ABBA'S Waterloo as if performed by 80s German heavy metal band Rammstein. And sung in German too.

Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball given an airing, but in a Reggae manner.

Surreal tales of taking his family to see the Northern Lights, plus a variety of humorous observations on life.

Welcome to the world of Bill Bailey, the comedian best known for appearing in the sitcom Black Books and as a resident captain on the music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Bailey was appearing before a packed-out main lawn crowd on the closing night of the 25th Larmer Tree festival last night.

In a picturesque scene on the Wiltshire/Dorset border - around halfway between Salisbury and Blandford - Bailey easily wowed one of the festival's biggest audiences on his first visit.

The Bath-born entertainer - there's far more than just stories and jokes in the Bailey repertoire - launched his act with the reason he was keen to abandon his west country accent.

'I wanted to get on in life,' he quipped, and this Devon-born reporter had - sadly - to agree with Bailey's view that 'you never see anyone in a position of power speaking with a west country accent'.

Bailey's hour-long act contained a hysterical account of his family trip to the Northern Lights, while for me the best line of the evening came when he spoke of a trip to South Africa and the chance to go shark diving.

'Cheap shark diving,' he said of the sign. 'I had no wish to be submerged in a wheelie bin with a shopping trolley perched over the top of it.'

On a wonderfully sunny summer's evening, Bailey's musical sketches were the overall highlight.

His fantastically alternative 'happy birthday' song for a five year old was a masterpiece of lyrical imagery, a theme which continued throughout as Bailey won laughs aplenty for the scenes he built through great wordplay.

There were many comedians appearing on the Larmer Tree bill over the five-day festival, which began with Sir Tom Jones rocking on the same stage and concluded last night with reggae legend Jimmy Cliff following Bailey on.

But Bill Bailey stood alone as the only one considered either a) well known enough or b) good enough to be given a main stage slot, and on the closing night to boot.

Last night he showed he was worthy of such elevation, and might also have surprised those who had only ever seen him under the fairly restrictive tentacles of national television.

Last night, he was completely free to do whatever he wanted.

Bill Bailey did, and left the stage having totally won over the Larmer Tree audience and promising to return one day.