Archive | January, 2011

WIN BOOSH STUFF!

31 Jan

Win this and a copy of series three!

To celebrate our first birthday, we thought it would be nice to do a little competition for our regular readers.  The Boosh Boys have very kindly chucked a couple of dvds our way, and whilst we know many of you will have them already – it’d still be nice to win them: you could always throw them at non-fans and see what the results are.

We are able to offer you a limited edition Future Sailors boxset and a copy of series three of The Mighty Boosh to the winner.  The limited edition boxset features both the 2006 & 2008 live tour dvds, plus extra material, and comes complete with a Boosh tin, a pack of Outrage playing cards and a monkey-head belt buckle.

To be in with a chance, simply comment on this post with an alternate name for this site.  If we weren’t called The Velvet Onion – what could we be called? You could have something else from the Booshniverse, or a play on words… The Cord Lettuce, perhaps? Take your pick!

Comment on this post with your entry, and we’ll put all of them in a public poll – the winner of THAT will win the Future Sailors boxset and a copy of Boosh series three.  They’ll also receive a one-off print of The Velvet Onion 2011 Calendar which we put up for free download at Christmas, to keep in their Booshy collection.

Two runners up will receive a copy of Boosh series three on dvd.

Very exclusive promo tat.

As a little something extra, we’ll also chuck in an exclusive TVO button badge from a test-run we ran late last year for all our winners.

We’ve been looking into designs for button badges that we could maybe sell on site to help pay for our upkeep, and the only people on the planet who have this particular design right now are TVO staff, a few select friends and some of the artists we feature who we’ve managed to corner at various events, so these are particularly rare and will never be available again in this form.

Good luck, and be as creative as you can be!

Entries must be received by midnight on Sunday night/Monday morning (7th Feb) GMT.  All dvds are Region 2, but we will take entries from anywhere in the world.  The poll will be set up w/c Monday 7th Feb and run for 1 week.  The editors decision is final, and if you win, your details will not be shared with any other party – we’ll just need your address so we know where to send your stuff!

EDIT – As usually happens we forgot a rule.  Please only enter a MAXIMUM of three suggestions.  If you’ve got more than three in your post – please pick your best three and reply to your comment telling us which you prefer!

The Velvet Onion Is One!

31 Jan

Dishing Out The Booshniverse Since January 31st 2010

Today is a special day for The Velvet Onion… and whilst we’re all madcrazybusy working on forthcoming TVO articles and our own hectic lives, our editor in chief found a few minutes to put together a little something to say to all of you out there…

Three-hundred and twenty-four thousand, eighty-eight hits.

That’s the count on our site stats as I write this, just past midnight on what is now, officially, our first birthday.  The Velvet Onion has now been servicing fans of the Booshniverse for a whole twelve months, with an average of 27,000 individual hits per month coming to see what we do.  Quite simply, this success was never, ever expected.

What started out as a little side-project to keep a recently unemployed comedy fan busy and positive as he plugged his favourite funny things to people he knew, has spiralled into a site that has subscriptions worldwide, has interviewed a huge chunk of the main stars of Booshdom, seen countless exciting projects come, go, and come back again for some more, and has given that now employed comedy fan a whole new lease of life and a fresh career break.  Above all else, its seen him pull together a team of confidants he’d trust his life with, and whom are more than willing to do whatever they can for the ‘greater good’ of just getting the stuff that makes us laugh out there to you all.

We never expected this huge response from both our readers, and our subjects – most of whom are now proud, badge-wearing TVO supporters, keeping us relatively in-the-loop so we can work with them to get their art to the people who appreciate it the most: YOU.  Thank you to each and every one of our subjects, contributors and our readers over the last 12 months for a glorious year, and here’s to new and exciting projects on the horizon for us all.

Happy birthday!

Boosh On The Radio

30 Jan
© The Mighty Boosh

The Mighty Boosh Radio Show was featured on Radio 7 yesterday, in Comedy Winners, a radio series introduced by Mark Radcliffe, highlighting radio programmes that have won awards.

The Boosh contribution is the first episode –  Stolen, and you can listen again to the whole show here. The Boosh starts at 150 minutes in – it’s a long show!  If you’ve never listened to the radio series then you’re in for a treat, and if you have then why not listen again, as this is the broadcast version which is slightly different to the one on the CD.

If you like what you hear you can buy the complete Mighty Boosh radio series at The Velvet Onion Amazon store here.

Come Fly Again

30 Jan

© BBC

A second series of Come Fly With Me, directed by Mighty Boosh director Paul King has been commissioned.

According to the Sun (so it must be true!), the second series, also written by and starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams, will air as early as later this year.  It’s not clear whether King will be directing the new series, but if he is we can only hope he leaves himself enough time to direct the long-awaited Mighty Boosh feature film!

Northern Treasure

30 Jan

© Mog

Julian Barratt‘s move into straight acting roles continues apace with his reported involvement in a new production of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic, Treasure Island.

According to imdb, the movie is currently filming and due for a TV release in 2012.  Barratt will play the character of Redruth, alongside Eddie Izzard as Long John Silver and Elijah Wood as Ben Gunn.  The movie is directed by Steve Barron, the man largely responsible for defining the 1980s pop promo landscape, producing seminal videos for A-ha (Take on Me) and Michael Jackson (Billy Jean), amongst others.  The 2-part/4-hour mini-series will initially air on Sky TV in the UK.

Earlier today Eddie Izzard tweeted that he was currently filming Treasure Island in Puerto Rico, so it looks like this one’s a definite. Whether or not he was enjoying the company of a tiny-eyed Northerner wasn’t mentioned however!

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Selannia for spotting this one.

Ayoade in Glasgow!

29 Jan

© Warp Films

Submarine, the critically-aclaimed debut feature film from Richard Ayoade will be shown as part of the programme at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival.

It’s just been announced that Ayoade will be introducing the film in person at the first screening on Friday 18th February along with the lead actors, Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige.  For more information about the screenings and to buy tickets, visit this page of the Film Festival’s website.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to @littlemadhatter for this.

Come Buy With Me!

27 Jan

© BBC / 2|Entertain

The first series of Come Fly With Me is now available for pre-order via The Velvet Onion Amazon Store.

The brainchild of Little Britain creators (and friends of the Boosh) Matt Lucas & David Walliams, the show is directed by Boosh and Bunny And The Bull helmer Paul King.  The first episode also featured a cameo appearance from our very own Alice Lowe.

Despite courting controversy in its early episodes due to its alleged racism (thanks to Lucas & Walliams treasure chest of characters including several black and asian creations, played by themselves), the show has been a smash hit with viewers, and continues to perform well week in, week out for BBC1.

Released on March 7th, there is currently no news as to extra content, but naturally we at TVO are hoping our favourite director turns up somewhere.  The dvd’s pre-order price is just £12.93, so grab it while you can for a guaranteed price right here.

Whole Lotta Hoult

27 Jan

© Colin Hoult

Earlier this week, we reminded you about the final dates for Colin Hoult‘s fantastic Enemy Of The World show at the SoHo Theatre next month.  Now it seems the character comic never stops – with several new dates lined up over the coming weeks.

First up this Monday is a rare performance of Gutted: A Revenger’s Musical – which was a highlight of last year’s Edinburgh Festival.  In this ensemble piece, Colin plays around various members of the same family, who are each killed off one by one.  This special performance won’t feature the elaborate staging of its Scottish counterpart, but Hoult revealed to us today that a full orchestra will be on hand to score the show.  Priced at between £10 and £12.50, tickets for the performance on January 31st at the Leicester Square Theatre are available now right here.

After the final run of Enemy Of The World – tickets for which are available here – there will be three special performances of character show Triceratops in which Colin stars alongside Nick Mohammed and Alan Riches.  These will take place, again at the Leicester Square Theatre on February 24th, March 31st and April 28th… and tickets are available over yonder.

© Colin Hoult

Lastly, and perhaps most excitingly of all, Colin will begin his regular themed club nights entitled The New Adventures Of Colin Hoult at the same venue beginning in March.  Each month will see Colin compare a night of comedic guests (still to be confirmed) as well as parading his latest newborn creations fresh out of his lab.  With the possibility of familiar faces from Booshdom to be seen, and the chance to see Hoult’s latest concotions before they reach Edinburgh, this promises to be an unmissable event.

The New Adventures nights take place on March 10th, April 22nd, May 12th and June 9th, and tickets – priced from £10 – are available now!

As we hinted at above, earlier today our editor in chief got to speak to Colin in depth about his comedy, past, present and future – and we will be bringing you our exclusive interview in the coming days.  Stay peeled!

Fulchfest Returns!

27 Jan
© Mog

We’ve just heard that Saturday Night Fulchfest starring (of course), Rich Fulcher, is back on Saturday 2nd April! We don’t yet know who the guests will be, but if the previous outings are anything to go by you are in for a great night! As soon as there are any details we’ll let you know.

If you’ve never been to Saturday Night Fulchfest then read our reviews to get an insight into the madness!

Finally, if you’re wondering what adventures Rich is currently having in America, you can watch a video of him explaining just what he is up to on boingboing.  Hear him chatting about his involvement in Jackal Films, The Boosh Album, and the return of Snuff Box (maybe)!

Barratt Play Dates

27 Jan

© Mog

Last week we announced that Julian Barratt was to appear in The Government Inspector, the play by Nikolai Gogol, at the Young Vic theatre in London.

We’ve now caught wind of likely dates for the play.  According to Lambeth Arts website it will run 20th – 24th July with performances scheduled to take place at 7.30pm.  Unfortunately we haven’t been able to find any further information to validate these dates, but if we do you’ll be the first to know!

Time to start planning that summer trip to London!

A Cloud Of Denim

27 Jan

© Tatty Devine

Sue Denim has posted two fresh acoustic demos to a brand new profile on Soundcloud.

The musician, best known as one half of Robots In Disguise, stated on Twitter that with these songs: “I think it can safely be said I’m taking lo-fi to it’s lowest!!”

Entitled I Want To See U Again and Without You, these are undoutably a world away from RiD’s electrofizzypop.  The songs are raw and fuelled with emotion, and hopefully the start of promising things to come.  Check them out yourself at Soundcloud now.

To hear previous solo work of this ilk, under the monicker of Sue And The Unicorn, go back in time and visit Myspace like its 2008 all over again.

Submarine Floats At Sundance

26 Jan

Richard Ayoade‘s directorial debut Submarine continues to score with the critics.

© Warp Films

The film is showing at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, currently in its second week, and the response so far has been extremely positive!  In his review, writer David Chen describes Submarine as possessing “The quirk of ‘Juno,’ the whimsy of Gondry, the light-heartedness of Wes Anderson, the melancholy of ’500 Days of Summer’.”  Not a bad set of references.  To read the review in full visit SlashFilm’s website.

The New York Post has also given the film a thumbs up, calling it “A virtually perfect comic fable of gonzo love and premature genius”, while critic Todd Brown writing for the website Twitch goes even further, saying “This is sharp, assured work and well deserving of all the love we can heap upon it. Practically perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

To see for yourself if the film can possibly live up to its hype, catch it at Sundance – click here for details.

Cast Your Votes Now!

26 Jan

The 2011 NME Awards nominations are finally in and it’s now time to cast your votes!

Booshniverse acts have made it into 2 categories: Noel Fielding for ‘Most Stylish’ and Never Mind the Buzzcocks for ‘Best TV Show’.  Strangely there’s no mention of the ’Best DVD’ or ‘Best Website’ categories, which were originally open for nominations.  You can see the full list of nominees here.  To vote, visit the NME website by clicking on this here.

© Roundhouse

While you’re in a voting mood why not pick your favourite acts for the LAFTAS, Loaded magazine’s annual comedy awards?  The Mighty Boosh is up for ‘Best Double Act’ and Boosh tour documentary Journey of the Childmen is also nominated for ‘Best DVD’.  Go on, why not prove that the Boosh still out-perform the competition in a year when they’re not even particularly active?  You can vote in the LAFTAS here.

Fulcher’s Happy Hour Today!

26 Jan

Rich Fulcher will be amongst the guests aappearing at Heino Happy Höur which takes place at El Cid Restaurant in Los Angeles today.

© Mog

The performance is described as “D-day fur Old Weird Eyes as he revisits some of the best moments from past shows as well as new exciting guests und der same old Heino! Featuring Señor Amor, Tanzin’ Schlampes und Das Bierspiel.”  Hopefully that will make sense to some of you!  Other special guests who will be appearing alongside Rich are Lucy Fur, Jerry Minor, Matt Besser and Dana Gould.

There are two shows, at 9pm today (26th) and 12am tomorrow (27th), local time.  Online ticket sales for the shows have now ended, but limited tickets are still available in person from the Brat Store (1938 14th St in Santa Monica) or Garage Pizza (4339 Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake) – until 5pm today only!

For more information, visit the show’s facebook page.  And if you make it there, please come back and tell us all about it!

Put On Your Red Shoes…

25 Jan

© Tammy Courtney Clark

Noel Fielding is slated to appear as a contestant in Comic Relief’s Let’s Dance gameshow!

The announcement of Noel’s involvement was made via an advert on BBC1 following an edition of topical program The One Show.

Digital Spy were quick to follow up the advert with their exclusive chat with the new co-host of Let’s Dance, Alex Jones.  They have confirmed the line up will also feature comics Russell Kane, Ed Byrne and Andi Osho, legendary comic actress Rebecca Front, tv presenter Penny Smith and home designer duo Colin & Justin.

The show will run for three weeks in the lead-up to Comic Relief, which this year takes place on Friday 18th March… so we can expect the series to begin sometime during the last weekend in February.  Its contestants must perform popular dance routines in front of a live studio audience, with the viewing population able to vote for their favourites to ensure a place in the grand finale.

Right now, The Velvet Onion knows no more… but we are on the case, attempting to sniff out more info with our oniony snouts as you read this.  Stay peeled for more news as and when we receive it!

Noel, of course, is no stranger to Comic Relief – having performed with Julian Barratt and Dave Brown for a mini-Boosh sketch back in 2007 and co-presenting a special edition of Top Of The Pops back in 2009.  For more information on the great work Comic Relief does, and how to get involved, visit their official website here.

UPDATE! Comic Strip legend Ade Edmondson (best known as Vivian Basterd in The Young Ones and Edward Elizabeth Hitler in Bottom), has announced via Twitter that he too will be joining the line up! Looks like we’re in for a real treat this year!

DeadDog Deathline Soho!

24 Jan

© Angel Ceballos

DeadDogInBlackBag are to make a rare live appearance in February.

The electropop duo, featuring Holly Jane Shears and Suzy Evelyn, will appear at the Deathline event at St.Moritz club in SoHo on February 4th.  Further details have yet to be announced, but the event has a facebook page in place which will announce further details soon.  Join it here.

Shears is also appearing as a member of space-prog folk rockers Circulus at the Out Come The Freaks! event which takes place at The Relentless Garage in Islington on February 17th.  Tickets are just £5 from Ticketweb, though anyone dressed in medieval attire is promised free entry!  For more info, visit the Facebook page.

A Historical Win!

24 Jan

The 2011 British Comedy Awards, hosted by Jonathan Ross, took place on Saturday night.

Although the Booshniverse didn’t feature too heavily overall, Horrible Histories, a kids’ TV series which boasts Simon Farnaby amongst its cast members won the award for ‘Best Sketch Show’.   Charlie Brooker, who has a low-level connection to the world of Boosh through co-writing Nathan Barley with Chris Morris, also won ‘Best Comedy Entertainment Programme’ for Newswipe.  Phonejacker star Kayvan Novak won an award for Best British Comedy Performance in Film – thanks to his appearance in Morris’ excellent Four Lions, whose writers Sam Bain & Jesse Armstrong were also given an award. And the final Boosh-related connection to the event is through Noel Fielding, who presented the award for ‘Best Female Breakthrough Comedy Artist’ to Samantha Spiro.

© BBC

Congratulations to the winners, listed in full below:
Best Comedy Panel Show -  Would I Lie To You
Best Comedy Entertainment Programme - Newswipe
Best Comedy Entertainment Personality - Harry Hill
Best Male Comic - Michael McIntyre
Best Female Comic - Jo Brand
Best New British TV Comedy -  Miranda
Best Male Comedy Breakthrough Artist - John Bishop
Best Female Comedy Breakthrough Artist - Samantha Spiro
Best Sketch Show - Horrible Histories
Best Sitcom - The Inbetweeners
Best Comedy Actor - Peter Capaldi
Best Comedy Actress - Miranda Hart
Best British Comedy Performance in Film - Kayvan Novak
Outstanding Contribution To Comedy - Russell Brand
Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award - Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong
People’s Choice Award For The King Or Queen Of Comedy 2010 - Miranda Hart
British Comedy Academy Lifetime Achievement - Roy Clarke

The Enemy Of The World’s Final Stand

24 Jan

© Colin Hoult

Colin Hoult‘s critically acclaimed Edinburgh show returns to the London stage next month for its final run ever!

Hoult, who first came to TVO’s attention via his hilarious pilot show Zimbani last year, performed The Enemy Of The World throughout the Edinburgh Festival and at selected London dates across 2010.  As we reported back in November, the show returns to the SoHo Theatre in February, before he moves onto his new projects.

TVO were lucky enough to see the show in Edinburgh, and we guarantee you will not be disappointed.  It’s final run lasts from Wednesday 16th February to Saturday 19th February and tickets are a measly £13.

To book, call the Soho Theatre box office on 020 7478 0100 or visit their website boxoffice over yonder.

We hope to talk to Colin soon to find out more about this last run, performing at Fulchfest last year, and hopefully more about the mythical new club night The New Adventures Of Colin Hoult we first heard about in the Autumn.  In the meantime, if you’d like to revisit our Zimbani interview from last Spring, click here… and you can watch the hilarious pilot episode featuring Julian Barratt below!

Community Care

23 Jan

© www.flicksnews.net

Rumour has it that IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade is directing an episode of the American TV show, Community.

The star of the series, actor Joel McHale posted a photo of Ayoade on his blog, with the message “Looks who’s directing Community right now.” Whether or not he’s serious or joking remains to be seen; historically the series hasn’t featured guest directors, so who knows!

For readers who aren’t familiar with the show, Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. It’s about a group of students at a community college in Colorado, with a cast that includes comedy legend Chevy Chase.

If we hear any more about Ayoade’s involvement we’ll be sure to let you know.

Editors Note: Selannia has been doing a spot of web-snooping and spotted that this story is indeed true!  Writer of Comminity, Dan Harmon, has said on twitter, “Excited, intimidated and starstruck that RICHARD AYOADE is strolling the halls waiting for us to finish the script he shoots Monday.”  Apparently Ayoade’s not able to appear in an episode due to red tape, but he is definitely directing one!

Barratt Treads The Boards

20 Jan

According to actress Doon MacKichan (Day Today, Smack the Pony), Julian Barratt has been cast in the play ‘The Government Inspector’, by Nikolai Gogol.

© Nick Wilson

MacKichan revealed this information on twitter; Barratt is to play the mayor, while Doon plays his wife.  The play will be performed at The Young Vic thetare in London, although as yet no date has been set and no tickets are for sale.  Barratt was recently seen in a straight acting role in Chekhov’s The Bear, which was shown on SkyArts in November 2010, but this will be the first time fans will be able to see him on a theatrical stage in a non-comedy role.

Rumour has it that the production may be directed by controversial award winning director, Richard Jones, so it promises to be quite a spectacle! 

Obviously we’ll let  you know as soon as we can find out any more.

Editors’ note: Thanks to theclappers4 for spotting this.

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