The Life Of Rock With Brian Pern
TVO can confirm that Rhys Thomas’ brand new mockumentary series, The Life Of Rock With Brian Pern, begins on BBC Four next month.
© BBC Comedy
Originally announced as Rock Ratatouille back in September, the show is the brainchild of of Rhys – who directs, produces and writes the show based around the titular Brian Pern, played by fellow Fast Show veteran Simon Day.
Former front man of prog-rock band Thotch, Pern spends more time trying to save the planet and teach gorillas how to Skype than he does making music. Now, he fronts a major new documentary series for the BBC – a three-part chronology of rock history from prehistoric man to twenty-first century Britain.
He’ll be joined by Thotch bandmates Pat Quid (Paul Whitehouse) and Tony Pebble (Nigel Havers), alongside Matt Lucas as legendary producer Ray Thomas (a loving homage of Roy Thomas Baker, we imagine!) and Michael Kitchen as manager John Farrow.
They’re not alone, either. Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer, David Baddiel, Jools Holland, Rick Wakeman, David Arnold and Queen’s Roger Taylor also appear as talking heads, taking rock lovers on a re-imagined history of the genre.
EDITOR’S UPDATE: We’ve since discovered that Tony Way, Lucy Montgomery, Steve Burge and Michael Smiley will all be involved too, alongside Red Dwarf legend Danny John Jules and prog-rock god Peter Gabriel!
The Life Of Rock With Brian Pern airs on BBC Four from Wednesday 12th February at 10pm – directly opposite Inside No. 9 over on BBC Two. We’ll aim to bring you iPlayer links of both shows shortly after transmission, so stay peeled.
Whilst we wait, you can see a clip of Day in character as Pern alongside Lucy Montgomery and Tony Way from a 2010 BBC Comedy Online sketch below.
The Velvet Onion 
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