Bailey began touring the country with other comedians such as Mark Lamarr. In 1986 he formed a double act, the Rubber Bishops, with Toby Longworth (a former fellow pupil at King Edward's Bath) who was replaced in 1988 by Martin Stubbs. They achieved a certain amount of success on the club circuit, partly due to their rigorous schedule â 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...") â 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.<.
"... (talking about Obama)... I mean, his book title, The Audacity of Hope. I mean, it sounds very noble and uplifting, doesn't it? The Audacity of Hope. But it's not really the way i would... more
"... (talking about Obama)... I mean, his book title, The Audacity of Hope. I mean, it sounds very noble and uplifting, doesn't it? The Audacity of Hope. But it's not really the way i would describe hope. I wouldn't describe hope with audacity. Maybe the mundanity of hope, perhaps, you know. The depressing, inevitability of hope. The pointless, day-to-day, crushing jackboot of history on the face of hope. The pointless, uselessness of hope but not the audacity of hope. When you think of hope in Britain, you just see the face of Rooney." Bill Bailey, Dandelion Mind
Utterly Genius. If you ever have the fortune of attending one of his shows, I dare you not to laugh until your sides hurt and tears streaming uncontrollably down your face.