, the week of my 2nd Birthday, are Monty Python with The Monty Python Matching Tie And Handkerchief.

How refreshing…

…it is, to go back to the years when there is so much diversity in the album charts. Something I find at this future juncture, at my time of writing at the end of 2025, completely absent from the Top 100 albums today. Well I thought so anyway; and if anyone may have a problem with that, then I’m only expressing my own observations; I don’t expect The Spanish Inquisition.

By this time of my 2nd birthday, in this featured year of 1974, the “Pythons” (as they came to be affectionately known) were now arriving at the absolute zenith of their popularity; having already broadcast three series of their Flying Circus here in the UK, had already released three previous albums and also one film, the compilation-Greatest Hits-type feature “And Now For Something Completely Different“, which had been created in an attempt (unsuccessfully at the time) to break their comedy genius into the United States.

Their boundary-pushing comedy, since then however, has been nevertheless seeping through other cracks of that same stateside wall, and they will soon, inevitably, be victoriously initiating a comedic invasion of North America, flying their own sausage squad up the blue end, cabbage crates coming in over the pond at five shillings a dozen; initiating a triumphant ambush on foreign soil not seen since the The Funniest Joke In The World had been expertly and successfully unleashed onto the enemy, during the second world war, on July the 8th, 1944 at the Ardennes; which of course, in that legendary operation, had been succinctly recounted by an RAF Squadron leader who described that operation in intricate detail back at the hanger:

“Top hole. Bally Jerry pranged his kite right in the how’s your father. Hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper’s and caught his can in the Bertie!”

Honestly, such action, adventure and japes back then had not been witnessed since the sight of bally ten-penny ones dropping in the custard, when the Charlie Choppers were chucking a handful. Of course, in that instance, it had been a case of Grab your egg and fours and let’s get the bacon delivered!

Anyway, I digress.

This is the fourth album release…

…from the comedy group, and features never-before-heard material, along with others re-recorded for the record, from previously televised segments of the TV show.

Not content with pushing boundaries with how humour is portrayed on television; with this album, they are also thinking out of the box (or record sleeve in this instance), by not only confounding the purchaser of this record with the inspired cover artwork of Terry Gilliam, but then also getting the record company to print what initially seems to be the same label on both sides of the album, and then also confusing the listener with the ingenious concept of a double groove on Side Two. This means, depending on where the needle is dropped at the beginning, you may get something completely different (pun obviously intended) material since last playing that side. Very very silly indeed.

I can only imagine the amount of irate customers attempting to return the album, due to either thinking it had been mislabeled or there was something wrong with the playing of the second side, which kept playing different things everytime, and the staff not having a clue what they were going on about, handing them a replacement, with the purchaser only to find when they get back home, that the new one was exactly the same as the last.

It was a risky move by the Pythons, but so confident were they in just attempting it, and not only could they afford now to try it, they nailed it magnificently.

The album…

…is the first new entry I encounter this week, and this position becomes its highest so far.

From here…

…the album will fall back out of the chart after this week, but will make one further appearance, when it re-enters for one more week at No.50, on the 3rd of March, before disappearing off the cliff altogether after 9th of that month.