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Great APE

1 Feb

Today Dave Brown tweeted that new new photos of the Luxury Comedy posters he created were available to view on his website APE. Indeed they are, but we reckon these latest additions to Dave’s portfolio of work provide the perfect opportunity for you to check out everything else he’s done.

© Dave Brown

TVO readers will probably be most familiar with his creative output on Mighty Boosh projects, on which he often collaborated with Nigel Coan and Ivana Zorn of Nipple. This included the design work for The Boosh Live At Brixton DVD, The Future Sailors DVD and The Mighty Book of Boosh.

His more recent Booshniverse-related projects have included the photography and design work for Noel Fielding’s art book The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton and the omnipresent Luxury Comedy ad campaign. Of the latter, Dave explains on his site how the colourful designs of the posters and their media environment play off each other: “Just as the show stands out amongst a sea of colourless, bland, reality based programmes on television, we used the colourful, engaging and highly original imagery of the show to pop out of the wintery, grey, urban landscapes they inhabited.”

© Dave Brown

Dave’s design work is distinguished by his bold use of colour and attention to detail, both of which make his designs ping out and poke you in the eye with their visual energy. Playful flavours of street art and childhood make him the perfect visualiser for the world of Boosh and everything that lies beyond it. We thoroughly recommend you take the time to take a look and see what else he’s been up to.

To read more about the talents that hide behind the gorilla mask, why not check out our interviews with Dave?  Here, here and here.

Onion Talking: Dave Brown, The Scribbling Slasher Part Two

27 Jan

During the rise of the Boosh, Dave Brown provided the vast majority of the designs for the DVD covers, menus, posters and beyond. As the work flowed in a steady stream, the time came to start up his own design company and so, APE was born. At the moment The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton book and Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy may be at the top of the barrel but you can find APE’s work in many other places.

© Dave Brown

While all this work was being produced, Brown could still be found on screen and on stage either pulling some shapes, singing or posing as our favourite gorilla. The line between designing and comedy could seem somewhat fuzzy; how they become separate from each other is a question that Dave answers with an admirable perspective and confidence, “They do overlap occasionally, I like to think I approach creative work with humor in mind, its not always easy but wherever possible I try, people react and gravitate towards something that makes them smile, its human nature. Over the years I have worked with more comedians through Boosh  work and contacts like Tim Key, Rich Fulcher of course, & Jimmy Carr, I think being involved in comedy helps you understand what comedians are after design & photography wise, I’d like to work with more to be honest, It’s always annoyed me how so many comedians have the same style posters, lazy designs with little ideas, without blowing ones trumpet The Boosh as well as those that do care and appreciate the power of good branding stand out a mile!” (more…)

Luxury Comedy In A Bargain-Basement Age

24 Jan

© Channel 4/Secret Peter

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy is a show like no other you’ll see on television in 2012. It’s a show that has spent years gestating in the heads of its dual creators, Noel Fielding and Nigel Coan. It’s a show that combines live-action with animation in a crayola-drenched world filled with cartoon characatures that seem to have leapt straight out of the imagination of Fielding – as his longterm friend and colleague Dave Brown so eloquently put when talking to TVO last year – the show is a bit like downloading Noel’s brain.

More than a year in the actual, physical making, Luxury Comedy brings together a number of talents from that wider world of Booshdom we’ve been shouting about since our inception, and who we’ve all collectively been enjoying on stage and screen for the past fifteen years. Whilst its fair to say the show can never topple The Mighty Boosh in the hearts of many, the trick to watching Luxury Comedy is to block out all thoughts of that looming shadow of a cult classic and just enjoy the madness on its own terms.

© Channel 4/Secret Peter

Take for example, the character of Dondelion, images of which have been released to the press. On the surface, a cynical viewer may suggest he is a cast-off from the Boosh – a lost side-project from the days of the Zooniverse.  They would be wrong. Dondelion, like every other character Noel and Nigel have created – and there are many – is a brand new beast, the only similarities being that he has come from the same brilliant mind that co-created all those Boosh characters of yesteryear.

We’ve been living with the pilot since the summer of last year now, when Noel and his team at Secret Peter kindly invited The Velvet Onion to visit the set and document our findings. It’s multi-coloured, surrealistic world admittedly took us all by surprise on first viewing, but whilst not everyone was immediately in hysterics, repeat viewings found the laughs increased and, amazingly, a whole new realm of quotes and catchphrases subconsciously crept into our everyday lexicon.  We’ve been yelling “Fish Finger For Later” at one another since then, and random injections of “Paulsaid”, “LEEEGGGGOOOOHHHHH!” and rambling speeches about bikes, Gary Glitter and single baked beans have interjected our daily thoughts to the point where we started to wonder if we had developed a new form of madness. The show may be like downloading Noel’s brain, but more specifically it seems, for diehard fans that download will embed itself into the infrastructure of your mind’s root folders like a particularly shiny virus.

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The Man Who Brings Noel’s Dreams to Life

23 Jan

© Unknown

As we count down the days until Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy hits the telly waves we thought it was about time one of the more reticent stars of the show was introduced to the spotlight. Nigel Coan is the director and animator behind the series, and is therefore responsible for the unenviable task of bringing the dream world inside Noel Fielding’s head onto the small screen.  Ahead of our exclusive interview with the director later this week, for those of you who don’t know much about him, please permit us to fill in the gaps:

Trained in graphic design, Coan was on the same art course at Buckingham University as Noel Fielding and Dave Brown, and shared a student house with them. Since then he’s enjoyed a successful career as an animator, and is probably best known amongst Boosh fans for creating the endearing character of the Moon out of little more than a can of shaving foam (and a willing victim).

© BBC

Coan has been collaborating with his partner (and the inspiration for the voice of the Moon), Ivana Zorn, since 2000. After initial forays into animated work for corporate clients, the charm of their work trickled through to the television and music industries. In addition to animating the Moon on the Boosh, Coan and Zorn are also responsible for many of the animated sequences in the show, including the back stories for Charlie Bubblegum and the Crack Fox, amongst others. Their approach seems to sit well with the distinctive style of Noel’s character illustrations. They have also collaborated with Dave Brown to create the joyfully intricate menu screens on both the Future Sailors’ and the Series 3 DVDs.
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A Luxurious Takeover!

23 Jan

© Secret Peter / Channel 4

This week sees the launch of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, and naturally, TVO wanted to mark this occasion with a bang.

We’ve already given you exclusive preview images of the show, but now we can confirm our Luxury Comedy Takeover is officially underway!

Over the coming days, we’ll be bringing you exclusive interviews with the people behind the show, profiles on familiar faces, a review of tonight’s exclusive press-screening and that all important first episode and much more.

The biggest news of all is the ultimate secret we’ve been keeping since the summer – when The Velvet Onion visited the set of Luxury Comedy for two days armed with a hi-def video camera, a microphone and the best intentions to bring you a unique peek behind the scenes on the show.

Naturally, the main drive of behind-the-scenes features belong to our friend, Joey Page, who has been crafting his own short for the dvd release of the show later this year – and we’ll be bringing you more on that in due time.  For now, though, we have our own exclusive and candid video interviews with Noel, Mike, Tom, Dave, Joey, Kim and Rich for you to savour – and whilst you wait for those to emerge in all their hi-def glory later this week, we’ll be whetting your appetites for the show itself every day until then.

So welcome to the takeover. The age of luxury is about to begin…

Noel Takes Over The Guardian!

21 Jan

© theguardian.co.uk

To celebrate the imminent arrival of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy to E4, The Guardian newspaper has allowed Noel Fielding to take over The Guide.

Rush out and get your own print copy or click on the link to discover Noel’s influences for Luxury Comedy, read his interview with Alice Cooper and feast your eyes on the comic created by Noel about The Adventures of Alice and Noel.

You can also meet all the new Luxury Comedy characters and find out who Loose Tapestries think are the bands to watch this year.

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy starts on Thursday (26th Jan) at 10pm on E4,

A Cheeky Peek Behind The Scenes

20 Jan

Yesterday we promised you a Velvet Onion picture exclusive, in the form of behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy. Never let it be said that we’re ones to break a promise: here they are!

These images provide a wonderful insight into the series production process, allowing us a privileged peek at the characters in action before the animation was added:

© Channel 4

© Channel 4

© Channel 4

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2011 Pops Off With a Bang!

8 Jan

The final months of 2011 were an exciting time for the Booshniverse. Join us for now for the final instalment of our four-part retrospective as we relive it all over again. . .

October

© BBC

October began buzzing with Booshy delights. The month’s start saw previews for the upcoming 25th series of Never Mind The Buzzcocks.  Meanwhile, Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher continued on their North American Snuff Box DVD tour in Canada, Los Angeles, and Fulcher in NYC.

While London Madcaps prepared to get their books scribbled by Noel Fielding and Dave Brown, the BBC were busy at work filming the Victorian spoof drama Bleak Old Shop of Stuff. The series, starring TVO regulars Katherine Parkinson and James Bachman, as well as Stephen Fry, is meant to start airing in the New Year. The Sightseers, the Alice Lowe/Steve Oram film collaboration was also underway by mid-October. For the nostalgic at heart, cult DJ extrodinaire Pogo released “Zoo Zoo”, a Mighty Boosh mash-up.

© IAMX

The first of four TVO Scribblings wristband competitions was announced, with peelers in London, and soon thereafter Edinburgh vying for guaranteed admission to meet the Shambletons. Psycho Delia mixed some tunes, and IAMX fans were pleased to see the band’s triumphant return to a London stage in one hell of a show! Friend of TVO, Hayden Black, saw Goodnight Burbank, his series that started as webisodes with cameos from the likes of Rich Fulcher and John Barrowman, make its North American televisual debut. Familiar face Alan Partridge, the infamous alter ego of Steve Coogan, announced his returning to both radio and TV.

© Steve Agee

Blackpool’s Comedy Carpet was unveiled, Booshy jaunts included! Lucky American peelers got the opportunity to catch the Matt Berry/Steve Agee film Angry White Men as it enjoyed a limited release in California and North Carolina. In yet another bout of nostalgia, Vlad the Impaler returned to the handlebars of Serge and the rest of Kasabian’s musical bicycle.

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A Not-So-Summery 2011…But Here’s A Summary Of July-Sept

4 Jan

When you think of last summer, what do you think of? Rain? Rioting? Well don’t think about that – if your memory fails you, first have a look at our reviews of January to June, and then let’s take a look at what happened in the world of Booshdom from July to September, in Part 3 of our review of 2011...

JULY

© Watch

2011 may have been a dreary and somewhat brief summer, but July kicked off with some magic as Dynamo showed off his skills to Noel Fielding, stunning him with a rogue deck of cards right in the palm of his hand!

The comedy world also saw acts big and small peeking out into the non-sunlight as they prepared for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! It was a busy month for comics, including Rich Fulcher who arranged warm ups left right and centre. As they all profusely scribbled down their work in the build-up to the festival, the musical Booshdom also picked up its pace. Robots In Disguise released their fourth album (funded by their fans!) Happiness vs Sadness. We were eager to listen to it ourselves and bring you a song-by-song evaluation of it.

© Becky Johnson

IAMX were also in the midst of releasing their new single Bernadette and at the same time brought us two alternative versions of the music video – we would expect nothing less from perfectionist Chris Corner!

This summer was also a lucky time for the Velvet Onion in terms of tracking down some great talent. We attended a Q&A with the cast of How Not To Live Your Life, then Richard Ayoade also answered some of our questions following the release of Submarine. Then there was even more excitement with the release of our chat with the delectable Hot Brew!

Someone who’s also always up for a debate is Steve Coogan, who voiced his opinions on Newsnight this month regarding the recent closure of News Of The World!

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Spring Back In Time: A Look Back At April-June 2011

2 Jan

So far our review of 2011 has covered January to March. Today we bring you the sequel: April to June. Aaaah, Springtime…the time of fresh starts and new beginnings! And it turned out to be a very busy time in the Booshniverse too!

April

© BBC

April started with the news of Chris O’Dowd’s appearance in The Crimson Petal and The White, a Victorian drama adaptation miles away from The IT Crowd! It was a fantastic production with a great cast and Chris was excellent in it.

The London Comedy Writers Festival took place this month, with input from TVO favourites Alice Lowe, Jaqueline Wright and Colin Hoult. It was a very busy month for Alice, she starred in  Tap at the Window, appeared with Antony Elvin at Popcorn Comedy, and had the pilot  Alice’s Wunderland broadcast on BBC Radio 4. At the time we were lucky to bag an interview with her which you can read here. We also reviewed Jackal films 2010 calendar project.

Colin Hoult announced the second New Adventures show and Paul Foot was in Australia, tweeting as he went.

TVO enjoyed a bit of a spring clean itself in April with a revamp of the TVO Amazon store, making it even easier to cater for all your comedy needs!

(more…)

Luxury To Look Forwards To

2 Jan

If you’re a regular peeler of this here Onion it won’t have escaped your attention that we’re mere weeks away from a very exciting TV happening. Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy hits our screens on 26th January on E4 – this month!

© Channel 4

For those of you who already know for certain that a tangible version of the show just has to grace your shelves you can pre-order the DVD now. It’s released on 19th March for £11.99, and you can pre-order it via The Velvet Onion’s Amazon store. As yet there’s no information about the Blu-ray release or the extras included on the DVD, but given Noel’s track record with Boosh DVD releases, it’s bound to be bursting with added bits & bobs.

Some of you may also have spotted that a series of brilliantly obtuse trailers advertising Luxury Comedy have started appearing on E4. As soon as we can get hold of official links to the trailers we’ll share them with you.

We’re already counting down the days to 26th!

“It’s Behind You!” A Look Back At What Went On In 2011

31 Dec

2011 was The Velvet Onion’s second year in operation, and whaddya know – it turned out to be quite an eventful one! If you’ve joined us more recently, or if you’ve lost a few brain cells over the festive period and can’t remember much before December, here’s Part 1 of our review of 2011 to bring you up to speed on the TVO events of the year:

January

© Channel 4

The year started by looking backwards, with The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year sadly not quite taking retro to its logical conclusion, but reuniting Noel Fielding and Richard Ayoade nonetheless. TVO were also feeling reflective, as we considered our first birthday! We interviewed James Pilkington, the director of early Boosh-starring short Sweet, about his latest feature.

On the live front Paul Foot & Colin Hoult were busy announcing send-offs for their 2010 Edinburgh shows, and Kim Noble was taking his hit show Kim Noble Must Die to New York City.

For Noel & Julian, however, this was a period of new adventures – and the pair couldn’t have chosen more varied career paths if they tried. Noel’s appearance on Comic Relief’s supporting talent show Let’s Dance was announced, and while Boosh fandom debated exactly what he’d perform, Julian’s acting chops were about to be stretched as he began work on Treasure Island and was announced as the one of the lead roles in Government Inspector at The Young Vic.

February

© Lauren Taylor

February began on a sad note, with the passing of much loved actress Margaret John. Best known for her roles in Gavin & Stacey, Run Fatboy Run and Doctor Who, she was forever immortalised in Booshdom by her apperance as the wicked Nanatoo in the Nanageddon episode of The Mighty Boosh. She was 84.

On a more positive note, IAMX unleashed the first fruits of their latest album, and DeadDogInBlackBag returned to the London stage with a one-off gig, with TVO on hand to document proceedings. And whilst Matt Berry unleashed an x-rated iPhone app, the careers of his TVO cohorts couldn’t be more different – as a whole bevvy of names cropped up on CBBC throughout the month.

In other news this month, Chris Morris became a BAFTA winner, although champions of the passing-fad, the NME, decided Noel Fielding and Never Mind The Buzzcocks didn’t deserve an award this year. The world of mainstream rnb seemed to disagree – in one of the weirdest stories we’ve come across for TVO, cyber-singer T-Pain sang an interpolation of the Boosh track Electroboy for Benny Benassi’s dancefloor hit, ‘Electroman‘. Somehow, it just about worked…

© BBC

TVO took the time to speak to the fabulous Colin Hoult as he brought his 2010 Edinburgh Show, Enemy Of The World, to the Soho Theatre for a final hurrah, and we also interviewed Diva Zappa ahead of her exhibition at Maison Bertaux.

But February’s big interview came from Fielding himself – as we celebrated his appearance on Let’s Dance For Comic Relief with a two part interview about the show, and his career past, present and future. As Kate Bush, Noel whizzed around with startling precision to Wuthering Heights, sending fangirls across the land a-flutter – and he made it through to the final the following month..

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The Velvet Onion Calendar 2012

29 Dec

The Velvet Onion are pleased to bring you our exclusive 2012 calendar!

We’ve been working with a number of our friends both in front of the camera and behind it, to bring you twelve great shots to print out and stick up on your wall between January 1st and December 31st.

With a fantastic new design from Velveteer Lauren “Lozzy” Taylor, inspired by the beautiful design work Peeler Kerrie Leisch provided for the site back in 2010, we really hope you like the results – which are available for a free download by clicking on the picture above!

Thank you to everyone involved, and to all of you – our dearest Peelers – for a truly fantastic 2011… here’s to another great year in the realm of the Onion!

Boosh On Your Radio!

24 Dec

© BBC

Treat yourself to a trip down memory lane and listen to the Boosh Radio Series, on the radio! BBC Radio 4 Extra is broadcasting the series at 10:30pm on Tuesdays.

Unfortunately we’ve missed the first episode but the second (Jungle) is available on BBC iPlayer until Tuesday 27th December, when the next episode (Jazz) will be on at 10.30pm.

If you’re feeling nostalgic after listening to the radio show, you can read our interview with Noel Fielding about making the radio series.

Dave Brown: The Scribbling Slasher

16 Dec

Not too long ago, in a petite coffee shop that straddles the the suits of Clerkenwell and the hipsters of Hackney, The Velvet Onion were lucky enough to catch Dave Brown in his busy life for a chat – Velveteer Paulyne caught up with him following the release of Scribblings Of A Madcap Shambleton and now we can bring you the first part from our afternoon with the designer.

“I wanted to get across the idea that Noel paints as he writes and writes when he paints. It’s how his mind works, his comedy is very visual.”

Although the book is a collection of Noel Fielding’s artwork, with Brown taking on the entire design of the book I wanted to find out the process of putting it together and working with the artist. Dave explains, “When I was putting the Boosh book together and going through Noel’s mountain of sketchbooks, I realized that there was obviously loads that was Boosh related but there was also loads that wasn’t and more related to his stand up, so it was really a case of ‘With all your paintings and this, we could make an amazing book for you’.”

© Dave Brown

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Real Life Scribblings Are Back!

15 Dec

If you’ve bought a copy of The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton (or even if you haven’t – in which case why ever not?), you’ll be pleased to know that Noel Fielding‘s paintings are once again on display at Gallery Maison Bertaux.

© Mog/The Velvet Onion

This impromptu exhibition of Noel’s art presents a welcome opportunity to see his paintings in the flesh, where you can fully appreciate the scale and texture of his work. You can also see some of the artworks which had to be removed from the book for copyright reasons. And all while you drink tea and munch on amazing pastries!

While you’re there why not pick up one of the Fielding-approved limited edition canvas prints which are on sale too? Each one is hand-printed on canvas and comes with a certificate of authentication – definitely one for the Christmas list. Maison Bertaux can be found at 28 Greek Street, Soho London.

On the subject of Noel’s scribblings, the book has just been voted number 2 in Kerrang’s Top 5 books of 2011. Congratulations to Noel and to the book’s designer, Dave Brown.

Fielding Talks

7 Dec

This week the media have kindly provided us with two interviews with Noel Fielding – and the promise of a third one next week.

First up is Time Out‘s blog, who came along to watch Noel and Dave Brown painting a giant billboard in London’s Golden Square a couple of weeks ago. Whilst there, they cornered Noel to ask him about his favourite places in London and what he would do if he was mayor. Given his response to that question we say forget Ken and Boris and VOTE NOEL! Take a look at the short interview below:

In the very near future we hope to be able to show you what was taking place near the signing table while this interview was going on…

Secondly, Noel also features in this week’s NME, answering questions to prove that his mind and memory remain intact. Although his recall of his stint earlier this year on Let’s Dance for Comic Relief is faultless, he fails to correctly identify why Jaffa Cakes are classified as cakes rather than biscuits. Essential reading.

There’s also the promise of more Fielding in next week’s NME, the double Christmas issue, in which he “opens the door to his twisted festive madhouse.”  This issue is out on Wednesday 14th December, and we’ll let you know more when it hits the shelves next week.

Scribblings In Oxford: A Visual Review

7 Dec

Last Saturday (3rd December) saw Noel Fielding and Dave Brown take on Oxford in the latest leg of their promotion tour for Noel’s book of art The Madcap Scribblings of a Shambleton.

The event at Waterstones consisted of a live painting to a select group of fans, followed by the obligatory sign-a-thon to the wider wristband-wearing population. Comments about the event on twitter afterwards were full of superlatives and giddy praise for the duo. Sadly however, we couldn’t field our ususal team of intrepid reporters so we’re unable to bring you the film and photo reports that we’ve been able to provide for previous signings.

Fret not though, because we’ve managed to track down some pictures from the day on Newscom – and a big thanks to those of you who emailed yours to us too. So, in the absence of a first-hand report, here’s a visual review of the scribblings that took place last Saturday in Oxford.  Enjoy!

If you’d like to see more of Newscom’s photos of the Oxford signing, and of previous events, click here.

© Geoff Swaine @ Newscom

© Geoff Swaine @Newscom

© Geoff Swaine @ Newscom

© Geoff Swaine @ Newscom

© Geoff Swaine @ Newscom

© Geoff Swaine @ Newscom

© Casey Turnbull

© Casey Turnbull

© Casey Turnbull

© Elizabeth Bell

Luxury Scribblings

4 Dec

© Canongate Books

We’ve already told you about the limited edition canvasses of Noel Fielding‘s art, but if there’s still room on your Christmas list how about a Special Edition of The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton?

A total of 250 copies of the book will be made available, with the first 100 copies on offer at the special price of £100 (usual price £150).  All orders will be dispatched after the 14th December 2011, and will take 1-3 working days to arrive.

The Special Edition features the following:

• The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton book signed by Noel Fielding and Dave Brown, and numbered
• The front and back of the book embossed with Noel’s artwork
• The book in a box covered in bright yellow real linen, to match Noel’s overalls, and lined with a polka-dot pattern which appears in the book
• The box embossed with 3 coloured foils (black, white and red)
• 2 signed prints; one a high-quality photo of Noel (10” x 8”), and the other a screen print of one of his pieces of art which appears in the book
• The screen print is 285mm x 225mm and it is printed on a thick, textured stock with hand-torn edges. It’s embossed with a limited edition stamp

For additional photographs of the book and its content and to order a copy visit Canongate Book’s website here. Happy shopping!

Afrikids At Christmas

1 Dec

© Dave Brown 2010

As most of you know by now, Dave Brown is proud to be associated with Afrikids, the charity that works with vulnerable children in Ghana, by empowering local communities.

The Afrikids website has opened it’s Christmas shop and there are some lovely items available including cosmetics, confectionary, cards and wrap, clothing and hampers. Click here to go to the site to access the catalogue and find out where you can buy goods in person.

While you’re there, have a look at the work they do and how they do it.

If you’d like to read more about Dave and Afrikids, you can access the article by clicking here.

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