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Colt1861Navy

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Re: Colt1861Navy post# 689

Sunday, 06/23/2002 11:06:15 PM

Sunday, June 23, 2002 11:06:15 PM

Post# of 1767
Rock 'n' Roll Artists A-Z...Gilbert O'Sullivan

http://www.gosullivan.com/

Raymond O'Sullivan was born in Waterford, Ireland on December 1, 1946. In 1958, at the age of eleven, the family was off to England. Gilbert recalls hearing the news with mixed feelings. He had lived all his life in Waterford and love the surrounding countryside. "My Dad worked in the slaughterhouse of a meat factory in Waterford. My Mum ran a sweet shop. Home was a council house in the Cork Road. The Swindon job came up because Dad's firm also had a factory there. Dad asked for the move because the money would be a lot better in Swindon." Raymond attended St. Joseph's Comprehensive in Swindon and he went on to the Swindon Art College. Prior to college he spent hours pounding at the family piano which finally forces his Mom to relocate it to the wood shed. It is there that Gilbert's songwriting begins. While at college he's a band member (drums, guitar & vocals) of the The Doodles, The Prefects and Rick's Blues. "When I was at art school I formed a group, and I used to write songs and send the demo tapes to people like Tony Hatch," Gilbert said.

After graduating he went to work in a London department store; one of his co-workers was under contract with CBS, and soon O'Sullivan was signed to the label as well. Two CBS singles "Disappear/You" and "What Can I Do?/You" were released to little attention. In 1967, The Tremeloes record "You" for their "Here Comes The Tremeloes" LP. In 1968, they record another O'Sullivan composition, "Come On Home". The CBS release is heard by BBC's John Peel who gives Ray a live airing on his "Top Gear" Radio Show in May where he performs 3 songs. Disappointed with CBS, he moves on to Phil Solomon's Major Minor label, the Single "I Wish I Could Cry/Mr. Moody's Garden" is released with the adopted name of Gilbert listed on the 45. This also fails.

Seeking a manager, he sends a demo tape and photo of himself dress in a grey flannel suit, a Bisto Kid hat, football socks, little boy's school tie and clod hop boots to Gordon Mills. Mills had already launched Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck to international stardom. Mills was impressed by the demo tape and relaunches the songwriter on his new MAM label under the name Gilbert O'Sullivan. The debut "Nothing Rhymed" had some clever lyrics and a strong melody. It reached the UK Top 10 in late 1970. Gilbert had successfully combined a flair for Beatlesque popcraft with an old-fashioned music-hall sensibility and he was on his way!

The wit and craft of Gilbert's music coupled with his unusual image (at the peak of the hippie movement) produce subsequent hits including "We Will" and "No Matter How I Try". In 1971, Himself his debut LP is issued. The debut LP proves that his hit-making potential was undeniable and his ability to pen a memorable melody recalled the urbane charm of Paul McCartney. A year later, he finally broke through to the American market with the ballad "Alone Again (Naturally)," which topped the U.S. pop charts and sold over a million copies. Around this time, he quickly jettisoned his so-called "Bisto Kid" image in favor of a series of embossed letter "G" sweaters. In late 1972, Gilbert scored his first British number one with "Clair." The song, written about Mills’ daughter, stalls at Number Two in the States. His second offering, Back To Front, reached number 1 in the UK and his appeal stretched across the board, embracing teen and adult audiences. For a time, he seemed likely to rival and even excel Elton John as Britain's most successful singer/songwriter export.

1973 proved to be a productive and exhausting year for Gilbert. In April, he is named "Songwriter of the Year" at the 18th annual Ivor Novello Awards. On May 25th he begins his 18 city UK Tour at London's Royal Festival Hall. In September, his first and only United States Tour commences, "Get Down," and "Ooh Baby" become top selling singles and his third LP I'm A Writer Not A Fighter is released. He opens the official fan club and finishes the year with sold-out shows in at the London Palladium.

In May of '74, "Get Down" wins the Ivor Novello Award for the "Best Song of the Year." In September he opens for The Carpenters at the Hollywood Bowl. He returns to Europe and spends the rest of the month on his 16 date European tour, which takes him to Italy, Spain, Germany and other countries. In October, his fourth LP, A Stranger In My Own Backyard is released and hits UK#9. In November he plays a one-week stay at the London Palladium. Although singles like "A Christmas Song" and "Happiness Is Me and You" continued to chart, they sold increasingly fewer copies, and after the 1974 album his overseas popularity essentially ceased altogether.

During March 1975, Gilbert embarks on his British Tour which takes him to dates in Ireland, Scotland and England. In May, the single "I Don't Love You But I think I Like You/That's A Fact" is released which is his final Top 20 hit. November starts a serious media campaign for the release of the MAM Greatest Hits album, which reached UK#13). Gilbert embarks on a national radio tour to promote the LP. "Matrimony" is pulled from the lp as a single along with "You Don’t Have To Tell Me." Gilbert’s Greatest Hits TV program for ITV is broadcast on Boxing Day (12/26). In 1977, leaving MAM after a well-publicized dispute with Gordon Mills, this last effort, the self-produced,Southpaw fails to find an audience, and O'Sullivan disappears from the charts. In 1978, performs on the BBC-TV show "Sight & Sound" concert series.

In 1980, he returns to CBS Records with the Gus Dugeon-produced "Off Centre" which contains the global hit "What's In A Kiss." After releasing the Graham Gouldman-produced Life and Rhymes in 1982, he moves to Ireland. Regrettably, Gilbert's court appearances constituted his highest public profile during this period. In 1982 he took Mills to court, ultimately winning back the master tapes to his recordings as well as the copyrights to his songs. Finally, a new LP Frobisher Drive is released five years later. In the Key of G followed in 1989, and although none of these records made an impact on the charts they did appeal to the singer's fiercely devoted fan audience. Thanks to the use of "Alone Again (Naturally)" in Masion Ikkoku, the highly successful Japanese animated TV series, Gilbert find himself with a new legion of Japanese fans. In fact, O'Sullivan's next three releases (1992's Rare Tracks, The Little Album and 1993's Live in Japan, respectively) were initially issued only in Japan, and he performed live there regularly. In 1991, O'Sullivan was again in court and again victorious thanks to a judge's landmark ruling that rapper Biz Markie's unauthorized sample from "Alone Again (Naturally)" was in fact theft.

Gilbert remained a prolific talent throughout the decade to follow, with subsequent LPs including 1993's Sounds of the Loop, 1994's By Larry, 1995's Every Song Has Its Play and 1997's Singer Sowing Machine. He was presented twice by BBC Radio in 1991 and again in 1993. In 1995, he took part in the annual Glastonbury Music Festival and his performance was aired by BBC Radio Two. At the close of the decade, he also embarked on concerts tours of Holland, the UK and Japan.

The dawn of the new millennium finds Gilbert's music as popular as ever as witnessed by numerous movie soundtracks, The Alley McBeal Show, and Group 58. Gilbert also continues to write and record songs and perform in public. In June 2000, he released his latest effort "Irlish" and embarked on a Fall Tour of Japan and visiting Australia for the first time. 2001 has also been a very busy year with the release of "Irlish" in Ireland followed by a well-attended series of homeland concerts in March, the release of a new compilation cd and new song "Taking A Chance of Love" in Japan, the April radio broadcast of the Olympia Theatre Concert from Dublin and most recently a radio & TV promo tour of Japan. September has also seen the release of "Irlish" in the UK and the unveiling of his own record label, BYGUM Records and his own official website.

Today, Gilbert lives on the Isle Of Jersey in the Channel Islands with his wife Aase, and his two daughters. His brother Kevin is in charge of the daily operations including publicity and other business matters.

*Michael Watts - October 9th,1970 issue of Melody Maker.

Discography

http://www.gosullivan.com/disk1.html

Photo Gallery

http://www.gosullivan.com/gallery2.html




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