Preview: 'The Mighty Boosh' Exhibition At The Book Club

The Book Club are inviting you to come on a journey through time and space and enter the surreal and fantastical world of ‘The Mighty Boosh’.

From October 20th the venue in London’s trendy Shoreditch will be transformed into the The Boosh Club, celebrating a decade since The Mighty Boosh’s first UK tour.

The Mighty Boosh, by Dave Brown, part of the Boosh Club exhibition, Oct 20 - Jan 29th

Featuring illustrations by Noel Fielding and over 100 prints, the exhibition chronicles the cult TV show’s two live tours in 2006 and 2008, the later of which broke the world record for seven consecutive nights at Brixton Academy.

The Mighty Boosh started off as a stage show for the Edinburgh festival, before becoming a BBC radio series. Then in 2004 BBC Three invited viewers into the Boosh’s strange world, where art and comedy collided like never before.

But it was when characters such as Old Gregg, the Crack Fox and The Hitcher, were transported from the television to the live stage that the Boosh gained its true cult status, with diehards fans dressing in costumes every night and treating the cast more like rockstars than comedians.

Dave Brown, the man behind the Bollo mask, was there for it all, not only as a performer, but to document the behind-the-scenes madness and the unique relationship between Fielding and his comedy partner Julian Barratt.

With Brown’s photographs fans will be able to get a proper insight into what life was like when the Boosh went from cult comedians to selling out arenas.

Noel Fielding on stage as The Hitcher, by Dave Brown, part of the Boosh Club exhibition, Oct 20 - Jan 29th

“I remember the look of shock, fear and joy on Noel and Julian’s faces when those curtains went back for the first time in York,” Brown said.

“The noise and reaction was incredible and the insane crush of screaming fans at the stage door after was a sudden realisation of the size of this strange, beautiful beast they’d created.”

The Book Club is also hosting a variety of Boosh-themed events during the course of the exhibition, including a Halloween party where you’ll actually be able to drink Baileys from a shoe.

Speaking about the exhibition Noel Fielding said: “Dave’s pictures are like beautifully composed snap shots from an amazing time in my life where my feet hardly touched the floor and I felt like the luckiest girl/boy on earth.

“It’s also gonna be great to see some of the other art created for the show by our extended Boosh family. I’m gonna dig out some of my sketches and may even do a new watercolour to celebrate!”

'The Boosh Club' runs at The Book Club in Shoreditch from Oct 20th – Jan 29th, entry is free. For more information visit http://www.wearetbc.com/visual-art/mighty-boosh-exhibition