The success of Weird Al Yankovic is revenge of the nerds.

The parody pop star was your typically awkward talented teen when he decided to assume the name which had been thrown at him by bullies.

Now he finds himself in the position of supporting, sometimes comforting, people who are teased for their quirks. Or happen to love polka and accordion.

“I know when I first took on the name Weird Al in my teen years, it was empowering,” he says.

“People were calling me Weird Al as an insult and I took it on as a badge of honour, a licence to fly my freak flag high.

“For a lot of kids who think they are weird and don’t fit in, well, here’s the guy who is weird and different.”

Those kids, and plenty of their parents, flock to his concerts to see such timeless parodies as Eat It, Fat, White and Nerdy, Amish Paradise, Yoda and Smells Like Nirvana.

Watching the fans is almost as much fun as watching the world’s only accordion-playing pop star.

“A lot of people come dressed to the show as Amish people or Jedis with glow-in-the-dark light sabres, they really get into it. Sometimes it’s a little cultish and they will check out the concert schedule and stalk me from city to city and that’s very flattering,” he says.

If you are lucky, you will also be treated to a special guest appearance of stormtroopers from the globally-famous 501st Legion, along with Wookies, Yodas and Vaders.

Local chapters of these mega Star Wars fans turn up to his shows to join him on stage for the performances of Yoda and The Saga Begins.

“They are the greatest people in the world. They will show up at the venue in the afternoon, rehearse with my stage manager and then we will often hang out after the show to take photos and sign autographs. I love having them,” he says.

Check out his fan pages and it is clear there is a lot of love out there for Yankovich. And sometimes just a little too much love.

The Eat It star has been groped — in the fat suit, of course, which also came in handy when he fell off stage.

“Yeah it cushioned the fall,” he says.

“But early on, when my agent was booking me into comedy clubs and I was on stages built for a guy with a mic, not a rock band, I went for a high jump and fell through the stage. I finished the show but I was skinned up very badly.”

As the biggest selling comedy artist in the world with four Grammy wins and millions of album sales, Yankovic is keen to distance himself from the rise and rise of the YouTube parody.

Almost every hit can lend itself to a dose of satire but he sees his songs as paying comedic tribute to the original work rather than sledging it.

His latest album Mandatory Fun featured songs “inspired” by Lorde (Foil), Robin Thicke (Word Crimes), Pharrell Williams (Tacky) and Iggy Azalea (Handy).

“Most of the musical parodies on YouTube are mean-spirited and make fun of the song and the artist and that’s not my personal style of humour. I like to poke fun; it’s more of a poke in the ribs than a kick in the butt and it’s a challenge to be funny, not vulgar,” he says.

“I don’t even use profanity in my everyday life, it never enters the conversation, and it’s funny that because of that, what I do falls into family-friendly entertainment but my show is hardly G-rated.

“Some of my music is very dark and twisted with a little bit of innuendo.”

The show also involves as many, if not more, costume changes than your regular female pop artist concert.

He jokes that he hasn’t incorporated the ubiquitous “flying” moment which has become a signature of the modern music show because, well, how are you going to harness a fat suit?

“But I can match them in costume changes. the fat suit and my Amish gear take a couple of minutes to put on so that’s when you use the video screens to amuse the audience,” he says.

“I guess everyone from Cher to Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Taylor Swift are famous for it but it all started with Alice Cooper. He brought the theatrics back to rock.”

Weird Al Yankovic performs at the Falls Festival, Lorne (December 28), Marion Bay (December 29) and Byron Bay (December 31) and Enmore Theatre, Sydney, January 2, Palais Theatre, Melbourne, January 3 and Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide, January 8.