© BBC Three / Brown Eyed Boy
BBC Three are asking for all you Dan Clark fans out there to send in your questions for the writer and creator of How Not To Live Your Life.
Clark will choose which questions to answer by the time the next episode airs, via his blog. You have until this Thursday to get your questions in, and you can send them via twitter, Facebook or directly to his blog.
© Helen O'Sullivan
It’s that time again! Fans of super-electro group Robots in Disguise can send off their applications for next years fan club.
If you didn’t get the chance to join last year, we can tell you that by joining this exclusive club you can expect to receive a selection of members-only gifts, special access to gigs around Londontown, and first-know of anything RiD-related that’s taking place in the near future!
Last year gave fans the opportunity to see the Robot girls play a one-off acoustic set in London, and the chance to play with Plume, Denim and their Android drummer. The first 100 members to join also received a rare Tatty Devine necklace made specifically for fanclub members. So who knows what next year will bring? With the fan club also under new management, it looks set to be fresh and better than ever!
Membership costs £12 and can be paid by cheque to ‘Robots in Disguise Fanclub’ and sent to Robots in Disguise HQ, 228 Barker Drive, Camden, London, NW1 0JF.
It’s also open to fans overseas, with Paypal payment in the process of being arranged; further details on that to come.
For more info head over to their official Facebook fan page, and if you haven’t received the latest email with further details, you can contact Emily Jones direct via ridfanclub1@gmail.com
There are whispers and speculations flying around the web as to what a recent IT Crowd related tweet might mean. Last Friday Matthew Mulot tweeted about a Graham Linehan and Adam Buxton collaboration:
Team IT Crowd, assemble! New @Glinner/ Adam Buxton project needs YOU! Email outsidethebox@live.co.uk for details!
© Talkback Thames/modifications TVO
The only definite information we have is that people are needed in London on December 13th. It might only be a call for extras but it might prove to be something even more exciting. If you’re interested or simply intrigued, why not email the address mentioned in the tweet and find out more!
Not to be forgotten, Adam Buxton is also going to be performing at Fulchfest, December 4th. Tickets are selling fast so make sure to purchase yours as soon as possible!
If you fancy a Christmas celebration with a difference, look no further than ‘December Nights: Tales from the Albion’ in the Old Vic Tunnels on 17th and 18th December.
© Fiona Campbell
For two nights only the cavernous tunnels beneath Waterloo Station will be transformed into a wonderfully whimsical underground town. This unique theatrical experience will include dancing, cabaret, live music and comedy. And to top it all off Antony Elvin will be performing in The Bandstand; apparently he’s written a song about cheese for the occasion. Not to be missed!
For more information, and to buy tickets, see the event’s Facebook page or visit the event website . Tickets are only £6, including a £1 donation to The Railway Children’s Charity.
Allow us to take to back to the ‘scorching ‘summer of 2010, when you may remember us comprehensively covering Noel Fielding’s mini stand up tour in Canada (thanks to the kind, and slightly obsessive, help of couple of our lovely Canadian readers!).
Up until now we’ve been limited to fan reviews of his allegedly top-notch performances – but now this short clip of his set at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal has come out of the woodwork! It was hosted by Cheech & Chong who describe Noel as being “like a drug test”, as well as announcing after his set that he’s “really messed up”, which seemed to tickle Fielding backstage.
From this video we can assume that Noel’s set was aired on TV at some point, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any word on a repeat elsewhere!
© Paul Holmes / Lauren Taylor
On his 2005 album, Opium, Matt Berry coined the phrase: All things digested have a similar hue. Rarely was this more in evidence than in the cozy surroundings of new-ish Manchester club and gig venue Sound Control as Berry and his band took to the small stage in the upstairs bar.
For those who have seen Berry live before, on the surface few things have changed for the current Witchazel tour. The short but sweet setlist was fueled by old favourites from Opium and Matt’s BBC comedy shows Snuffbox and AD/BC, interspersed with tracks from the current Witchazel project, as has been the case in Berry’s shows for some time.
But scratch the surface, and the show presented was shorn of many of the gimmicks that had, for better or worse, been such a vital part of previous tours. Yes, its true that the band arrived on stage in a variety of novelty hats, with guitarist Andy Vickery swapping a hat for a curly afro wig and a dangling penis-shaped tie between his legs. It is also fair to say that, on the whole, Berry’s stage persona was still firmly steeped in the dashing, caddish caricature which has been his main comedic stock-in-trade since the days of Darkplace.
If you watched the red button footage of Noel Fielding and Phill Jupitus after last night’s episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, you may well be wondering about the kids’ TV programmes Noel referred to, and why he was so devasted to hear of Morph’s demise. If you missed the transmission, here it is (the conversation about kids’ TV starts at 0:53 and the discussion about Morph at 4:10)
So, for anyone who wasn’t a child of the 70s and/or grew up outside Britain, here’s your handy TVO guide to what Noel was talking about:
Jamie And His Magic Torch (1976-79)
This cartoon started in 1974, and features a boy called Jamie and his faithful shaggy canine pal, Wordsworth. At bedtime Jamie would use the beam of light from his magic torch as a portal into Cuckoo Land, a parallel (and somewhat psychadelic) world of adventures, accessed via a helter-skelter. The end sequence of every episode, when Jamie and Wordsworth returned to normality, repeated the opening animation….in reverse. Genius!
Anyone who follows Rich Fulcher on Twitter can’t fail to have noticed several recent (coherent!) tweets from him about a new TV show he’ll be appearing on.
Rich will be hosting InputOutput, a new music show on Channel 4, which starts tonight at 00:40 (after Ricky Gervais). The 15 minute-long show features two new bands performing live, with the first episode featuring performances from Manchester’s Egyptian Hip Hop and Sheffield’s Slow Club. Episode 2 can be seen on Saturday night at the same time on Channel 4.
Rich has filmed three typically Fulcher-esque trailers for the new series – if these don’t persuade you that you desperately want to watch the show, nothing will! Enjoy…
© Acid Jazz / Matt Berry
Matt Berry has signed his first record deal proper with Acid Jazz Records.
The musician and actor is currently in the middle of his Witchazel tour of the UK, raising awareness of the forthcoming release of the album of the same name early next year.
The first fruits of this deal are available on tour in the form of a strictly limited edition 7″ vinyl single – Badgers Wake c/w Autumn Equinox – housed in a beautiful 70s flavoured die-cast Acid Jazz sleeve.
The Witchazel album – which received a limited free download release some time ago – will finally receive its a full-scale release on cd, download and limited edition vinyl!
Next year will also see Matt taking on production duties for new up & coming artists. We’ll aim to bring you more details as soon as we can.
© Mog
Oly Ralfe, director of the newly-released Boosh tour documentary Journey of the Childmen, has been interviewed by comic blog site BleedinCool.
In the interview Oly explains that the film is a fairly low-fi observational piece, based on what he personally captured during his moments on tour with the boys. He describes it as “Capturing the Boosh as people I knew, floating through a storm of popularity”.
To read the interview in full, and find out what might have got Oly punched (!), click here. And to read our interview with him from a couple of weeks ago, click there.
To buy the Journey of the Childmen DVD visist The Velvet Onion’s amazon store.
Adendum: There’s another new interview with Oly about the doc today, on Fan Carpet.
© BBC / Claire Finlay
For all of you beautifully dark people of London, Julia Davis’ splendid show Nighty Night is being screened back-to-back, at an event hosted by ‘Hips Tits and Lips’!
This dark comedy first aired on BBC Three all the way back in January 2004, so it’s overwhelming to see that the show still has a dedicated following to this day. With the event securing over 350 attendees on it’s Facebook Event page, this is guaranteed to be a memorable night for all Davis fans!
After the series one marathon there will also be a screening of the marvellous Lizzie & Sarah, which just missed out on getting commissioned after the airing of the pilot earlier this year (but can be bought on iTunes if you haven’t yet).
So if you’re up for a night of cringing, guffawing and of course drinking, then you can purchase your tickets here yonder. The night will proceed from 7.30pm until 11.30pm on Wednesday 8th December.
So when you jog down in your bra and pants running gear, remember to “avoid wood or anything woody”, if you have asthma “take a deep breath and get over it” and remember to give Catherinewheels a big hiya from us!
Prog-rockers Circulus are set to perform at the Tapestry Club in Euston this Friday. The band, which includes Holly Jane Shears (DeadDogInBlackBag), are known for their eclectic and stellar performances.
Hop your lovely self down to St Aloysius Church at 9 PM to enjoy something that will be “folking fantastic”. Tickets are available for a mere £5 and can be purchased at the door.
Further information can be found at the Facebook event where you also can see some videos from previous Circulus gigs. Scribble this down in your calendars straight away!
© Edinburgh Tourism
A few days after December’s Fulchfest, Rich Fulcher will be performing stand up at the Knock2bag Christmas Party on Wednesday 8th at Bar FM in London.
Appearing alongside Rich will be fellow comedians Asher Treleaven, Holly Burn, Carl Donnelly, Dr Brown, Cardinal Burns, Steve Cumberland, Brian Gittins and house band BangStrokeBlow. Phew!
Doors open at 7.30pm and tickets cost £10. For more information and to buy tickets, click on this.
The marvellous Matt Berry recently made an appearance on BBC’s ‘The Culture Show’, which somehow managed to slip past us at the time. Apologies, consider us severely reprimanded!
Matt presented a piece about the album of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. His enthusiasm came across in spades; he rates the album above the stage productions and it’s obvious to anyone who has seen AD/BC – A Rock Opera (and if you haven’t, why not?), that it’s had a big influence on him. Matt also interviewed composers, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, along with some cast members. Here’s the item in full:
Meanwhile, if you fancy seeing Matt in the flesh you can catch him on his current UK tour, as there are still dates left :
Tues 23 November The Masque, Liverpool
Wed 24 November Sound Control, Manchester
Thu 25 November Stereo, Glasgow
Fri 26 November The Duchess, York
Sat 27 November The Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
Sun 28 November Brighton Coalition, Brighton
Mon 29 November King’s College, London (KCLSU)
Tue 30 November Sub89, Reading
Wed 1 December Sub91, Leicester
More information about the tour can be found here.
Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ new comedy vehicle Come Fly With Me, directed by Paul King of Mighty Boosh fame is set to feature in the BBC’s Christmas line-up.
© BBC
The series takes the form of a mock documentary set in one of the UK’s busiest airports, with Lucas and Walliams playing the range of characters you see above. It looks like quite a step change for King, who is better known for the arts and crafts fantasy worlds he created for The Mighty Boosh and Bunny & The Bull.
When the Christmas TV schedules are published, we’ll let you know exactly when the series will be airing.
Rich Fulcher© modifications by Aggie
As November rolls to an end and we welcome December with open arms, not only does this mean that we are that much closer to mince pies, mulled wine and… reindeer but it also brings us the 3rd (and final of 2010) of Rich Fulcher’s Fulchfest!
Rich will be taking his usual position at The Bull & Gate in Kentish Town on the 4th December for this seasonal special and will be wrapping up the year with – as always – an impressive line-up behind him throughout. This month with the inclusion of Adam Buxton, Waen Shepard, Brett Domino and the new addition to the bill being a familiar name on TVO, Dan Clark!
If any of you were unfortunate enough to miss the earlybird offer on tickets for this month’s show, do not worry, as you can still pick them up for the (not that much more) full price over here.
© BBC
Noel Fielding and Phill Jupitus made a stealthy appearance on BBC viewer-opinions show Points Of View yesterday.
With opinions on the show divided, the duo were interviewed briefly alongside Never Mind The Buzzcocks executive producer Jim Pullin and producer Stu Mather.
Noel and Phill complemented one another’s contributions to the show, whilst Pullin yearned for a flashy new set and Mather defended the continued use of guest presenters.
You can see the segment on BBC iPlayer until Sunday afternoon by clicking here.
New episodes of Buzzcocks continue to air on Thursdays on BBC2, and are followed by brief red-button features with Noel and Phill which are saved for posterity on the BBC Comedy minisite.
© Life
Tom Meeten, will be returning to the stage early next month.
The Booshniverse regular will be performing as part of a film themed comedy night – Richard Sandling’s Perfect Movie – on Tuesday 7th December at The Green Man in Central London.
In addition to Meeten, other acts joining the Sandling for the show include Dmitri & Vassily, Nathaniel Metcalfe and Kiosk of Champions. The comedians, sketch acts and musicians on the bill will be performing specially written film-based material for the night, so it promises to be quite an evening!
Tickets, priced £6, are available directly from the venue. For more information please visit Time Out’s website.
© Paul Holmes
Colin Hoult has announced that his critically acclaimed live show Enemy Of The World, will return once more in February, closely followed by the launch of his own regular comedy night.
The show, which was one of the highlights of the Edinburgh Festival, and also features Steven Evans [who we last saw in the Jackal Film Bretheren], recently returned to London for a string of dates at the Leicester Square Theatre.
Now Colin has announced the show will get a final run at the SoHo Theatre early next year. We at TVO aim to bring you more details as soon as we can.
But that’s not all – because Hoult has also revealed he’s planning his own comedy night. Coming in the spring, Colin Hoult: The New Adventures will be a regular event at a currently unconfirmed location with special guests – which may of course include members of Booshdom.
Colin was recently one of the stars of Fulchfest, and was one half of the creative team behind Zimbani earlier this year, so The Velvet Onion can’t wait to see what he has in store next. For further details, keep on peeling.
© Paul Holmes
Hot Brew are to perform once again in mid-December.
The duo, consisting of Oona & Crispin Wheatflake [in reality, Alice Lowe & Antony Elvin], are already set to support The Magic Numbers at a fundraising event next Monday, as we reported previously.
Now Lowe has been added to the bill for Popcorn Comedy at The Tabernacle in Powis Square, Kensington on December 14th, and Alice has exclusively revealed to TVO that Hot Brew will be making an appearance on the night, and, rather excitingly, that she “might do some extra stuff too!”
Hot Brew will be joined on the bill by the near-legendary Adam Buxton (The Adam & Joe Show, Hot Fuzz, Big Mix Tape etc) and comedic magician Pete Firman. Tickets are available via Event Brite, and are priced just £11. The nearest tube station is Westbourne Park, and the show starts at 8pm.
