BILL BAILEY

The great and good of progressive music give us a glimpse into their prog worlds. As told to Jo Kendall.

Where’s home?

Hammersmith, West London.

Your earliest prog memory?

It was a performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets suite, in Bath. There was this amazing sound and light show and the twiddly widdliness of it, I liked that. It was very sophisticated. I went with my friend Tim and his father, who was a composer. Tim was a drummer and I ended up being in a band with him. We used to sit around a lot, listening to lots of widdly records.

First prog gig attended?

Rick Wakeman, in London somewhere. I remember a lot of keyboards. I was very impressed and thought, “I want that amount of keyboards at some point in my life.” Plus a cape is a much underused item of clothing.

Favourite gadget?

This electronic theremin that I have. Theremins were always quite tricksy to play because you just pluck a note out of the air. This new one is a Moog but it’s called a Theremini: it’s gone digital. This means you can play pre-set scales and increments of notes by moving your hand closer to the aerial. I want to try and play both this Theremin and my original one at once but I’d have to stand equidistant between them then move my arms in tandem…

Any guilty musical pleasures?

My very good pal Sean Lock and I like to go on country walks and someone gave us a good book on walks in Hertfordshire. For an ironic laugh I bought 25 Great Driving Rock Tunes at a garage when we were on our way to one. Later, I was on the M4 and there’s a sequence of More Than A Feeling, Don’t Fear The Reaper, Black Betty. I have to say, cranked up to 11, barrelling down the M4, singing ‘She slipped awaaaaaay’ to Boston while driving into the setting sun, it’s extraordinary. I was quite taken with it.

What’s your greatest prog extravagance?

The 25-foot ant. When I was recording my DVD Cosmic Jam I had a song in it which was a rock opera,

Insect Nation, and for the finale I wanted something spectacular. We made a space backdrop with a giant hole in that you could look through to another universe of stars. I thought it would be great if a giant ant came down and peered through the hole, and his eyes would light up. So we had this thing made. It was stored in the front garden for a long time. The neighbours weren’t that bothered by it. “That’s Bill’s garden.” “What, the one with the giant ant in it?” “Yeah.”

Your all-time prog hero?

Robert Fripp is up there because of what he did with Adrian Belew in the 80s. I saw King Crimson at Bath Moles Club. Actually, that would have been my first prog gig, in 1981. That was so intense – it’s my favourite prog gig ever.

Favourite prog venue?

Obviously a castle, if you could arrange it. Or a Spanish galleon. For Journey To The Centre Of The Earth it would be a pothole. Bit tricky getting the gear down there, but once it’s in, perfect.

Outside of prog, what else are you into?

I love the outdoors, I like to go yomping in the countryside. Or go out on a bike. Doing what I do I spend a lot of time in studios or brightly-lit theatres. Any time I’m not doing that I want to be out in the fresh air.

That’s a pretty prog date, Valentine’s with a goose.

What was the last prog album you bought?

The Joy Formidable, The Big Roar. Listen to Whirring, which is seven-minutes-odd of anthemic

guitar thrashing.

Ever had a prog date?

You could interpret that in two ways, either you go out with someone who’s into prog or the whole date is prog. “We met on a floating island, the date was to retrieve the magical crystal from the forbidden castle.” One night I was out with my wife for Valentine’s and on the way home we saw something flapping in the road – a goose had been hit by a car. So we wrapped it up and put it in the back of the car, rescued it. That’s a pretty prog date, Valentine’s with a goose.

What’s the most important prog song?

In The Court Of The Crimson King. I did my first Edinburgh festival show in ’95 and the following year I did something more ambitious. I had a set made with a giant hand carved out of a polystyrene holding my keyboard. Behind me was a giant picture of my face peering through these curtains, so subconsciously it was a tribute to that. It had such an impact that from there I went on to have a comedy career.

What’s a good proggy read?

Sapiens, A Brief History Of Humankind. It’s the history of how we’ve evolved in detail. It turns lots of things on its head, like agriculture being the foundation of our civilisation: he says, no, we were enslaved by that. We were wild, powerful, independent creatures until then.

Which prog album always puts you in a good mood?

Something widdly like The Mars Volta’s De-Loused In The Comatorium. It gets the blood pumping. A brisk walk would ensue after listening.

What are you up to at the moment?

I’m about to tour – looking forward to some gigs in Finland and Norway. Then I’m doing some filming, and very excited to be working with Idris Elba in a comedy drama thing.

Christmas Larks! is at Shepherd’s Bush Empire 23, 27-30 Dec. Larks In Transit tour starts Jan 29. See www.billbailey.co.uk for more.