Larks in Transit is a compendium of travellers’ tales and the general shenanigans of twenty years as a travelling comedian. With musical virtuosity, surreal tangents and trademark intelligence, he tackles politics, philosophy, the pursuit of happiness, death metal, ringtones… and an excruciating encounter with Paul McCartney. Two decades of life as a comic filtered through what the Daily Telegraph calls “the brainiest comic of his generation“.
Bill Bailey is a comedian, musician and actor most well-known for his brilliant live shows Dandelion Mind, Tinselworm, Bewilderness, Part Troll, Qualmpeddler and Limboland plus his work on television in programs such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI and ABC TV’s award winning Black Books.
Raised in the West Country, Bill was once in a group called The Famous Five – an unsuccessful band with only four members. Although a talented musician, Bill always felt an urge to slip jokes into the music. This didn’t work out so, harbouring theatrical ambitions, he spent the early ’80s touring with a Welsh Experimental theatre troupe, and appearing on stage with the Workers’ Revolutionary Party. He supplemented these with stints as a lounge pianist, and a keyboard player in a jazz trio. It was a John Hegley gig that finally inspired him to fuse the music, jokes and theatricality and become a stand-up comedian.
In 2003, Bill branched out as a dramatic actor in an extremely well-received production of 12 Angry Men, as the restrained Juror 4. Two years later he assumed the vastly different role of the slouchy, unkempt Oscar in The Odd Couple, and received equally excellent reviews.
In 2011, Bill travelled to South Africa to record Baboons With Bill Bailey for ITV. This eight part series provided a unique insight into the lives of these intelligent, complicated primates, with incredible, candid footage of their daily lives, following their stories as they struggle to survive in such a busy and exotic urban landscape.
In the same year, Bill featured in the line-up at The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival – a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a 700-acre farm in Tennessee every year. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. Rolling Stone magazine named this revolutionary entertainment experience one of the 50 moments that changed the history of rock and roll, and it certainly geared Bill up for his next rock experience…
In July 2011 Bill headlined the Saturn Stage at the Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth, sharing a line-up that included Slayer, Motorhead, Biffy Clyro and Metallica. Bill found himself faced with the daunting prospect of performing in front of a huge crowd of (quite possibly) rain-drenched metal-heads, there to see the likes of Slipknot, and, thinking there may be safety in numbers, he set about putting together a band. Bill was very fortunate to assemble a great bunch of musicians, especially as it turned out to be the biggest gig of his life to date with over 60,000 in the crowd.
It was as a result of this that the album Bill Bailey In Metal was produced and released in November 2011 on CD and download. Despite its title, it is an album of many musical styles, designed to delight both metal and non-metal fans alike. Another rock point-to-note is that Bill also guested with Deep Purple at The Royal Albert Hall for a Sunflower Jam fundraiser, which was one of the Summer’s highlights for Bill.
In 2012, his Summer was spent filming with BBC Natural History Unit in Indonesia and Malaysia for Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero, a two-part documentary about naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who came up with the theory of evolution at the same time as Darwin, yet who seems to have been erased from history. This was very much a passion project for Bill, whose interest in his hero was sparked some 13 years earlier whilst travelling in his favourite part of the world.
2016 will see Bill developing more ideas for film and television with his own production company, Glassbox Productions who are responsible for bringing to the screen Tinselworm, Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, Dandelion Mind and Qualmpeddler.
SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER – DARWIN ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER – CAIRNS CONVENTION CENTRE
THURSDAY 3 NOVEMBER – TOWNSVILLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER – JUPITERS THEATRE, GOLD COAST
MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER – AEC THEATRE, ADELAIDE
FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER – PRINCESS THEATRE, LAUNCESTON
SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER – WREST POINT ENT CENTRE, HOBART
MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER – COSTA HALL, GEELONG
WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER – HAMER HALL, MELBOURNE
TUESDAY 22 NOVEMBER – QPAC CONCERT HALL, BRISBANE
SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER – RIVERSIDE THEATRE, PERTH
WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER – STATE THEATRE, SYDNEY
MONDAY 5 DECEMBER – NEWCASTLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER – WOLLONGONG TOWN HALL
THURSDDAY 8 DECEMBER – ROYAL THEATRE, CANBERRA
TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY 12 JULY 9am