And Now for Something Completely Different: Róisín Murphy Directs Python-Esque Gorefest

Róisín Murphy might be best known as a singer-songwriter and producer, but in this new video she gets to demonstrate her directorial pizzazz as well as her love of gore, Monty Python and Fat White Family.

“I’ve been making it known for years how much I wanted to make a video for this band. I’m a massive fan of Fat White Family and I’ve been chasing this opportunity for a long time,” says Róisín. “I used every possible connection I had - I have asked people to ask people, I’ve contacted the band on social media, I really set my heart on this. For me there’s such a charm about them and an authenticity that’s actually incredibly rare. I knew I could not possibly work with a more magnetic bunch of performers.”

The promo for the song ‘Tastes Good With The Money’ heavily references Monty Python – in particular the sketch ‘Sam Pekinpah’s Salad Days’. The sketch imagines the director applying his Straw Dogs ultraviolence to a gentle game of tennis. According to Róisín, the reference to classic ‘70s British comedy was driven not by nostalgia but by the absurdist farce currently playing out across British politics and society.

“The idea of referencing Monty Python partly came out of the somewhat absurd and confusing political landscape that we are now living in in Britain, Python seems prescient. The British laughing at themselves, a certain kind of glee even in the loss of empire, singing as the ship goes down, well it just seems so... of the moment. There is this deep ambivalence to the establishment that resonates with the the Fat Whites own irreverent world view,” says Róisín.

Behind the larger-than-life comedy, there’s a fastidious attention to detail in the production design and costume design. And fans of the Pythons will spot plenty of nods to other sketches and films.

But Róisín’s central concern was the performance and working with the band to give them the confidence to go all out. “Most of all I wanted an idea that would give them the confidence and the space to really let go and just perform, to allow them to be raw in what is essentially an unnatural situation for a bunch of ne’er do well musicians,” she says.

“When I look at the video what I see is the trust they put in me and I'm so proud of that. Maybe it’s because I am a performer too, but they let themselves be put in a kind of vulnerable situation, they allowed themselves to be foolish, silly and absurd in a way that could have gone tits-up, however, the result is hilarious and performances are second to none.”