Glasswerk Vs Dr. Karl Kennedy!

• 6th Nov 2006

Glasswerk has taken time out to catch up with the love doc himself, Neighbour’ own Alan Fletcher aka Dr Karl Kennedy. We’re in a rather swish West End hotel and from the word go the doc is in good form.

Before a question has been asked, Alan launches into a hysterical review of his last gig in London where their laptop crashed, and once fixed, they only knew what song was coming up next once the intro had started! It is almost as if he wants to acknowledge that the set-up last time round was not really what it should have been, but that the upcoming dates at the end of November really will be raising the bar. At the expense of a personal pay-cut they will be bringing their drummer out with them, and gone are the days of Walkabouts… the London date on this tour is the Islington Academy – “a proper rock ‘n’ roll venue!”

It is inevitable that any interview with Alan Fletcher will heavily involve Neighbours. “I embrace the fact I play Dr. Karl, and don’t shy away from talking about it in interviews. I accept totally that people come to see the band because of the Neighbours thing, but it wouldn’t work if the music was crap! People come backstage and say awesome gig, and they talk to the others in the band as much as me”.

And it seems that Neighbours is a key reason why he is over here… “We’ve just had the National Television Awards, which always seems to feature Neighbours, after all more than 6m people over here watch it. After talks with the BBC Neighbours, decided to do filming in London for the first time since Madge and Harold! I was really pushing it, it made such good sense to don our hats to the UK audience. Nathalie Bassingthwaite (Izzy) has left neighbours but agreed to make herself available, so Susan and Karl in London, throw Izzy into the mix, and there’s a lot of fun! Then we return home for a week go home, then we’re back again for the live shows, so it is a very intense period.

Two different sides to Alan’s character shine through as the interview progresses. On the one hand he is incredibly jovial and laidback, happy to have a laugh at his acting character, and not get too bogged down on the intricacies of the live music business and concentrate on enjoying himself. When asked to comment on similarities between him and Dr. Karl, “He’s such a dick! It is wonderful to play someone who is so gormlessly flawed. He’s so self-confident about being a musician! He believes in himself very strongly, gets very hurt when people slag him off, whereas I’m ‘whatever, good on ya!’, though I do take criticism onboard. In life I have very few similarities, he’s terrible to his children, and I hope I’m very good with mine. And he has daggy dress sense!”

But it is equally clear that he is very serious about his music. On it being mentioned that he’s hardly the first member of the cast to embark on a music career, “besides Craig McLachlan, I’m the only member of Neighbours who has come into music saying I’m not here to make pop records, we’re a gigging band. The others are just as much a part of the band as me – its not the Alan Fletcher band. They are brilliant singers and great guitarists and I’ve learnt so much from them. We are totally live focussed.

I see acting and singing as hand in hand. Interpreting a song is like interpreting a script. It’s about telling stories and moving people.”

On a more light-hearted note, Alan was asked if he had ever pretended to be a real doctor for his own advantage! “Never! Ive got no desire to spend any time in jail”

It makes sense for Alan and The Waiting Room to concentrate their efforts in the Uk where there is already such a market, though he states that if there was more time he would tour everywhere. There is a great Neighbours fanbase in Holland he says! The Uk is like a second home for him as well, with relatives and his family heritage here. Immediate plans are for a live album, which he sees as fitting with the way the industry is heading, away from the traditional 12 track studio album in your local record store. Tonight’s plans just involve a quiet night – he won’t be joining “Izzy” who is off to see Mary Poppins!

And so as the interview draws to a close it is inevitable that one question will be asked, what exciting storylines are on the way in the pipeline? “Well, Karl and Susan have just got back together but there are Lots of hiccups… how do the Kimski children feel, they can be pretty fickle! And Audrey the dog doesn’t take to Karl! Dr. Karl is the ultimate medico – he’s dealt with Leukaemia, heart attacks, childbirth but there comes a day when he asks himself ‘do I want to do this anymore?’ Cue a change of image and a very cute storyline!” And when the topic of Skye’s child’s paternity arises, Glasswerk’s Rhiannon Price is pretty confident when she tells Alan it is Stingray’s. “As long as your confident about that!” is the cryptic reply from the world’s most famous non-crime solving doctor.

Check out link for everything else you need to know about Alan Fletcher and his band The Waiting Room.