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Ape-ril Ambassadors

9 Apr

Dave Brown and Tony Law have joined Bill Bailey in the Ape-ril campaign in aid of the Sumatran Orang-utan Society.

© Andy Hollingworth

© Andy Hollingworth

The trio have firm links with the charity, with Brown & Bailey joining forces for a Monkees duet at their Orangaid event back in 2009, and now they’re aiming to demonstrate our 96.4% DNA match with those magnificent animals, by getting somewhat fuzzy.

Dave, Tony and Bill are Ambassadors in the Ape-ril campaign, growing great big bushy beards and encouraging you – yes, YOU – to do the same.  You can become a fundraiser on the Ape-ril website over yonder, and you don’t have to be a beard-growing mammal to contribute!

Women and children can take part too, by wearing a false beard for a day, a week or even the whole month. There will be prizes for the best photos sent in to the Hairy Hall of Fame online gallery.

One of our favourite beardy comics, Mr Tony Law, explains:   “Growing a beard is something that all male apes can do.  Get in touch with your wild side and ask everyone you know to sponsor you to change your face for Ape-ril.   Get a team of Beardy Buddies together so you can offer each other support if things get a bit itchy, and swap grooming tips. My own top tip for a lustrous beard is…descend from Vikings. If you’ve already got a beard, then get creative with topiary or decorations, or dye it orangutan-orange.”

The team at SOS have kindly sent us over a gallery of images of Dave Brown’s growing prowess, which you can see at the bottom of this article, and if you like the pics, please donate via the big text below.

If you do, you’ll be supporting frontline conservation projects in Sumatra to prevent the destruction of the rainforests, and helping to protect orang-utans, their forests, and their future.

DONATE NOW!

© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS
© Dave Brown / SOS

Luxury Merch To Look Forward To

9 Feb

© Dave Brown

If you follow Dave Brown on twitter you’ll know that some pretty awesome Luxury Comedy merchandise is on the cards. We managed to extract some further information from everyone’s favourite monkey man about what’s being planned:

Dave has confirmed that the online store is almost ready, and in addition to the rather wonderful Bryan Ferry kite that actually flies (see left), there will also be finger puppets (so you can recreate your own Luxury Comedy promo campaign), along with the more traditional shirts, cards, posters etc. Knowing Dave’s attention to detail and Noel’s predilection for the off-kilter, you can be sure they’ll be something special.

Dave’s promised to keep us posted, so as soon as there’s any more news we’ll be sure to let you know!

2012: A Year In Interviews

2 Jan

In 2012 we were lucky enough to get the chance to chat to a few of the artists that we write about on these pages. So here’s a look back at some of the year’s interviews – and the fascinating, colourful and revealing comments that were shared. A big thank you to everyone who gave us their time and permitted us to poke cameras and dictaphones in their faces – we couldn’t do this without you! 

© Dave Brown

“You kind of get sick of photographers going: ‘What about this? Let’s try a look. Gimme a look! thumbs up, relax that jaw, big smile, oooh, Cheeky! Whuhey!’ All that kind of crap. Whereas with this, it was the opposite and I think they enjoyed the novelty. I think there’s a certain power to looking moody.”
Dave Brown talks about the un-comedy portraits in his photography exhibition ‘Tough Crowd’

“You do sort of wonder how many more good dresses you can pull out of your wardrobe. I might just turn up to the next one looking like Tina and go: ‘Hi, everyone. I’m not actually a film star. I don’t have the wardrobe for this.’”
Alice Lowe discusses dressing for the multiple Sightseers premiers

“They keep going on! The London Film Festival was the gala screening, and I went to Cannes for the premiere there, which was very exciting. They had one last Thursday, which I couldn’t go to, and then this one tonight, which is being called the UK Premiere. I’m not sure what the difference is anymore, but it will be fun. I get to wear my suit again.”
Richard Glover’s take on dressing for the multiple Sightseers premiers

© Examiner

“That is completely Noel’s fault. I kept saying ‘Can’t I be called something like Jana or another German name?’ and he said ‘No, Dolly is better’ and he and Nigel Coan were absolutely certain that I was going to be called Dolly. I got really self-conscious about it, and in the early days of filming Tom Meeten enjoyed putting my name in every single sentence because I was so embarrassed about it.”
Dolly Wells squirms about playing a character called ‘Dolly’ on Luxury Comedy

“Before Boosh, I was the shyest person in the world. I was scared of my own shadow, I wouldn’t talk to anyone that I didn’t know. Boosh has made me who I am now. It’s given me an animated, childish confidence. People say that when you’re thirty, you can’t be stupid like that anymore, but who says? There’s no rules!”
Mike Fielding in introspective mood

“We thought we knew what we were doing – we didn’t – and suddenly we found ourselves on stage with all these people like Simon Farnaby. They assumed we must be good, so we had to come up with something. It was all an accident, no actual decisions were made.”
John ‘Willie’ Hopkins talks about his appearances at Ealing Live with Richard Glover.

© Amelia’s Magazine

“I’m not sure I have much of an opinion on mainstream music – I just don’t really listen to it! I imagine if I did listen too much I might not be too complimentary about it, so best not to get involved! Or maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. I think I’ll go and check out the charts RIGHT NOW!”
Sue Denim’s views on mainstream music

“You do get to see why it’s a bad idea to go and kill people, in a really cathartic way.”
Alice Lowe notes that Sightseers has a strong moral code 

“Maybe he doesn’t like the idea of being moody for me…the offer’s there, Paul, whenever you’re ready, stop body swerving me and get on your frown for Brown!”
Dave Brown courting Paul Foot for ‘Tough Crowd’

“Yeah. It’s not like I’m gonna go: ‘Well, actually, it’s funny you should say that. I’ve got a little pot of spunk in my pocket.‘”
Mike Fielding’s reaction to fans screaming at him that they want to have his babies

“My brother never stops talking. Usually about sweets.”
Noel Fielding’s analysis of bother Mike

“I’ve secretly always wanted to be in the S.A.S. A friend of mine used to say I could have been in the S.A.S. but on reception.”
Richard Glover talks about his alternative career path

“I’ve got my balls out on telly, they’re horrible things…I’ve got really dangly balls.”
Tom Meeten discusses his award-winning appendages

“Keep the faith! And let’s get The Boosh to make a film before they get too old and grey!”
Oly Ralfe’s message from NY to TVO readers

“Writing with Alice is like writing with your wife. It really is just like being with your wife, and arguing on holiday, whilst sightseeing, then writing it down.
Steve Oram’s take on writing Sightseers with Alice Lowe

© Big Talk Pictures

“I tend to write the first draft of stuff, then Amy totally rewrites it! She changes everything, and I’ve learnt over our twenty-odd year relationship to understand how that works for the greater good.”
Director Ben Wheatley’s approach to working with his long-term partner, Amy Jump

“We’ve got the power to take people on a journey – if we want to go to the moon, then let’s go to the moon for 10 minutes!”
Joey Page on the power of stand-up

© Marjorie Keak

“If a drama show goes out on TV and it’s not that good no one kicks up a fuss, no one goes ‘Whoever commissioned this should be shot. I want my license fee back!’ I could easily say that a drama that doesn’t engage me in the first five minutes is the same as a comedy that doesn’t make me laugh, but people just don’t mind as much – they just accept that it’s not their cup of tea. But rarely do people accept that about comedy!”
Dan Clark takes on the harsh critics of comedy

“There’s no limits with him, whereas when you meet an actor for the first time it can be a bit awkward to pull their trousers down or something. With Richard, you can punch him in the face, rape him, and he’ll still come back for more.”
Steve Oram shows his love for working with Richard Glover on Sightseers

“I’ve been looking at Noel’s face constantly for three years, and even I watch him and say ‘There’s NY Cop’. I don’t say ’There’s Noel doing NY Cop’. You’re not looking at Noel, you’re looking at the character. It’s pretty incredible because he’s got such a pointy, distinctive face.”
Nigel Coan, director of Luxury Comedy, talks about Noel’s character performances

“I can’t believe they didn’t have Minstrels!”
Mike Fielding

© Secret Peter / Channel 4

The Velvet Onion Calendar 2013

31 Dec

The Velvet Onion is pleased to continue its tradition of a yearly Calendar, available for free download!

calendarpics

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

With yet another new design from Velveteer Lauren “Lozzy” Taylor, based on our fresh looking website layout, we really hope you like the results – which are available for a free download now.

GET YOUR FREE 2013 CALENDAR BY CLICKING HERE NOW!

Thank you to everyone involved, and to all of you – our dearest Peelers – for a truly fantastic 2012… Happy New Year everyone, and here’s to a glorious 2013 for all!

Onion Talking: Dave Brown’s Tough Crowd

7 Dec

© Dave Brown

Tough Crowd - the new photo exhibition by Dave Brown, is currently wowing art-lovers at The Strand Gallery in central London.

TVO caught up with the man behind the lens to talk about putting together a series of comedian portraits with a difference…

“It’s not all panel shows, fat cheques & giggles. Comedians are tough. They have to be.”

So says Dave Brown, one fifth of The Mighty Boosh, graphic designer by trade and photographer whenever time has allowed. Over the years, he has documented the madcap adventures of the quintet he is a vital part of, recently hosting an exhibition of his favourite shots culled from a decade of Boosh history. Tough Crowd, in aid of Afrikids, however, is an entirely different beast.

“It came from trying to think of a different angle to shoot comedians,” he explains to TVO in the midst of final preparations for the exhibition at The Strand Gallery. “It’s not that I’ve got a hatred of the way comedians are portrayed in photography, or their posters and stuff, because some of that is great. Photographers like Andy Hollingworth are excellent at it.”

“It’s just the usual persona you see comedians giving out on their panel shows, on stage or in the papers…” he trails off. “Well, they’re mostly always chirpy and cheery. I think a lot of people get the idea that it’s an amazingly glamorous life: that it’s an easy way we make a living, earning loads of money and having a great laugh at the same time. Truth is, it’s not easy… for most people in the industry anyway. It’s a extremely difficult world to occupy. I know loads of comedians, they have to be seriously thick skinned to make it and to stay there. To be a comedian you have to be resilient.” Continue reading →

A Crowd At Tough Crowd

6 Dec

Tuesday evening saw the grand opening of Dave Brown‘s new photography exhibition Tough Crowd at the Stand Gallery in London. Velveteers Paulyne and Mog were there and enjoyed an early glimpse of the show.

© Dave Brown

Mog
The comedians featured in the photographs read like a ‘who’s who’ of The Velvet Onion; it’s tangible evidence of how interconnected this particular group of artists really are. The images themselves are incredibly striking – defined by their wintery colours, crisp details and luminescent eyes. This is a side of the comedian’s persona that we don’t often get to see, and across the faces in the photographs there’s a fascinating mixture of confusion, frustration, guilt and fear. Some of the featured artists haven’t quite let their guard down, but in so doing perhaps reveal how much deeper their fear of comedy failure goes.

The scale of the photographs stops you in your tracks – every whisker and laughter line writ large across the gallery wall. A massive print of Tony Law dominates the ground floor: a noble 19th century explorer with childhood in his eyes.

The contrast between these images and the photographs that Dave took in Ghana make for fascinating viewing: the single wall of gold-tinged skin and warm earth tones provides an interesting step change within the show. Summer and Winter. Them and us.

© Dave Brown

Paulyne
Even when arriving nearly two hours after doors open, we still found the entrance crammed to gills with the friends and family of Dave Brown, all there too see his stunning work for Afrikids.

As we circled the room and entered each long stretch of hallway it was hard not to be completely entranced by the portraits of so many well-known faces. The heartwarming touch for us was the TVO connection to a large percentage of them; and some even with a long childhood connection (e.g. Lenny Henry), of watching them on Saturday nights in your pyjamas with a cuppa.

Looking around at each of those portraits was a bit like wanting to ask the subjects probing questions but at the same time not wanting to intrude. The idea of each snap is ‘when the laughter stops’ and Dave certainly got this out of each subject. It begs the question what would I think about in that situation?

© Dave Brown

A must see exhibition for you to lose yourself in and come back to us with your own thoughts… if they’re not too private.

To buy a limited edition print of one of the Tough Crowd photographs and to donate to Afrikids at the same time visit the Afrikids website.  There are 100 prints of each subject; A3 prints cost £50 and A2 prints cost £75. To see photos of last night’s opening take a look at photographer Sam Witney’s site and click on ‘Dec 5th’. See how many TVO-related faces you can spot – they were out in force!

Keep your eyes peeled for our exclusive interview with the man behind the camera lens, Dave Brown, coming soon!

Tough Crowd

5 Dec
© Dave Brown

© Dave Brown

Tough Crowd, the latest photo exhibition by Dave Brown, opens today at The Strand Gallery in central London.

A collection of portraits capturing the very essence of the lonely, fragile comedian, the exhibition is in aid of the brilliant Afrikids and features a whole host of famous names including the likes of Harry Hill, Lenny Henry, Adam Buxton, Jimmy Carr, Tony Law, Lee Mack and more… including a number of TVO regulars too!

The likes of Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt, Rich Fulcher, Julia Davis, Richard Ayoade, Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Tom Meeten, Barunka O’Shaughnessy, Sarah Kendall, Dolly Wells, Kevin Eldon, Kim Noble, Neil Cole, Dan Clark, Joey Page and Arnab Chanda join the packed line-up.

The exhibition will run at The Strand until December 15th, and entry is free.  Fans will be more than pleased to know that limited edition prints of every portrait will be available to buy for just £50 (A3) and £75 (A2).

TVO attended the packed out preview tonight, and spoke to Dave about the exhibition earlier this week, so expect our exclusive reports very soon, alongside a competition for a very special prize!

To find out more about the brilliant work Afrikids do, go over yonder, or check out the Strand Gallery right here.

Daves Tough Crowd

24 Oct

© Dave Brown

All our regular readers know that Dave Brown is a professional photographer (among his many talents), and his new exhibition Tough Crowd blends his photography and comedy connections.

He will be showing his portraits of fellow comedians including Noel Fielding, Lee Mack and Jimmy Carr, to illustrate how tough life on the road is for comedians, especially when they are first starting out.

The exhibition at London’s Strand Gallery will run from December 4th to 16th. Admission is free, and signed limited edition prints will be sold in aid of  AfriKids, a charity that Dave supports enthusiastically.

You can read more about the exhibition at chortle.co.uk, and we are hoping to find out more about the exhibition from Dave, before the opening in December.

The Mighty Teacher

1 Sep

Sometimes the weird and occasionally wonderful world of social media provides an unexpected smile. Yesterday was one such moment, as #ThingsILearnedFromTheMightyBoosh achieved world trend status on twitter.

© Baby Cow/BBC

Boosh folk and fans alike seized on the hashtag, using it as an opportunity to share their happiest memories of The Mighty Boosh. There was everything from “To succeed in life, I need a door in my hair!” (Mike Frankish) and “Never let a crack fox near your medicine cabinet” (Ellie Shaw), to “Roger Daltrey hoovers for nobody” (Shane) – and everything in between, including lots of mentions of ponchos, Baileys and cheese/meat.

Those involved in the series added this to the hashtag conversation:

“Far too much to tweet” and “Mike can’t eat chocolate cheesecake” (Dave Brown)
“I learnt that the Boosh fans are the best fans in the world x x x love you freaks” and “Tony Harrison learnt that its best to buy poppers in bulk” (Noel Fielding)
“The Boosh boys don’t like learning their lines” and “Spiders have eight pensises” (Spencer Millman)
“What goes on tour stays on tour” (Peter Kyriacou)
“Never try to get on a bouncy castle in crutches!” (Lliana Bird)

To read through the comments (which are still coming through thick and fast a whole day later!), take a look at #ThingsILearnedFromTheMightyBoosh. You see, twitter can be a happy place!

For The Win Is A Winner!

30 Aug

© Big Face Productions

A wee while ago a very funny and fabulously silly pilot called For The Win graced BBC Three’s website. Now we’re delighted to be able to reveal that it’s going to be on the tellybox!

For The Win features several TVO favourites amongst its cast, including Rich Fulcher, Richard Glover and John Hopkins (who also co-created and directed/wrote the show). 

John has said that he wanted to give For The Win the same attention and detail that goes into a live show: “Oddly, TV productions are often so much more rushed, due to money and other stuff, than a show on the live circuit would be. To me this is strange because TV shows are there forever,”  he said.

The pilot will be broadcast during the coveted late prime time slot on a Friday evening. Tune in to BBC Three on Friday 7th September at 22:00 to watch the show (and then, assuming you enjoy it as much as we did, bombard the Beeb with demands for a full series).

Thanks to the very lovely John, we’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on one of the original sketches which was used to secure the pilot, and it includes some never-seen-before cameos from a whole host of well-knownTVO-related names… let’s just say you might be surprised who you see!

Take a look below, and we promise that you’ll be doing your own tiny smiles before the day is out…

If that tickled your funny bone, don’t forget to tune into For The Win on BBC Three on Friday 7th September.

Look out for more about John’s work on TVO soon; in the meantime, why not check out some of his other stuff here?

Wales Gets Behind The Boosh

27 Aug

© Dave Brown

As all good peelers will know, Dave Brown‘s photography exhibition, Behind the Boosh, has just finished its run in Norwich. Now Dave has announced that it will be moving to Wales.

The behind-the-secenes photography of fifteen years-worth The Mighty Booshcan be seen at Oriel Colwyn (the new gallery space situated on the top floor of Theatr Colwyn), from 1st September until 16th October. The gallery is open most weekdays from 10am-5pm; the exhibition will be also be available to view during normal theatre and cinema opening hours, and there’s no charge to view it.

Dave has said of the forthcoming show: “We had some of our best gigs in Wales so it’s great to bring a few memories back to the crazy Welsh Boosh fans.” Aww, bless! For more information check out the gallery space’s website.

Don’t forget that you can still buy signed limited edition prints from Dave’s Norwich exhibition at Flint; click here to find out more.

Ghana’s Ambulance Rally

9 Aug

In April this year Dave Brown travelled to Ghana to join the task of increasing the amount of emergency services in the north of the country.

By the time of their return they had raised £30,000 and achieved turning Ghana’s 6 ambulances into 8 and saving many more lives that they otherwise wouldn’t have made it to.

Ben Allenby, Bob Chaundy, Nick Eastcott, Malvena Stuart-Taylor, Phillip Hancock and Dave Brown have made an amazing achievement in helping Afrikids, GAS PArtnership and the 1 million people of Ghana and Dave has released a video of their trip for you to have a look at.

Take a look at the video below and you can find out more information on the work that GAS and Afrikids do on the links given.

2012 AMBULANCE RALLY from Dave Brown.

Blinkbox Booshdom!

6 Aug

© Copyright blinkbox Entertainment Limited.

Steve Coogan‘s sitcom Saxondale and anthology spoof Dr Terrible’s House Of Horrible are amongst a smattering of TVO favourites available to watch free online.

UK based video on demand service Blinkbox offers television and film from both sides of the pond to download or stream via pc, mac, games consoles, tablets and smart tv’s – and already offers a large back catalogue of programming for purchase.

This includes the TVO flavoured likes of The Mighty Boosh, Dead Boss, This Is Jinsey, Horrible Histories and Mongrels, and movies Come On Eileen, Weekender and The Boat That Rocked to name but a few.

Coogan’s work is well represented on the site, from films such as Tropic Thunder and Hot Fuzz (also featuring our very own Alice Lowe), and the televisual adventures of one Alan Partridge.

Now as part of a deal with the BBC, a number of comedy classics are available to stream free of charge.

These include Saxondale – which also featured Matt Berry, James Bachman and Tom Meeten, and underrated spoof Dr Terrible - featuring Julia Davis.

© BBC

Also up for free viewing is criminally ignored sitcom Lab Rats featuring Dan Tetsell alongside Chris Addison and Dead Boss star Geoffrey McGivern.

You can also take another look at Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive which co-stars Sharon Horgan and Alice Lowe, or That Mitchell And Web Look featuring James Bachman.

For something a little bit more ‘out there’, you can also catch rarely seen French animation series A Town Called Panic – which included Lucy Montgomery and Alexander Armstrong in it’s English dub cast.

To browse the full Blinkbox catalogue, click on any of the links above, or be really obvious and fall onto it’s home page via the word Battenberg - and of course, almost all of these shows, and more, can still be purchased the good old fashioned way on dvd and blu-ray via THE VELVET ONION AMAZON STORE!

Boosh History To Buy

21 Jul

© Dave Brown/Flint

Go on admit it: you’ve been lusting after the posters designed by Dave Brown for his photography exhibition currently running at Flint in Norwich. Well now you can get your mitts on one!

The exhibition, titled Behind the Boosh, charts the history of the comedy act from its conception in the 1990s. The posters for the show are based on a screenprint of a photograph that Dave took of Noel and Julian backstage at a Boosh gig.

To commemorate the exhibition, a limited print run of 50x A3 posters have been produced. Each one is signed by Dave and embossed. They are printed on Snowdon Cartridge 300gsm, Woodfree, acid free, White shade, matt surface paper. For anyone who isn’t a paper aficionado, that means they’re things of great beauty.

Each one costs £60 (£6.60 postage in the UK; international postge available upon request). For more information and to spend your pennies click here.

Go on, you know you want to…

The Luxurious Digital Oz!

11 Jul

© Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia Pty Ltd

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy is to receive it’s dvd premiere in Australia next month.

News of the release of the entire first series, complete with extras including behind the scenes footage, first appeared on blog The Momus Report, and naturally, we at TVO were highly curious.  After all, this release is seemingly premature – with the UK launch date pencilled in for early next year, and for once, we were completely out of the loop!

TVO confirmed news of the release with Noel directly today, as well as the possibility that a release in R2 may – and we stress may – be pushed forward to compensate.  We’re sure we can speak for the fans when we say we’re really hoping this happens, and that a dvd is joined by a simultaneous blu-ray release to really take advantage of the glorious visual canvas Noel & Nigel Coan crafted for the series.

With plans for series two starting to take shape (more on those in due course, but don’t think you’re just getting more of the same!) – it does make logical sense for the first series to be released in tandem with its launch, but if you’re desperate to have Luxury Comedy in your Christmas stocking, let us know in the comments on this article.

In the meantime, check out our behind the scenes documentary which provided peelers with an exclusive insight into the making of a cult classic, below.

 

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy is released on dvd in Australia on August 22nd.

Behind Many Scenes: A Profile of Dave Lambert

8 Jul

One of the things that distinguishes The Velvet Onion from other entertainment websites is that the artists we write about are in some way connected to one another. And some are more connected than most. Dave Lambert, of Baby Cow productions, is one such person, although you may only know him for a small fraction of what he’s done.

© Baby Cow/Sky Atlantic

His latest project is the new Alan Partridge shows currently airing on Sky Atlantic. The run kicked off a couple of weeks ago with the critically-acclaimed Welcome to the Places of My Life, and was followed by Open Books With Martyn Bryce last week. From Monday we’ll be able to watch Alan recording his radio show in the first of six half-hour Mid-Morning Matters. Be prepared to laugh and cringe equal amounts!

Dave Lambert produced and directed Welcome to the Places of My Life, produced Open Books With Martyn Bryce and edited the Mid-Morning Matters series. He’s been involved in a number of Steve Coogan projects over the years – his first back in 2003, producing the ‘making of’ documentary for the movie Cruise of the Gods (starring Coogan, Rob Brydon and David Walliams). Trivia fans may also be interested to note that Dave was the clapper loader for the movie itself too.

© Baby Cow/BBC

However, some of you may have first encountered Mr Lambert’s work via The Mighty Boosh. As the man behind the camera for all of the Boosh DVD documentaries, Dave deserves the gratitude of a legion of fans as the man responsible for providing those precious behind-the-scenes glimpses of the making of Series 1-3.

What you may not realise is that Dave also worked on the show itself, as 3rd assistant director for the first series of The Mighty Boosh. He also filmed the Boosh on their trip to the US in 2009, but so far there’s no news of the footage surfacing. We live in hope!

Continue reading →

Forgotten Favourites: The Anniversary Of Booshfest!

6 Jul

Four years ago yesterday, The Mighty Boosh teamed up with Mean Fiddler’s Vince Power to create Booshfest – a whole day of music, comedy, costumes and more at Hop Farm in Kent.

In our recurring Forgotten Favourites strand, Velveteers Mog & Paulyne reminisce about this memorable moment from the peak of Booshmania.

© unknown

It became a significant event for thousands of fans. Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt picked up the phone to their extensive and impressive line-up of talented mates, and managed to bag Gary Numan, Har Mar Superstar and of course a bit of Jazz from Polar Bear (who were a perfect kick-start to the day). Then there was The Charlatans, Robots in Disguise, The Kills, Peaches, plus a DJ set from Jarvis Cocker!

Along with the music, a festival organised by comedians wouldn’t be complete without some comedy, and this was catered to by the popular and over-populated Velvet Onion tent – sadly before TVO itself took the name and ran with it.  Featuring on this bill were TVO favourites Matt Berry, Matthew Holness, Arnab Chanda and Paul Foot, amongst others.

The merchandise and food stands even stuck with the theme; selling ‘Loud Hats’, ponchos, soup, pie & mash and even Eels! It seemed no rock had been left unturned and it certainly gave off the feeling of stepping into a literal Boosh world.  We’re sure if they could have used Euros as currency they would have!

As well as planning the day, we also got to see the Boosh simultaneously promote it all over TV, radio and print. They appeared on the front cover of NME (one of many covers in this period), as well as a slot on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, which also teased at their then forthcoming live tour, Future Sailors.

With The Boosh taking an unexpected turn in their careers with this event, the press were not always going to be complementary.  Of course, the event sparked reviews stating “Punters failed to get a handle on the odd line-up” and “The atmosphere was lacking from the off.” We’re not sure which festival they were at, but from what we saw there wasn’t a fan on Hop Farm that wasn’t glowing with the Boosh spirit!

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The Velvet Onion may have only existed as a comedy tent back at the time of Booshfest, but Velveteers were there in mind, body and spirit. Indeed, Mog’s over-excited review of the day made it into Cheekbone, the Boosh fanzine of the day. Much to her embarrassment we’ve dusted it off in celebration of that glorious day four years ago.

Continue reading →

Behind The Boosh Contest: Winners Announced!

2 Jul

© Dave Brown

After scrolling through your caption entries (which were up in the hundreds!), Dave Brown has picked out his top 3 and declared them the winners of the Velvet Onion Behind the Boosh Caption Contest!

In 1st place and winning a signed print of a photo of Dave’s choice and a screen print of the Behind the Boosh poster is Tarzanella, with her entry: “THE JUICY DANGLERS”

In 2nd place, winning a signed Behind the Boosh poster, is Charlotte with: “Bet they wished they had manginas now!”

And in 3rd place, winning Behind the Boosh poster, is Lauren who entered with:  ”Although the Boosh was loose, the harnesses were ball stranglingly tight.”

Well done to the winners!  Dave said he had a tough time picking just three and sends his thanks to everyone who entered.

Congratulations Tarzanella, Charlotte and Lauren – you have been notified via email but if you are one of the winners and have not received our email do let us know the right address at submit@thevelvetonion.com

Dave Brown will be launching his Behind the Boosh exhibition to the public from July 8th at Flint Salon in Norwich. And keep peeling for more exclusive TVO competitions!

Club Fantastico Rides Again

29 Jun

Steve Oram and Tom Meeten return to The Vandella on July 12th for another round of Club Fantastico, with some very special guest stars.

© Dave Brown / Oram & Meeten

We told you back in May that Oram & Meeten’s revived club night would be returning this summer, and we hope that a lot of you took that, and their appearance at TVO Live [the same day the shot above was taken by Dave Brown] as a good excuse to buy tickets anyway.

However, if you were still unswayed, the duo announced the line-up for the new show today – and it’s a corker – with Waen Shepherd returning as Gary Le Strange, alongside Alice Lowe, Alex Kirk and Sean The Prawn!

Tickets for the show on July 12th are just £10 on the door, or £7.50 in advance via We Got Tickets over yonder.  You’d be mad to miss it!

The Velvet Onion: The Extreme Racists…

29 Jun

Today marks the one month anniversary of our evening of music, comedy and downright madness at TVO Live! So what better way to celebrate the night than to give all of you a taste of what went down in our first trailer!

Take a look below at the first snippets of footage from our film of the whole shebang, and we’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone that made it to the event; the superb comics and musicians that took to the Vandella’s stage, of course to James Wren and Bob Pipe for being amazing support, to Michael Henry Bull, Michael Glynn and Jon Burgess our fantastic camera team, and also extra thanks to Waen Shepherd for letting us use his brilliant track for our trailer.

To read more about TVO Live you can take a look at our previous recap of the evening complete with photos from the night!

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