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Ramsay Street cred as Dr Karl
takes the stage
The Scotsman, Friday, November 23, 2007
By Tom Maxwell
http://living.scotsman.com/music.cfm?id=1839042007
THE name of one internet fan club, which boasts 44,000 members,
sums up the popularity of Alan Fletcher's Neighbours character
better than anything else: Dr Karl Kennedy: Gynaecologist, Psychiatrist,
GP, Master of the Universe.
"To borrow a phrase from one of Ramsay Street's favourite
characters in Stingray, I think it's spiggin' awesome!"
jokes the 50-year-old, whose band, Waiting Room, kick off their
UK tour at Edinburgh University's student union in Potterow on
Monday.
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"We played there on St Andrew's Day last year,"
continues Fletcher. "I played the entire gig wearing a kilt.
It was a lot of fun, except for the people in the front row who
kept trying to have a closer look!"
Having joined the show in 1994, Fletcher's Neighbours character
has proved to be one of the most popular in the Australian soap's
22-year history, with viewers captivated by his on-off relationship
with wife Susan (Jackie Woodburne).
"I auditioned for a year's contract," says Fletcher.
"I thought it'd be fun to work on Neighbours for a year
- 13 years later I'm still finding it fun!"
In 1998, Fletcher's legions of fans were stunned when Dr Kennedy
finally gave in to temptation and kissed his beautiful young
secretary Sarah Beaumont (Nicola Charles). But this newly discovered
roguishness only seemed to add to the handsome GP's appeal.
"I'm obviously very chuffed that people respond to the
character so well," says Fletcher, who in reality is happily
married and lives with his wife and two children in Melbourne.
"A lot of my fans are medical students. They love the
fact Dr Karl has been able to deal with almost every medical
emergency known to mankind."
Then there's the philandering. "Karl doesn't set out
to do it - he's just a good man who keeps getting blown in the
wrong direction," he says.
Fletcher, who has been an actor for more than 30 years, formed
Waiting Room with Melbourne musicians Tommy Rando and Chris Hawker
in 2004, and were later joined by Jeff Consi.
"Very quickly the uni circuit in the UK got hold of the
idea," he says. "People come along to see Dr Karl but
they end up loving the music too."
"Basically I play the music that I love - things like
The Fratellis, The Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis - plus our own songs."
Despite his Scottish name, Fletcher says: "I'm not too
sure about my Scottish ancestry. I haven't looked at my family
tree far enough back, but I do like a drink so I guess there
must be a bit of Scottish in me!"
• • Waiting Room, Potterow (Edinburgh University
Student Union), Bristo Square, Monday, 7pm, £12.50, 0131-650
2656
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