CityLife

How Engelbert is going back to his roots

AT THE VARIETY SHOW: Engelbert

ENGELBERT Humperdinck has gone back to his roots in more ways than one.

Gone is the jet black hair and large sideburns sported by both himself and his friend Elvis Presley.

“Nowadays I’m letting nature take its course,” the popular vocalist confesses.

“I started going grey when I was only 20. Now I’ve returned to my own natural light brown hair colour with quite a bit of grey showing through – but don’t they say that blondes have more fun? My fans who’ve grown up with me know that I’m not 21 any more, so why pretend?”

This is an older and wiser Engelbert than the one I first spoke to years ago, at the height of his fame.

He can certainly be proud of an amazing track record, generating sales in excess of 130m records, including 64 gold and 24 platinum discs as well as securing four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Not bad for an Army kid, one of 10, born in India and relocated to Leicester when he was 10-years-old.

“Now we have a proper home just outside Leicester and I’m there every six weeks.

I feel really proud that I’ve been made a freeman of the city and was awarded a doctorate in music from the university in my home town.

Much of my time is spent in Leicester because I really love it when all the family get together.

"I have seven sisters and two brothers plus all their off-spring and sometimes my own – although my four children and their grandchildren now have their own homes and are scattered all over the world. One lives in Australia, one in Nashville and another in Los Angeles.”

Since the children have left home in America, does the 73-year-old vocalist still live in Jayne Mansfield’s Hollywood Pink Palace?

Englebert shakes his head. “No, I sold it because, once the kids were gone, we were rattling around in the place and decided to down-size.

"We bought a slightly smaller property in nearby Bel Air on top of a mountain with nothing to obscure the views. However, I did take with me the white grand piano on which Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue – I wouldn’t part with that for anything.

“My wife, Patricia, and I have a good life in Los Angeles as we’ve made some great friends. I play golf a lot and have one friend who’s as mad about motorbikes as I am and we often go off for long bike rides.

“But I must admit we were sad when we heard that they’d brought bulldozers in and knocked down the Pink Palace to build some apartments in the large grounds.

"That place was part of Hollywood’s history and it’s like the end of an era. But I suppose that’s progress.”

Pink Palace

Gone is the Pink Palace, gone too are Engelbert’s ruffled shirts, gold chains and rings – was he going minimalist?

He laughs: “I suppose you could say that – but remember that was all part of the image then and tied in with the romantic ballads I was singing.

“Now I’m releasing two new albums and I’m really looking forward to this new concert tour because, alongside the old favourites, I’m going to perform numbers from the new albums which are much faster moving.

“Don’t get me wrong, in Legacy Of Love there are new love songs which I think are some of the best I’ve sung.

“I’ve also re-recorded some of my hits accompanied by the fantastic sound of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and I think they sound even better than the originals.”

Engelbert is also going back to his roots musically.

“When I first started my musical career, I was singing in working men’s clubs. As well as ballads, I also used to sing quite a bit of country music, which I love, and those songs always went down well.

"In my second album, A Taste Of Country, I’ve returned to that style and we’ve had a great time in the studio, recording some of my favourites – so I’ve been busier than ever."

Engelbert’s enduring success is a far cry from the early days when he could not admit to his family that his gigs weren’t as regular as a proper job.

Toliet

“My all-time low was one night when I slept in a toilet because I couldn’t afford to rent a room. I closed the cubicle door so no-one would know I was in there and at least it was warm and dry instead of being out in the rain on the wet streets.”

Initially, Engelbert worked under the names Jimmy and then Gerry Dorsey.

“I even thought at one time that I’d like to be a band-leader like the great Tommy Dorsey, as we shared the same surname. However, when I realised I had a voice, I thought I’d better stick to singing.”

But the longed-for record deal wasn’t as easy to get as there was stiff competition in those days.

“I used to hang around Tin Pan Alley with other hopefuls like Elton John and the Rolling Stones. But it was a new manager, Gordon Mills, who also looked after Tom Jones and Gilbert O’Sullivan, who named me after the German classical composer and eventually we got the record deal.

Frank Sinatra

“Gordon died and now my agent is the man who used to look after Frank Sinatra, so I’m in very good hands.

"I was lucky enough to meet all the Rat Pack when I played in Las Vegas and if he was good enough for Frank then he’s good enough for me.”

Major hits like Release Me, The Last Waltz, There Goes My Everything, A Man Without Love and Winter Wonderland, among many others, ensured Engelbert’s popularity.

But with success come the temptations so many of his colleagues and friends succumbed to.

“I’m not saying I was a goodie-goodie but I never did drugs and, thanks to the values my family gave me, I manage to stay grounded.

“I understand the pressures and stresses of striving to get to the top and then working hard to stay there more than most but that’s where family and good friends are so important. I saw Elvis six months before he died and I knew it was the beginning of the end.

“He was still as friendly and accommodating but he was so overweight and grey underneath the tan. I wish now I’d said something to him because that was the last time I saw him.”

What did he think of the furore surrounding Michael Jackson’s death?

“I didn’t know Michael but my wife and daughter used to hang out with him. They seemed to enjoy his company but, for some reason, I just didn’t want to get involved. I felt very disturbed by the obvious fact that he’d fallen by the wayside.”

Engelbert’s Catholic upbringing made a lasting impression on him. A deeply spiritual person he used to practise spiritual healing.

“I don’t talk about that now. If you do, people think you’re a bit crazy so I’d rather not go there. It’s a very private thing. 

“But I will say that a few years ago, I had a severe viral infection which was so bad even specialists thought I may have to give up my career.

"I tried all sorts of remedies and was finally cured by a very wise Chinese doctor who used acupuncture.”

Now fit, healthy and raring to go, Engelbert is delighted to be singing back in Manchester.

“This city has always had very special memories for me. Recently, of course, at the Palace Hotel, the Variety Club honoured me with a treasured Silver Heart. But in the past I used to sing at Mr Smith’s when I was just starting out.

“My fans there are also rather special people and you get to the stage where you recognise them and it’s great to have that kind of loyalty.

"After all these years in the business, music is still my life-blood and I love the creativity of making music in a studio or, even better, in front of an audience. That’s when I truly come alive.”

Engelbert Humperdink will appear at the Bridgewater Hall on Friday, September 11. £35. Call 0161 907 9000.