My boarding school was like being in Monty Python, says Idle

Eric Idle shared his life growing up in the Midlands with BBC Radio WM

Monty Python comedy legend Eric Idle has shared childhood memories of taking the 148 bus from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, as he returns to England to perform for the first time in 13 years.

He also recalled growing up in Studley, going to a boarding school full of "wild" boys in Wolverhampton - which was like working with the Monty Python crew - keeping wicket for Redditch, and supporting Wolves FC at the age of 12.

Idle, who describes himself as "a Midlands boy", told BBC Radio WM he was "looking forward" to performing at Birmingham Symphony Hall.

Remembering his last UK performance at London 2012, singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, he said "I haven't been in England and performed since the Olympic Games".

He supported Wolves until he moved to London, when he "watched Chelsea for a bit", but said: "I watch both sides because it's much more fun."

In London, neighbour Gary Lineker later pointed out to Idle that fans only sang his hit song on the terraces when they were losing.

'I pushed Sinatra off the top'

"The best moment in my life about that song was when England were beating Germany 5-0 in Munich, and the German fans started to sing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," he said. "I thought that was so funny and so brilliant".

It later became Britain's number one funeral song, which Idle found "very moving".

"I'm particularly proud because I pushed Frank Sinatra off the top. It was My Way before that," he said.

The Python team took their TV show on the road in a live show in the 1970s

Describing his new show as a mix of comedy and songs, he said he was adapting it for each location on tour.

In Birmingham, he wants to talk about the number 148, which went through Hollywood on its way into the city.

'Mock and roll'

In 1971, the Python team first performed live on stage at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre, making the leap from TV to public performance.

In the 1980s, they played four nights at the rather-more-famous Hollywood Bowl in the US, when they took their live show out on the road.

It was about that time, when the cult comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released in 1975, that Idle coined the phrase "mock and roll" for their particular brand of comedy.

"We weren't quite a rock group, we were more like a mock group," he explained.

He said he found going "from Hollywood to Hollywood", a full circle in his life, "rather wonderful".