If you know Bill Bailey, you’ll know you’re in for a treat here.
Bailey is one of the few comedians who knows how to get a belly laugh out of musical jokes – if you’ve ever seen his hokey-cokey in the style of Kraftwerk, you’ll know – so great things were bound to ensue when NME crashed his Hammersmith office and got fans to suggests musical mash-ups for him to perform on the spot.
As well as a take on Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’ that nails that track’s brutal industrial drums, Bailey delivered a smooth lounge version of Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’, played Rammstein on the spoons and did Arctic Monkeys in the style of The Wurzels.
Special honour goes to his ambient version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ and the progressive acid jazz reworking of the Imperial March from Star Wars. There’s a ton more, so dig in below. Bailey’s new DVD, Qualmpeddler, is out on Monday.
‘Wrecking Ball’ by Miley Cyrus on the frying pan and bin:
Rammstein on spoons:
Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven in a hillbilly style
An ambient version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe
A dark orchestral version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean
A progressive acid jazz version of the Imperial March from Star Wars
A smooth lounge version of Rage Against The Name’s ‘Killing In The Name’
‘Personal Jesus’ by Depeche Mode in the style of James Galway
Arctic Monkeys in the style of The Wurzels