The Mighty Boosh are an award-winning comedy duo whose distinctive surreal style has been a cult hit on stage, TV and radio. As they prepare to bring their first live tour to the Fairfield, Daniel Menhinnitt talks to co-writer and performer Noel Fielding ...

MY KNOWLEDGE of BBC comedy The Mighty Boosh may only extend to a few episodes but interviewing co-writer and performer Noel Fielding I was struck by how similar he seems to his main on-screen character, Vince Noir.

Noel agrees there are some similarities between himself and music-loving Indie kid Vince.

"Vince is quite like me, but he's more of a simplistic version," says the 30-year-old.

For those who have never seen The Mighty Boosh, it is something of a surreal affair.

The first series of the show was set in a zoo, the Zoo-niverse, although Noel says the second series of the show sees the pair move to a flat in Dalston.

Noel's character, zookeeper Vince can talk to the animals, but the actor and comedian explains he uses this amazing gift to chat mostly nonsense to his furry friends.

His writing partner Julian Barratt plays Howard Moon, also a zookeeper, who believes he is destined for better things.

The pair embark on an array of magical, bizarre adventures including a trip to the Arctic tundra to find a lost egg, an expedition deep into the jungle and quite literally to hell and back in a dodgy cab.

They encounter a range of characters including the Parka people and a terrifying boxing kangaroo.

Like his on-screen alter ego, Noel is a music lover. He says his comedy is influenced not just by the likes of Peter Cook and Spike Milligan but also rock musicians Frank Zappa and Julian Cope.

I was curious to know where The Mighty Boosh got its name and according to Neil some of the credit goes to his brother's friend.

"When my brother was younger he had this big head of really curly hair. His friend would say he had this mighty bush'. And that's where the name came from," he explains.

Clearly Noel's brother, Michael Fielding, didn't mind his hairstyle being immortalised he joined the cast of the show as shaman and fortune teller Naboo.

Noel and Julian were originally commissioned by the BBC to write and star in The Boosh, a six-part comedy series for Radio 4, which won the Douglas Adams award for innovative comedy writing.

In 2004 Steve Coogan's Baby Cow Productions produced the first series of The Mighty Boosh for the BBC.

The second series is expected to air on BBC Two this month and is out on DVD from February 13.

Noel and Julian also starred in satirist Chris Morris's Channel Four comedy Nathan Barley.

According to the live show's promotional material, audiences will enjoy the characters from the television programme, laugh, cry and learn French - although Noel is not so sure about the learning French part.

"I don't know where they got the learning French. I haven't seen that stuff they send out," he says.

The Mighty Boosh, Fairfield Halls, Croydon, February 15 and March 19, tickets £18.50, box office 020 8688 9291.