Stand-up comedian and author Dave O'Neil talks to host Elizabeth Harris at his office at The Grandview Hotel, Fairfield, against a backdrop of motorcycles revving their engines, doors opening and closing, and phones ringing, about:

• His latest book, The Summer of '82, a tribute to post-VCE life in the 80s and the shenanigans of his youth

Find out more about Dave's work at DaveONeil.com.au.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Elizabeth: Welcome to Writers’ Tête-à-Tête with Elizabeth Harris, the show that connects authors, songwriters and poets with their global audience. So I can continue to bring you high-calibre guests, I invite you to go to iTunes or Spotify, click Subscribe, leave a review, and share this podcast with your friends. Today I’m thrilled to introduce one of the funniest and most entertaining men I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet – Dave O’Neil.

Dave: Gee, that’s a big introduction. I’ve met funnier.

Elizabeth: There’s more Dave.

Dave O’Neil has been in the business of comedy for 20 years, and is one of Australia’s most recognizable stand-up comics, having put in 15 Melbourne international comedy festivals and dozens of comedy clubs nationally.

On screen you will have seen Dave as Team Captain in the ABC TV comedy quiz show Tractor Monkeys, as well as dishing out life advice in The Agony of Life, The Agony of Modern Manners, The Agony of The Mind, Can of Worms, plus messing about on Adam Hills In GorDave Street Tonight and Good News Week. He is probably most well-known for the honour of being the guest with the most appearances (over 50) on ABC TV’s ever popular Spicks & Specks.

Dave O’Neil, welcome to Writers’ Tête-à-Tête with Elizabeth Harris.

Dave: Welcome. Thank you. Lovely to be here. Pleasure to be called a writer, as opposed to a comedian.

Elizabeth: Well, isn’t this your fifth book?

Dave: Yeah yeah, two were kids’ books. My partner and I did them in Australia before we had kids.

Elizabeth: When you had more time.

Dave: We had more time, that’s right. And one’s called Lies That Parents Tell You, so I wouldn’t write that now. My daughter sits up in bed reading it and quotes it back to me.

Elizabeth: How old is she?

Dave: Ten. Yes, it’s tough.

Elizabeth: I was at Kaz Cooke’s book launch about …

Dave: On girl power? Yeah, she’s great. I’ve got to buy that book!

Elizabeth: So Dave, you’ve been through so much in your career, but today I want to concentrate on your hilarious book, The Summer of ’82.

Dave: Sure.

Elizabeth: It’s a real feel-good book, and you cover some intense themes. Discipline. Masculinity. Sexuality. Mateship. Stalking.

Dave: Stalking – that’s right. I followed a girl in Mildura. Back then it wasn’t known as “stalking”; it was known as “unrequited love”. Sexuality – there’s not much sexuality going on in there, I can tell you that. There’s a lack of activity in that department, that’s for sure.

Elizabeth: You were talking about how you were giving advice to 17-year-old virgins.

Dave: That’s right. A little girl at school would ask me for romance advice. I was like, that’s no