As the leaves fall from the trees and the nights draw in, succumb ye not to autumnal gloom. For come November, Gilbert O'Sullivan will be back from his gigs in Japan, ready to wow the faithful at venues like the Auditorium in Grimbsy and the Pavillion in Bournemouth. For myself, I rather fancy the Opera House in Manchester, with a Chinese meal afterwards.
In a perfect world, Gilbert would be across the table, toying with his shredded duck, explaining what "Ooh Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day" is really about and thanking me for years of loyal support. A birthday in 1973 was hugely enriched by younger sister's poem (and accompanying sketch of the singer-songwriter): "Gilbert O'Sullivan is here today to wish you a very happy birthday. He will sing you your favourite song, 'Get Down'. I am quite sure you will not frown". But there was, sadly, no copy of the record in question attached.
I fear Gilbert himself has done quite a bit of frowning down the years. Even the poster announcing his tour dates has him looking a little sullen and menacing. It's great that the hair is still there. It's just a pity he looks as if he has business to sort out at the undertakers rather than looking forward to a good sing-song.
Whetting our appetite for the tour, BBC 4 recently gave another outing to one of those self-indulgent, largely affectionate 70s Pop retrospectives. Leo Sayer, Demis Roussos and David Soul all played ball, reminiscing fondly about their ups and downs. Barrie White, 'the Walrus of Love', was sadly no longer in the picture. Gilbert did not show, but allowed his daughter to chip in quite cheerfully.
The ever admirable Paul Gambaccini was the pick of the pundits and waxed lyrical about Gilbert as a supremely talented tune-smith, mysteriously "missing in action" since the early 1970s. Gambo knows about these things and a quick bit of Googling turned up a sympathetic interview he had done with Gilbert for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s when the man born Raymond Allen had topped the American charts for six weeks with Alone Again, Naturally and appeared to have the world at his feet. Did you get that? SIX WEEKS. It came second only to 'American Pie' in the top-sellers that year and went on to be covered by Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, Neil Diamond and um...Donny Osmond. Gilbert has guarded the song's legacy carefully, refusing its use for adverts and karaoke and winning a 'landmark' copyright victory against rapper Biz Markie when he 'stole' a chunk of it. Said Gilbert: "the one thing I am very guarded about is protecting songs and in particular I'll go to my grave in defending the song to make sure it is never used in the comic scenario which is offensive to those people who bought it for the right reasons".
It may, of course, be worth dipping into the more hidden recesses of the O'Sullivan archive, or maybe not. A Woman's Place is in the Home is not, I fear, meant ironically. I have always been intrigued by the Clair b-side, What could be nicer? (Mum, the kettle's boiling), Gilbert always having an eye for the domestic detail, not something you could say for David Bowie and other contemporaries. "Freak out in a moon-age day dream but let's have a nice cup of tea first".
Gilbert does sometimes get out of the kitchen to go global, but with mixed results. Fans enthuse greatly about All They Wanted to Say, Gilbert's admirable take on 9'11. Lovely tune, but dip into lyrics: "I don't know what makes a man, or a woman think that terrorism isn't evil" and it starts sounding like the winner of a school competition for a song about peace. Will it sound better at the Grimsby Auditorium as the devoted hold their mobiles aloft? It's surely worth finding out.
In a perfect world, Gilbert would be across the table, toying with his shredded duck, explaining what "Ooh Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day" is really about and thanking me for years of loyal support. A birthday in 1973 was hugely enriched by younger sister's poem (and accompanying sketch of the singer-songwriter): "Gilbert O'Sullivan is here today to wish you a very happy birthday. He will sing you your favourite song, 'Get Down'. I am quite sure you will not frown". But there was, sadly, no copy of the record in question attached.
I fear Gilbert himself has done quite a bit of frowning down the years. Even the poster announcing his tour dates has him looking a little sullen and menacing. It's great that the hair is still there. It's just a pity he looks as if he has business to sort out at the undertakers rather than looking forward to a good sing-song.
Whetting our appetite for the tour, BBC 4 recently gave another outing to one of those self-indulgent, largely affectionate 70s Pop retrospectives. Leo Sayer, Demis Roussos and David Soul all played ball, reminiscing fondly about their ups and downs. Barrie White, 'the Walrus of Love', was sadly no longer in the picture. Gilbert did not show, but allowed his daughter to chip in quite cheerfully.
The ever admirable Paul Gambaccini was the pick of the pundits and waxed lyrical about Gilbert as a supremely talented tune-smith, mysteriously "missing in action" since the early 1970s. Gambo knows about these things and a quick bit of Googling turned up a sympathetic interview he had done with Gilbert for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s when the man born Raymond Allen had topped the American charts for six weeks with Alone Again, Naturally and appeared to have the world at his feet. Did you get that? SIX WEEKS. It came second only to 'American Pie' in the top-sellers that year and went on to be covered by Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, Neil Diamond and um...Donny Osmond. Gilbert has guarded the song's legacy carefully, refusing its use for adverts and karaoke and winning a 'landmark' copyright victory against rapper Biz Markie when he 'stole' a chunk of it. Said Gilbert: "the one thing I am very guarded about is protecting songs and in particular I'll go to my grave in defending the song to make sure it is never used in the comic scenario which is offensive to those people who bought it for the right reasons".
You don't mess with Gilbert, as became abundantly clear in the excellent RTE-made documentary Out on his Own: Gilbert O'Sullivan, also screened by BBC4, bless 'em. Gilbert made it clear he didn't much like having the camera crew around, but allowed them to film him in concert in Tel Aviv, making sweet music in Nashville, poring over old lyrics, chatting to fans and going (sometimes painfully) down memory lane, particularly when we got onto legal battles with his former manager and snide reviews. He was an intriguing mixture: wry, sardonic, regretful, self-deprecating, bombastic, modest, arrogant....Not much twinkle-eyed blarney there, but despite being lauded as Ireland's first UK chart-topper (is that true?), the young Gilbert (sorry, Raymond) relocated to Swindon at an early age.
The man doesn't fools gladly and woe betide anyone who asks him about comebacks and the gaping gaps in the discography. A wicked headline from one bruised paper: "A Moan Again, Naturally". Mean, but not far wrong.
"I write pop songs, end of story", said Gilbert at one point. But how good are his pop songs?
To my eternal shame, I never bought anything when the man was in his prime, investing an insulting 50p on a 'Best of"....on cassette from a charity shop in Kelso a few years back. I expected something at best endearingly naff, but repeat listenings to said compilation revealed Alone Again, Naturally to be exquisite, so too the Morrisey-covered Nothing Rhymed. Get Down and Clair are silly, but rather nice. Matrimony, Ooh Baby...? Well, if you must. But 50p seemed a pretty good bargain. The man doesn't fools gladly and woe betide anyone who asks him about comebacks and the gaping gaps in the discography. A wicked headline from one bruised paper: "A Moan Again, Naturally". Mean, but not far wrong.
"I write pop songs, end of story", said Gilbert at one point. But how good are his pop songs?
It may, of course, be worth dipping into the more hidden recesses of the O'Sullivan archive, or maybe not. A Woman's Place is in the Home is not, I fear, meant ironically. I have always been intrigued by the Clair b-side, What could be nicer? (Mum, the kettle's boiling), Gilbert always having an eye for the domestic detail, not something you could say for David Bowie and other contemporaries. "Freak out in a moon-age day dream but let's have a nice cup of tea first".
Gilbert does sometimes get out of the kitchen to go global, but with mixed results. Fans enthuse greatly about All They Wanted to Say, Gilbert's admirable take on 9'11. Lovely tune, but dip into lyrics: "I don't know what makes a man, or a woman think that terrorism isn't evil" and it starts sounding like the winner of a school competition for a song about peace. Will it sound better at the Grimsby Auditorium as the devoted hold their mobiles aloft? It's surely worth finding out.
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