Julian Clary still not mincing words

His nipples are covered and the lycra is packed away, but there's no need to worry - turning 50 hasn't turned the UK's king of queens.

Comedian Julian Clary, whose performance prowess needs no explanation, is in Australia for his latest tour, titled Lord of the Mince.

Although he still likes to dress up, Clary, who was famous for his daring and revealing outfits, says now that he's older he's toned down his costumes.

"There is glamour involved, I still like to dress up, but I'm not wearing lycra and I'm not getting my nipples out these days," he told AAP.

"It's not that I'm not in good shape, there's nothing wrong with my nipples. I'm 50 and it's not what the show is about ... I've evolved you might say."

But in turning the Big 5-O, Clary says he still enjoys jibes from the audience and the shock value that his shows bring.

"I quite like people heckling, you're allowed to make noise, and you're allowed to speak to me and I quite like a bit of witty interaction," he said.

In the first half of his latest show, Lord of the Mince - which he describes a self-assured strutt called mincing of which he is the doyen - he reviews the ups and downs in his life.

During the second half he does a number of psychic experiments with the audience.

Clary has performed about 90 shows of Lord of Mince in the UK since July last year, but he's tweaked it slightly to suit his Australian audience, which will be tested on his Melbourne audience in his seventh Australian tour.

"I've certainly rediscovered the joys of performing live as long as I can find an audience," he said.

"I'm just interested in making people laugh and having a good time."

And it's this love of performing, and now writing, that he says will keep him from ever retiring, citing Barry Humphries, who, according to Clary is in his 70s.

"There's nothing quite like standing on stage with everyone laughing, I don't think I'll ever deprive myself of that."

Lord of the Mince was set to open at the Melbourne Comedy Festival on Tuesday before heading to Adelaide on Thursday, Perth on Saturday, Sydney on April 20, and Brisbane on April 21.