'Oldest friends' back for another city gig

LOOKING BACK: Brian Jamieson with his "oldest friend" Richard O'Brien in Hamilton in the 1950s.

Source: http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/0,2106,3114606a6579,00.html

01 December 2004
By LUCY REED

It might have been Riff Raff's night but it was also a very special evening for two friends; Richard O'Brien and Brian Jamieson.

The pair call each other their oldest friends and although they meet whenever they can, Friday's unveiling of the statue in O'Brien's honour was the first time they had seen each other in Hamilton since 1959.

They got a chance to catch up for a few beers at the Rydges Le Grand Hotel.

"The funny thing is people often thought of Richard and I as losers," Jamieson said.

With Jamieson now working as a producer for Warner Brothers in Los Angeles and O'Brien a famous writer and actor, he didn't think either of them had ended up doing too badly.

Jamieson said they used to go to the midnight movies together and he believed that was where the genesis of O'Brien's creation came from.

He thought the celebrations were fantastic because it was like the journey had come around full circle.

"This is really where it began . . . I think other parts of the world like to claim Rocky Horror as their own."

Jamieson said O'Brien had never been swept up in his success and was a very consistent guy.

"He's the same really today as he was way back then."

Jamieson flew out of the country on Saturday, putting an end to his five-day trip for the Riff Raff unveiling.

"I think it's great. I always kind of had a soft spot for Hamilton," he said.