Jumpin’ Jupitus! He’s back

Surprising, like Oates climbing back into Scott’s tent, Phill Jupitus returns to the land of his birth and what he does best: stand up. Erudite, troubled, occasionally mean, if you’ve only ever seen him on TV, expect to spill your drink in fury. Or joy. Or both. And he will be providing a barn-storming opening our 2012 festival on Friday 20 April.

All we can say is thank goodness he decided to ditch a career at the Job Centre to become a ranting poet. His early comedic outbursts saw him supporting such bands as The Style Council and The Housemartins and touring with Madness, The Who and Paul Weller.

Phill’s highly successful TV career began in 1996 when he became team captain on BBC2’s pop quiz Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Now in its twenty-third series, Phill is the only remaining member of the original line-up. He currently also appears as a regular guest on BBC2’s QI.

His is a familiar voice on the radio: on BBC Radio 4 he is a regular member of the award winning News Quiz in addition to numerous presenting work on such shows as Phill Jupitus’ Comic Strips and The Man Who Bought Hendrix’s Stage. His radio roots go back some 17 years, when he hosted his own show at BBC Greater London Radio and in 2000 Phill played the first ever record on the BBC’s new-dedicated music station 6Music as its inaugural Breakfast DJ.

As a journalist Phill writes a weekly column for The Times’ prestigious sport supplement, The Game; and as he is also a highly skilled artist these submissions are frequently presented in cartoon form. He currently is also the host of the aforementioned The Game football podcast along with his own cult music podcast Perfect Ten.

Despite these current media commitments Phill finds the time to go back out on the road touring the UK with his impro-show, as a key member of the successful show Totally Looped and also as lead singer with The Blockheads.