Carry on, doctor

To millions around the world, he's most recognised as the suave Dr Karl Kennedy in Aussie soap Neighbours but for the last two years, actor Alan Fletcher has been moonlighting in a band known as The Waiting Room. Having notched up cult status amongst students around the UK, Alan and his bandmates are currently ripping apart student unions on their current UK tour. The responsibility then fell on uk-fusion to probe Erinsborough's finest fictitious GP on his role on screen and on stage too.

Neighbours is going through a big change with lots of new characters coming through but my character has been on a very big journey in the last few years. He’s had a mid-life crisis, left his wife and then was told he was the father of a child but then he wasn’t and then that relationship fell apart. Then he tried to win his ex-wife back but she married somebody else and then he died so it’s been a pretty tempestuous time for good old Karl!

Alan Fletcher or Dr Karl Kennedy – who are you most known as?

Obviously I’m most known for Dr Karl Kennedy. The really nice thing is, when I formed the band Waiting Room two years ago, it was just to play in Melbourne. There was no intention of coming to the UK but when university bookers (who normally book me for personal appearances) heard about the band, they wanted us to perform. People who came to see me thought it was going to be a bit sad because Karl Kennedy’s music is rubbish but they they loved the music and so the vibe was there right from the beginning. Now we’re on our fourth tour. We do gigs where people sing our songs. It’s a fantastic thing so yes, mostly I’m better known as Dr Karl Kennedy but now people are saying, “That’s Fletch from Waiting Room”, which is really cool.

Do you get more attention as an actor or a singer?

Oh more attention as an actor. In terms of people emailing me or whatever…

…and from the ladies?

(smiles) Oh there’s a fair interest from the ladies.

Do you enjoy it?

Oh of course you do! (suddenly back-peddling) I mean, I’ve been a very happily married man for 17 years.

Are they mostly students?

A lot of the young students are very flattering towards me but they do say it’s their mothers who really fancy me.

Oh really? I mentioned to some of my girlfriends I was meeting you and one of them said you’re “quite hot in a Jon Snow kind of a way”. Do you know who he is?

(laughs) The only ‘Jon Snow’ I know is the ex-cricketer [John Snow, played for England, Sussex and Warwickshire].

(I then explain who the legend Jon Snow is)

Oh, really?

So on that note, how does it feel to be perceived as the cad of Neighbours?

It’s a lot of fun! As an actor you always go looking for challenges. This character has given me so much to play with. He’s changed so much over 12 years and it’s almost like I’m playing a new character so it’s that growth and development which is the best fun.

Is it true Karl’s middle name is Marx? (Joey B, Portsmouth)

(laughs) No it was true he was named after Karl Marx ‘cos his father was a communist. I always joke Karl’s middle name should be Klaus so he’s KKK.

Some people can’t differentiate between reality and fiction. Do some approach you for medical advice?

The students love to gag with me – nobody ever asks for serious medical advice, though.

No examinations?

Lots of people ask for examinations but also a lot send you notes when you’re on stage, saying ‘I’ve got a terrible itch…’ in such a place – they like to talk about STDs!

What’s the most outrageous one you’ve heard?

The most outrageous are straight-out offers of a combination!

What are these Neighbours nights all about?

They’re great. My band appears at the end of the Neighbours nights. Prior to that a few of the Neighbours actors come down to this pub in St Kildaire in Melbourne and backpackers can go and meet them. Up to 300 people will go to these nights. There is a massive number of people who come to Australia just for Neighbours. They go the street on the bus tours and they go to the Neighbours night – it’s incredible.

What goes on at these Neighbours nights?

They have quizzes and competitions, the actors walk around and they meet the people and have their photo taken.

Who is the most popular?

Probably Harold. I used to do them but now when the bus tours come out to the television station where we make Neighbours, I like to go out and meet the people.

Was there a doctors and nurses themed night at Brunel University? (Manjit Plaha, London)

Yes, there was!
What was that like?

It was huge! It was huge! I’ve got some great photos!

(I raise an eyebrow)

..on my website! I’ve got photos from all the tours and Brunel features pretty heavily on there. There were some great outfits.

Did you dress up?
No, I didn’t! (laughs) They did!

There seems to be a trend that most Aussie soap actors end up as pop stars.

I know but there are two things about that, you know. The first is, most actors are singers because it’s part of our trade so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that actors can sing. Obviously yes there have been a lot of people who have come out of Neighbours who have gone on to have music careers and this has to be admired – Kylie, Natalie Imbruglia and now Natalie Bassingthwaighte from Rogue Traders. From my own point of view, I didn’t go into this looking for a pop career, I went in looking to be a performing musician. Our emphasis is on live gigs.

Would you say you’ve achieved some kind of cult status?

From a university level it’s kinda looking that way, which is very nice and I’m very flattered by it. The band formed two years ago. Tommy Rando and Chris Hawker were playing in a restaurant and I got up and sang a few songs with them. We started gigging for UK fans of Neighbours and they loved it.

How would you describe Waiting Room’s sound?

Half of what we do (maybe 70%) are covers so we’re talking Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Foo Fighters, Oasis, bit of Bon Jovi, Queen, Killers…it’s strongly orientated with what you call UK pub rock or indie rock.

Are those bands your influences?

Those bands are definitely a big influence but my musical heritage goes back to the late 70s punk era – Elvis Costello, The Clash, Sex Pistols. I like the approach punk music took which is lyric based but with good thrashing, strong guitar based music. It’s kind of where my heart is but bands like Kaiser Chiefs have created a new sound and there’s a lot more quirkiness to the music. There’s a trend towards 60s pop top music too like McFly, The Kooks, The Feeling. The Arctic Monkeys hark back to a more good thrashing punk tradition. Coming from Sheffield, that’s hardly surprising. A lot of good music comes out of the north of the country.

Who’s worse – Men at Work, INXS or Silverchair? (Daniel Brigham, London)

Who’s worse? Yeah, who’s the saddest! I couldn’t say any of them are sad because they’re all very different. Men at Work’s Colin Hay is a fantastic songwriter but if you are desperate for bands…

What about Midnight Oil or Russell Crowe’s band?

I’ve seen Russell Crowe’s band. He’s got a new band now – Ordinary Fear of God. I’ve seen Russell’s band play live and the thing is, Russell’s music has got a real country and almost folk feel to it – he’s a storyteller and he’s got quite a deep voice. For what he is trying to achieve, he does very well. It’s unfair to compare bands because they’re all there for different reasons. Men at Work were a quirky band but people always think of ‘Down Under’ – that’s all Men at Work were but it’s much more than that. INXS with the new guy are awesome; they are doing really well. Silverchair I don’t know much about. The boys were an overnight sensation when they first started – kind of like the Arctic Monkeys story so I’m not good at telling you who is more naff.

Is the name of the band a clever dig at your role as Dr Karl Kennedy?

It’s just a little nod to Dr Karl. As an actor people often ask you what’s the highlight of your career or what do you remember the most about your acting career and I always say I can only remember the waiting. Actors spend an enormous amount of time waiting so it was partly that as well.

Is your album all original compositions?

Yes. The only cover on there is ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. The reason I put it on there is because I support Liverpool but also when we first started out we used to sing footie songs. The band’s changed a lot in that way in terms of the emphasis on the music and when we sung ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, the kids loved it.

Would you do festivals?
Absolutely. I’d love to do Glastonbury – we’ll get onto that one day. The thing is with my Neighbours schedule I have to book things months in advance and a lot of stuff is cut out for me because of Neighbours.