LiveOne
Dressed in his early days as a quintessential schoolboy in cap, short trousers, pudding bowl haircut and toothy smile, Gilbert O'Sullivan was an odd addition to the UK's pop scene of the early 1970s. Yet the eccentric image belied a very real talent for writing wittily catchy pop hits, characterised by his clear vocals and piano arrangements. Born in Waterford, Ireland on 1 December 1946, but mostly raised in the English town of Swindon, Raymond Edward O'Sullivan's music career began as a drummer with Rick's Blues, formed by Rick Davies, later of Supertramp, and it was Rick Davies who reputedly taught him to play piano. At Swindon College of Art, he continued his musical education with the bands The Doodles and The Prefects, buying a piano from his first songwriting advance which resulted in him being signed by CBS Records and adopting the name Gilbert O'Sullivan, as a play on the name of light opera composers Gilbert & Sullivan. He was subsequently discovered and signed by Gordon Mills, manager of the two biggest UK balladeers of the day, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck, adopting the schoolboy gimmick and getting his first hits "Nothing Rhymed," "We Will" and "No Matter How I Try" on Gordon Mills's MAM label. It was "Alone Again (Naturally)" in 1972 which established his reputation internationally, breaking the American market with the sentimental "Clair," by which time he'd moved on from the schoolboy image. Other hits included "Get Down," "Ooh Baby" and "I Don't Love You But I Think I Like You" before he became involved in a legal dispute with Gordon Mills over royalties. He has continued to play and record, finding exceptional success in Japan and his profile raised again in 2011 when he released the album Gilbertville. He followed this with Latin ala G! a homage to Peggy Lee, in 2015 and Gilbert O'Sullivan in 2018. Another new album, Driven, arrived in 2022 and in 2024 he returned with Songbook, a 12-track LP spanning a collection of newly recorded staple songs from his 55-year repertoire. “Alone Again (Naturally)" “Clair” and “Get Down” are among the tracks featured alongside new material in the form of "A Kiss is a Kiss."
Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.
