On VHS video somewhere in storage, I have a recording of The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball. It was broadcast in 1989 and featured the old guard of Policeman's Ball past; John Cleese, Michael Palin, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, alongside hip and groovy comedy upstarts, (as they were considered then), Lenny Henry, Ade Edmondson, French and Saunders, and Ben Elton. This was my first exposure to the Amnesty International benefits, and looked into the older shows and tried in the pre-YouTube era to obtain recordings. Aside from a few cassettes and an LP, this was a difficult task. The benefit concerts have in the past hosted a wealth of comedy and musical talent, so naturally I was pleased to see a brand new Secret Policeman's Ball.

Staged for the first time abroad, at The Radio City Music Hall in New York, the show showed promise in the trailers. Maybe something got lost in the edits between the performance and the television version, but what I saw was a flat gig with only the faintest glimmer of hope.

Ben Stiller and David Walliams opened proceedings with one of those uncomfortable pairings that benefits throw together. The skit about the differences between American and British language is something that has been done before, and better. Jack Whitehall was on next, winning over the New York crowd. I really don't want to like this guy, but every time I see him I find myself enjoying his comedy, especially his routine about how great the Nokia 3210 was, a subject I agree wholeheartedly with. Micky Flanagan did well with his 'fingering' routine that he's done on television several times, and Jimmy Carr's set went down well too. Eddie Izzard is a huge star on both sides of the Atlantic, and judging by the reaction from the crowd, he might have got away with reading the local phone directory. Russell Brand demonstrated how he has lost the comedic brilliance that he had before he went all Hollywood, and several Pythons appeared on screen to the delight of the crowd who might just have been laughing simply because of who they were. And then Coldplay came on, and I switched off.

Like Comic Relief and the British Comedy Awards, The Secret Policeman's Ball franchise seems to have suffered from a dip in quality. It can't be blamed on the comedians, as comedy is in pretty good shape at the moment, especially live stand up comedy. These things used to be event television, and in the age of Twitter they should still be.

At least Michael McIntyre didn't show up.