Not exactly mainstream: interview with transvestite occultist comedian Andrew O'Neill

Not exactly mainstream: interview with transvestite occultist comedian Andrew O'Neill

23 February, 2012
by: Emma

Emma McAlpine chats to Andrew O'Neill about Satanic rituals, nail varnish and swearing in front of 65-year-olds.

Being a vegan, anarchist, occultist, transvestite, heavy metal-loving comedian, makes Andrew O'Neill an interviewer's dream. Forget the ubiquitous “how did you get into comedy?” line of questioning (which I do try and avoid where possible). Instead, there’s heaps of fascinating personal stuff I want to quiz him about, like “What’s been your freakiest magical experience?” and "Who wears more make-up – you or your wife?” (answer – he does and spends longer getting ready too).

I am given instructions to meet him in the rather unlikely location of Starbucks (not where you’d imagine anarchists tend to hang out), but it’s purely down to convenience, as he’s working nearby. Indeed, itching his nose halfway through the interview he says: “Sorry I’m allergic to Starbucks. I think it’s their anti-union policy.” 

O’Neill is currently touring his latest show, Alternative, around the country and, true to form, he’s been to some unusual places already. “I did Wells-Next-to-the-Sea the other day. The average audience age was 65. It actually went really well, even though the first thing I did was swear. I just told them 'Let’s face facts – you gave us the fucking words in the first place!’” On top of the tour, he’s also in the process of writing a TV show, a column for heavy metal magazine Terroriser and is launching a new album with his steampunk band The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing next month. I’m amazed he has time to eat, let alone give interviews. 

Like many stand-ups before him, O’Neill started performing open spots on the London comedy circuit while working a variety of day jobs from shop assistant roles to the dreaded street charity fundraising (”Really depressing work, especially if you hate selling things like I do.”) Having been obsessed with comedy from a young age – idolising Monty Python and filming sketches on his camcorder at school – he always knew he wanted to be a comedian but not necessarily a stand-up. “Eddie Izzard really got me into it fully. He was a revelation. He's carved out a space for heterosexual transvestites.”

Today O’Neill is 'off-duty' as he puts it. Wearing a black metal t-shirt, black trousers, a cut-off denim waistcoat and heavy duty black boots, the only hint of femininity in his appearance is the bright pink nail varnish he’s rocking. "I came out when I was 19. I found it terrifying. The first time I ever wore nail varnish in public I was on the tube and I went bright red because I thought everyone was looking at my hands. The way that men are constrained in what they can and can't wear is fucked. Women dressing in a masculine way is seen as aspirational whereas men dressing in a feminine way is seen as embarrassing.”

Clearly passionate about style, he jokes that at times, his can be amusingly immature. “I’m still experimenting quite a lot. If I walk past Topshop and I have money in my pocket – I have to go in because they've got nice sparkly things in there. I caught myself watching that teenage programme Tracy Beaker the other day thinking “I like what she's wearing.' I really need to grow up and stop dressing like a 14-year-old girl! At least I’ve moved on from dressing like a 14-year-old goth.”



While he’s often labelled as a ‘transvestite comedian’, his cross-dressing doesn’t define his stand-up by any means. He tends to open his sets with quips such as:  “I don't like the term transvestite, I prefer the term gender spastic,” before dispensing with the subject entirely. Then you’re invited into a hotchpotch of surreal ideas, non-sequiturs, similes, smart social commentary and lateral thinking. Like imagining what the land of the blind is actually like or the point when pipe cleaners started getting used more for arts and crafts than cleaning pipes.

“My interest in comedy is broad,” he tells me. “I do straight stuff and weird stuff and I feel like I’m doing things now that are more inherently me. There’s an extended, semi-improvised play about gravy in the new show and I think it’s my favourite thing I’ve ever done.”

When he sits down to write, he switches off his phone and avoids the internet – so far, so normal. But if he ever gets writer’s block, he turns to black magic for inspiration. “It definitely works. Sometimes when I sit down and do an intense ritual, I can’t keep up with my ideas they’re flowing so much.” He started dabbling in the occult a few years ago, after Alan Moore (writer of Watchmen, V for Vendetta) told him he used ritual magic to aid creativity. “When you start looking into this sort of thing, there seems to be a process by which similar events or coincidences are drawn together. I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of science to explain it.” 

Certainly, when you hear of all the weird stuff that’s happened to him through his rituals, you can’t help but believe there’s something in it. You could  rationalise it as coincidence of course, but O’Neill experiences a lot more than most people. “I asked the universe for a sign once and then met a guy on a bus called Omen666. He then gave me a Celtic cross and told me the bus was full of spirits.” He’s explored the darker side of magic as well, one particular satanic ritual caused him to carve a pentagram into his chest with a knife (“I was conscious but I felt possessed.”) and another resulted in some very angry writing. “After one satanic ritual I did loads of anti-Jack Whitehall stuff. The industry really doesn’t need any more of that!” 

After ten years on the circuit, O’Neill is now big enough to take his shows on tour to crowds of converted fans. He is also just as happy playing small club gigs to people who’ve never seen him before. “To me, that’s what stand-up is and what I grew up with. Going on stage in front of a load of strangers who don’t know who you are and winning them over.” His career highlights to date include performing in front of 5,000 people at the Sonisphere Festival and hosting the Metal Hammer Awards with Alice Cooper. In addition, he’s won the respect of people he admires. “Stewart Lee, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman came to see Occult Comedian (2010 show) and they loved it. People like that inspire me to stick to my guns and make the sort of comedy I most want to produce.”

In person, O’Neill is every bit as fascinating and quotable as he is on stage. He’s also taught me a concentration exercise for chess and amiably answered a couple of truly idiotic questions including: “What’s the Dutch sense of humour like?” (on performing in Copenhagen) and “Have you ever levitated?” Answer: “No. You can’t break the laws of physics.” In short, he’s one of a kind, and I bet he never thought he’d find himself defending his individuality either:

“This woman tweeted after a Glasgow Stand gig: ‘He goes on about being weird, but he’s not as weird as he thinks.’ I am a vegan, metalhead, occultist, transvestite anarchist. Yes, perhaps compared to Crazy Jeff who lives in the bins I’m relatively normal, but I'm not exactly mainstream.”

Andrew O'Neill: Alternative
Thursday March 1st, 7pm
The Garage, Highbury

Click here to buy tickets

Photo credit: Steve Ullathorne
 
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Emma