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's 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.

During their journeys they encounter a range of characters including the Parka people, some mod wolves, the ape of death, who has a severe hair complex, and a terrifying boxing kangaroo.

Together Vince and Howard continually battle against the owner of the Zoo-niverse Dixon Bainbridge and his manager Bob Fossil.

Like his on-screen alter ego Noel says he is something of a music lover. Noel 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.

While preparing for The Mighty Boosh's first live tour, which kicks off in York on February 1 and arrives in Croydon on February 15, with an extra date added due to popular demand on March 19, Noel explains he knows the borough well.

"I did a foundation course at Croydon Art College in fine art. It was actually my teacher, Dextor Dalwood, who was the one who told me I should go into comedy.

"I was 19 when I was studying there, I had quite a good time actually," he recalls.

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. And his friend would say that 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 in such a fashion since 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 based upon the adventures of Vince and Howard.

The series 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, which aired on BBC Three in May of that year before moving to BBC Two in November. The series was nominated for best comedy newcomer at the 2004 British Comedy Awards and was re-commissioned by the BBC.

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

The second series of The Mighty Boosh is planned to air on BBC Two this month and is available on DVD from February 13.

According to the live show's promotional material audiences will enjoy the characters from the television programme, laugh, cry and learn French although Noel's 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
February 15 and March 19
Tickets £18.50.
020 8688 9291