Monty Python characters when the sketch seemed to be losing momentum, or a knight in full armour (played by Terry Gilliam) would wander on-set and hit characters over the head with a rubber chicken, before cutting to the next scene. Yet another way of changing scenes was when John Cleese, usually outfitted in a dinner suit, would come in as a radio commentator and, in a rather pompous manner, make the formal and determined announcement "And now for something completely different.", which later became the title of the first Monty Python film. The Python theme music is the Band of the Grenadier
Monty Python and influenced many other members of the entertainment community (especially rock musicians) to become involved in political and social issues. 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 U2, Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend, and Sting. The shows are credited by Amnesty with helping the organisation develop public awareness in the US, where one of the spin-off films was a major success. Cleese and Jones had an involvement (as performer, writer or director) in all four Amnesty benefit shows, Palin