Noel Fielding on surviving Bake Off and reviving The Mighty Boosh

When Noel Fielding picks up the phone, it’s late at night in London and the background noise is a squawking baby.

The 50-year-old British comedian has two kids, and for ten minutes, we get bogged down in the joys of fatherhood. “I spend my whole time laughing, dressing up in weird outfits and doing funny voices,” says Fielding.

Noel Fielding (right) with Julian Barratt. Together the pair formed The Mighty Boosh.

He may not realise it, but Fielding’s approach to fatherhood sounds like the blueprint for his entire career, having spent the last two decades dressing up in weird outfits and doing funny voices.

It’s a career fans can look back on in a photographic exhibition, Behind the Boosh, touring Australia next month and featuring images by fellow cast member and photographer Dave Brown.

These days Fielding is best known as one of the presenters on the wildly successful cooking show, Great British Bake Off.

Among a sea of polite bakers, Fielding is an accidentally-on-purpose fish out of water, sporting a designer mullet and cycling between a collection of insane sweaters. He is an element of chaos designed to upend Bake Off’s safe, comfortable world.

Noel Fielding, Prue Leith, Paul Hollywood, Matt Lucas, with the contestants of season 12 of The Great British Bake Off.Credit: Love Productions/Foxtel

“It’s the perfect job for a comedian like me because you’re getting a massive audience, but you can do whatever you like,” laughs Fielding.

“At first, I wasn’t sure if the viewers would take to me, I’m an acquired taste, but it seems to be working, which is unexpected.”

Unexpected success has become something of a habit for Fielding. He first made his name as one half of The Mighty Boosh (along with Julian Barratt), a British comedy duo whose surrealist TV show of the same name became a cult hit in the 2000s.

The pair linked up in the late 1990s after Fielding stalked Barratt at an open mic night.

“I’d been a fan of his comedy, and I told him we had similar styles; he probably thought I was some annoying kid, but he invited me to fill in one night, and I did a wonderful set,” recalls Fielding. “I think he was quite annoyed I killed it, to be honest.”

Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. ‘Behind The Boosh’ offers a rare glimpse into the extraordinary creative universe of The Mighty Boosh, the award-winning British comedy sensation created by the pair.Credit: Dave Brown

From there, The Mighty Boosh was born, Fielding and Barratt honing their skills and winning the best newcomer Perrier at Edinburgh in 1998. Soon after, the BBC commissioned The Mighty Boosh TV show, which ran for three years between 2004 and 2008.

The series saw Fielding and Barratt play zookeepers Vince Noir and Howard Moon, best friends and opposites. Fielding’s Vince was a charming goth who rocked eyeliner and worshipped David Bowie, whereas Barratt’s Moon was a straight-laced flute player obsessed with jazz.

The cast was expanded to include Fielding’s brother, Michael, long-time friend, Dave Brown and American comedian Rich Fulcher.

Noel Fielding and comedian Rich Fulcher during filming of The Mighty Boosh.Credit: Dave Brown

“We had a vague idea to become a new version of The Goodies, but I don’t think either of us had a clue it was going to work,” he says. “But when you’re young, you don’t have any fear; you just roll the dice.”

The gamble paid off, and The Mighty Boosh snowballed into a surprise hit. Audiences regurgitated their favourite characters’ catchphrases (I’m Old Gregg!), live tours sold out worldwide, and fans would go to extreme lengths to get close to their heroes.

“I had people breaking into my flat to steal my clothes,” laughs Fielding. “It was very rock and roll, which I quite liked, but upon reflection, it was bizarre.”

Such was the pulling power of The Mighty Boosh in the mid-noughties that comedy royalty became regular fixtures at their shows.

“Robin Williams used to fly to the gigs; he would come backstage and do impressions of our characters,” says Fielding. “I grew up obsessed with Mork & Mindy, which was truly surreal.”

Mork meets The Mighty Boosh. Robin Williams visits Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt backstage.Credit: Screenshot

The collection of photographs in Behind The Boosh spans 20 years, capturing poignant moments from early live gigs, behind-the-scenes glimpses during TV show filming, and the energy of their global tours. For Fielding, it’s an arresting reminder of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“I almost find it difficult to look at them because it takes me back immediately to that time, and because Dave was always taking photos, the snaps are genuine; they’re not posed,” he says.

A walk down memory lane. Behind The Boosh charts the journey (through time and space) of Noel and Julian’s cult characters.Credit: Dave Brown

“To see them is to be back in that frame, which is why it makes for such a good exhibition - but it’s strangely confronting for me.”

While the exhibition celebrates the legacy of The Mighty Boosh, it’s impossible not to wonder what the future holds. Fielding and Barratt called it a day in 2009, but talk of a comeback has always endured.

Given pop culture’s obsession with revisiting the past, might we see The Mighty Boosh rebooted? “We would never close the door on it completely,” admits Fielding.

“The whole Boosh cast came to my birthday recently, it was the first time we’ve all been back in the same room for ten years, and nothing had changed, so that gave me some hope.”

The Mighty Boosh: still just a bunch of friends laughing, dressing up in weird outfits and doing funny voices.

Behind The Boosh will be in Sydney (August 3-6) and Melbourne (August 17-20) For tickets, visit Behind The Gallery.