Name	Bouzouki
Classification	Plucked string instrument}}

The bouzouki (Greek: μπουζούκι ; plural: μπουζούκια), is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family, with a pear-shaped body and a long neck, evolved from the ancient Greek pandura. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but pitched lower. There are two main types of bouzouki. The ''three-course'' with three pairs of strings (known as courses) and the ''four-course'' having four pairs of strings.

History

The origin of Bouzouki as a descendent of ancient Greek and eastern instruments, locates in ancient Greece, where there had been an instrument known as the pandura or pandourion, also called the "trichordo" because it had three strings; it was the first fretted instrument known, forerunner of the various families of lutes worldwide. The source of our knowledge about this instrument is the Mantineia marble (4th century BC), now exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, depicting the mythical contest between Apollo and Marsyas, where a pandoura is being played by a muse seated on a rock. From Byzantine times it was called pandouras and then tambouras (Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon, Robin Cormack, The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford University Press, 2008, p928. Cf. Nikos Maliaras, Byzantina mousika organa, EPN 1023, ISΒN 978-960-7554-44-4). The modern Turkish Tanbur is practically identical to the ancient Greek pandouris. On display in the National Historical Museum of Greece is the tambouras of a hero of the Greek revolution of 1821, General Makriyiannis.thumb|135px|the tambouras of Yannis Makriyannis exposed in the National Historical Museum, AthensIt has, in the past 50 years, become increasingly popular in contemporary American folk music. Bouzouki in Turkish means "broken (from ), not functioning, modified." Here it is used in order to specify the size of the instrument, because of its modified (not proper) nature. It might be concluded, therefore, that the bouzouki has been named after the jargon of the Turkish saz by the Greeks living in Turkey. An alternative popular etymology maintains that the word bouzouki was used because different tunings (the Turkish 'düzen') are required for the instrument to play in different musical scales (known as Dromoi in Greek, Maqam. ;"Around the turn of the century in Athens and Piraeus musicians adapted the Turkish saz to their needs, replacing the tied frets with metal frets like those of mandolins and guitars , and in the process abandoning the 1/4 tone system for the Western tempered tuned chromatic scale. By the 20's they had further changed the construction from solid carved saz bodies to mandolin-like bowl backs and had also added machine pegs, and settled on D A D as the tuning of the paired courses, the lowest pair including high octave double. The instrument was played with Greek guitars and a miniature version of itself tuned an octave higher. These instrumentals both are kind of transformation of ancient Greek Pandoura , the larger version called bouzouki and the diminutive baglamas The three-string, also known by the Hellenized name of the Greek Pandoura (pan tur = 5 strings), refers primarily by lexicographers Pollux (2nd century AD) Hesychios , the Athenian and Nicomachus and Shown in clay figurines of 330-200 BC in the hands of Greek women. Other sizes have developed and include the Greek instrumental Tzouras ,smaller in size than the standard.

The early bouzoukia were mostly three-string (trichordo), with three courses (six strings in three pairs) and were tuned in different ways, as to the scale one wanted to play.

At the end of the 1950s, four-course (Tetrachordo) bouzoukia started to gain popularity. The four-course bouzouki was made popular by Manolis Chiotis who also used a tuning akin to standard guitar tuning, which made it easier for guitarists to play bouzouki, even as it angered purists. The first recording was made in 1958.

The Irish bouzouki, with four courses, a flatter back, and differently tuned from the Greek bouzouki, is a more recent development, dating back to the 1960s.The Irish bouzouki became popular around the same time, with four pairs of strings and a flatter back.

The Three-course Bouzouki (Trichordo)

This is the classical type of bouzouki that was the mainstay of most Rebetiko music. It has fixed frets and it has 6 strings in three pairs. In the lower-pitched (bass) course, the pair consists of a thick wound string and a thin string tuned an octave apart. The conventional modern tuning of the ''trichordo'' bouzouki is Dd-aa-dd. This tuning was called the "European tuning" by Markos Vamvakaris, who described several other tunings, or ''douzenia'', in his autobiography. The illustrated bouzouki was made by Karolos Tsakirian of Athens, and is a replica of a ''trichordo'' bouzouki made by his grandfather for Markos Vamvakaris and became more famous from Manolis Chiotis. The absence of the heavy mother of pearl ornamentation often seen on modern bouzoukia is typical of bouzoukia of the period. It has tuners for eight strings, but has only six strings, the neck being too narrow for eight. The luthiers of the time often used sets of four tuners on trichordo instruments, as these were more easily available, since they were used on mandolins.

The Four-course Bouzouki (Tetrachordo)

This type of bouzouki has 8 metal strings which are arranged in 4 pairs, known as courses, typically tuned Cc Ff aa dd (i.e., one whole note below the four high strings of a guitar). In the two higher-pitched (treble) courses, the two strings of the pair are tuned to the same note. In the two lower-pitched (bass) courses, the pair consists of a thick wound string and a thin string tuned an octave apart. These 'octave strings' add to the fullness of the sound and are used in chords and bass drones (continuous low notes that are played throughout the music). The guitar-like tuning was introduced by composer and soloist Manolis Chiotis, who found it better suited to the kind of virtuoso playing he was famous for. Traditionalists shun the 4-course as they feel it alters the character of the instrument. Many musicians such as the aforementioned Chiotis and Giorgos Zampetas began using specially designed pickups to achieve a slightly thicker humbucker-like sound in the mid-1960s. These pickups are widely used by several Greek artists today and came in active and (usually) passive versions.

The Greek Baglamas

The Greek baglamas (Greek μπαγλαμάς) or baglamadaki (Greek μπαγλαμαδάκι), is very different from the Turkish bağlama. The treble bouzouki is pitched an octave higher (nominally D-A-D), with unison pairs on the four highest strings and an octave pair on the lower D. Musically, the baglamas is most often found supporting the bouzouki in the Piraeus style of rembetika.

Notable bouzouki players

Babis Tsertos

Markos Vamvakaris

Nikos Vrachnas

Vassilis Tsitsanis

Manolis Chiotis

Giannis Tatasopoulos

See also

Greek music

Greek folk music

Laouto, another Greek lute

Stringed instrument tunings

Rebetiko

Laiko

Tzouras

Irish bouzouki

Related Instruments

Baglamas

Barbiton

Pandura

Cithara

Mandolin

Citharede

Reference List

Further reading

—

Category:Greek musical instruments Category:Cypriot musical instruments Category:Slovenian musical instruments Category:Serbian musical instruments Category:String instruments Category:Greek music Category:Necked bowl lutes Category:Words of Turkish origin

ca:Buzuki cs:Buzuki de:Bouzouki et:Buzuki el:Μπουζούκι es:Buzuki eo:Buzuko fr:Bouzouki ko:부주키 it:Bouzouki he:בוזוקי la:Buzucium lt:Buzukis hu:Buzuki nl:Bouzouki ja:ブズーキ no:Bouzouki oc:Bozoki pl:Buzuki pt:Bouzouki ro:Bouzouki ru:Бузуки sq:Buzuku (muzikë) sk:Buzuki fi:Busuki sv:Bouzouki tr:Buzuki uk:Бузукі

Name	Vangelis Trigas
Born	October 27, 1960
Origin	Argos, Greece
Genre	rebetiko, Contemporary laïka, éntekhno
Years active	1975–present
Website	www.trigas.gr
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist }}

Vangelis Trigas is a virtuoso soloist and master of the bouzouki.

He was born 1960 in Argos and began playing the bouzouki during the years of elementary school. He learned to play his first songs from his father, who was an amateur. He is self-taught, and began playing professionally at the age of 15. He has worked with many of the leading Greek singers. During his many collaborations, he concurrently began teaching in 1990. Most of his efforts to date are devoted to the study-research necessary, for the evolution of the bouzouki’s technique and organized curriculum.

Collaborations

His most important collaborations were with Maria Farantouri in 2004, and George Dalaras in 2007.

With Maria Farantouri, he had the opportunity to perform at great music venues in many European cities such as the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Munich Philharmonic etc. With George Dalaras, he performed at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus , Athens Concert Hall, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, etc.

He has also collaborated in concerts with Mary Linda, Haris Alexiou, Dimitris Mitropanos, Marinela, Manolis Mitsias, Manolis Lidakis and many others.

Discography

He has recorded three solo albums. Two of them, which are instrumentals that contain studies for the bouzouki are titled, "12 Organika Yia Trihordo Bouzouki(12 instrumentals for the three string bouzouki)" and "Se 3 Horthes (On three Strings)". The third one contains remakes of old popular songs entitled, "Aftoschethiasmi Ke Tragouthia Yia Bouzouki(improvisations and songs for the bouzouki)".

He has also participated in several albums such as, "Otan Simvi Sta Parix(when it will happen at the Perix)" by George Dalaras, recorded in 2007 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, "San Tragoudi magemeno(like an enchanted song)" by George Dalaras, recorded in 2008 at the Concert Hall, "Afstiros Laikon(strictly folk)" by Manolis Lidakis, recorded in 2006, etc.

Personal discography:

2009 - Se 3 Horthes(On three Strings)

2007 - Aftoschethiasmi Ke Tragouthia Yia Bouzouki(improvisations and songs for the bouzouki) - Masters & The Folk Song Performances - No.1

2004 - 12 Organika Yia Trihordo Bouzouki(12 instrumentals for the three string bouzouki)

His participations:

2008 - San Tragoudi magemeno(Like an enchanted song) - George Dalaras

2007 - Otan Simvi Sta Parix(when it will happen at the Perix - George Dalaras

2007 - Masters & The Folk Song Performances - No.3 - Stavros Tzouanakos

2007 - Masters & The Folk Song Performances - No.2 - Kostas Kalafatis

2006 - Afstiros Laikon(strictly folk) - Manolis Lidakis

2005 - 12 Solistes Mia Foni(twelve soloists one voice) - Zacharias Karounis

Bibligraphy

He has published five books so far.

Teaching Methods:

No.1 - Method for the three-string bouzouki

No.2 - Method for the three-string bouzouki

With Scores:

No.1 - 18 rembetika & folk songs

No.2 - 18 rembetika & folk songs

No.3 - 18 rembetika & folk songs

No.4 - 18 old folk songs

No.5 - 23 rembetika & folk songs

No.6 - 18 old folk songs

References

Press releases from magazines and newspapers

2010 - MusicHeaven - Interview by Thanasis Gioglou

2009 - OASIS - Interview by Alexis Vakis

2009 - DIFONO - Alexis Vakis

2007 - DIFONO - Kostas Balahoutis

2006 - HITECH - Harry Sarris

2005 - TO LAIKO TRAGOUDI - George Kontogiannis

2005 - METRO - Apostolis Kaparoudakis

2005 - METRONOMOS - Chronis Platinos

2005 – TA NEA - Panos Geramanis

External links

Official site (www.trigas.gr)

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:Greek musicians Category:Universal Music Greece artists

el:Βαγγέλης Τρίγκας

name	Bill Bailey
birth name	Mark Bailey
birth date	January 13, 1964
birth place	Bath, Somerset, England
active	1989–present
genre	Surreal humour, Musical comedy
spouse	Kristin Bailey (1998–present)
religion	Pagan
website
notable work	''Black Books''''Never Mind the Buzzcocks''''Hot Fuzz''
notable role	Manny Biancoin ''Black Books''Bilboin ''Spaced'' }}

Bill Bailey (born Mark Bailey; 13 January, 1964) is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on ''Black Books'', ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', ''Have I Got News for You'', and ''QI''.

Bailey was listed by ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003. In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the 7th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Bill Bailey is a patron of International Animal Rescue.

Personal life

Bailey was born in Bath, Somerset and spent the majority of his childhood in Keynsham, a town situated between Bath and Bristol in the West of England. His father was a medical practitioner and his mother was a hospital ward sister. His maternal grandparents lived in an annexe, built on the side of the house by his maternal grandfather who was a stonemason and builder. Two rooms at the front of the family house were for his father's surgery.

Bailey was educated at King Edward's School, an independent school in Bath where he was initially an academic pupil winning most of the prizes. However, at about the age of 15 years, he started to become distracted from school work when he realised the thrill of performance as a member of a school band called Behind Closed Doors, which played mostly original work. He was the only pupil at his school to study A-level music and he passed with an A grade. He also claims to have been good at sport (captain of KES 2nd XI cricket team 1982), which often surprised his teachers. He would often combine the two by leading the singing on the long coach trip back from away rugby fixtures. It was here that he was given his nickname Bill by his music teacher, Ian Phipps, for being able to play the song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" so well on the guitar.

He started an English degree at Westfield College of the University of London but left after a year.

He spent his early years listening to Monty Python records, and rehearsing with a band called the "Famous Five", who he himself confesses were very bad but still much better than him and who actually only had four members. However, he is a classically trained musician and received an Associateship Diploma from the London College of Music as well as being made an honorary member of the Society of Crematorium Organists. Despite this, he has said that he always had the temptation to be silly with music, a trait that influences his stand-up shows.

Bailey often mythologises his early years in his stand-up. In his show ''Bewilderness'', he claims to have attended Bovington Gurney School of Performing Arts and Owl Sanctuary. He talks about a succession of jobs he had before becoming a comedian, including lounge pianist, crematorium organist, door-to-door door-salesman and accompanist for a mind-reading dog. A clip of Bailey's appearance in the dog's routine was shown during his ''Room 101'' appearance. He also is self-deprecating about his appearance, suggesting he is so hairy that he is part troll, or that his hair or beard is a small animal named Lionel whom he has trained to sit 'very very still.'

Bailey also talks about his role as a "Disenfranchised Owl" in an experimental Welsh theatre troupe. Other acting roles included a part in a Workers' Revolutionary Party stage production called ''The Printers'', which also featured Vanessa Redgrave and Frances de la Tour. His trivia page on IMDb also claims that he was awarded Best Actor in the 1986 Institut Français awards.

Bailey married Kristin in 1998. An avid ''Star Trek'' fan, he named his son (born 2003) not after the'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' character Dax as is often reported, but after a childhood friend, and often refers to himself as a Klingon (once claiming during his "Part Troll" tour that his ear-mounted microphone made him resemble "a wizard in a call centre" and "a Klingon motivational speaker").

He currently lives in Hammersmith and supports Queens Park Rangers. In 2010, Bailey endorsed the Labour Party in the upcoming General Election, appearing in the party's fifth party election broadcast of the 2010 campaign. He is also an outspoken feminist and supporter of the Fawcett Society.

Career

Early stand-up

Bailey began touring the country with other comedians such as Mark Lamarr. In 1984 he formed a double act, the Rubber Bishops, with Toby Longworth (a former fellow pupil at King Edward's Bath). They achieved a certain amount of success on the club circuit, partly due to their rigorous schedule – sometimes as many as three or four gigs a night. It was here that Bailey began developing his own unique style, mixing in musical parodies with deconstructions of or variations on traditional jokes ("How many amoebas does it take to change a lightbulb? One, no two! No four! No eight..."). According to comedy folklore, after a reviewer once criticised his act for its lack of jokes, Bailey returned the following night, at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, to perform a set composed entirely of punchlines. Toby left to join the RSC in 1989 and was replaced by Martin Stubbs.

Stubbs later quit to pursue a more serious career, and in 1994 Bailey performed ''Rock'' at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Sean Lock, a show about an ageing rockstar and his roadie, script-edited by comedy writer Jim Miller. It was later serialised for the Mark Radcliffe show on BBC Radio 1. However, the show's attendances were not impressive and on one occasion the only person in the audience was comedian Dominic Holland. Bailey almost gave up comedy to take up a telesales job.

He persevered, however, and went solo the next year with the one man show ''Bill Bailey's Cosmic Jam''. The show was very well received and led to a recording at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London which was broadcast in 1997 on Channel 4 as a one-hour special called ''Bill Bailey Live''. It was not until 2005 that this was released in DVD uncut and under its original title. It marked the first time that Bailey had been able to tie together his music and post-modern gags with the whimsical rambling style he is now known for.

After supporting Donna McPhail in 1995 and winning a ''Time Out'' award, he returned to Edinburgh in 1996 with a critically acclaimed show that was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. Amongst the other nominees was future ''Black Books'' co-star Dylan Moran, who narrowly beat him in the closest vote in the award's history.

Bailey won the Best Live Stand-Up award at the British Comedy Awards, 1999.

Television

Though he didn't win the Perrier in 1996, the nomination was enough to get him noticed, and in 1998 the BBC gave him his own television show, ''Is It Bill Bailey?''

This was not Bailey's first foray into television. His debut was on the children's TV show ''Motormouth'' in the late 1980s, playing piano for a mind-reading dog. The trick went hilariously wrong, and Bailey reminisced about the experience on the BBC show ''Room 101'' with Paul Merton in 2000. In 1991, he was appearing in stand-up shows such as ''The Happening'', ''Packing Them In'', ''The Stand Up Show'', and ''The Comedy Store''. He also appeared as captain on two panel games, an ITV music quiz pilot called ''Pop Dogs'', and the poorly received Channel 4 science fiction quiz show, ''Space Cadets''. However ''Is it Bill Bailey?'' was the first time he had written and presented his own show.

With his star on the rise and gaining public recognition, over the next few years, Bailey made well received guest appearances on shows such as ''Have I Got News For You'', ''World Cup Comedy'', ''Room 101'', ''Des O'Connor Tonight'', ''Coast to Coast'' and three episodes of off-beat Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'', in which he played comic-shop manager Bilbo Bagshot.

In 1998, Dylan Moran approached him with the pilot script for ''Black Books'', a Channel 4 sitcom about a grumpy bookshop owner, his put-upon assistant, and their neurotic female friend. It was commissioned in 2000, and Bailey took the part of the assistant Manny Bianco, with Moran playing the owner Bernard, and Tamsin Greig the friend, Fran. Three series of six episodes were made, building up a large cult fanbase, providing the public awareness on which Bailey would build a successful national tour in 2001.

When Sean Hughes left his long-term role as a team captain on ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' in 2002, Bailey became his successor. His style quickly blended into the show, possibly helped by his background in music. He soon developed a rapport of sorts with host Mark Lamarr, who continually teased him about his looks and his pre-occupation with woodland animals. It was announced on 18 September 2008 that Bill would be leaving the series and be replaced by a series of guest captains including Jack Dee and Dermot O'Leary. Whilst touring in 2009, Bailey joked that his main reason for leaving the show was a lack of desire to continue humming Britney Spears' Toxic to little known figures in the indie music scene. It was during this time that he also left his position as "curator" of The Museum of Curiosity, and declared his intention to "retire" from panel games, although he has since appeared on QI many more times and hosted Have I Got News For You.

Bailey has appeared frequently on the intellectual panel game ''QI'' since it began in 2003, appearing alongside host Stephen Fry and regular panellist Alan Davies. Other television appearances include a cameo role in Alan Davies' drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' as failing street magician Kenny Starkiss and obsessed guitar teacher in the "Holiday" episode of Sean Lock's ''Fifteen Storeys High''. He later appeared with Lock again as a guest on his show ''TV Heaven, Telly Hell''. He has also appeared twice on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. Bill also hosted his own show "Comic's Choice", which aired in 2011.

Bailey also presented ''Wild Thing I Love You'' which began on Channel 4 on 15 October 2006. The series focuses on the protection of Britain's wild animals, and has included rehoming badgers, owls, and water voles.

Bailey has most recently appeared in the second series of the E4 teenage "dramedy" ''Skins'' playing Maxxie's Dad, Walter Oliver. In episode 1, Walter struggles with his son's desire to be a dancer, instead wishing him to become a builder, which is what he himself does for a living. Walter is married to Jackie, played by Fiona Allen.

Bailey appeared on the first episode of Grand Designs Live on 4 May 2008, helping Kevin McCloud build his eco-friendly home. In 2009 Bailey appeared in the BBC show "Hustle" as the Character "Cyclops", a side-line character. In the Autumn of 2009, Bailey presented Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza.

As a continuation of Bailey's recent foray into natural history, he presented ITV1's half-hour wildlife mini-series ''Baboons With Bill Bailey''. The series was filmed in Cape Town and spanned 8 episodes, with exclusive content available on itvWILD.

International tours

In 2001, Bailey began touring the globe with ''Bewilderness'', which became a huge success. A recording of a performance in Swansea was released on DVD the same year, and the show was broadcast on Channel 4 that Christmas. A modified version of it also proved successful in America, and in 2002 Bill released a CD of a recording at the WestBeth Theatre in New York. The show contained all his trademarks, popular music parodies (such as Unisex Chip Shop, a Billy Bragg tribute which he actually performed with Billy Bragg at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival), "three men in a pub" jokes (including one in the style of Geoffrey Chaucer) and deconstructions of television themes such as ''Countdown'' and ''The Magic Roundabout''. A 'Bewilderness' CD was sold outside gigs, which was actually just a mixture of studio recordings of songs and monologues Bill had performed in the past – it was later released in shops as ''Bill Bailey: The Ultimate Collection... Ever!''. That same year he also presented a Channel 4 countdown, ''Top Ten Prog Rock''.

Bailey premiered his show ''Part Troll'' at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A critical and commercial success, he then transferred it to the West End where tickets sold out in under 24 hours, and new dates had to be added. Since then he has toured it all over the UK as well as in America, Australia and New Zealand. The show marked the first time Bailey had really tackled political material, as he expanded on subjects such as the war on Iraq, which he had only touched upon before in his ''Bewilderness New York'' show. He also talks extensively on drugs, at one point asking the audience to name different ways of baking cannabis. A DVD was released in 2004.

2005 finally saw the release of his 1995 show ''Bill Bailey's Cosmic Jam''. The 2-disc set also contained a director's cut of ''Bewilderness'', which featured a routine on Stephen Hawking's ''A Brief History of Time'' not seen in the original version.

Bailey performed at show at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe entitled "Steampunk". It looked set to become the fastest selling fringe show ever (beating the record Bailey set with The Odd Couple in 2005). But a ticketing mix-up forced the last 10% of tickets to be purchased in person from the venue rather than pre-booked, meaning the venue filled at a slower overall rate than it should have.

Bailey appeared at the Beautiful Days festival in August 2007. The UK leg of the ''Tinselworm'' tour enjoyed 3 sell-out nights at the MEN Arena in Manchester, Europe's largest indoor arena, and culminated with a sell-out performance at Wembley Arena.

Early in 2007, a petition was started to express fans' wishes to see him cast as a dwarf in the 2010 film ''The Hobbit'', after his stand-up routine mentioned auditioning for Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings''. The petition reached its goal in the early days of January, and was sent to the producers. It was hoped that as the Tinselworm tour took him to Wellington in New Zealand where the film is in pre-production, that he would be able to audition.

Bill Bailey's most recent tour, titled ''Dandelion Mind'', was released on DVD on 22 November 2010.

Other appearances

2000

A small role in British comedy film ''Saving Grace''

2001

19 July: Panelist in Radio 4's show ''The 99p Challenge''

2002

Voice for a BMW Mini advertising campaign

Writer and performer for a series of British Airways adverts in which, through the use of music, he took a humorous look at several locations around the world

Guest panellist on BBC Radio show ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''

2003

Juror No. 4 in ''Twelve Angry Men'', directed by Guy Masterson for the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Panelist on Radio 4's show ''Just a Minute'' (twice)

4 February: Panelist (for a second time) on Radio 4's show ''The 99p Challenge''

21 October: Presented ''Good Vibrations: The History of the Theremin'' on Radio 4

2005

Voice of the sperm whale in the 2005 film ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''

Co-starred as Oscar in ''The Odd Couple'' (alongside Alan Davies), directed by Guy Masterson for the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

One of the acts in the Birmingham show "Jasper Carrott's Rock with Laughter", alongside other performers including Bonnie Tyler, Lenny Henry, Bobby Davro and the Lord of the Dance troupe

Returned to Radio 4's ''Just a Minute'' for a third show as a panellist

2006

15 March: Interviewed by Lenny Henry for BBC Radio 4 show ''Chain Reaction''

22 March: Returned to ''Chain Reaction'' to interview Simon Pegg

2007

A minor part in Simon Pegg's and Edgar Wright's film ''Hot Fuzz'', as a pair of desk sergeant twins. (Bailey had originally meant to also appear in Pegg and Wright's earlier film, ''Shaun of the Dead''. but the commentary included with the DVD of that movie explains that he was busy with other commitments at the time.)

February: Organised, produced, and starred in West End show Pinter's People, a collection of sketches by playwright Harold Pinter. The show also starred Kevin Eldon, Sally Phillips and Geraldine McNulty

March: Appeared at the International Human Beatbox Convention at the South Bank Centre in London, introducing Shlomo to the stage for the climax of the concert, as well as showing off his own beatboxing

4 May: Guest presenter for an episode of BBC One's ''Have I Got News for You'' (a role he returned to on 9 May 2008)

July: Narrator for 'Nessy Tales', a series of animated reading books for dyslexic children

2008

Guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs

February: Co-host of the first series of BBC Radio 4's panel show ''The Museum of Curiosity''

9 May: Guest presenter for an episode of BBC One's ''Have I Got News for You''

9 June: Guest on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Later that day, appeared as Rushton in the first episode of an adaptation of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists on the same station 7 September: Guest on live Australian TV show 'Rove'. In a questionnaire to win in 20 seconds, host Rove McManus asked his usual question, "Who would you turn gay for?". Bailey replied, "The pope" September: One of the hosts of the ''So You Think You're Funny'' comedy gala at the ''Edinburgh Festival Fringe''

11 October: Guest on BBC Radio 4's ''Loose Ends''

12 November: Performed for "We Are Most Amused", a special comedy performance to celebrate the 60th birthday of Prince Charles

2010

30 March: took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London.

27 June: appeared on Top Gear's ''Star in a Reasonably Priced Car'', while impersonating Angelina Jolie. He finished with a time of 1:50.8 in the Kia Cee'd.

28 September: the first guest on new ABC TV conversation program ''A Quiet Word With ...''.

Music

Bailey is a talented pianist and guitarist, and has perfect pitch; of this he has said }} His stand-up routines often feature music from genres such as jazz, rock (most notably prog rock from the early seventies), drum'n'bass, rave and classical, usually for comic value. Favourite instruments include the keyboard, guitar, theremin, kazoo and bongos. He also mentioned in an interview that he has achieved Grade 6 Clarinet. He was part of punk band Beergut 100, which he founded in 1995 with comedy writer Jim Miller and also featured Martin Trenaman and Phil Whelans, with Kevin Eldon as lead singer. The band performed at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Trenaman and Welans had previously appeared in ''Cosmic Jam'' under the name "The Stan Ellis Experiment", and Trenaman and Eldon later featured with John Moloney in the Kraftwerk homage "Das Hokey Kokey" on the ''Part Troll'' tour. Bill claims that he and the three other performers are a Kraftwerk tribute band called ''Augenblick''. To mark the final gig of the ''Part Troll'' tour on 1 January 2005 the band reappeared on stage after the "Das Hokey Kokey" joke to play an hour-long encore of music.

In February 2007, Bill appeared on two occasions with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Anne Dudley in a show entitled ''Cosmic Shindig''. Performed in The Colosseum in Watford on 24 February and in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 26 February, the show contained orchestrally accompanied versions of many of Bill's previously performed songs, an exploration of the instruments of the orchestra and a number of new pieces of music. The Queen Elizabeth Hall performance was aired on BBC Radio 3 on 16 March 2007 as a part of Comic Relief 2007.

Bill had planned to put himself forward as Britain's Eurovision entry in 2008, as a result of several fan petitions encouraging him to do so.

In October 2008 he performed ''Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra'' at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley.

In 2009, Bailey presented a project about the explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, in the form of an Indonesian travelogue. Bailey said in an interview that Wallace had been "airbrushed out of history", and that he feels a "real affinity" with him.

In November 2009 he was a guest on ''Private Passions'', the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.

In July 2011, Bailey performed at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, headlining the Saturn Stage.

Tours

''Cosmic Jam'' (1995)

''Bewilderness'' (2001)

''Part Troll'' (2004)

''Steampunk'' (2006) (Edinburgh Festival)

''Tinselworm'' (2008)

''Bill Bailey Live'' (2008–09) (Theatre Tour with Some Material from Tinselworm, but Mostly New Material)

''Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra'' (2009)

''Dandelion Mind'' (2010)

DVD releases

!Title	!Released	!Notes
''Bewilderness''	12 November 2001
''Part Troll''	22 November 2004	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
''Cosmic Jam''	7 November 2005	Live at London's Bloomsbury Theatre
''Tinselworm''	10 November 2008	Live at London's Wembley Arena
''Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra''	23 November 2009	Live at London's Royal Albert Hall
''Dandelion Mind''	22 November 2010

Filmography

''The James Whale Radio Show (TV series)'' (circa 1990) (Guest)

''Blue Heaven (Channel 4 TV series)'' (1994)

''Asylum'' (1996)

''Space Cadets'' (1997) (Regular team captain)

''Is It Bill Bailey?'' (1998)

''Spaced'' (1999–2001)

''Have I Got News for You'' (guest 1999, 2001, 2005; guest presenter 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)

''Saving Grace'' (2000)

''Maid Marian and her Merry Men (1992). Cameo court jester to King John

''Black Books'' (2000–2004)

''Jonathan Creek''

* "Satan's Chimney" (2001)

* "The Tailor's Dummy" (2003)

''Wild West'' (2002–2004)

''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (2002–2008) (Regular team captain)

''QI'' (2003–present) (Frequent guest)

"15 Storeys High" – "The Holiday" (2004)

''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (2005) (Voice of the Sperm Whale)

''The Libertine'' (Small cameo role as advisor to Charles II of England).

''Wild Thing I Love You'' (2006) (Presenter)

''Top Gear (A Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car)

''Hot Fuzz'' (2007)

''Run Fatboy Run'' (2007) (Cameo)

''Skins'' (2008)

''Love Soup'' (2008)

''We Are Most Amused'' (2008) (''One-off special'')

''Hustle''

* "Return of the Prodigal" (2009)

* "Diamond Seeker" (2009)

''Steve's World'' (2009)

''Burke and Hare'' (2010)

''Bill Bailey's Bird Watching Bonanza'' (2010)

''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'' (2010)

''Talkin' 'bout Your Generation'' (2010); one episode

''Chalet Girl'' (2011)

References

External links

.

Bill Bailey on Chortle.

Category:1965 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century writers Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Alumni of Westfield College Category:English buskers Category:English comedians Category:English comedy musicians Category:English composers Category:English film actors Category:English guitarists Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English television actors Category:English television writers Category:Living people Category:Never Mind the Buzzcocks Category:People from Bath, Somerset Category:People from Keynsham Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Bath

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