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Bill Bailey: The man, the musician, the comic, the troll, the legend
20 years on from taking the Time Out Comedy Award
Owls of laughter
Bailey excelled in his role as the unshaven nice guy eccentric who would, depending on the episode, end up homeless, jobless, drunk, in women’s clothing or AWOL. It was, of course, also a part that gave him a chance to tinkle the ivories ...
Black Books | Jazz Hands | Channel 4
By the time the eighteenth, and last, episode of Black Books had been broadcast in 2004 Bill Bailey was virtually a household name in the UK – and an actor, and comedian, of note in quite a few other places.
Tours in the US, Australia and New Zealand were soon interspersed with regular appearances on leading TV and radio programmes such as QI, Have I Got News For You?, Just A Minute, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, Loose Ends and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
His team leader role on Buzzcocks re-united him with host, and stand-up veteran Mark Lamarr. It also gave Bailey the chance to indulge his twin “bents” of jibing at technology… and puncturing musical pomposity. This ability, to instantly be a “one man Spinal Tap”, is something that remains a fundamental part of his live show to this day…
Bill Bailey – U2 Failure – Part Troll
Bailey also rapidly proved a dab hand at skewering the lyrical and cinematic clichés of the age, such as the “sad love song” ... the latter performance somehow casually encompassing almost all aspects of devotion, betrayal, hatred and depression…
Bill Bailey – Love Song – Part Troll
Equally happy presenting a radio documentary on the theremin, doing a voice over for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie or taking a (guest) driving seat on Top Gear, Bailey’s diversity is often reflected in his stage show. Recently he’s shown how, in barely a dozen minutes, it’s possible to cover – and get laughs from – Death Metal, Country & Western, Japanese TV ads, the paintings of Turner ... and the attitudes of owls ...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
