Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)

Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) is a comedic oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian. It was written by Python Eric Idle and collaborator John Du Prez, and commissioned by the Luminato festival.

With the success of Spamalot, Eric Idle's musical retelling of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Idle announced that he was giving Monty Python's Life of Brian a similar treatment. The oratorio, called Not the Messiah, was commissioned to be part of the Luminato arts festival in June 2007. It was written and scored by Idle and John Du Prez, who also worked with Idle on Spamalot. Not the Messiah is a spoof of Handel's oratorio Messiah. "If our [Life of] Brian was by Matthew then this is by John (but more John Lennon and John Du Prez). In other words, it isn't sketches at all, but recitative and songs and the occasional Nine Carol Service Reader."

The musical style jumps around, and Idle described it as "baroque 'n' roll". It is a pastiche, reflecting pop, Welsh hymns, country and western, doo-wop, hip hop, Broadway, Greek chorus, and Bob Dylan (in his mumbling, electric guitar and harmonica phase, solo-ed by Idle). "Hail to the Shoe" is sung in the style of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah oratorio. The final song is the sing-along "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", reflecting the British Music Hall tradition, but originally written for the Life of Brian.

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