Alan Oversby (20 February 1933 – 8 May 1996) was one of the primary figures in the development of contemporary body piercing in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. He was better known by his professional name Mr. Sebastian.

Career

Originally an art teacher, Alan Oversby left his initial profession to pursue his interests in

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

ing and

piercing Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal ...

instead. From his studio in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he promoted both tattooing and body piercing, especially within the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

leather community. He was a correspondent of both

Doug Malloy Richard Simonton (1915–1979), also known under the pseudonym Doug Malloy, was a Hollywood businessman and entrepreneur, known for his involvement in the Hollywood community, his rescue of the steamboat ''Delta Queen'', his work in preserving the ...

and Jim Ward. Sponsored by Malloy, he visited

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Malloy also sponsored trips to London to visit him, bringing along Ward and Sailor Sid Diller. These exchanges were critical to the global spread of the techniques and technology used in contemporary body piercing. Oversby was also responsible for the adoption of the use of topical and local

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

s as part piercing procedure in Europe. Although they are used less now, it used to be standard practice to use anesthetics when performing piercings in England, where in North America this practice is almost unknown. He was interviewed in the fourth issue of ''

PFIQ ''PFIQ'' (''Piercing Fans International Quarterly'') was a magazine published by Jim Ward from 1977 to 1997. It was the first publication about body piercing. Ward pioneered the field of body piercing and operated The Gauntlet, which was the firs ...

''. He performed much of the tattooing and piercing on Psychic TV musicians Genesis P-Orridge and Paula P-Orridge. His vocals were used in the Psychic TV track "Message from The Temple" which appeared on their first album ''Force the Hand of Chance''.

Operation Spanner

In 1987 Oversby was one of 16 men charged as a part of

Operation Spanner Operation Spanner was a police investigation into same-sex male sadomasochism across the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. The investigation, led by the Obscene Publications Squad of the Metropolitan Police, began in 1987 and ran for three year ...

, a series of raids that resulted in the arrest of men who were all engaged in consensual homosexual

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

activities. Oversby's case was eventually separated from the Spanner investigation. This was because there was no connection between him and the other men who were charged. (Except in a professional capacity.) Oversby, like the other men, was charged with

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong an ...

for performing a

genital piercing Genital piercing is a form of body piercing that involves piercing a part of the genitalia, thus creating a suitable place for wearing different types of jewellery. Nevertheless, the term may also be used '' pars pro toto'' to indicate all body pi ...

on a client. He was also charged with using anaesthetic without a licence and for sending obscene material through the post (photographs of piercings). As the judge was not willing to take the consensuality of the participants into account, Oversby pleaded guilty. He received a sentence of 15 months, which was suspended for two years.

References

* ''Modern Primitives''. Re/Search Publications.

External links

"The Beginnings of the Modern Body Piercing Movement"
'' Body Modification E-zine'' article
"A Visit to London"
''Body Modification E-zine'' article

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 22 May 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oversby, Alan LGBT people from England Body piercers 1933 births 1996 deaths 20th-century LGBT people