Here's brilliant Bill Bailey ,almost back to normal - Karen Koren

It was great to see Bill Bailey at the Playhouse last night. Bill’s tour show “En Route to Normal” has already performed in many cities across the UK and he delights at being back on stage with a live audience.

Billy Bailey's new show “En Route to Normal”

Bill is a musical comedy genius, the material mixes his love for music from songs in French, German, classical compositions, heavy metal riffs played on cow bells and to so much more. His verbal flights of fancy show his wit, brains and boundless imagination and all extremely funny. Bill dances about the stage, he loves being back in Edinburgh where it began all those years ago.

A television production company are at the Playhouse to film his return to Edinburgh and to the live stage. Backstage he’s interviewed and they discuss his rise to fame over the years and his early beginnings in the late eighties and early nineties. Bill started in a double act called the Rubber Bishops, they performed with Sean Lock at the Gilded Balloon in 1993 at the Cowgate. The next year Bill split from his comedy partner Martin Stubbs and did a show with Sean Lock. In 1995 Bill did his first solo show Cosmic Jam at the Gilded Balloon and it was a triumph. His wife Kristen built a space age style pod for his keyboard and a logo on his t-shirt of back to back B’s. His career really took off from then on.

Bill’s biggest claim to fame to date was winning the coveted glitterball in Strictly Come Dancing, with his dancing partner Oti Mabuse. His strong sense of rhythm and his sheer determination showed through, he did brilliantly and proved what an amazing man he is.

This morning Bill and I were interviewed together discussing the old days when he started out and when stand-up comedy was still in it’s infancy but growing year by year. It was the best time to be around – it was the heydey - when our late night comedy show Late’n’Live ruled and comics would congregate to watch each other live or die on stage. Comedy has come a long way since then and we reminisced. The piece will be shown on television during the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Fringe!