I am a Ghost
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Can't find this interview with Gilbert O'Sullivan from the Irish edition of The Sunday Times online, so here is the relevant section..
Perhaps as a gesture of fellowship to another writer of melancholic songs, perhaps as a nod to someone whose upbringing included Irish influences as well as English ones, when Morrissey played two nights in Dublin eight years ago, he performed the song that brought Gilbert O'Sullivan to prominence in 1970, Nothing Rhymed. For O'Sullivan, who regards himself as a songwriter equal to figures such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, and consequently feels perennially overlooked, Morrissey's gesture was a rare and welcome acknowledgement of his place in the musical firmament.
A few years later, browsing in a London bookshop, O'Sullivan checked the indexes of the three available Morrissey biographies to see if they mentioned him. There was no reason why they should:Morrissey's two performances of Nothing Rhymed at the Ambassador were the first and last times he included the song in his set. Moreover, when O'Sullivan had his string of hits in the early 1970's, Morrissey was busy gorging on the New York Dolls, and never subsequently cited the Waterford-born singer-songwriter as an influence. Nevertheless, O'Sullivan was irked to find no mention of him in the biographies. "So", he says, recalling the episode in suite in the Four Seasons in Ballsbridge, "I don't think it was that important to him."
For those in Direland, there is a new one hour documentary on O'Sullivan tomorrow evening on RTE 1 at 10.15.
ARTS LIVES: Gilbert O’Sullivan –
Out on His Own RTÉ One (20th April)
Gilbert O’Sullivan was Ireland’s first
international pop star.
In the early 1970s he sat on top of the global
charts with, Alone Again (Naturally), Clair,
Nothing Rhymed, Get Down and Matrimony.
The poster pin-up star was up there with the likes of Elton John and The
Osmonds but by the mid 70s his career began to wane and by the time
he came out of a long legal dispute with his manager in the mid 80s his
career had drifted into relative obscurity where it has stayed ever sense.
Today, the 62-year-old O’Sullivan is still working, touring and recording
from his homes on Jersey and in Nashville, still songwriting from Monday to
Friday, nine-to-five, driven to achieve again the chart success he once had.
Filmed throughout 2009 on Jersey, and in London, Nashville and Israel,
Gilbert O’Sulllivan - Out on his Own is a fascinating and witty journey through
the personal and creative highs and lows of this unconventional soloist,
complex, unwavering and often difficult. This is the first time O’Sullivan has
given access to a documentary crew, allowing a rare insight into the private
world of a single-minded and often pugnacious music man.
Director: Adrian McCarthy
Producers: Adrian McCarthy, Martha O’Neill
Produced by Wildfire Films for RTÉ
Perhaps as a gesture of fellowship to another writer of melancholic songs, perhaps as a nod to someone whose upbringing included Irish influences as well as English ones, when Morrissey played two nights in Dublin eight years ago, he performed the song that brought Gilbert O'Sullivan to prominence in 1970, Nothing Rhymed. For O'Sullivan, who regards himself as a songwriter equal to figures such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, and consequently feels perennially overlooked, Morrissey's gesture was a rare and welcome acknowledgement of his place in the musical firmament.
A few years later, browsing in a London bookshop, O'Sullivan checked the indexes of the three available Morrissey biographies to see if they mentioned him. There was no reason why they should:Morrissey's two performances of Nothing Rhymed at the Ambassador were the first and last times he included the song in his set. Moreover, when O'Sullivan had his string of hits in the early 1970's, Morrissey was busy gorging on the New York Dolls, and never subsequently cited the Waterford-born singer-songwriter as an influence. Nevertheless, O'Sullivan was irked to find no mention of him in the biographies. "So", he says, recalling the episode in suite in the Four Seasons in Ballsbridge, "I don't think it was that important to him."
For those in Direland, there is a new one hour documentary on O'Sullivan tomorrow evening on RTE 1 at 10.15.
ARTS LIVES: Gilbert O’Sullivan –
Out on His Own RTÉ One (20th April)
Gilbert O’Sullivan was Ireland’s first
international pop star.
In the early 1970s he sat on top of the global
charts with, Alone Again (Naturally), Clair,
Nothing Rhymed, Get Down and Matrimony.
The poster pin-up star was up there with the likes of Elton John and The
Osmonds but by the mid 70s his career began to wane and by the time
he came out of a long legal dispute with his manager in the mid 80s his
career had drifted into relative obscurity where it has stayed ever sense.
Today, the 62-year-old O’Sullivan is still working, touring and recording
from his homes on Jersey and in Nashville, still songwriting from Monday to
Friday, nine-to-five, driven to achieve again the chart success he once had.
Filmed throughout 2009 on Jersey, and in London, Nashville and Israel,
Gilbert O’Sulllivan - Out on his Own is a fascinating and witty journey through
the personal and creative highs and lows of this unconventional soloist,
complex, unwavering and often difficult. This is the first time O’Sullivan has
given access to a documentary crew, allowing a rare insight into the private
world of a single-minded and often pugnacious music man.
Director: Adrian McCarthy
Producers: Adrian McCarthy, Martha O’Neill
Produced by Wildfire Films for RTÉ
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) I think we should, Gilbert.
these dogs have been sedated.
They're not dancing, it's not normal.
