Comedians You Should Know: Bill Bailey

This week, I’m featuring a comedian who should be new to just about every American, so here’s where you’ll have to take a leap of faith with me. He’s a classically trained musician who uses music to accent his stand-up rather than his whole act being silly song parodies. He’s a self-effacing Briton who has referred to himself as being so hairy he’s “part troll”, and his receding hairline, flyaway hair and headset mic make him look like “a Klingon motivational speaker” or “a wizard in a call center”. Is it Bill Bailey? It is!

Bill Bailey with the Bill Bailey Nepenthes, named for him at the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show - credit: Telegraph.co.uk

I first found out about Bill Bailey through his appearances on panel game shows (of which Britain has LOADS) like “QI” and “Never Mind The Buzzcocks” where he appeared in 100 episodes, most of those as team captain opposite Phill Jupitus (who gets his own feature later in the series.) This clip is from “Buzzcocks”, a music-oriented panel game, in a round where the panelists have to say the next line of lyrics in songs…in his own inimitable style:

Another “Buzzcocks” clip from the same round on another show. The host, Mark Lamarr, takes Bailey to task:

Here’s a perfect example of how Bailey uses music in his stand-up routines. Sure, he’s got proper songs too, but there’s a lot more of this kind of thing:

His comedy is usually surreal and often absurdist, like this bit from an early concert, “Cosmic Jam”:

A joke told from the INSIDE! And with a very cerebral ending, showing he’s obviously read a lot of philosophy.

But that’s not all he’s read. He’s also evidently read enough Chaucer to imitate his style for the next joke:

More recently, Bailey performed his unique brand of musical stand-up at the Royal Albert Hall with the help of Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley (The Full Monty) and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. “Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra” blended every genre of music from classical standards to 70s cop show theme tunes and broke down the orchestra into its composite instruments, showcasing each. He even added instruments like the theramin, alpenhorn and spoons (for that real Cockney flavor!) This is a clip showing the original(!) Cockney arrangement of the “William Tell Overture”:

The whole “Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra” is available on YouTube (at least what was originally broadcast.) I loved it so much I bought the DVD. Sadly, it’s only available for Region 2, so fans outside of Europe will probably have to be content with the YouTube offerings.

But all is not lost for Region 1 fans. Some of the series he’s been in are available in the US (and through Netflix). His most prominent acting role was as Manny, the comically abused bookshop assistant in “Black Books”, but he also appeared as a desk sergeant in “Hot Fuzz” and had a voice cameo as a bemused whale plunging to his death in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. He will soon be gracing our screens in America in “Nanny McPhee Returns” as Farmer Macreadie.

If you like the sample I’ve shown you here, I highly recommend looking around YouTube for more of Bailey’s appearances on “Never Mind the Buzzcocks” and “QI”. If you’re like me, both of those shows will lead you further down the rabbit hole that is unknown British comedy. You’ll likely find more comedians who will be getting their own features later in this series.

Some additional links:

• Twitter: @BillBailey
  
• Official Website: BillBailey.co.uk.
• Video: A new British national anthem…as done by Portishead. (With a special guest – stick around for him!)
• Video: (Black Books) Manny strips a chicken.
• Video: Bill explains how to bungee-kidnap the Queen.
• Video: Doctor Who…or is it Doctor Qui? (French language skills helpful.)
• Video: The NBC Nightly News theme (Remarkable Guide), now with lyrics!
• Wikipedia: “Never Mind the Buzzcocks”.
• Wikipedia: “QI”.

*Thanks again to the wonderful Lady T for her help in picking out the best bits!

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[Please note: I am American and am trying to introduce these comedians to a new audience which, due to the cultural exchange between Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries (British comedians tend to tour Australia, New Zealand, etc. more than the US,) often gets left out of the loop. If you are not an American and these people are new to you as well, I hope you'll take this feature in the spirit in which it's intended and enjoy it, too. And if you happen to be one of the lucky ones who already knows about the featured individuals, please don't hesitate to share your favorite bits and clips in the comments section for everyone to enjoy!]