Bill Bailey - ‘Rejection Made Me A Better Performer’

Elizabeth Day (0:00)

This month on How To Fail, we're all about celebrating wellness from the inside. If you'd like to hear more on this, go and listen to my episode with Bella Mackey.

SPEAKER_2 (0:09)

I don't mind talking about it. I mind people's reactions, imagining that they know what's going on in my womb. What's going on in my womb is like everything is pecking up and leaving town, baby.

Elizabeth Day (0:20)

How To Fail is brought to you by Ala Lacto Free, delicious dairy with all the taste, easier to digest. Link in the episode description.

Bill Bailey (0:28)

But we didn't get an audience. That was a simpler thing. We just didn't get an audience and we lost money. We lost a lot of money. And I realized that it's a huge gap in my life. There's that relationship that's missing.

Elizabeth Day (0:39)

You keep a mini zoo of around 50 rescue animals, including an armadillo, a guinea pig, a rabbit, ducks, chickens, and previously a large Malay cockerel. Is that correct?

Bill Bailey (0:50)

Yeah.

Elizabeth Day (0:51)

How To Fail is brought to you by Ala Lacto Free, delicious dairy with all the taste, easier to digest. Hello and welcome to How To Fail With Me, Elizabeth Day. Most interviews concentrate on all of the success stories, but they leave out the part that actually shapes us, which is failure and how we cope with it. This is where How To Fail comes in. I really hope you enjoy this conversation and please do remember to like, follow and subscribe so that you never miss a single episode.

Confession time. I have a tendency to postpone certain decisions for far longer than is sensible. Not the big life decisions, oddly enough, those I can usually handle. It's the smaller ones that somehow become disproportionately complicated. For me, rugs fall squarely into that category. I've known for a long time that a rug can completely change how a room feels, but I've always found sizing for a space tricky. That's why Ernesta appealed to me. Ernesta makes designer quality rugs custom cut to the exact dimensions of your space. So instead of making do with something that's close enough, you're choosing something made specifically for your home. I also love the fact that you can order five oversized 12x12 samples for just $10 before committing, and Ernesta's design team will help with sizing completely free of charge. Visit ernesta.com and order five samples for only $10 and you'll get $50 towards any rug of your choice. That's Ernesta, ernesta.com.

Bill Bailey is a comedian, musician, writer, actor, director, presenter, and according to his own website, a keen paddleboarder. The Times calls him the finest stand-up comedian this country has to offer. Known for his live tours and his work on TV quiz shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI.

He was raised by medical parents. His father was a GP, his mother a nurse, and lived in the same house as his grandparents for many years. An only child, his early experiences of intergenerational living led to a lively curiosity. He was often encouraged by his grandfather to share his opinions at the kitchen table. At school, Bailey excelled in both academia and music. But after leaving his English degree at the University of London after 36 hours, he took on an array of jobs ranging from crematorium organist to telly sales marketer before alighting on stand-up comedy as a way of fusing his interests. He took his first solo show to Edinburgh in 1995

From there he became a household name known for his quizzical intelligence on stage. He even once strictly come dancing in 2020 Now he returns with a new UK arena tour, Bill Bailey, Vaudevillean, which kicks off in November, finishing with a two-month residency at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

It's easier to watch something on your phone or on your tablet, Bailey says. But Vaudevillean is a tribute to an entertainment you cannot consume at home. Bill Bailey, welcome to How To Fail.

Bill Bailey (4:11)

Thank you very much.

Elizabeth Day (4:13)

Thank you for being here. We've already had a great chat prompted by your baseball cap, which has an embroidered picture of a Marmot on it.

Bill Bailey (4:20)

Yes.

Elizabeth Day (4:21)

And it's a delight to have a Marmot wearing comedian in the How To Fail studio. It's a first for us.

Bill Bailey (4:27)

It's the first, good. I always love to be a trailblazer.

Elizabeth Day (4:32)

You are a trailblazer. And I'm so in agreement with you about the ease of entertainment consumed on a screen at home.

Bill Bailey (4:42)

Yeah.

Elizabeth Day (4:42)

And by comparison, the thrill of seeing something live.