Rocky horror Creator Richard O’Brien Reflects on a Career of Cult Classics, Inappropriate Jokes, and the Origins of Life
Richard O’Brien, the creative force behind The Rocky Horror Show and its film adaptation, recently shared anecdotes from his life and career, ranging from his early days as a New Zealand barber to his thoughts on pop music and the ultimate fate of humanity. The interview, published by The Guardian, offers a rare glimpse into the mind of the man who birthed a cultural phenomenon and continues to shape entertainment decades later.
O’Brien began his working life as a barber in Hamilton,New Zealand,from 1959 to 1964,recalling a workplace habitat filled with “dirty,inappropriate jokes” that he now finds hard to believe was commonplace. He also addressed a hypothetical scenario involving The Crystal Maze host Edward Tudor-Pole,stating definitively he would “steer clear” and “leave eddie to his own devices” if Tudor-Pole were begging for mercy.
The conversation took a nostalgic turn when O’Brien recounted a chance encounter with Aretha Franklin’s band in 1968 while traveling by bus to the Hammersmith Odeon with actor friend Arthur Kelly. He and Kelly, both songwriters, had met the band’s piano player, Gary illingworth, and found themselves on stage during Franklin’s mic tests, experiencing a remarkably relaxed atmosphere. “Nobody came over and said: ‘Excuse me, who are you?'” O’brien remembered, praising the “marvellous” ease of the time.
O’Brien also offered a blunt assessment of the Spice Girls, stating, “They couldn’t sing.But lovely girls.” he concluded with a philosophical outlook on mortality, choosing the bottom of the sea over the vastness of space as his preferred place to die, believing humans are “built for gravitational pull” and “not meant to be out there.” He expressed no desire for even a short trip to space.
