NEWS

Kate Robertson Feb 08 2019, Stuff NZ

Fifty-two years on from its release, Ten Guitars still holds a special place in Engelbert Humperdinck's heart.

The song, which was little more than a B side to Release Me, became an instant Kiwi classic.

Humperdinck tells Stuff he was "shocked," but in the very best way.

These days, the 82-year old can't imagine putting on a show in Aotearoa where he doesn't indulge in playing it twice: "once for me and once for the audience," he says.

The surprise success of the song means New Zealand remains one of the Spanish Eyes singer's favourite countries to tour.

"I do love playing in New Zealand. I love it because Ten Guitars is like the national anthem of New Zealand," Humperdinck says.

He'll return to the country later this month, performing in Auckland on February 28, Christchurch on March 2 and Wellington on March 4. He's playing sizeable venues, but none of them will compare to the New Zealand show that remains one of his fondest touring memories.

"I believe we played in New Zealand to quarter of a million people at one time," he recalls.

"I couldn't see the back of the crowd, it was that big and that large. That's the time I had to do Ten Guitars three times. That's one of the highlights of my life, because it's one of the biggest crowds I've ever played to."

This time round, Humperdinck says Kiwis can expect to hear a selection of classics, along with a number of songs from his 2017 album The Man I Want to Be.

The album is a love letter to his wife Patricia Healy, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

The record features a small handful of covers alongside a number of original songs, one of which now stands as an important piece of Humperdinck family history.

I'm Glad I Danced With You was written by Humperdinck's daughter Louise Sarah Dorsey and her partner Tony Taliaferro, and features the vocals of his granddaughter Olivia Taliaferro.

He says Olivia, who was just nine at the time of recording, "sings these lyrics that were written for my wife so well."

"I met my wife at a dance hall when she was 17, and that's what the song is all about, that I met her when she was 17 and we've been together ever since," he says.

The album, which Humperdinck confidently states is "one of the best I've ever done", also includes re-arranged covers of the Ed Sheeran hit Photograph and the Bruno Mars song Just the Way You Are.

He says the decision to include contemporary songs from young artists has "worked out amazing".

First and foremost he admires their work, but he's also quick to point out that ties on the Bruno Mars track run deeper than most would be aware.

"The Bruno Mars song has quite the story attached to it," he says, pausing for effect.

"I met Bruno Mars in Hawaii many, many years ago, and he performed for me at one of my fan club parties. He was five years old at the time. I said, young man, you're going to be a big star."

"But he's not big, he's a mega star, and so now I'm recording one of his songs."

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/110379258/engelbert-humperdinck-still-shocked-by-success-of-ten-guitars

The Engelbert Humperdinck shows for 1/25/19 New Buffalo, MI (Four Winds Casino) & 1/26/19 St. Charles, IL (Arcadia Theatre) have been postponed. The shows will be rescheduled for later dates. Ticketholders can use their tickets for the rescheduled performances. Please stay tuned for more information. We apologize for any inconvenience.

By Ed Condran, The Gazette, January 24, 2019

UPDATE: The show has been canceled. If you have purchased tickets, refunds will be available through the point of your purchase.

If you have a name like Engelbert Humperdinck, it helps to have a sense of humor.

The veteran singer, who was born Arnold Dorsey and raised in India and England, didn’t change his name for laughs before music’s British Invasion. Appropriating the unusual moniker from the 19th century German composer who crafted the “Hansel and Gretel” opera, has earned notice and then some.

During an “All in the Family” episode back in the mid-70s, the iconic Archie Bunker, a malaprop master, called the singer “Engelbert What’s His Dink.”

“To hear Archie in all his Bunker bravado say that on prime time, well, I knew I’d made it,” Humperdinck, 82, said by phone from Clearwater, Fla. “Ed Sullivan and Dean Martin messed up my name too, much to the audience’s delight, and we are still talking and laughing about it.”

Yes, the romantic hits “Release Me” and “There Goes My Everything” are a huge part of Humperdinck’s appeal. But he also engages with his audiences. The Gazette is presenting him in concert Sunday (1/27) at the Paramount Theatre, and he said he’s still having a blast onstage more than a half century after making his debut.

“There is still that excitement for live music in a show that has been 52 years in the making,” he said.

It’s a much different world than when Humperdinck started out. Back then, the record industry was strong and love songs were ubiquitous. That’s not so today.

“I don’t know why love is hard to find on the charts,” Humperdinck said. “The Beatles philosophy carries to this generation, ‘All You Need is Love.’”

There’s lots of love in the tunes at Humperdinck’s shows. “After the Lovin,” “The Power of Love” and “Crazy” are just some of the love songs he’s delivered. He has so many choices when selecting from his deep canon.

“Making a set-list is so challenging,” he said. “People relate to different songs and some have been on this ‘Release Me’ road from the beginning, so there are, thankfully, a myriad melodies and memories to choose from for the show. The format stays somewhat the same in dynamics, because it is tried and tested worldwide, but I like to include unexpected gems that take the audience by surprise and take them back to another ‘Moment in Time.’ I also like to find great current love songs and do them my way and pay tribute to the talent of today.”

Humperdinck has been covering such contemporary tunes as Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” and Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.”

“I was introduced to Ed by my granddaughter Kiki, who kept singing ‘Thinking Out Loud’ to me until I recorded it and sang it onstage,” Humperdinck said. “Apparently Ed’s mum is a big fan and I was flattered to learn that he liked the rendition. I connected with his lyrics on a deeper level.”

When Mars was a kid, he showcased for Humperdinck.

“Having met him when he was just 5, it just made total sense that I should cover him and maybe some of that ‘24 Karat Magic’ (Mars’ album) would rub off on me. What a fantastic entertainer,” he exclaimed.

Damon Albarn of Gorillaz wanted to work with Humperdinck, but his management never let him know about the proposal.

“Missed opportunities by mismanagement is a huge pet peeve of mine,” Humperdinck said. “It wasn’t presented to me personally and it was a big lesson on being more hands-on with offers that come in.”

But Humperdinck is very busy.

“Basically, the suitcases stays by the front door,” he said. “The first four months (of 2019) have little time scheduled for the dry cleaners and resting in my easy chair. I’m testing out my new show and we start the national tour before heading to Australia and Southeast Asia. ...

“I have a lot going on and I like it that way,” he said. “I’ll be in the studio recording a phenomenal new song that sounds like it should be at the end of a Clint Eastwood movie. Now there’s a legend.”

Pop singer still going strong after 50 years

By TOM CONWAY - Herald Palladium - January 24, 2019

NEW BUFFALO — At 82, Engelbert Humperdinck still tours frequently, a schedule he has maintained for more than 50 years.

“In the old days, not only was it every day, but sometimes a twice-a-day show, and then go out and see someone else perform at a lounge in the early hours,” Humperdinck said. “I think the toll of touring only hits me after a run, when my body knows it can rest. People call me an ox when it comes to my endurance, but I’m really a true bull, a Taurus with a stubborn streak who likes to get the job done and done right.”

The English pop singer will stop at Four Winds Casino Resort’s Silver Creek Event Center on Friday as part of “The Angel on My Shoulder Tour,” named after a song he features in his show that he feels encapsulates the good fortune he has had in his life.

“My angel has had a busy life, as my life has been anything but straightforward,” Humperdinck said. “The song just spoke to my life and how I have always felt a higher power tap me on the shoulder and divert many situations, some that would not have me here anymore. I fell in a timber pond with sharks as a non-swimming boy and was rescued by my brother, who also couldn’t swim. Our parents had no idea we were there, and it could easily have ended our stories.”

Humperdinck’s story involves selling more than 140 million records and having hit singles in the United Kingdom and U.S., with songs like “Release Me,” “The Last Waltz,” “After the Lovin’” and “This Moment in Time.”

Humperdinck’s style of romantic ballad singing was falling out of favor in the mid-1960s with The Beatles exploding on the music scene, but he held his own. “Release Me” kept The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane” from the top spot in the U.K., and stayed on the charts for 56 consecutive weeks, achieving an entry into the Guinness Book of Records.

“I’m sure everyone worried about the hugely talented Beatles and their eclectic style of music that stepped in the waters of different genres, but somehow was their own unique sound,” Humperdinck said. “I felt pretty confident in the shoes I was wearing and the stamp I was trying to make in the business. When I hit, I was off and running and had no time to worry about competition. I was my own competitor, working on one-upping myself and learning the trade as fast as I could.”

Born Arnold George Dorsey, Humperdinck borrowed his stage name from the 19th century composer of operas like “Hansel and Gretel.”

“My manager had three of us in his stable of talent at the time, and he named Gilbert O’Sullivan and myself after composers, and Tom Jones after the film of the same name, which was popular at the time,” Humperdinck said. “Surprisingly, I settled into my new moniker very quickly, with the support of my family. It somehow fit the young man with dreams as big as his new name, but roots solidly planted in the ground from which he was raised.”

Humperdinck has a knack for taking on artistic projects that introduce him to new generations of music fans. In 1996, he recorded the song “Lesbian Seagull” for the soundtrack for the film “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.”

“I had so much fun on that project and was really honored to be considered,” Humperdinck said. “I couldn’t wait to caw like a seagull for the movie version of the incredibly popular TV show. (Director) Mike Judge was a fan and such a creative visionary. It had a nice long run, which is appropriate as the meaning behind the song is about life’s nice long run with the same love.”

He also might have attracted new fans in the 21st century when Damon Albarn of Gorillaz wanted Humperdinck to contribute to the 2010 album “Plastic Beach,” but his manager declined the proposal without telling him.

“Mismanagement is really the beginning and end of that story,” Humperdinck said. “I was sick to learn the project was turned down without my even knowing of the offer. It has been years now, but you can bet it was a lesson learned and a management changed.”

Humperdinck released his latest album, “The Man I Want To Be,” in 2017, which features his version of Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are.”

He recorded the song as a tribute to his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and because he met Mars at a young age and knew he was destined for the big time.

“I met him when he was 5,” Humperdinck said. “He was hired to perform at a fan club party for me in Hawaii. He blew us away with his Elvis costume and moves and command of his young voice. He was charming and cute and exploding with the X factor. To record his song is to pay homage to his life of struggle and persistence and sort of an ‘I told you so.’ I did tell him as a young lad that he would be a megastar.

“The song I ended up including in my show,” he said, “is dedicated to my wife and the changing life and cards we have been dealt in our golden years. The cruelty of Alzheimer’s is only overcome by the love of a lifetime.”

Humperdinck isn’t thinking about retiring anytime soon. He still enjoys what he does.

“I have a huge band and crew who work so well with me, and we all get to see the world together though this gift of music,” he said. “I think of myself as a young musician and how good steady work felt with people who made the job even more fun and I just carry on. Plus, I get uneasy in my easy chair after about three weeks of watching telly and doing down time.”

https://www.heraldpalladium.com/features/engelbert-humperdinck-is-a-true-bull/article_d8cd99bf-2526-5f04-a8a0-acc68d82c351.html

Indonesia Expat Jan 16, 2019

Indonesia Expat had the privilege to interview the world-famous English singer, Engelbert Humperdinck. He will have a show in Jakarta sometime in 2019 at the Double Tree by Hilton Jakarta.

Have you ever been to Indonesia before?

I have had the pleasure of visiting Indonesia many times. On one of those occasions, I had to leave my son and daughter behind and go on with the tour. My youngest boy had to have his appendix out in Jakarta! People were praying outside the hospital with candles… but they thought he was Richie Sambora from Bon Jovi.

What is your favourite song to sing on tour? What do the fans usually want to hear the most?

I am fortunate to have 52 years of material to choose from when I make up my show. It’s hard to make the set list because I have had some amazing writers over the years and everyone has a different favourite. I would say Release Me and The Last Waltz are two songs that I could never let go from my show.

I do love to sing a song from my recent CD release The Man I Want to Be. The song is called I’m Glad I Danced with You. It’s a duet written by my daughter and her partner Tony, and dedicated to my wife, who I met in a dance hall in the late 50s. What makes it even more special is that it is sung with my granddaughter Olivia, who is now ten but was only nine when it was recorded. It was a great success in the show and on public television in the States, where we just released a show which was filmed in Hawaii.

How did you decide to name your tour after your song Angel on My Shoulder?

I really have felt that I have had an angel follow me through life. There were times when I thought my time was up. Once in a tuberculosis hospital when I was a young man, six months of my life was spent watching others not make it in my ward.

I fell in a timber pond as a really young boy and my brother saved me, not only from drowning, but also from the shark infested waters. I’ve also visited several places in the world where my story might have ended, but there was an angel looking out for me for sure. When I heard the song, it was as if the writer had lived and watched my life with me. I think it’s a great tour title… and lucky, I hope!

As one of the longest-standing stars in the music industry, how do you think the industry has changed and how does it affect you?

I’m so grateful that I was not a flash in the pan, a one-hit wonder. It takes a great team to get a career going and maintain it. I have worked hard all my life but the writers and that angel and the out of the blue TV appearance with Release Me gave me the opportunity for a global career. (I replaced someone who had fallen ill. It was a show called Sunday Night at The London Palladium. The next day, Release Me started selling 80-100,000 a day). Now, anyone can have global interest in their music without leaving home due to technology, but I think the competition for the limelight is tougher. My audiences are my “spark plugs” and keep coming back for more, which is an amazing incentive to get out the front door!!

After a long career, can you give us your favourite show business anecdote?  

It’s a showbiz superstition that has held on throughout the years. If you whistle in my dressing room, you have to go out, turn around three times, use a slang phrase that is ever so slightly off colour, and kick the door before you are allowed back in. Don’t try it but you can look up the dangers of whistling backstage during a show. Bad luck you know!

https://indonesiaexpat.biz/lifestyle/interview-singer-engelbert-humperdinck/

Nicky Campbell celebrates the remarkable career of Engelbert Humperdinck, which has taken him from Leicester to Las Vegas, with many stops along the way. Throughout this frank but friendly chat, he speaks about his early hits, including “Release Me”, “There Goes My Everything” and of course “Last Waltz”. Meeting his influential but controversial manager Gordon Mills, who also managed his stable mate Tom Jones although they haven’t always been that “matey”. Appearing at Las Vegas where he befriended such luminaries as Elvis Presley, Sammy Davis Junior, Frank Sinatra and the man who always referred to him not by his unusual name but “Humpy, Bumpy, Lumpy, Dumpy”, that was the coolest man in the business Dean Martin and throughout the interview Nicky encourages Engelbert to give his well-known impersonation of his friend Dean. He continues to perform worldwide and it was in Hawaii that he met the megastar Bruno Mars who sang at one of his concerts when he was just 5 years old, to thank him Engelbert recorded Bruno’s hit “Just The Way You Are”. He tells us how he was offered the chance to work with Damon Albarn and The Gorillaz, but missed out because of a management mistake. Also, how he would love to work and record with Ariane Grande, Lady Gaga and of course Bruno Mars. He has had many surprises in his illustrious career and talks about representing the UK in The Eurovision Song Contest back in 2012 and how he was asked to record “Lesbian Seagulls” used on the soundtrack of “Beavis and Butthead Do America” which went Platinum. Despite 60 years in the business he is still in great voice, and maintains “I can hit notes that a Bank can’t cash”. Nicky Campbell, unearths many more surprises from Engelbert’s career but sadly not his renowned impersonation of Dean Martin.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00022b1

Engelbert Humperdinck performing "Please Come Home for Christmas" off his new album 'Warmest Christmas Wishes' live on BBC Two's 'Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two' presented by Zoë Ball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pvPz05bNiA

Author: Paul Coia, 18 December 2018, The Sunday Post

BORN Arnold George Dorsey, he changed his name to become a huge-selling recording star.

His songs regularly competed with The Beatles, and he became friends with Elvis Presley.

He has worked with all the greats from Dean Martin to Charles Aznavour and, at the age of 82, the balladeer has released a new album called Warmest Christmas Wishes.

Do you look at your reviews?

I love reading them because they make me feel good, and the reviewers have loved this Christmas album. It’s already charted in America. Can you believe it?

It’s not all standards, though, is it?

No. I wanted a mix of familiar and new ones, but I’m sure the song Around The Christmas Tree, for instance, will become a standard. I knew the writer when he was a boy, and now he’s 60.

Do you encourage new talent?

Yes. Years ago my fan club had a party, and the entertainment was a five-year-old singer. I said “you’re going to be a star,” but I was wrong because he actually became a megastar. It was Bruno Mars.

When you met Elvis were you jealous?

No, there was none of that. He was far too big for anyone to think they could compete. But I did tell him that I had the sideburns first.

What do you think is your biggest triumph?

Finding the song Please Release Me and stopping The Beatles getting to No 1. I’m in the Guinness book Of Records for that, going from selling nothing to shifting 127,000 records in a day.

Has anyone ever made you starstruck?

Dean Martin. I couldn’t believe I was on his TV show, and when I played Vegas he put his name above the posters saying “Dean Martin Proudly Presents.” He never did it for anyone else.

At 82, do you keep active?

I play golf, and I’ve just got down from a 40-inch waist to 34 for my Christmas TV Special. I want to look as slim as I did in my other TV shows.

Where do you live?

have a house in America and one in Leicester where I’ll be this month, checking the house is looked after.

Have you always been blessed with good luck?

Bert Kaempfert gave me a song he wrote. I recorded it and it sounded like a No 1 hit, but it wasn’t released as Frank Sinatra wanted it. It was called Strangers In The Night. Same with To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before, which went to Julio Iglesias.

You have 24 hours left to live. How do you spend it?

With the family in Hawaii. I have a soft spot for the smells, the flowers, everything. It gives me a thrill. And when my time’s up I better go out to Please Release Me Let Me Go (laughs.)

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/questionsfor-engelbert-humperdinck/

Fifty years after his debut, the veteran entertainer is as beloved as ever, touring Europe and America to perform to legions of his ‘Humperdinckers’. Following the release of Warmest Christmas Wishes, his first Christmas album in nearly three decades, the singer talks to Alex Green about faith, family and his wife Patricia’s illness.

Engelbert Humperdinck is driving home for Christmas. At least he will be tomorrow, when he leaves London after four days of gruelling interviews.

The veteran balladeer (82) is promoting his first Christmas album in nearly 30 years. Tomorrow he drives to Leicester for early festivities with his family.

“It’s so accurate, a song like that — the song is so real,” he says of Chris Rea’s classic, chatting happily in a quiet corner on the 15th floor of the St George’s Hotel in central London.

The world-famous crooner has the tanned skin and slim figure of a much younger man. Only his poor hearing gives away his octogenarian status.

His wife Patricia is not with him and will not be travelling to Leicester. At the couple’s home in warm Bel Air, Los Angeles, she is being treated for Alzheimer’s.

Humperdinck, who changed his name from Arnold George Dorsey, recently went public about Patricia’s decade-long battle with the illness, which has seen him search desperately for a cure. He will return to LA to spend Christmas Day with her.

“My family has always been important to me,” he explains. “At Christmas time, we celebrate together, but this year I can’t come home to Leicester because of my wife’s illness. Hopefully, when she is better, we will come and spend Christmas at home.”

His wife’s illness dominates the conversation, but Humperdinck is overwhelmingly optimistic. They met over 50 years ago at a dancehall in Leicester, and married in 1964. Now, she struggles to recognise his face.

The performer, known for his deep Catholic faith, credits prayer for preventing her condition from worsening.

“The reason I went public with her condition is because I do have great faith and I believe that the more people who pray, the more it forms a chain, a rosary of prayer,” he says.

“I think prayer is one of the greatest healers around, more than medication.”

He has been investigating alternative medicine, looking to India and Sri Lanka for cures.

“I don’t think you should rely on (regular) medicine,” he declares. “I think you should rely upon herbal doctors, acupuncture and doctors outside the medical world with different kinds and forms of treatment. I rely upon nature to provide the cure for my wife.”

He claims to have found success in electrical acupuncture — shock treatment he claims can form new stem cells. “I think it’s had a lot to do with the repairing of my wife’s health,” the singer insists.

Still a formidable performer with a voice seemingly unaffected by age, Humperdinck has had to reduce his touring schedule to spend more time with his wife.

“It’s hard to leave her,” he says, “but she’s in reliable hands. She has her carers and I have to work.”

Humperdinck’s sharp sense of humour and gentle swagger remain intact, even after 51 years in showbusiness.

When he turns to discussing his fans, dubbed the ‘Humperdinckers’, he is fiercely defensive. Trolling, he says, has never been a problem.

“You do get a bad apple now and again, but that doesn’t matter. You ignore that,” he adds, before chuckling to himself: “I don’t get the bad apples.”

Humperdinck may not be a household name for those under the age of 30, but he has impacted modern music in extraordinary ways. Damon Albarn tried to recruit him for his Gorillaz project, and a recent album saw him collaborate with Elton John.

Humperdinck keeps one eye on the changing landscape of popular taste.

He says Ariana Grande is a “talent beyond” and his dream duet partner, and happily explains his aspirations to appear The Voice, which he uses as a barometer of popular opinion.

“I like watching those shows because they present music that is of today’s nature,” he explains.

“This is the way I keep in touch with what is going on in the modern world.”

Aside from faith and family, his third great love is football, specifically Leicester City FC.

It is no surprise that the death of club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha touched him.

The Thai billionaire lifted the team to Premier League champions, but he died in a helicopter crash at the grounds earlier this year.

“It’s a tragedy. It was terrible, terrible. He was such a wonderful man,” the singer sighs.

“They came to LA to play in a match over there, and I went over to watch them rehearse, I mean practice. Ah, I’m from showbusiness, you see.

“I met all the team and had the trophy in my hands. Oh yes, it was my pride and joy. It was wonderful.”

For now, Humperdinck plans to focus all his energy on caring for his wife, snatching time to sing for his fans when he can. Despite all this, he feels a deep sense of optimism.

“You can’t sit at home and wait for things to happen,” he insists.

“You have to be here,” he adds, slapping the table top with the palm of his right hand.

“You have to be here talking to people. That’s the way I am. I’m not tired of it. I love doing it and I’m still very flattered that people still want to talk to me.”

Warmest Christmas Wishes is out now

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/showbiz-legend-engelbert-humperdinck-on-life-the-leicester-tragedy-and-his-wifes-battle-with-alzheimers-37624627.html

December 14 2018, Belfast Telegraph

Fifty years after his debut, the veteran entertainer is as beloved as ever, touring Europe and America to perform to legions of his ‘Humperdinckers’. Following the release of Warmest Christmas Wishes, his first Christmas album in nearly three decades, the singer talks to Alex Green about faith, family and his wife Patricia’s illness.

Engelbert Humperdinck is driving home for Christmas. At least he will be tomorrow, when he leaves London after four days of gruelling interviews.

The veteran balladeer (82) is promoting his first Christmas album in nearly 30 years. Tomorrow he drives to Leicester for early festivities with his family.

“It’s so accurate, a song like that — the song is so real,” he says of Chris Rea’s classic, chatting happily in a quiet corner on the 15th floor of the St George’s Hotel in central London.

The world-famous crooner has the tanned skin and slim figure of a much younger man. Only his poor hearing gives away his octogenarian status.

His wife Patricia is not with him and will not be travelling to Leicester. At the couple’s home in warm Bel Air, Los Angeles, she is being treated for Alzheimer’s.

Humperdinck, who changed his name from Arnold George Dorsey, recently went public about Patricia’s decade-long battle with the illness, which has seen him search desperately for a cure. He will return to LA to spend Christmas Day with her.

“My family has always been important to me,” he explains. “At Christmas time, we celebrate together, but this year I can’t come home to Leicester because of my wife’s illness. Hopefully, when she is better, we will come and spend Christmas at home.”

His wife’s illness dominates the conversation, but Humperdinck is overwhelmingly optimistic. They met over 50 years ago at a dancehall in Leicester, and married in 1964. Now, she struggles to recognise his face.

The performer, known for his deep Catholic faith, credits prayer for preventing her condition from worsening.

“The reason I went public with her condition is because I do have great faith and I believe that the more people who pray, the more it forms a chain, a rosary of prayer,” he says.

“I think prayer is one of the greatest healers around, more than medication.”

He has been investigating alternative medicine, looking to India and Sri Lanka for cures.

“I don’t think you should rely on (regular) medicine,” he declares. “I think you should rely upon herbal doctors, acupuncture and doctors outside the medical world with different kinds and forms of treatment. I rely upon nature to provide the cure for my wife.”

He claims to have found success in electrical acupuncture — shock treatment he claims can form new stem cells. “I think it’s had a lot to do with the repairing of my wife’s health,” the singer insists.

Still a formidable performer with a voice seemingly unaffected by age, Humperdinck has had to reduce his touring schedule to spend more time with his wife.

“It’s hard to leave her,” he says, “but she’s in reliable hands. She has her carers and I have to work.”

Humperdinck’s sharp sense of humour and gentle swagger remain intact, even after 51 years in showbusiness.

When he turns to discussing his fans, dubbed the ‘Humperdinckers’, he is fiercely defensive. Trolling, he says, has never been a problem.

“You do get a bad apple now and again, but that doesn’t matter. You ignore that,” he adds, before chuckling to himself: “I don’t get the bad apples.”

Humperdinck may not be a household name for those under the age of 30, but he has impacted modern music in extraordinary ways. Damon Albarn tried to recruit him for his Gorillaz project, and a recent album saw him collaborate with Elton John.

Humperdinck keeps one eye on the changing landscape of popular taste.

He says Ariana Grande is a “talent beyond” and his dream duet partner, and happily explains his aspirations to appear The Voice, which he uses as a barometer of popular opinion.

“I like watching those shows because they present music that is of today’s nature,” he explains.

“This is the way I keep in touch with what is going on in the modern world.”

Aside from faith and family, his third great love is football, specifically Leicester City FC.

It is no surprise that the death of club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha touched him.

The Thai billionaire lifted the team to Premier League champions, but he died in a helicopter crash at the grounds earlier this year.

“It’s a tragedy. It was terrible, terrible. He was such a wonderful man,” the singer sighs.

“They came to LA to play in a match over there, and I went over to watch them rehearse, I mean practice. Ah, I’m from showbusiness, you see.

“I met all the team and had the trophy in my hands. Oh yes, it was my pride and joy. It was wonderful.”

For now, Humperdinck plans to focus all his energy on caring for his wife, snatching time to sing for his fans when he can. Despite all this, he feels a deep sense of optimism.

“You can’t sit at home and wait for things to happen,” he insists.

“You have to be here,” he adds, slapping the table top with the palm of his right hand.

“You have to be here talking to people. That’s the way I am. I’m not tired of it. I love doing it and I’m still very flattered that people still want to talk to me.”

Warmest Christmas Wishes is out now

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/showbiz-legend-engelbert-humperdinck-on-life-the-leicester-tragedy-and-his-wifes-battle-with-alzheimers-37624627.html