Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt (4 May 1968) is a British comedian, best known for his role in the sitcom "The Mighty Boosh", where he acts alongside Noel Fielding.
Julian Barratt and Zappa
Barratt's father was a Zappa fan who introduced his music to his son. Interviewed Adrian Lobb from The Quietus on 21 June 2017, Barratt named Over-Nite Sensation his favorite Zappa album: "With this album, Frank Zappa is trying to blend the comedy and music, but it is so brilliant in terms of the production, the writing and the musical ideas that are going on. I remember my dad warning me about some of the lyrics, the groupies, the slightly macho stuff. I went through a big Zappa phase, but found some of the jokes and sex stuff tedious. But I really like the use of backing vocals and the guitar playing is so brilliant and weird; interesting and angular. Compared to Beefheart who is a force of nature, Zappa is like a scientist. The album they did together is interesting, but they seem to come from such different places in their process. Zappa's solos were always really hectic and strange and wild, whereas his compositions are brilliantly organised and detailed. Technically he is an interesting guitar player. Quite loose and messy. When I was learning guitar, I was trying to learn from people playing more accurately. I was into heavy metal – Van Halen and Steve Vai, these sort of characters who play in a supernaturally accurate and fast way. As a kid you aspire to that. But Zappa is a big mess of strange harmonies and notes, so difficult to emulate. He should have made a big musical film – it is like a musical without the film." [1] In the same interview he also expressed liking Captain Beefheart's Safe As Milk.
In 2007 Diva Zappa played a guest role in The Mighty Boosh episode Party, appearing alongside Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding.
Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt are also mentioned and thanked in the liner notes of The MOFO Project/Object (2006) album. [2]
In 2010 members of "The Mighty Boosh" performed on stage with Dweezil Zappa during the Zappa Plays Zappa tour.
