Just when you thought it was safe to venture out to your local hostelry, neck a few pints and make a berk of yourself at the late disco, along comes another comedy-band with their own 'hilarious' take on pre-existing songs and a live show that borders on creative capitulation throughout. Their first set of dates were called the First Farewell Tour.

As previously reported, The Idiot Bastard Band are no ordinary comedy-band. They're actually collectively very funny, for a start. Neil Innes is notorious for send-ups having spent a large chunk of the '60s performing with the eccentric treasures, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, before aiding the Monty Python team during their final series in 1974 by writing songs and sketches for them, as well as those found in the Holy Grail film. His most spectacular spoof was The Rutles, an obvious pastiche of The Beatles - who promptly squared up to Innes in court. Innes himself then sued Oasis for lifting parts and phrases from his own 'How Sweet to be an Idiot'. So, who exactly was spoofing who again?

2012 sees Innes continue with his masterly touch of the bizarre and the reinvention with more shows from The Idiot Bastard Band. Utilising the adept musical skills of comedians Ade Edmondson, Phill Jupitus and Raw Sex (alias Rowland Rivron and Simon Brint), Innes has pulled a masterstroke. As solo performers and broadcasters, the respective participants have already etched their names in history - Jupitus on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and as a stand-up attraction, Edmondson in The Young Ones and as the frontman for his own punk covers-band, The Bad Shepherds.

You can catch the motley crew on tour in November, including Cardiff on the 4th, Stroud (both available now), Glasgow and Edinburgh (available 1st May and 7th May respectively). Prices vary from £18 upwards, for which you can expect almost as much music as comedy. And They Might Be Giants, perhaps. Beforehand, the chaps will be performing a few shows in Putney (7th May), Frome (15th July) and at the Bury St.Edmunds Abbeyfest 2012 (20th July) - see below for prices.