Grammy-nominated godfathers of alternative cabaret The Tiger Lillies are no strangers to controversy. You could say they thrive on it. But, with Martyn Jacques as their frontman, there is nowhere to hide.

Fresh from a world tour taking in Mexico, Berlin and Copenhagen, Didcot may appear rather provincial, but the trio are ready to ensnare and entrance a new audience wherever they take their unique brand of dark and deviant theatrics.

“They love us in South America, so performing in an arts centre in Didcot will be a bit different to a 1950s Burlesque theatre in Mexico City, but that’s what we do; go out and play and entertain people all over the world.

“Another city, another country, we play anywhere and everywhere. When you are on tour, they all blend into one after a while. In my mind, there are two differentiations: English speaking countries and everywhere else,” the 55-year-old remarks.

Do non-English speaking countries still get the gist?” Of course,” Martyn roars, “My favourite artists are people who I can’t understand. It means you really listen to the music instead. Think about opera. You can get it translated into English, but it’s best in its original form, when you hear the passion. The music is always more important, and the performance, of course.”

To set the scene, Martyn Jacques, founder of The Tiger Lillies, spent much of his early years living above a brothel in London’s Soho. He is a self-trained musician and singer, playing the accordion, piano and ukulele. His hauntingly beautiful falsetto has become The Tiger Lillies’ trademark and, combined with his edgy songwriting, has led to him being widely known as the Criminal Castrato. And he loves to shock.

As for his image, Martyn says it’s been “an organic progression” and that even as a kid he liked dressing up in hats, old clothes, waistcoats, anything with big buttons, brocade and braces.

So what comes first, the music or the theatre? “The music, although we have never been recognised by the music industry. They think we are more theatrical, even though we play our music all over the world, but life’s too short to get worried about stuff like that. Maybe there was a time when I felt the injustices of this world, but I just don’t care any more. I’m just grateful we still have an audience and people who want to come and see us.”

Martyn has been touring for about 30 years, having come up with the idea for The Tiger Lillies as some-thing avant-garde and stand-out, finally settling on the macabre magic of pre-war Berlin fused with punk.

“We wanted to be original because there were thousands of people out there trying to launch their careers in music,” he shrugs. “It was really hard to start with, playing in little folk cellars and having beer thrown at you, sleeping on floors, but it was also great fun and a real adventure and our fans came and found us.”

Despite the awards, from Grammys to Oliviers, The Tiger Lillies have remained anti-establishment.

“I’d love to be more main-stream and sit on the breakfast TV couch. But I’m not prepared to compromise and make dull, anodyne music. So we are really lucky to have people who do want to listen to what we do. It’s very tiring, the older you get, but it’s still amazing. I should probably slow down.”

SEE IT
The Very Worst Of The Tiger Lillies come to Didcot’s Cornerstone tomorrow night
www.cornerstone-arts.org / 01235 515144