Bill Bailey, the musician and comedian known as Manny in Black Books, brings his new show Vaudevillean to The O2 arena for one London arena night.
Bill Bailey, the musician and comedian known as Manny in Black Books, brings his new show Vaudevillean to The O2 arena in North Greenwich on Sunday 22 November 2026.
Born Mark Robert Bailey in Keynsham, Somerset, in 1965, he took his nickname from a music teacher at King Edward’s School in Bath. The teacher had heard him play “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey” on the guitar.
In 1984 he formed a double act, the Rubber Bishops, and began mixing musical parody with traditional jokes. He went solo in 1995 with the show Bill Bailey’s Cosmic Jam.
He became a team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2002 and has been a regular guest on QI. In 2020, aged 55, he became the oldest winner of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Oti Mabuse.
Vaudevillean takes its theme from the variety stage that came before radio, cinema and television: comedy, songs and stage skills on one bill. The O2 is his only London arena night before a West End season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from December.