Comedy Black Magic With Occultist Andrew

Andrew O'Neill is Boleskine bound when the stand-up comedian and amateur occultist visits Inverness this weekend.

Comedy

ANDREW O’Neill is the man who puts the alternative into alternative comedy.

The amateur occultist, transvestite vegan-anarchist also has a sideline with steampunk band, the emphasis being firmly on the punk bit, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing — a name borrowed from a piece of graffiti left at the scene of one of Jack the Ripper’s murders.

Championed by Stewart Lee and seen on television with Steve Coogan in "Saxondale", O’Neill brings a bit of humour from the dark side to Eden Court on Friday.

You’re a musician and a comedian, so you seem to be well placed to answer the perennial question: is comedy the new rock and roll?

It was the new rock ’n’ roll in the early ’90s (the old late ’50s), now it is the new mid-’70s, and so comedy is the new prog rock. The big comics are like the massive dinosaur bands, playing stadiums. We need a new punk rock, because 2012 is the new 1977. I am the new Sex Pistols. So you are the new Bill Grundy and so I now have to shock your audience by swearing. Bum. There. Hope that gets me lots of notoriety in Inverness.

Metalhead, anarchist, occultist and transvestite — it looks as though there is plenty there to scare off mainstream audiences, but has it had an impact on the audiences you play to and would you care if it did?

Last night I played Wells-Next-The-Sea. The average age of my audience was — genuinely — about 65. There were people in their eighties. If I’m honest, I’ll admit I was a little bit worried. But the gig was lovely. The great thing about comedy is that it overcomes those differences. I am a massive weirdo (apparently), but I’m funny too. Honest. In practice I tend to get a front row of teenage goth kids, which is always good to see. But general audiences still dig what I do.

Comedy seems to be an overcrowded scene compared with the market 20 years ago, but what’s it like for a new comic breaking into the business? Are the established acts supportive or do they see you younger guys as a threat?

It’s much harder than when I started. I’m glad to have broken into it already. I have friends who are just starting out who struggle to get open spot gigs, let alone get paid ones. I’m lucky to have got myself to the point where it pays the bills and I can afford cosmetics. The more established acts are generally very supportive, if you’re actually funny, and if you’re not a knob backstage. (I try not to be a knob.)

Back to the occultism, what are your occult beliefs? From a parochial Inverness point of view, did our own Aleister Crowley have any influence?

I will be visiting Boleskine while I’m up here. Crowley is a huge influence. He’s probably the greatest occult writer we have ever had. He’s hilarious too. He’d have made a great stand-up. As for what my actual beliefs are: I believe in the things I have seen and done. I also believe in science and rationalism. But I firmly believe that the territory that exists in my mind is an important one and that it’s both fun and massively interesting to explore. I have had coincidences happen after rituals that I struggle to explain away as just coincidences, but I’m open-minded and cynical enough to accept that the main thing magic does is alter your perception of the world. Ultimately though, that’s all we have. My comedy is a ritual, and people well-versed in magic will be able to spot when I’m using it. The rest of you will just have to fear me. Which is my long-term goal, of course.

Speaking of magicians, I notice among the positive quotes about yourself and your act is one from "Watchman" and "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" comics giants Alan Moore, himself a part time mage, you must have loved that! What has been the nicest/worst thing that anyone’s ever said to you?

Yeah, that’s easily the best thing that’s ever happened to me! Alan Moore digs what I do. There’s really no higher compliment. He’s been a huge influence on how I write and what I do, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to know him and seek his advice on magical stuff. The worst thing anyone’s ever said? Well, every comic learns not to google themselves... But generally people who get what I do really love it. I’d rather be a few thousand people’s favourite comedian than be massively famous and have everyone kind of like me a bit.

Interacting with the audience is always one of the best things about live comedy. Do you have a favourite audience reaction?

Absolutely: it’s people laughing despite not actually knowing why. I had a group in one of my shows the other day who were quite "straight". They looked like they had never seen anything like me before in their lives. And they loved the show. They came on board, with the most incredible look on their faces. You know how people look when they eat Heston Blumental’s food? It was like that. Surprised that they love it. I’m gonna call myself the Heston Blumental of comedy now. Although I don’t look as angry as him. He’s got a very severe face. Like he’s seen the horrors of war or something.

Now that you have a few years experience, how would you describe the O’Neill approch to making us laugh?

I have put all my influences in a blender and mixed them up. I use ALL the style of comedy I like at various points. There’s music, non-sequituers, political stuff, silly stuff. There’s something for everyone. I like jokes, at the end of the day. I basically put in anything I find genuinely funny. It seems to work.

You also have a bit of an interest in Jack the Ripper. How do you square this rather dark obsession with the lighter business of making people laugh for a living. Do they balance each other out?

Absolutely. Comedy has always dealt with the darker areas of life. Look at what happens after any massive tragedy. Within a few hours the text-message jokes come out. Obviously as a comedian you have to tread much more lightly than that, because whether we like it or not we are dealing with a mainstream form of entertainment. You have to make absolutely sure you mean what you say, and that if something is dark, or potentially offensive, there’s a reason for it and there’s a pay-off. I’m there to make people laugh, and hopefully think a bit. And fall in love with me. That’s important. I’m thinking of starting some kind of cult. Let’s collectively buy Boleskine and all live in it together. Ladies...?

• Andrew O’Neill is at the OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, on Saturday 4th February ay 7.30pm.