Richard O'Brien is joking about entering politics now he has finally been made a New Zealand citizen. The Rocky Horror Show creator received his citizenship from Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker at a private ceremony this week. O'Brien later told the Waikato Times, "I've never been speechless before. I feel like I belong now. I always did belong and I have to say a large number of New Zealanders just automatically assumed [I was a citizen]." He added he was proud to finally officially belong to a country he had always felt was home and first thing on the agenda was running for prime minister. "I'm delighted. I should be involving myself deeply in politics. In fact I shall be prime minister probably the next turn around. All the serious issues. I've gone for the crispy bacon and toilet tissue issue. I'm campaigning on that." Born in Britain, O'Brien came to New Zealand with his family in 1952 as a 10-year-old. He lived in Tauranga, before moving to Hamilton once he finished school. His love of horror and similar genres is said to have stemmed from many hours spent watching double feature horror/science fiction films at Hamilton's Embassy Cinema and he dreamt up the concept for The Rocky Horror Show while working in a barbers shop next door to the cinema. In 2004 a statue of his Rocky Horror character Riff Raff was erected on the site of the former Embassy Cinema to honour O'Brien and his contribution to the arts. While he returned to the UK in the 1960s, his family has continued to live in the country and he has been back to New Zealand regularly since this time. After receiving New Zealand Residency in August 2010, O'Brien applied for New Zealand Citizenship however the application as initially declined as he was considered too old to apply under immigration criteria. This sparked an outcry from fans and prompted a public campaign to show support. This was led by Riff Raff statue initiator Mark Servian and immigration advisor Dion Smart, and included the establishment of a Facebook page 'Let Richard O'Brien be a New Zealand citizen'. Earlier this year it was announced the age restriction criteria had been waived and his application for citizenship approved. "Richard O'Brien is international cult icon and we're really excited that he has chosen to receive his New Zealand citizenship in Hamilton," Julie Hardaker says.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 16th December 2011 - 2:59pm