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Bill Bailey

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Belladrum Festival

Kelvingrove Bandstand and Amphitheatre

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Live reviews

Bill Bailey is as funny as ever - at two points he had my bent over with tears coming down my face in laughter.

The Limboland show follows his usual combination of stand-up comedy interspersed with songs - the musicianship of the man is amazing, yet it is done with such ease. There were two new song-by-one-person-in-the-style-of-another, I won't say what and spoil the treat, suffice to say one was genius, but the one saved for the encore was a bit lame.

He opened with some political stuff, always a risky topic for fear of alienating the audience (particularly an Englishman discussing Scottish Independence in Scotland), but he carried it off successfully without upsetting anyone or losing the audience. He had done enough research on Aberdeen to be able to throw in a few specific jokes and phrases, always appreciated.

Bill Bailey is probably my favourite comedian, and his shows are absolutely unmissable.

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Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre

The Brighton Centre

Plymouth Pavilions

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Bill Bailey announces massive 2024 Thoughtifier arena tour

Musical comedy hero Bill Bailey has announced an all-new UK and Ireland arena tour for next February and March…

Bill Bailey is set to hit the road in 2024 for an all-new tour.

The musical comedy favourite will be stopping in arenas up and down the UK and Ireland for his Thoughtifier tour, which kicks off in Dublin on February 9 and wraps up in London on March 4.

Throughout this ‘magical, musical mystery tour of the human mind’, Bill is set to take fans ‘on a jaunt through the error-strewn, distracted, crumb-festooned, sometimes magnificent history of human thought and how it might help us survive in this brave new world’.

Helpfully, a press release has also given us the definition of Thoughtifier (noun), and it means: ‘An intriguing device that can amplify the thoughts of a curious mind using music, channelled through a human instrument, known as Bill Bailey.’ So there you go.

Catch the Thoughtifier tour at the following:

February 2024

9 Dublin 3 Arena 10 Belfast SSE Arena 12 Derby Arena 13 Birmingham Resorts World Arena 15 Aberdeen P&J Arena 16 Glasgow SEC Armadillo 17 Newcastle Utilita Arena 18 Leeds First Direct Arena 20 Bournemouth BIC 21 Brighton Centre 22 Plymouth Pavilions 24 Cardiff Utilita Arena 27 Sheffield Utilita Arena 28 Hull Connexin Live Arena 29 Manchester AO Arena

1 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena 2 Liverpool M&S Arena 4 London The O2

Get your tickets here.

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Bill Bailey announces Thoughtifier arena tour

Monday 25th September 2023, 8:18am

• Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier will tour the UK in February and March 2024
• The show focuses on the "error-strewn, distracted, crumb-festooned, sometimes magnificent history of human thought"
• Tickets are on sale Wednesday from sites including Ticketmaster

Bill Bailey will tour his new show Thoughtifier in February and March 2024 .

His promoters say:

With his trademark musical stylings and characteristic wit, Bill returns to the live stage in... Thoughtifier noun 1. an intriguing device that can amplify the thoughts of a curious mind using music, channelled through a human instrument, known as Bill Bailey . 2. (colloquial) a person resembling Bill Bailey .

The show's blurb says: "At a point in our evolution when it seems as if we're sleepwalking into a world where humans might be redundant, and much of what we do can be done better and more efficiently by machines, what better time to celebrate our own flawed humanity. And who better a guide to lead us than Bill... To take us on a jaunt through the error-strewn, distracted, crumb-festooned, sometimes magnificent history of human thought and how it might help us survive in this brave new world. A magical, musical mystery tour of the human mind, along with some other pressing matters about whales, biophilia, unrequited love and other thoughts. Amplified With Music. Welcome to Thoughtifier !"

Tickets will be available from sites including Ticketmaster from Wednesday.

Friday 09 February 2024: DUBLIN 3 Arena Saturday 10 February 2024: BELFAST SSE Arena Monday 12 February 2024: DERBY Derby Arena Tuesday 13 February 2024: BIRMINGHAM Resorts World Arena Thursday 15 February 2024: ABERDEEN P&J Arena Friday 16 February 2024: GLASGOW SEC Armadillo Saturday 17 February 2024: NEWCASTLE Utilita Arena Sunday 18 February 2024: LEEDS First Direct Arena Tuesday 20 February 2024: BOURNEMOUTH BIC Wednesday 21 February 2024: BRIGHTON Brighton Centre Thursday 22 February 2024: PLYMOUTH Pavilions Saturday 24 February 2024 :CARDIFF Utilita Arena Tuesday 27 February 2024: SHEFFIELD Utilita Arena Wednesday 28 February 2024: HULL Connexin Live Arena Thursday 29 February 2024: MANCHESTER AO Arena Friday 01 March 2024: NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena Saturday 02 March 2024: LIVERPOOL M & S Arena Monday 04 March 2024: LONDON O2 Arena

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Bill Bailey: En Route to Normal review – a joyful reconnection

Bournemouth International Centre Tree snails, Coldplay and the current cabinet all get the full Bailey treatment in a zinging performance

S ometime around the second curtain call, you begin to wonder if Bill Bailey is ever going to leave the stage. There he is, bouncing up and down, leading the crowd in a singalong and bellowing at us about the value of the shared live experience. To all the established pleasures of a Bill Bailey gig, tonight’s adds the palpable sense of a man rejoicing to be back – however briefly – in front of in-person audiences.

That those audiences now include a quotient who know him mainly from Strictly Come Dancing is all part of the fun. Bailey’s act, after all, is the anti-Strictly, a non-mainstream confection free-ranging tonight across Polynesian tree snails, Rammstein riffs and the difference between hedonic and eudaimonic happiness . His genius is to bring arena-sized crowds along with this stuff by the force of his quirky enthusiasm and by neither pandering nor ever pretending to be anyone other than his idiosyncratic, off-the-beaten-path self.

He is certainly not bound by the convention that new shows (this one’s called En Route to Normal, ironically) contain wholly new material. Two of tonight’s comic highlights – a steel-guitar song about beating the devil at cards, and a skit setting Bailey’s domestic life to a heavy-metal soundtrack – are recycled from 2018’s Larks in Transit . But they amply repay a second viewing, and are crowded on all sides by bumper routines and anecdotes. Less so in the first half, where his theremin/iPhone duet feels like warming up. Quoting online reviews of Poundland, meanwhile, is by Bailey’s standards, well, cheap.

But his word-portraits of today’s rogues’ gallery of a cabinet are precious – as is a gag burlesquing the chaos of UK Covid regulations (“you can’t eat chicken in the bath – unless you’re wearing a onesie …”) By act two, Bailey has cut loose, with one zinging musical-comedy set-piece after another: Coldplay get a Turkish makeover, a vaudeville tribute is paid to the Last of the Cockney Sherpas, and our host croons a wannabe Eurovision chanson about un oiseau ’s complex relationship with un petit garçon . Bailey clearly finds live audiences a joy to reconnect with – and the sentiment is warmly reciprocated.

At Bournemouth International Centre on 16 December. Then touring until 15 January.

• Bill Bailey

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Bill Bailey at the OVO Arena, Wembley review: a sublime celebration of silliness

Bill Bailey is not just the country’s most unlikely Strictly Come Dancing champion, he is about to be a court jester. The acclaimed comedian was recently revealed as one of the acts who will perform at the People’s Pageant , the finale of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations on June 5. But before that there is the trifling matter of completing his sold out arena tour.

The Wembley show found Bailey on fine form, demonstrating exactly why he has become so ubiquitous. He is a populist performer who never dumbs down. There are songs in French, songs in German, classical compositions, albeit played on car horns. His verbal flights of fancy exude wit, brains and boundless imagination.

There was also a mandatory dash of politics. He started by skewering the current government, or as he calls them, “nitwits, halfwits and nonwits”. Bailey has so much charm it never felt malicious, though it was definitely not affectionate.

The new show is called En Route To Normal. This suggests that it is about post-pandemic life, but the title refers more to Bailey asking what is normal. His off-duty life is anything but, if his anecdotes here are a guide. One moment he is skydiving in New Zealand, the next he is pulling plastic bags out of his dog’s bottom.

There are many different Baileys and they all get a look-in. The mainstream entertainer essays a quick Strictly Charleston, the middle-aged metal fan resembling “Gandalf in a spoon” rocks out on the guitar. Bailey the conservationist talks about saving tree snails. Bailey the aspiring Eurovision entrant delivers a melancholy Gallic ballad.

Throw in songs about Cockney sherpas and a Coldplay send-up and you are still only scratching the surface of this ever-changing, never-boring two-hour spectacular.

Very occasionally he came close to treading water. A Kraftwerk-style children’s song echoed his previous Teutonic take on Das Hokey Kokey. A routine about Google reviews of Poundland stores (“lots of stuff for a pound”) and the imagining of a Victorian version of Love Island have appeared in previous shows, but are always welcome.

If it feels disparate sometimes that is because Bailey is bursting with ideas. Towards the end any pretence of theme was abandoned in favour of a succession of rapidfire musical numbers, culminating in a new song including a topical reference to looking online for wheelbarrows and ending up finding porn.

The show never quite answers Bailey’s question of what is normal but it certainly does not describe what he does onstage, which is essentially a sublime celebration of silliness. The image of Bailey, wispy hair flying around as he frantically plays heavy metal riffs on cowbells, will live long in the memory.

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Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure: episode guide, destinations, exclusive interview, release date and all you need to know

Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure is a Channel 4 travel series that sees the comedian explore Western Australia.

Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure sees the comedian and Strictly Come Dancing winner explore the region of Western Australia for a four-part travel series — and he’s blown away by the sheer size of the place!

"If you think you know Australia then think again because there’s an even wilder weirder and more wonderful version and it’s in the west," says Bill, 58. "There’s so much space here. That means Western Australians have access to nature like nowhere else on earth!"

So here's everything you need to know about the Channel 4 series Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure...

Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure release date

Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure is a four-part series that starts on Channel 4 on Sunday, November 12 at 9 pm, with episodes running weekly at the same time through November 2023 and early December. 

When there's an international air date for the series we'll advise here.

Is there a trailer for Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure?

Channel 4 hasn't released a trailer yet for Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure , but we'll post it here if one arrives, so do check back.

Exclusive interview: Bill Bailey on his new Australian Adventure series

So, what inspired this tour of Western Australia, Bill?  Bill Bailey says: "I’ve been to Australia many times over the years, but I don’t know the West that well. Plus, I wanted to swim with a whale shark, but I’ve always been there at the wrong time of year [the whale shark season generally runs from mid-March to August]. Doing this series meant I could finally do what I’ve been dreaming about for years."

And did swimming with a whale shark off the Ningaloo Coast live up to your expectations?   Bill says: "It was amazing, even more extraordinary than I imagined. The one I saw was just an adolescent, but it was still more than 20ft long and had a huge broad head. I was totally transfixed by this creature."

Any other sea life encounters during this experience?  Bill explains: "You have to accept there are sharks everywhere and, as we got out of the water, a giant hammerhead shark swam past the boat. It was as big as the whale shark we’d just seen; it was a monster! When you ask the Aussie crew if a shark is alright around humans and they reply, ‘Erm, yeah…’, then you know they’re dangerous!"

What other moments from your adventure particularly stand out? Bill says: "Meeting some of the country’s indigenous people was a revelation. Learning about their experiences, their knowledge of the land, their love for the country and their wonderful sense of humour was one of my favourite things. I had such a range of fascinating experiences, from seeing how a pearl farm works to playing the keytar solo with Perth heavy-metal band Voyager [who finished ninth place in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song Promise]. I look back now and think, ‘Wow, I did all that!'"

You say you like the eccentricity of Western Australia – what was the strangest place or thing you came across?   Bill reveals: "Gnomesville [in The Ferguson Valley] – what a totally bizarre place! It started out when someone jokingly put a broken gnome in their front garden with a sign on it saying, ‘Please fix me’. Someone anonymously fixed the gnome, word got out, and loads of people brought their gnomes to be fixed. Then more people brought their gnomes to keep the other gnomes company! Now, there are literally thousands of garden gnomes spread out in this forest and it’s on the map as ‘Gnomesville’. It’s a real tourist attraction."

Is it true you were stalked by an emu at one point?! Bill says: "Yes, I thought I was following it and then realised it was following me! They’re big animals with a fearsome beak and a mischievous look, and this one emu thought I had some food and kept following me. Just before it happened, someone posted an Instagram video of a bloke being chased by an emu that was really going for him, so I had that in my mind. It was a bit unnerving!"

Oh dear! Were you recognised much in Oz during filming?  Bill says: "Yes, quite a bit. The most extraordinary time was when we were in a remote Aboriginal community in the furthest northern part of Western Australia. We had a wonderful First Nations guide and were having a chat when she said, ‘I know you from somewhere, have you been in any films?’ I mentioned [2010 fantasy comedy] Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and she said, ‘That’s my favourite film! We watch it all the time. You’re Farmer MacReadie, aren’t you?’ That was unexpected!"

Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure episode guide

Here's our guide to all four episodes of Bill Bailey's Australian Adventure, which we'll be updating weekly...

Episode 1: Sunday, November 12 Bill is on Western Australia’s south coast, and his first stop is Lucky Bay, voted the world’s best beach. It’s even scientifically proven to have the whitest sand! He also gets a sense of the state’s scale and biodiversity at the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, before visiting the old whaling town of Albany and the busy port of Esperance, where he takes control of a brand new £10 million tug! Meanwhile, Bill also takes to the stage with The Albany Shantymen and tries paddleboarding on a deserted beach with ex-Australian NBA star Luc Longley, who played for the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. And by the end of the first episode, Bill is thinking of upping sticks! "I’m struck by the free-spirited nature of Western Australians," Bill says. "I might move here and become a local eccentric. I might play the piano in a local bar or join a Police tribute act,’ he laughs. ‘I’d be quite happy with that!"

Episode 2: Sunday November 19 Bill's in awe when he swims with a 20ft whale shark off the Ningaloo coast. 'Swimming with a whale shark has been on my list of things to do for many years and I thought I might finally get to do this thing I’ve been dreaming about for years,’ he admits. "It was amazing. They’re so dynamic in the water" What the gentle giant of the ocean made of Bill’s whale shark-patterned swimming attire remains a mystery, but it was Bill who had the biggest shock while achieving his life’s dream. "As we got out of the water a giant oceanic hammerhead shark swam past,’ he says. It was as big as the whale shark, it was a monster!" As Bill travels around Western Australia’s Ningaloo coastline, he explores the vast outback. He comes across the famous limestone formations called The Pinnacles and encounters pink lakes and wild emus. "One emu kept following me," recalls Bill. "Just before that somebody posted a video on Instagram of a bloke being chased by an emu and the thing was really going for him, so I had that in my mind. It was a bit unnerving."

Episode 3: Sunday November 26 When comedian Bill Bailey set out to explore Western Australia he was fully prepared for it to be ‘wilder, weirder and even more wonderful’, than the rest of the country. But in this third episode of his travelogue, we see that even he wasn’t prepared for Gnomesville, a place jam-packed full of garden gnomes! "Gnomesville, what a totally bizarre place,’ he says. "This started out when someone jokingly put a broken gnome in their front garden with a sign on it saying ‘please fix me’. Someone anonymously fixed the gnome then word got out and loads of people brought their gnomes to be fixed. Then more people brought their gnomes to keep the other gnomes company. Now there are literally thousands of garden gnomes. It’s a tourist attraction. We met a school trip. One of the kids was really disappointed. He said “I thought it would be an actual town full of gnomes”. It was hilarious!" Bill also explores Western Australia’s state capital Perth, goes truffle hunting with a Labrador called Max and enjoys a jamming session with the band Voyager, who were a hit in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.  "I had a blast with Voyager," says Bill. "I loved playing the keytar solo with the band. It was one of the highlights of the trip."

Episode 4: Sunday December 3 As Bill Bailey’s journey around Western Australia comes to a close, the comic heads north to explore the industrial hub of Port Hedland and the tropical paradise of Broome. "It’s a land festooned with natural treasures, whether its precious metals, the wonders of bygone eras, fine jewels or exquisite wildlife," he says. "It’s intoxicatingly beautiful. It’s also incredibly old, and Bill finds himself walking in the footsteps of 135 million-year-old dinosaurs, following their footprints along the coastline of Gantheaume Point." He also spends a night under the stars with Australian astronomer Greg Quicke, known as Space Gandalf, and hunts for pearls in a working pearl farm where some of the jewellery sells for a staggering £45,000. "It’s not really my sort of thing" he says. "But fishing for sunken treasure in a tropical paradise. Not a bad day in the office." As Bill’s 5,000-kilometre journey finally ends, after driving the equivalent of London to Baghdad, he reflects on all the incredible experiences he’s had.  "I’m a wreck," he admits. "But I’ve got some amazing memories to take away. Sights, sounds, smells and tastes that will be etched on my memory forever. It’s been an epic road trip. What an extraordinary place."

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Bill is a comedian, actor, musician and author known for his role in the cult sitcom Black Books, as team captain on the anarchic music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks , his appearances on the freewheeling panel show QI and his many critically acclaimed UK and international stand-up tours.

He was crowned Strictly Come Dancing champion 2020.

Bill’s other notable TV work includes the two-part series Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero for BBC Two about the Victorian naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace, and a brilliant deconstruction of the way orchestras work in Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, both garnering much acclaim and winning international awards.

Bill’s comedy is a fusion of the surreal and the intelligent, blending stories, poetry and deft wordplay that takes aim at the absurdities of our world, set against an impressive array of weird and wonderful instruments. 

Music is the defining feature of his live shows, where his expertise allows playful interpretations of classic styles such as Tom Waits singing Old Macdonald or Kraftwerk singing the Hokey Cokey… as the Sunday Times says, “Comedy’s Mozart”.

Bill is a veteran of UK festivals having performed at Latitude, Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Sonisphere, and the Eden Project.

His current arena-filling Thoughtifier tour is playing to sold-out audiences across the UK and Europe.

Bill Bailey announces major New Zealand comedy tour for November and December

• Darren Bevan

UK comedian Bill Bailey is returning to Aotearoa in November and December.

His Thoughtifier tour will head to Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown, Nelson, Whanganui, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Tauranga, Rotorua and Hamilton later this year, it's been announced.

Touted as a show that celebrates "our own flawed humanity," Bailey has promised to take the audience "on a jaunt through the error-strewn, distracted, crumb-festooned, sometimes magnificent history of human thought, and how it might help us survive in this brave new world".

More from Newshub

Bailey was one of the first acts to hit our shores after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, with his show En Route to Normal taking the stage in 2021.

Bailey's also known for his role in the award-winning comedy Black Books, as well as UK panel shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI .

Tickets go on sale from Monday, July 10.

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Bill Bailey on AI and cancel culture: ‘So tedious. It’s just absolute teacup, storm’

The comedian and ‘strictly’ winner talks to jasper rees about bombing on stage, hosting the bbc’s new talent show and why he thinks the art of comedy is somewhere between folk music and papier-mâché workshops, article bookmarked.

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H alfway through our hour together, Bill Bailey stops talking and starts coughing. One hand shutters his mouth and is then clasped in place by the other. The pale blue eyes, default-set to bulge even when he’s at his most chilled, flare open ever wider. That roundheaded cranium of his , backed by grizzled fronds of cavalier frizz, tinges pink. Still the coughs come, deep and guttural and alarming, until eventually they end.

“Do you know what this is?” he says, having caught his breath. “I’ve had a whooping cough for the last four weeks. It’s the most terrible thing. I thought it died out in the 1880s. I thought only pasty Victorian urchins got it but no, Muggins managed to get this thing, just pre-tour.”

It first manifested while he was on holiday in a mountain shack in central Indonesia. “You can’t breathe and you start choking and then you try to inhale air and you make this terrifying death rattle and people think he’s a goner.” The convalescent phase , he has been advised, can last for 10 weeks. His current tour , which has already been to New Zealand and is about to take him all over the UK and the rest of Europe, starts any day. He’s prepped a disclaimer in case there’s an episode mid-performance.

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Bill Bailey Tickets

26 Jul Friday Fri 2024

Summer nights: bill bailey, glasgow, united kingdom.

18:00 Kelvingrove Bandstand

31 Jul Wednesday Wed 2024

Bill bailey, halifax, united kingdom.

18:00 Piece Hall Halifax

Bill Bailey Tickets & Tour Dates

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Mark Robert Bailey, professionally known as Bill Bailey, is an English comedian, actor, and musician. He has appeared on several panel shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI. Bailey played the character of Manny in the sitcom Black Books. He is known for his stand-up comedy work and his ability to play various musical instruments during his performances. Bailey was recognized as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy by The Observer in 2003. He was voted the seventh greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007 and 2010. In 2020, Bailey won the 18th series of Strictly Come Dancing with his professional partner Oti Mabuse. At the age of 55, he became the oldest winner in the show's history. In 2022, Bailey voiced Grandfather Smed in the Christmas adaptation The Smeds and the Smoos.

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Bill Bailey

Thoughtifier

It’s with great pleasure that we welcome comedian Bill Bailey back on the Belgian stage! He’ll bring his new show ‘Thoughtifier’ on 6 May 2024 at Capitole Gent. 

Bill Bailey is delighted to get back on the road with the announcement of an ARENA TOUR for February 2024. With his trademark musical stylings and characteristic wit, Bill returns to the live stage in… Thoughtifier! noun

1.         an intriguing device that can amplify the thoughts of a curious mind using music, channelled through a human instrument, known as Bill Bailey

2.        ( colloquial) a person resembling Bill Bailey

At a point in our evolution when it seems as if we’re sleepwalking into a world where humans might be redundant, and much of what we do can be done better and more efficiently by machines, what better time to celebrate our own flawed humanity. And who better a guide to lead us than Bill… To take us on a jaunt through the error-strewn, distracted, crumb-festooned, sometimes magnificent history of human thought and how it might help us survive in this brave new world. A magical, musical mystery tour of the human mind, along with some other pressing matters about whales, biophilia, unrequited love and other thoughts. Amplified With Music.

Welcome to Thoughtifier!

“His genius is to bring arena-sized crowds along… by the force of his quirky enthusiasm and by neither pandering nor ever pretending to be anyone other than his idiosyncratic, off-the-beaten-path self.” – The Guardian

“One zinging musical-comedy set piece after another ★★★★.” – The Guardian

Datum: 6 mei 2024 20:00 - 22:00 Locatie: Capitole Gent Prijs: € 43,00 (incl. fees) laatste tickets

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