At a small pub in Bath in the early 80s, a goatee-less, teenage Bill Bailey was beginning his first standup show. After persuading the owner to let him have a comedy evening with a mate from school, Bailey was left alone on stage in between routines, and that was his first taste of being a comic. “It was nerve-wracking, haphazard, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”

The performance went by in a bit of a blur, but one gag shook the whole room with laughter. “I blundered into the joke and it was like a lightning rod suddenly connected everyone in the room. It was intoxicating. And that was it – I was hooked. I had to go back and do more.”

The iconic British standup describes comedy as quicksilver. “It’s fascinating, it’s mercurial. You can’t quite get hold of it,” he says. “You think something is funny, and you say it in front of an audience and they just shrug. And then you make some off-the-cuff remark and that gets a laugh. And you think what was that? How did I do that? Even now after decades of doing it, odd lines get reactions I didn’t expect. That’s one of the great thrills of it.”



Even now after decades of doing it, odd lines get reactions I didn’t expect. That's one of the thrills Bill Bailey

At his first standup shows, Bailey says he was nervous, jittery and used to gabble through an entire set of material in five minutes. “You have to learn to recognise that you’re nervous and slow your pulse rate down by a sheer act of will to get the audience laughing again. That’s like some kind of strange, otherworldly skill. It’s like an X-Men power. Nobody knows how to do that when they’re starting out – it’s something you learn the hard way.”

Surprisingly, when Bailey started out he didn’t really believe he’d ever become a comedian. “I thought it was just something I would do as a hobby – I would do another job, but certainly not as a standup. It surprises me every day.”

He’s also a talented musician – able to play almost every instrument – and has always played short parodies and musical interludes on stage. But the first time his music really became part of the show was during his Cosmic Jam performance at the Edinburgh festival – simply because he had a stage with somewhere to put his instruments. “It was only because of the practicality of carrying a guitar was much easier than lugging a keyboard around.”

This blending of music and comedy led to an eclectic career – from writing a rock opera about insects taking over the world to dissecting the cockney influence in classical music.

Having free rein over what you do is one of the biggest draws of standup. “You can make it personal, impersonal, scatological, observational, absurd, surreal – whatever you like. There’s no constraints,” he says. “Sometimes I set myself a challenge: like try and describe the holy trinity and make it funny, try and make Emmanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason funny, try and rewrite a song that everyone knows – like Happy Birthday, but in 30s Berlin cabaret style.”

Bill Bailey playing the guitar on his Limboland tour. Photograph: Andy Hollingworth

Throughout his career, Bailey picks out gigs that have been particularly memorable. “When all the elements are right – you’re prepared, you’re a bit loose, able to go off-piste because you’re comfortable with the material, and the audience are up for it.” He describes the ideal scenario like alchemy – “the jokes and the audience combine to make a show that’s greater than you imagined”.

On the flipside, there are many moments as a standup that are exhaustingly mundane. Comedians often travel a lot while touring, and spend long periods away from home. “You’re away from your family a lot. As a young comic, with no ties and responsibilities, it’s a tremendous adventure – but at my stage [in life] with a family, it’s hard being away.”

Aspiring comics need a certain kind of chutzpah, the confidence to perform and the ability to write, adds Bailey. “But you can have all of those and still not be successful. You also need a bit of determination, a bit of luck and a following wind.”

Ultimately, if you want to be a comedian, you just have to be willing to take a punt on yourself, take risks and really get out of your comfort zone. “Sometimes you have to just fling yourself into a situation where you have no idea how it’s going to pan out and trust your instincts. Give it your best shot.”



Bill Bailey’s Limboland is touring until 2 July.

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