In this special event for Comic Relief, Bill has been handed the keys to the BBC Concert Orchestra, and, in association with renowned composer Anne Dudley, he brings us a musical extravaganza featuring the music of all the master composers - Rossini... Shostakovich... The Bee Gees...

The concert also features arrangements of many Bailey originals with full orchestral backing, making this one of the rare occasions on which Bill hasn't played every instrument himself! The orchestra is, however, in the capable hands of Oscar-winning Anne Dudley, who performs some of her own compositions. Bill provides vocal accompaniment to his own music, as well as playing guitar, keyboard, the enormous alpine horn, and, faithful servant, the theremin.

This epic 1 hour 45 minute concert is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 7pm Friday, and promises to be informative, hilarious, uplifting, and maybe even inspirational, in a manic sort of way. And all in the name of charity...

And fear not, if you dread the feeling of waking up on Friday morning with the taste of anticipation in your mouth, but the depressing knowledge that you have almost a day to wait, you can whet your appetite by listening to the Phill Jupitus Breakfast Show on 6 Music, 7-10am, as Bill will be dropping in for a chat with his Buzzcocks colleague.

Photos by Marilyn Kingwill ©2007 Bill Bailey

Unfortunately Bill will not be able to appear on the Phill Jupitus Breakfast Show on Friday, due to illness. Luckily he has strong regenerative powers, and will be back on his feet soon.

Any messages of goodwill can be sent in the usual way, through cosmic rays psychically transmitted into his brain.

If you were unfortunate enough to miss Bill with the BBC Concert Orchestra on Friday night, then don't worry. The Cosmic Shindig is currently available on the BBC's Radio Player, and will be until Friday.

Currently selling here on eBay is a collection of BB merchandise which includes:
- The Classic Collection DVD Box Set
- A T-Shirt
- A Signed Photo

And, drum-roll....
- A Signed Plectrum that was actually used in Part Troll!

All of these items were donated by Bill in support of Comic Relief, which will receive 100% of the proceeds, so you can feel completely unashamed about throwing extravagant amounts of money at it.

The sale ends at 10pm on Wednesday, so get your bids in quickly.

After months spent in his shed working on the perfect formula for a live comedy show, Bill is now almost ready to unleash the details of his next UK Arena tour onto an unsuspecting public.

Unsuspecting, that is, apart from you, as the details will be released here first, and you can expect the official announcement of the tour very shortly.

Beginning in late Autumn this year, Bill will be visiting Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bournemouth, Brighton and London.

And, most excitingly, some of the best seats for each show have been saved just for you, and will be available here, exclusively, for a week before tickets go on sale to the general public.

So make sure you keep checking back, as the full details of the tour, including the onsale date, will be announced very soon.

On the 14th of May, at London's Lyceum Theatre, Bill will be headlining an event in support of the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS), a charity dedicated to saving the habitat of these critically endangered animals.

Kevin Eldon, Sean Lock, Simon Amstell and Stewart Lee are also on the bill, with Phil Jupitus as compere, making this an event not to be missed.

Tickets will be on sale soon, and in the meantime you can find out more about the charity here.