Archive | June, 2010

Ralfe Band Live

30 Jun

© Ralfe Band

Back in May we reported that The Ralfe Band would be playing the Port Elliot Festival on 25th July, along with Antony Elvin and Alice Lowe.  Well, according to the Ralfe Band’s facebook page, they are lined up to play 2 further festival dates in July.

First off is The Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire on 22nd July.  You can find out more and buy tickets at their funky website over here.  After that you can catch the Ralfe Band at Truck Festival in Oxfordshire on 24th July.  More information about the festival and ticket purchase can be found over there.

If you haven’t seen Oly and his band perform live before we at TVO can thoroughly recommend it.  So why not take this opportunity to check them out in a rural landscape?

Apple Store Q&A Now Online!

30 Jun

© Getty Images

You may remember  a while back we reported on a Q&A with the Mighty Boosh boys at the London Apple Store, at which all bar Rich (who was noticeably absent due to an Eleanor related kidnap in the US) were present.

Now finally, after a long wait, we’re very pleased to announce that the in-depth chat with the lads is now available to listen via iTunes in a series of podcasts.  Have a listen, and you’ll hear about the upcoming film and album, life on tour, their Mighty Decider iPhone app (of course)  and much, much more!  Also, you can hear with your own ears the boys talking about  this very site you’re looking at now - The Velvet Onion!

So go on then,  what are you still doing here? Go listen now!

The Boosh Trend

29 Jun

© NME.com

Tonight’s seemingly random repeat of two classic episodes of The Mighty Boosh on BBC3 has proven popular with social networkers on Twitter, who have made ‘Mighty Boosh’ into one of the trending topics in the UK.

Twitter, for those who don’t know, offers micro-blogging of 140 characters or less, and several members of the Boosh and those in the wider world of Booshdom have accounts on there, including Noel Fielding, Dave Brown and Rich Fulcher amongst others.  Even we at TVO have an account on twitter @thevelvetonion!

A trending topic is simply a subject that is being mentioned in a large number of posts, and given the millions of people who use Twitter daily, anything getting into that list must be big news indeed… so, despite this being an unexpected repeat of an episode filmed almost three years ago, its still done wonders for the cult of Boosh tonight!

Over on our Twitter page, you can see the numerous people in the world of Booshdom who are worth following, and if you missed the episodes on BBC3 and don’t currently have them on dvd (and why not? They’re available from The Velvet Onion Amazon Store!) you can catch them again on the BBC’s iPlayer service for the next seven days right here and here.

And rest assured, BBC3 will be showing further episodes next Tuesday to ensure newcomers and long term fans alike get their Boosh fix!

Work For Reynholm Industries!

29 Jun

© Talkback Thames

Ever wanted a career in IT? Well it looks like Reynholm Industries are in need of some help!

In a new game uploaded to the Channel 4 website today you can help Jen, Moss and Roy to fight the spam and viruses in the intertubes of the network. You’re guided through your day by IM’s from the trio along with occasional contact from boss Douglas Reynholm and the elusive goth himself Richmond.

Do you have the skills to tackle what gets behind the firewall and still have time for some letching on 5? Find out for yourself here.

The Return Of Don Danbury

29 Jun

© Dan Clark

If you’re feeling the absence of Don, Eddie, Mrs Treacher and the infamous pink robe, not to worry as the third series of How Not to Live Your Life is well on it’s way to returning to its comfy slot over on BBC3.

The show is all set to start its shoot next week and writer and star Dan Clark has recently been working closely with musical partner Ben Parker (Composer of the theme tune). So I would say it’s safe to assume that we’ll have a few more gems in the song department, surely to  be in the same ranks as ‘I’m Dating a Mermaid’, and who can forget the powerful ballad ‘Brackets, Closed Brackets’ sung by Julian Barratt for his unforgettable cameo in series two.

Keep your eyes peeled for more info as it comes our way and don’t forget you can still pick up series one and two on DVD, plus the soundtrack is available to download via iTunes to keep you going until then!

Series three is estimated to be aired some time in the Autumn.

Fielding In The Studio

29 Jun

© iD

We’ve uncovered more news about Noel Fielding’s forthcoming art show at Maison Bertaux – this time on iD’s website.

It features a 5 minute video shot in his studio in which Noel talks about some of his recent paintings (or “devil scratchings” as Rich apparently calls them!), his plans for the exhibition, and the creative development process behind some of his pictures. We learn about the origins of his cow painting, that the Jelly Fox originated from his early stand up (and is made of sweets), and that as hard as he tries, he finds it impossible to create a picture of something that resembles nothing.  For more Fielding-esque psychological and visual stumulation, you can watch the film here.

Part 2 will hopefully be available soon; we’ll let you know when it’s up!

Journey To Series 3 Of The Mighty Boosh

29 Jun

© BBC

BBC3 are showing two episodes from Series 3 of The Mighty Boosh tonight.

First up is Eels at 9pm, in which Howard and Vince have to take care of the Nabootique while Naboo and Bollo are away. The two host a sales contest to try and outsell each other which helps to get plenty of customers in the shop, but they soon run into a problem in the form of The Hitcher and Elsie, Queen of Eels.

Straight afterwards at 9.30pm is Journey To The Centre Of The Punk where in an attempt to impress his friends, Vince bites Howards rare jazz record and is infected by The Jazz Beast.  In order to save his life Naboo shrinks Howard and sends him into Vince’s body with Lester Corncrake to locate and kill the Beast.

Details can be found on the BBC3 website.  So, if you want to take a trip down memory lane, don’t forget to tune in!

Noel Observer Interview

27 Jun

© Suki Dhanda

As we exclusively revealed, here  Noel Fielding’s forthcoming art show opens to the public on Monday 5th July.

There is an interview about the exhibition in this weeks The Observer, where he talks about his obsession with Bryan Ferry and reveals some hints about his new E4 show he is making with Nigel Coan and Serge from Kasabian.

For those with a print copy of the paper, the article is on page 3 of ‘The New Review’ section. The picture is bigger and it has a slightly different tagline.

Onion Talking: Matt Berry

25 Jun

© Talkback Thames

To celebrate the launch of series four of The IT Crowd, we at The Velvet Onion wanted to bring you something genuinely worthy of your attention.  And, thankfully – we got it, in the form of an exclusive interview with one of the show’s stars, and a heavy weight figure in Booshdom – the utter legend that is Matt Berry.

Matt has been a familiar figure on our tv screens ever since the sublime nonsense of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace back in 2004.  An accomplished actor, writer and composer, Matt has acclaimed albums, numerous film appearances and countless cult tv classics under his belt, from Snuffbox and AD/BC: A Rock Opera, to guest slots on The Peter Serafinowicz Show and The Wrong Door.  Forever immortalised as Dixon Bainbridge in The Mighty Boosh, and now as Douglas Renholm in The IT Crowd, Matt’s work continues to fascinate TVO’s readers and writing team alike, and we’re overjoyed that he agreed to this interview.

Don’t forget all of this is in aid of The It Crowd, which returns for its fourth series on Channel 4 at 10pm tonight!  You’d have to be a fool to miss it!

Hi Matt, welcome to The Velvet Onion!  Obviously the big news right now is the new series of The IT Crowd.  How does it feel to have another six episodes under your belt?

Hi there. We only finished filming this series a couple of weeks ago.  Then I went on holiday, so I don’t really know what’s going on.  It’s fresh.

You joined the show after the departure of Chris Morris.  How did you end up getting involved?

Well, Graham Linehan asked me if I wanted to do it, which was a huge honor.  And then he wrote me a ridiculous character to play which was an even bigger honor.

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The IT Crowd: Peelers Favourites

25 Jun

© Talkback Thames

In the last few weeks, we’ve been asking you, dear peelers, to submit your top three episodes of The IT Crowd to TVO in order to determine which episode is your favourite (so far!).

The results are now in, and we can confirm your top ten episodes, in reverse order!  What will be crowned the Ultimate IT Crowd Episode?  With love for all three series, and the top four episodes in particular literally edging each other for the top slot, the results show that, whichever episode wins out, love for this show is almost unanimous and every episode has lots to adore.

Don’t forget the show returns for a fourth series tonight on Channel 4 at 10pm. We can’t wait!

10. Friendface

This third series episode sees the gang become obsessed with a new social networking site, resulting in Jen attending a high school reunion which ends in disaster as she is forced to ask Moss to pretend to be her husband!

9. The Haunting Of Bill Crouse

Adam Buxton guest starred in this first series episode, as a sleazy and rather dull executive who is led to believe Jen is dead in order for her to get out of a second date!

8. From Hell

Jen’s new builder may be a cowboy, so she persuades Roy to spy on him in the opening episode of series three.  Meanwhile, Douglas finds his father’s gun…

7. Are We Not Men?

Using a Football Speak phone app, Moss and Roy befriend several blokes at the local pub, only to find themselves in far deeper than they anticipated when it turns out they’re planning an armed robbery in this third series episode.

6. Return Of The Golden Child

“FATHERRRRRR!” cried Douglas, as he made his entrance to the series in this second series episode, after Renholm commits suicide and leaves the company in the hands of his roguish son.

5. Aunt Irma Visits

A very popular episode from the first series, this sees Jen suffering the effects of PMT – which somehow gets passed onto Roy, Moss and Richmond, before hitting all of male-kind!

4. Calamity Jen

The second episode of the first series was hugely popular with peelers, as Jen tries her hardest to fit into a pair of shoes several sizes too small, and Renholm wages war on stress.

3. The Dinner Party

Jen hosts a dinner party to show off her new man, Peter File, and invites Roy, Moss and Richmond as company for three female friends, with hilarious consequences in this second series classic.  The words ‘balsamic vinegar’ will never be the same again!

2. The Work Outing

A very close second goes to the series two opener, in which Roy and Moss try to convince Jen her new man is a closet homosexual, and the bloke in question takes them all to see a musical called GAY…

1. The Red Door

Perhaps unsurprisingly, though the results were very close indeed, just edging out in front is the first series episode which introduces Noel Fielding’s Richmond – banished to the IT department by Renholm for his Cradle Of Filth inspired antics, and banished behind the Red Door by Roy and Moss for bringing them down, is Jen the only one who will take pity on him, and for how long will he hold her favour?

So there you have it – your favourite IT Crowd episode.  Catch six more on Channel 4 starting tonight at 10pm.

Peeling The Onion: Graham Linehan

25 Jun

© Talkback Thames

As part of the conclusion to our IT Crowd week in honour of its return to tv screens tonight, we asked our newest contributor (and extra in the forthcoming series, no less!) ComedyNerd, to bring us her debut piece for TVO – a profile of IT Crowd head honcho and all-round genius, Graham Linehan.

This then, is her peeling.

“Nobody pays attention to the writer” says writer and director Graham Linehan. A humble statement from a man who has been named as the fifth most influential person on twitter ahead of Downing Street and Barack Obama. He has more than 40,000 followers on the site, and you can bet most of those are regular readers of his blog too. Linehan is respected by many as one of the most talented comedy writers of this generation and his career so far certainly stands to support this.

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Tiny Acts LA Part Deux!

25 Jun

Tiny Acts... just £3.09 in TVO Store now!

We thought we had him back for good, but it seems LA just can’t get enough of dear Rich Fulcher.

The Mighty Boosh star returns to Los Angeles next month, signing copies of his book Tiny Acts Of Rebellion at Skylights Bookstore in the Los Feliz district on July 7th.

And best of all, the event is free to attend – so what are you waiting for?  Well, July 7th obviously – but any California fans who want another chance to meet Fulchy-baby have no excuse not to attend.

Find out more info on the Tiny Acts website, and don’t despair if you’re a UK fan hoping for another fix of Fulcher goodness – as we previously reported, he’ll be bringing Eleanor The Tour Whore to the Edinburgh Festival from August 21st to 30th, and tickets can be bought right here!

The Return Of The Berry Pods

25 Jun

© Funny Or Die

It’s been a long time coming, but seven months after his last podcast for Absolute Radio, Matt Berry has returned.

Matt recorded a series of podcasts for the station between August and November last year, but they unceremoniously came to a halt and it seemed they were unlikely to return, so this news comes as a welcome surprise – especially on IT Crowd launch day!

You can download his first podcast of 2010, as well as all of last years efforts over at Absolute Radio now.

Click here to be taken to the audio delights of that fruity voiced legend.

Pretty Vacant

25 Jun

© Big Finish

Back in May, we reported on the news that James Bachman – a notable figure in Booshdom with appearances in The IT Crowd, The Mighty Boosh, Beehive and Saxondale under his belt – was to star in a forthcoming Doctor Who audio play entitled Situation Vacant.

According to the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (released to news-agents yesterday, fact fans), the play will be released on cd and download on July 31st via Big Finish, who have been producing audio stories featuring past Doctors for the last decade.

Bachman’s part is particularly interesting, as he is one of four possible companions for the eighth Doctor (played by Withnail & I legend Paul McGann) – auditioning for the slot left vacant by Lucie Millier (2 Pints… star Sheridan Smith).  Big Finish are keeping quiet about which of the four characters are going to join the Doctor on his travels, so this may not be the last we hear of James’ character, Hugo.

For more info on Big Finish, visit their website over yonder.

Bunny in Beijing!

24 Jun

© Warp X / Optimum Films

Paul Kings debut feature Bunny and the Bull is to be screened in none other than China, this coming Sunday at Nashville bar in Beijing!

For such a low-budget and little publicised film, Kings work really is doing the rounds across the globe and we at TVO, for one, couldn’t be more excited!

If you can’t make the journey to China, don’t forget the film is available on DVD and Blu-ray!

And If we have any readers who are Beijing residents, then the screening will be taking place at 2pm and entry is 10 yuan, for more info head over here!

The Wright Rich

23 Jun

© richfulcher.com

According to Rich Fulcher’s Twitter feed, the man himself will be appearing on The Wright Stuff, tomorrow (Thursday). The show starts at 9.15am on 5 and can be watched again here.

Don’t forget ‘An Evening with Eleanor the Tour Whore’ will be at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 21 to 30 August click to book your tickets..

Haven’t I Seen You Before? Part Two

23 Jun

Earlier this week, as part of our IT Crowd 4.0 celebrations, we started a helpful rundown of familiar faces who have cropped up in previous episodes, in aid of those viewers who just can’t quite put a name to a face.

The series has had its fair share of cameos, especially during its first season, and a number of familiar faces have appeared on our screens alongside Jen, Roy, Moss, Douglas, Denholm and Richmond.

To help jog your memory, we’ve created a two part crash-course into all of these faces, so you can finally figure out exactly where you know each guest star from!  Here then, is part two, which covers all of the second and third series – with the promise of a third part at the conclusion of the forthcoming series.

Don’t forget, you can watch the first episode of series four online now, and it airs on Channel 4 this Friday at 10pm. Keep peeling the onion this week. as we’ve got a few more treats lined up for you faithful fans of all at Renholm Indulstries.

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Critical Acclaim For Mint Royale

23 Jun

© Mint Royale

The California Literary Review has awarded the promo for ‘Blue Song’ by Mint Royale the number 3 spot in their ‘Greatest Music Videos’ list (behind John Landis’ infamous ‘Thriller’ video at number 2!).  As any Boosh fan will attest the ‘Blue Song’ promo is a three and a half minute classic, so it’s nice to see it getting the recognition it deserves, even if it is  7 years after it was made!

According to The California Literary Review, “By focusing on the getaway driver, a loveable goof who may be jeopardizing the mission with his playfulness, director Wright not only boosts the comedy but also the tension. And of course the delightful Fielding is an invaluable tool in Wright’s arsenal, a believable buffoon with impeccable hand-dancing skills.”  Phew!

You can read the review and watch the promo in full here.

Editors Note: Thanks to Goldfish for spotting this.

Fielding and Davis In Movie

23 Jun

© Come on Eileen

Noel Fielding and Julia Davis will be appearing in Come On Eileen, the first feature film by writer/director Finola Geraghty. Produced by Foal Film Productions and Blinder Fims, the film stars an ensemble cast including Jackie Howe, Felix Malcolm Still, Mercedes Grower, Keith Allen, Freddie Jones and Stephen Taylor along with Fielding and Davis.

The film focuses on mother of two, Eileen, as the prospect of unexciting summer stretches out before her. A new relationship suddenly comes into her life, and briefly she blooms.  However the new boyfriend, a pot-smoking ex cricketer, has problems of his own. The film treads a line between darkness and humour as it moves from its beginning in a sedate suburban cricket club to its conclusion at a music festival. 

Sounds interesting?  Well you can read more about the film and see a few pics on their facebook page.  The film’s website will go live in the next few days.  Come on Eileen is being screened at the Galway Film Fleadh on July 8th.  What’s more, the director will also be attending the screening, so if you’re in the vicinity why not pop in?  The Velvet Onion would love to hear all about it if you do.

 

Abigail Live!

22 Jun

© creepiosity.com

Peelers in LA are fortunate to have the chance to see the elusive Abigail of Teen Diary fame, live and in person!

As a lot of you know, Abigail is the comic creation of friend of  The Boosh and TVO, Hayden Black.

Abigail will be taking part in a promotion for a book called ‘Creepiosity: A Hilarious Guide to the Unintentionally Creepy’ written by David Bickel. There’ll be lots of comics talking about creepy things.

Tickets for this unique event are available here.

For those who haven’t seen Abigail here’s one of her video diaries.

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