Bill Bailey

Comedy is an indoors thing, so I take every opportunity to go outside. A lot of that involves finding places that are remote, or places where you can look at birds, or do mountain biking or paddle boarding or walking. ”

Doing comedy around the world is a way of finding out how people tick. ”

It's a lovely moment when everyone's part of something greater than the sum of its parts. That encapsulates what a comedy gig should be, with the comic as the lightning rod, the Norse mischief god, getting the audience to do something they wouldn't necessarily do. ”

Now, with the success of musical comedy like the Mighty Boosh, Flight of the Conchords and Bo Burnham, I feel vindicated. ”

All kinds of things have gone into my shows - cajun and rock bands, Bollywood, Kraftwerk tributes, effects and so on. As long as it services the comedy, everything is up for grabs. ”

Comedy should be fluid. It should be both Left and Right wing. ”

My comedy comes from the actual music itself - they're observational musical gags. I could take the music away and it would just be some words. ”

The two worst enemies of comedy are lack of sleep and not having had a decent meal. ”

The point with me is that it's always been, even with the stand-up, that the music has to be right. You have to take it seriously. You have to try and play it as faithfully as possible. That way it helps the comedy. Rather than just playing it in a silly way. ”

Having a break from comedy is quite good. ”