History Music / BillBailey

* {{Theremin}}: Part of his standard keyboard setup, used in many of his musical routines.
** On the ''Part Troll'' DVD's Video Diary extra, Bill meets a fan who has built a theremin from a kit and ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome installed it inside a garden gnome]]''.

Bailey is an incredibly talented musician, a very funny comedian [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} who launches into non-sequiturs a lot]], and he resembles an overgrown, hairy Klingon troll. But is lovable nonetheless.

* ArchEnemy: Music/ChrisDeBurgh.
** In the ''Part Troll'' show Bailey provides photographic proof that de Burgh is actually [[UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden Osama bin Laden]] without the beard.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: His "Scale of evil" included [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]], [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] and Music/ChrisDeBurgh.

* AudienceParticipation: In ''Part Troll'', Bill has the audience produce a single clap all at the same time. He notes that it sounds like a giant breaking a piece of wood in half, and goes on to mime this.

-->'''Bill''': "Are they singing 'ham/hamster'?... [[MilkingTheGiantCow WHY THAT BILL BAILEY!]]" Because that's how Brandon Flowers talks - like a [[DastardlyWhiplash 1950s villain]].

* BerserkButton: Yes, he's heard all of the "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey?" jokes.
** On one episode of ''Series/{{QI}}'', the song was the noise his buzzer made when he pressed it. He began to get frustrated by it near the middle of the episode and started to push Alan Davies' button instead of his to ring in.
** English footballers are starting to become something of a BerserkButton for him, by his rants about them in ''Tinselworm'' and ''Dandelion Mind.'' In the former, he contemptuously refers to them as "borderline rapists whose job it is to shepherd a bit of leather into an outdoor cupboard." And in the latter...
--> A bunch of useless, ''turf-kicking, knuckle-dragging, monobrowed... '''millionaire... ILLITERATES!!!'' '''

* CatchPhrase: Whenever a show is going off the rails - especially when he's confused by attempts at audience participation or hecklers - Bill will claim that "we're crossing the International Punch Line."

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}

* DescentIntoDarknessSong: An OTT ObsessionSong that [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js4GepPNQro starts a bit depressed]]. Only a bit, mind you. Then it goes serenely upbeat and joyous, followed by being unbelievably angry and unhappy.
** Also, the 'hidden middle section' of the ''Series/MagicRoundabout'' theme.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: In real life, Bill is a naturally gifted musician and highly intelligent. However, in his shows, he often portrays himself as awkward, disheveled, bumbling and somewhat dense, right before launching into a highly detailed parable about classical music and existential philosophy.
** Can cross over the lines of AbsentMindedProfessor cross DitzyGenius at sometimes, though. There are a few tangents that come from nowhere and go somewhere, but not somewhere within the orbital perimeter of Jupiter. They just take flight and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} keep on going...]]

* SurrealHumor: very much the purveyor of surrealistic humor. A lot of his material wanders into {{Metaphorgotten}} territory, subsequently gets lost, and then decides to build a shack out of fern leaves in order to ponder the existential interpretation of the leprechaun.

* WithLyrics: He has done this for a number of instrumental TV theme tunes, perhaps most notably ''Series/{{Mastermind}}'': "You're ALL GOING TO DIEEEEEEEEE...DAH-DAH!"

* WordSaladLyrics: "The Leg of Time" has a few of these, such as "Ride a white pig to the edge of Lapland" and "Magical chanting is no crime/when you're suckled by a blind Alsatian".
** As does the "Dandelion Mind" song.

* UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry: Bill is from Bath, Somerset. Every time the music of The Wurzels is played on ''Series/NevermindTheBuzzcocks'' (and when they appeared), he stands and salutes them as heroes.

->''"A lot of people say there's a fine line between genius and insanity. I don't think there's a fine line, I actually think there's a yawning gulf. You see some poor bugger scuffling up the road with balloons tied to his ears, he's not going home to invent a rocket, is he?"

** ''TheMagicRoundabout'' with the hidden demonic section after four hours of the normal theme-tune.

Bill Bailey is a popular British stand-up comedian and musician. He is known for his role on ''Series/BlackBooks'' and appearances on ''Series/{{QI}}'', ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' (where he was a team captain for quite some time, replacing Sean Hughes), ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''Series/{{Spaced}}''. He has also had small parts in movies such as ''Film/HotFuzz''; ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' movie adaptation (as a falling sperm whale); ''Film/RunFatBoyRun'', and a few others. He also can be seen appearing as a trick dog obsessed father in Series 2 of ''Series/{{Skins}}'', and as some kind of paramilitary lumberjack in a single episode of ''Series/DoctorWho''.

* MinskyPickup: Bill calls it the "Basic Cockney intro" and claims that it's present in [[LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]]'s ''Moonlight Sonata''.

** The "Match of the Day" theme tune has been subjected to tone adjustments, rendering it 1) with the Alberti bass, 2) the "lounge version", 3) the "Eastern European cartoon theme", 4) a NorthKorea-inspired march, and 5) a "Jewish folk song" in ''Qualmpeddler''.

** The "Match of the Day" theme tune has been subjected to tone adjustments, rendering it 1) with the Alberti base, 2) the "lounge version", 3) the "Eastern European cartoon theme", 4) a NorthKorea-inspired march, and 5) a "Jewish folk song" in ''Qualmpeddler''.

** In one routine, Bill recounts being stopped at airport security and being questioned about his kazoo, upon which he demonstrated a tune, which he begins playing for the audience. The security personnel confiscated the kazoo after said tune turned into a medley of 80s hits.

* {{Medley}}: The Cockney Rock Medley; a selection of 1980's hits being played in the style of a cockney working men's club pianist.

** On one episode of ''{{QI}}'', the song was the noise his buzzer made when he pressed it. He began to get frustrated by it near the middle of the episode and started to push Alan Davies' button instead of his to ring in.

** ''EastEnders'', which he likens to "a wheelbarrow full of cold porridge being pushed up a plank and dumped into a skip" and gives the theme tune the lyrics "Everyone is going to die". Also played on sitar (well, on guitar with sitar-flavoured effects on the amp) in ''Part Troll''.

* UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry: Bill is from Bath, Somerset. Every time the music of The Wurzels is played on ''NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' (and when they appeared), he stands and salutes them as heroes.

* ArchEnemy: ChrisDeBurgh.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: His "Scale of evil" included [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]], [[JosefStalin Stalin]] and ChrisDeBurgh.

Bill Bailey is a popular British stand-up comedian and musician. He is known for his role on ''BlackBooks'' and appearances on ''{{QI}}'', ''NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'' (where he was a team captain for quite some time, replacing Sean Hughes), ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''{{Spaced}}''. He has also had small parts in movies such as ''Film/HotFuzz''; ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' movie adaptation (as a falling sperm whale); ''Film/RunFatBoyRun'', and a few others. He also can be seen appearing as a trick dog obsessed father in Series 2 of ''Series/{{Skins}}'', and as some kind of paramilitary lumberjack in a single episode of ''Series/DoctorWho''.

[[quoteright:325:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Image1_bbaileyheadshot.jpeg]]

* CreatorBacklash: [[InUniverse During his stand-up]], Bill says that he quit Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks to preserve his dignity, after finding himself (not for the first time) humming "Toxic" by Creator/BritneySpears to "some gormless indie halfwit".

* OneOfUs: He is a massive ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fan, even going so far as to name his son [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Dax]]. Which was actually named after a childhood friend but you try telling the internet that.
** He is also known to wear anime paraphernalia, appearing in ''Anime/DragonBall'' and ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' t-shirts in separate episodes of ''Series/{{QI}}''.
** He also seems to be a big fan of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.

** In the ''Part Troll'' show Bailey provides photographic proof that De Burgh is actually [[UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden Osama bin Laden]] without the beard.

** His description of the Argos catalogue.