NEWS

NEPA Scene, June 11, 2018

After celebrating 50 years of music there last year, legendary English balladeer Engelbert Humperdinck – known for hits like “Release Me,” “The Last Waltz,” “A Man Without Love,” “After the Lovin’,” and “This Moment in Time” – will return to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center on The Man I Want to Be Tour on Friday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m.

Tickets, which are $35, $45, $55, and $75, go on sale this Friday, June 15 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at sandseventcenter.com, the Event Center box office (77 Sands Blvd., Bethlehem), ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 800-745-3000. A pre-sale for members of the venue’s Music Insiders Club will take place on Thursday, June 14 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Engelbert Humperdinck never wanted to be a singer. A career in music, yes, but he was extraordinarily shy. The youngest boy of a family of 10 children originally from Leicester, England, he grew up in Madras, India, where his father was stationed during World War II. Engelbert’s childhood was dominated by the love of his parents and his brothers and sisters. He knew he could sing harmonies, but the power of his own voice came as a surprise to him and other people. “It’s just so loud, but I discovered I can be tender with it at the same time.”

Like all great icons, he is a man of great depth – masculine and loving, shy inside and uninhibited onstage, prepared to play the sex god to the hilt and, still, at this stage of his career, managing to get away with it. “My mother’s side of the family had the singing voice, so I must have inherited that from her. My father was a man’s man – strong, athletic, charismatic. And I like to do all kind of men things. I love sports, golf, tennis martial arts, soccer, skiing, but at the same time, yes, I do appreciate women.”

In a career spanning almost 50 years, Engelbert has generated sales in excess of 140 million records, including 64 gold albums and 35 platinum, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe, and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Las Vegas Walk of Fame, and Leicester Walk of Fame. He has performed for the Queen four times, several presidents, and many heads of state. He has recorded everything from the most romantic ballads to movie theme songs, disco, rock, and even gospel. His unique voice has charmed millions of fans around the globe. However, it’s not just the voice, but the man himself, with his endearing sense of humor and self-deprecating jokes. Engelbert managed to strike a new chord with a younger generation after appearing on MTV several times.

Engelbert entered the world as Arnold George Dorsey. At the age of 11, he started studying music and playing the saxophone. When he was 17, Engelbert found himself playing at a pub that sponsored a singing contest. Goaded by his friends to enter, he put down his sax and, for the first time, revealed another vocal talent: impersonations. Arnold George Dorsey gave an incredible impersonation comedian of Jerry Lewis – and was quickly dubbed Gerry Dorsey by his fans. It soon became his professional stage name.

Gerry Dorsey was very popular on the U.K. music circuit and, in 1959, he released a single called, “Crazybells/Mister Music Man” on Decca Records. However, he contracted tuberculosis, which silenced him for six months and nearly ended his rising music career. Upon regaining his health, Gerry Dorsey knew he had to end his former image to make a comeback as a strong, dynamic performer. A former manager suggested the new name, Engelbert Humperdinck, taken from the Austrian composer who wrote Hansel and Gretel. It was outrageous enough to be memorable. And thus was born the soon-to-be legend Engelbert Humperdinck.

Engelbert exploded on to the music scene in the ’60s with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. His ’60s did not so much swing as rage. The shy handsome boy catapulted almost instantly to world icon. He became great friends with Elvis Presley, and the two legends often performed each other’s songs. His first single in the charts was “Release Me,” which went into the Guinness Book of Records for achieving 56 consecutive weeks on the charts. It was No. 1 in 11 countries. The song was re-released after being used for a U.K. national television commercial for John Smith’s beer. The following decades saw Engelbert touring the world to sell-out crowds. He seems to take great pleasure in every moment on stage, a place where he can lose his inhibitions and no longer be the child who was once shy.

Engelbert’s music has transcended time and his voice still continues to reach out to people now – serving to transport and inspire, to embrace, and to provoke feelings and emotions… ingredients that are no doubt the essence of his long-lasting success.

http://nepascene.com/2018/06/balladeer-engelbert-humperdinck-returns-sands-bethlehem-event-center-oct-19/

 

Border Crossings host Larry London interviewed Engelbert Humperdinck whose career has spanned almost 50 years, Engelbert has generated sales in excess of 140 million records, including 64 gold albums and 23 platinum, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe, and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Las Vegas Walk of Fame.

https://www.voanews.com/a/4389810.html

By Cathalena E. Burch Arizona Daily Star

May 4, 2018

Engelbert Humperdinck marked his 82nd birthday on Wednesday, but you might not want to make a big deal of it when he takes the stage at the AVA at Casino del Sol on Sunday, May 6.

“What do you mean happy birthday?” he quipped in a phone call on the eve of the big day last Tuesday. “I don’t have a birthday. I don’t have any birthdays, ever.”

Seems Humperdinck, who’s bringing his “The Man I Want to Be” tour to Tucson, stopped paying attention to birthdays when he turned 50. And he will be the first to tell you, he still feels 50, even on those long travel days as he makes his way around the country for 80 to 90 concert dates a year. And when he gets on stage, the years don’t seem to matter; he can still hit those high notes, dip into the lower register and sound just as crisp and heartfelt as he did when he was topping the charts back in the late 1960s and throughout the ’80s.

“I love it. And when I’m not working, I get itchy feet and I can’t wait to get on the road and do some more concerts,” he said. “It charges my batteries, It’s really, really a good feeling to walk on stage. It’s the best feeling I can get. It’s better than television, better than recording.”

Humperdinck, who is in the studio now working on a Christmas album, is touring on his latest studio album, released last November. “The Man I Want to Be” is a covers project of songs by everyone from Richard Marx and Ed Sheeran to Bruno Mars and Willie Nelson.

“I think it’s one of the best I’ve done in a long time,” he said, admitting that artists are quick to say that about their newest albums. “But I do think this is one of the best because it has some very unusual music on it and some very contemporary music.’

“Man I Want to Be” is a love letter to Humperdinck’s wife of 53 years Patricia Healey, who has been battling Alzheimer’s disease for the past decade. The record includes Humperdinck dueting with his 10-year-old granddaughter Olivia on the ballad “I’m Glad I Danced With You,” written by Olivia’s parents, Humperdinck’s daughter and son-in-law.

“It’s a love letter,” he said of the song. “I think my granddaughter does a great job of singing the lyrics that (Patricia) would want to sing herself.”

Expect to hear Humperdinck sprinkle a few cuts off the record into his show, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his breakthrough hit “Release Me.”

Backed by an eight-piece band, Humperdinck will pull out all the big hits — “After the Lovin’,” “Last Waltz,” “A Man Without Love,” “Crazy” — and toss in a medley of other notable songs from his 50-years-plus career in a show that will end with his trademark red handkerchief toss.

Every night, Humperdinck will toss out dozens of red handkerchiefs, embroidered with his name and sprayed with his cologne. It’s the ultimate fan-girl souvenir.

The tradition started by accident early in his career when he used a few handkerchiefs to wipe away the sweat during a concert. Fans in the front row extended their hands begging for the spent pieces of cloth and Humperdinck obliged.

“From then on I ordered thousands of handkerchiefs and carried on the ritual,” he said.

http://tucson.com/entertainment/music/years-after-release-me-humperdinck-covers-bruno-mars-ed-sheeran/article_e15c5c9d-b5aa-5e26-b5f9-f30106caa368.html

 

 

By Ron Onesti

Special to dailyherald.com, April 20, 2018

Few performers out touring today still represent the glitz, glamour and class of the tuxedoed entertainers of the 1960s. Tony Bennett, Tom Jones and Paul Anka are still out there, giving magical shows and bringing all audiences' memories to life.Another guy with whom I have been very fortunate to work with on several occasions is the epitome of class and ultimate entertainment … Engelbert Humperdinck.

 

On many nights at The Arcada, we are rockin' hard with those blazing guitars and bangin' snares, but we also have nights like the ones when living legends grace our stage and bring us all back to a calmer, sweeter time in our lives. A time when music was more about families joining together in front of a television, sharing the music and comedy of the day, after a pot roast dinner on a Sunday afternoon.

As a child of the early '70s, my musical heart lies within the classic rock of that decade. I am a rock 'n' roller deep down, but I was also brought up in a time when Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and Dick Clark were the talent "showcasers" of the day, and when variety show hosts like Carol Burnett, Sonny & Cher, Dean Martin and many others were the hottest thing on our TV (in Technicolor!).

Speaking of "hottest" things on TV, what about the great Tom Jones and his show? Every single female in my extended family, from cousins to aunts, joined together to watch this "Prince of Wales" grind his way into the hearts of millions of women around the world. And the music was fabulous, too, prompting loud singalongs in the front rooms of homes everywhere.

These were classier times on TV, when the showmen of the day wore tuxedos on a regular basis. Rarely did you see Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jones, Humperdinck, Sammy, Bennett and the like without sporting a hand-tied bow tie and vest or cummerbund. Even Elvis wore a tux as he did duet medleys on TV with Frank.

I'm not saying I don't like the styles of various generations as they have evolved over the years on television, but those were just plain classier days.

And I am here to tell you, that when it comes to class, rarely will you find a finer example of entertainment elegance than you will with Engelbert Humperdinck.

As his musicians and vocalists usually travel in a caravan of two buses, he flies into the city of his next performance. He likes fine cars, often speaking of his classic automobiles, mainly Jaguars and Rolls-Royces. So I always pick him up from the airport and hotel in something sleek and sporty, but something spacey to accommodate his long limbs and fit physique.

We celebrated his 80th birthday on his last trip! It is hard to believe that a guy who looks like him, sounds like him and moves like him, is just over 80! But man, he owns it, and delivers a show as good as it ever was in the grandest of Las Vegas showrooms and big-city theaters.

As I spoke with him about his upcoming performance at The Arcada this Sunday, he re-thanked me for a painting I gave him the last time he played The Arcada. He was sitting in our dressing rooms where I had a painting of the late Woodstock-era guitar superstar Jimi Hendrix. I was walking by the room and noticed him just staring at the psychedelic representation of Hendrix. "Did you know him?" I asked.

"Oh, very well," he said. "He was a giant of a man, a true gentleman. Everything that people say about him being a musical genius is true. The way he played those guitars, he actually played the thing upside down! He had the guitars restrung backward and played the guitar upside down to accommodate his left-handed style! He was a genius!"

Engelbert also told me about the time Jimi was on the bill with him, Cat Stevens and others during "Hump's" first tour of the U.K. "My guitar player got sick and could not perform. Jimi offered to step in, but he had just come out with 'Purple Haze' and his stardom would have disrupted our show, I felt. So he played behind a curtain! It sounded like three guitars were playing! It was incredible, and nobody knew about it."

In a turn of activity that doesn't usually happen, I autographed the back of the painting (With love from The Arcada Theatre) and presented HIM with a souvenir of the night! It is usually the other way around! He graciously accepted our gift, and now says it is proudly framed and mounted in his home office. A piece of The Arcada is in HIS home!

His show was a combination all-hits concert and career retrospective, including rare video footage of he and Dean Martin doing medleys, a duet with Elton John's voice piped in, a country number with him in a cowboy hat and a couple of choreographed routines with his backup vocalists. He even shared some funny stories of Dean referring to him as "Engledinck Bumpalump!" And his voice? Powerful as ever, with an incredible range. What a night it's going to be this Sunday!

During his show, he is proud to proclaim he has not touched alcohol in 22 years, which I found strange because each time we worked together, we shared expensive cabernets after the shows. But then he subsequently announces that he lied about the alcohol thing, and toasts to the audience with glass of Bordeaux. He really keeps the crowd smiling and in sincere laughter for the entire two hours.

After the show last year, he took his final bows in a bright red, knee-length bathrobe with his name embroidered on front. He proceeded to jump around the stage, throwing boxing jabs and karate chops. Remember, 81 YEARS OLD! He then made his way back to my car outside the backstage door, stopping for a few adoring fans along the way. He gave us his all, and the crowd returned the favor with all of its devotion.

It is interesting that a guy with so many syllables in his name would be so classy of an individual. Although, the "Bumpalump" name is really growing on me!

Just a few great seats are available for Engelbert Humperdink live at The Arcada Theatre this Sunday at 4 p.m. Call (630) 962-7000 or visit www.oshows.com.

• Ron Onesti is president and CEO of The Onesti Entertainment Corp. and The Historic Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. Celebrity questions and comments? Email ron@oshows.com.

 

http://www.dailyherald.com/insights/20180420/ron-onesti-engelbert-humperdink-reigns-with-class

 

 

By Richard Duckett

Telegram & Gazette Staff

Posted Apr 12, 2018 at 8:00 PM

WORCESTER — What’s in a name?

We talked about Engelbert Humperdinck with Engelbert Humperdinck.

“The name is 51 years old now,” said the iconic English pop singer/balladeer who spectacularly rose to fame in 1967 with the hit single “Release Me.” “It’s kept me in good standing all these years.”

Closing in on his 82nd birthday May 2, Humperdinck is still going strong, and he’ll be at the The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts for a show at 7:30 p.m. April 17. His latest album, “The Man I Want to Be,” was released late last year.

The man who would be Engelbert Humperdinck was born with the name Arnold George Dorsey. He lived for a while as a child with his parents in India before they returned to England and settled in the city of Leicester. Dorsey performed as Gerry Dorsey but his singing career was sidelined for a while by illness. His manager/agent suggested a change of name and, implicit in that, image. Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921) was a German composer best known for the opera “Hansel and Gretel.”

The new name was audacious. “Nevertheless it did prove itself,” Humperdinck said during a recent telephone interview. There’s no shame in the name. “It’s a good name ... It was fun. It turned a stage name into a romantic image.”

With a smooth singing voice and good looks and appearance, he’s kept the image going. “I have a great following wherever I go,” he said. Of all ages? “Very much so,” he said. “They definitely stimulate me in such a way it makes you want to work hard for them.”

Humperdinck is still celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Release Me.” Last year Decca, his old label, released “The Complete Decca Studio Albums,” an 11-CD box set. Then in November Humperdinck put out “The Man I Want to Be.”

“I’ve got a lot of new things to offer,” he said. “A lot of new songs that I’m very proud of. It’s a great performance by me, I think.”

And yet it is very bittersweet as well.

His wife, Patricia — whom he met at a dance hall when she was 17 and has been married to for 53 years - has Alzheimer’s disease.

“The album is dedicated to my wife, Patricia. It’s a love letter to my wife. There are songs that are specifically written for her,” Humperdinck said.

They include “I’m Glad I Danced With You,” which he sings in a duet with his 9-year-old granddaughter, Olivia. Also very touching is “Just Like the First Time.”

Humperdinck said his producer bought the songs to him. “He really made a great arrangement that really touches people’s hearts, including mine.”

Elsewhere the album has other new material such as the title song and the country-sounding “Absolute Beginners,” and covers that include “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran and “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.

Humperdinck said he’d like to record a TV special later this year, preferably in Hawaii. He noted that Elvis Presley did his last show in Hawaii and said that the two were great friends. Asked if he was influenced by Presley, Humperdinck said, “Oh yes, by a long way. He never took himself too seriously. I think that was wonderful. He had a lot of humility. He was a very down-to-earth person.”

Humperdinck wasn’t keeping company with such big names when the single “Release Me” was released. “That was the one that started my life,” he said of the ballad-style plea for release from a failing relationship with a full chorus joining in on the final verse. The song hit No. 1 on the British charts, blocking the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane” from Top of the Pops - the first time in four years that a Fab Four single hadn’t made No. 1. “I hope they didn’t hate me,” Humperdinck said. “I was an unknown person who came from nowhere.” That was changing. By the end of the year Humperdinck had had two more big hits, “The Last Waltz” and “After the Lovin’ ”

“I came over (stateside) and did the Ed Sullivan Show and that was it,” Humperinck said. “He (Sullivan) was a very, very good man for people who were new in the business. He had an amazing way of making people stars.”

Other hits that followed included “A Man Without Love,” “Les Bicyclettes de Belsize” and “Am I That Easy to Forget.”

These days, Humperdinck divides his time between homes in California and England, and performs about 80 to 90 live shows a year.

He said he doesn’t have a fitness regime. “I wish I did. I used to have a great fitness regime. I do try to keep myself as fit as possible.”

Humperdinck will be bringing a band to The Hanover Theatre. “I always have a band. I travel with my band everywhere I go.”

Of course he’ll be singing the hits. “I can’t come without doing that,” he said. And there will be the new songs as well.

“My show is very moving and uplifting,” Humperdinck said. “At times it has its sad moments, but it’s very entertaining.”

http://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/20180412/engelbert-humperdinck-to-perform-in-concert-at-hanover-theatre

 

By Susan McDonald / Special to The Journal, Providence Journal
Posted Apr 5, 2018 at 9:00 PM

The crooner will perform at Cranston’s Park Theatre.

After more than 50 years of crooning sexy ballads and love songs that filled almost 100 albums, Engelbert Humperdinck says he still isn’t quite the man he wants to be.

“I always feel discontent, like there’s somewhere else to go, somewhere else to be. I’m a very ambitious person,” Humperdinck said recently in a phone call from his California home.

The 81-year-old balladeer known for such hits as “After the Lovin’ ” and “Release Me” has spent five decades on an often grueling touring and recording schedule.

“If I’m off the road, I get itchy feet,” he said with a laugh. “It’s my work, my job. I don’t know the word ‘retirement.’ As long as I can make albums, I will.”

Humperdinck says he loves that “certain magic that happens” every time he steps on stage.

“The adoration I get from fans is amazing. It’s been a wonderful journey,” he says.

Born Arnold George Dorsey, Humperdinck grew up in India, where his father was stationed during World War II. The family later moved to Leicester, England, where he studied music and played the saxophone. A former manager suggested his stage name, after the 19th-century German composer of the same name.

On his current tour, Humperdinck is promoting his new album, “The Man I Want to Be,” which was released in November.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever recorded,” he said.

The album includes new material and covers “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran and “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. The two covers reflect Humperdinck’s desire to stay current. He said watching such TV singing competitions as “The Voice” helps with this.

“The contestants are usually singing what’s up to date,” he said.

Humperdinck said he remembers seeing Mars as a 5-year-old performing at a party in Hawaii.

“He was in a little Elvis suit and I told him, ‘Young man, you’re going to be a massive star,’ ” he said. “It’s the same feeling I have about my 9-year-old granddaughter, Olivia, who sings a duet with me on this album. I think she’s a female Bruno Mars. She’s just amazing.”

In his typical style, though, Humperdinck makes the songs by Sheeran and Mars his own. With Olivia, he sings “I’m Glad I Danced with You,” which he calls a love letter to his wife, Patricia, who has Alzheimer’s disease. They met at a dance hall when she was just 17, and have been married for 53 years.

Every one of Humperdinck’s shows — he still performs about 80 a year, a decrease from the 300 or more he did at one point — manages to pack a punch as Humperdinck mixes hits like “The Last Waltz,” “A Man Without Love” and “I’m a Better Man (For Having Loved You)” with his newer material, some of which was written by Richard Marx, Steve Mac and the crooner’s daughter Louise Dorsey.

“I never wanted to be a movie star because it takes up too much of your time. I prefer the style of touring and making new music,” Humperdinck said.

— Susan McDonald is a regular contributor to The Providence Journal. She can be reached at Sewsoo1@verizon.net.

If you go ...

Who: Engelbert Humperdinck

When: 8 p.m. Friday, April 13

Where: Park Theatre, 848 Park Ave., Cranston

Tickets: $55-$75

Information: (401) 467-7275, parktheatreri.com

http://www.providencejournal.com/entertainmentlife/20180405/engelbert-humperdinck-coming-to-ri-during-his-50th-anniversary-tour

 

 

Engelbert talks about coping with his wife’s Alzheimer's, his new album, singing with his granddaughter, how he got started in show business, his friendship with Elvis and Dean Martin and why he doesn’t talk to Tom Jones anymore.

 

Bugle Newspapers, By Mark Gregory

For many people, their job is just what they do to pay the bills as they count down the days to retirement.

For Engelbert Humperdinck it is much more.

The 81-year-old s “Release Me” and “The Last Waltz” singer celebrated his 50th anniversary of his first international chart success last year by releasing a new album.

Humperdinck will bring songs from that album and his other mega hits to Joliet’s Rialto Square Theater on Saturday, April 21.

“I love what I do,” Humperdinck said. “This year is a continuation of my 50th year in the business and we are celebrating. Last year we did a box set of 11 CDs that was the first seven years of my career and this year we released a brand new album called “’The Man I Want To Be” because I still don’t know who I want to be and I have been in the business 50 years.

“It is an amazing album and has some fantastic new songs which I am thrilled about. This album is a love letter to my wife.”

The new album features new material as well as covers of songs like Photograph” by Ed Sheeran, and “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.

Mars is an artist that Humperdinck knew of long before the rest of the world.

“He performed for me in Hawaii when the fan club had a party for me and he was only five years old and I told him then he was going to be a big star – but now he is a mega star and now I am recording one of his songs,” Humperdinck said. “It is amazing how our paths have crossed again. I just hope he likes my rendition. I got a great note from Richard Marx thanking me for recording one of his songs.”

The covers, however, are not the songs that help make the album personal to the 81-year-old father of four.

He performs a duet on the album with his granddaughter Oliva.

“There is a song called “I’m Glad I Danced With You,” it is the only duet on the album and it is sung by my granddaughter who is nine years old,” Humperdinck said. “She is wonderful. She is family, but I wouldn’t have put her on the album if she wasn’t wonderful.”

The new material and an all new show is something fans can expect April 21 when Humperdinck arrives in downtown Joliet.

“I always give them something different,” he said. “I try and keep my show fresh when I play a place I have visited before. I never take a break, I am on stage one hour and 45 minutes and I try and keep fans interested.”

https://buglenewspapers.com/engelbert-humperdinck-to-play-rialto-april-21

 

 

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8099731/valentines-day-playlist-normani-khalid-paris-hilton

The hunky crooner is still in love with you. (And one of the most down-to-earth guys we know)

By Liza Lentini Wonderlusttravel.com

Don’t let that velvety voice fool you. Engelbert (real name, Arnold George Dorsey) is still breaking hearts at nearly 82 years old — but only with his music. Born one of ten children in 1936 in Madras, British India (now Chennai, India), he’s been married to wife Patricia Healey since 1964.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s he was one of the biggest recording stars and heartthrobs in the world. This father of four is still one of the hottest tickets out there, and very much still on tour (check for dates for his 50th Anniversary tour at engelbert.com).

Here, he shares some of his favorite travel tips, including his secret Scrabble strategy and that one time in prison. Oh, you didn’t know about that?

1  Some fans might not know that you’re British. What makes you long for home?

My transatlantic accent used to be a lot more rounded when I first came to this country. I never sang with an English accent and my first few hits were grown with country roots, so I let the sounds around me slightly influence my speaking tones, thinking it would help me be understood and accepted.

But I’m British to the bone and speak the Queen’s English, except when I’m playing darts or cards. I use both British and American English words when playing Scrabble. I really should tell my opponents that up front, but I’m very competitive.

You cannot take the longing away for certain foods. The UK can’t be topped for Sunday lunch…especially Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, gravy and apple crumble and custard.

Bangers and Mash are such a favorite that I named two pugs I purchased from a chap outside Harrods on Christmas Eve after that dish. This was forty years ago. I think we have stayed away from dogs named after dishes ever since.

And fish and chips and a good ruby (Ruby Murray/curry, in Cockney rhyming slang).

2  You performed hundreds of concerts a year throughout the 1980s. Any favorite stories of places far and wide?

So many stories and adventures…but my mind flashes back to a heart-pounding adventure in Caracas, Venezuela upon arrival for a concert. I was due to be there four days but ended up staying just 19 hours, six in prison on charges that were later dropped when the truth was believed and proven.

When you are traveling abroad, you have to be prepared for anything, especially when you make your living singing. I was carrying my “just in case” prescriptions. I guess that somewhere between the dark large sunglasses and the leather pants and the long hair and that transatlantic accent, it was assumed that I was guilty of something. I was guilty of being a bit of a pessimist and a perfectionist. I wanted to make sure that IF something went wrong with my voice that I would be Johnny-on-the-spot with a cure to carry me through a show.

The limo drive back to the airport was like a scene out of a Bond or Jason Bourne movie. Paparazzi in high-speed pursuit, hanging out of the windows of their cars. Our limo was doing 90 and spinning out constantly on the dusty roads. It’s a wonder we are here to tell the tale. Years later I went back for a concert and my reputation and innocence proceeded me…so the show went on without incident, and the audience and their applause erased all that had come before.

3  Do you remember the locations you visited on the Love Boat and Fantasy Island?

I was thrilled to travel on the Love Boat. We boarded in San Pedro or Long Beach and sailed to Escondido for the action and cut cruise.  I made friends with the doctor on the show, Bernie Kopell, and became tennis mates. I wish that when I landed on Fantasy Island that I could have been granted the theme song to The Love Boat… Jack Jones’ ship came in again with that gig.  Who doesn’t know that song, and Jacks voice is so clear in my head whenever I hear a line from it.

Will it spoil the fantasy, that we had to travel all the way over the canyon to Burbank to find that the Island of Fantasy was really on a lot in the valley? I was gobsmacked at the way the illusion was created. One thing that was not an illusion was the splendid leading character and the man who played “The Boss”, Ricardo Montalban. What a gentleman and Old-world legend. They don’t make them like him anymore. We became friends upon arrival. I certainly miss that man.

4  Any particular talismans you travel with? Any travel phobias?

I always take my cross and have a traveling mini altar that is set up in my dressing room. I say my prayers every night and a few before the show. I still feel the blessings all these years down the road.

5  What are your top travel essentials, and how have they changed over the years? What absolutely must go in your suitcase?

My iPhone has lightened my load a great deal. I no longer lug a dictionary or a camera or a computer but I’m not without pads of paper and crosswords from the English newspaper. I make sure my carry-on will help me carry on anywhere, even if plans change or luggage is lost. I have kind of a John Wayne walk when I have it fully loaded.

6  Any place you’ve never been you’d like to go?

I think I’ve been lucky enough to visit most of this world in my career. It boggles my mind that I really have to think hard to come up with somewhere I haven’t been yet.

OK, I’d like to be in the audience of one of my shows around the world and take notes on what different nationalities connect to and what areas I need to pull my socks up in. I hope that answer doesn’t sound egotistical because I don’t mean it that way. I work very hard and only get to feel and see things from the stage perspective. I’d like to see how my brilliant lighting director (Tim Ison), who has been with me for decades, brings the stage to life with his magic and how the backbone of my show, the band, look without my back turned.

7  If you could time travel back to any moment in your life, where would you go?

I think I’d travel back to the age of 10 when my musical dreams were just forming in full technicolor. It felt as much a part of my life’s blood as my family of 10 and my darling mum and dad felt to me. They were all around and life was like a magnificent play with many musical interludes and songs. I think I was still singing for my parents and their company from under the coffee table or behind the curtain, but, by George I did it!

8  Any travel plans in the near future? For work or play?

Between my home life and my 50th anniversary in showbiz, my plate is full and my cup runneth over. We will be going to places where I’ll want to buy the T-shirt and remember it years from now. In this ever changing landscape, we must seize the opportunity to see what we can of this world. I want to take time to soak it up this time around.  

I’d like to go play and work in Hawaii. I have some wonderful memories of family holidays there.  

9  What are your following favorites?     

Place to fall in love  A dance hall. I met my wife at The Palais in Leicester. There is nothing like the feeling of falling in love in a room full of strangers, all holding onto a partner and the hope that The Last Waltz will last forever.

Hotel  I recently visited The Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok. If ever I felt like a king…it was the day the staff gathered outside to see me off and showered me in rose petals. I think it’s on YouTube somewhere but that was some goodbye! I’ll definitely be back.

Favorite airport  Dubai’s is big, open, great restaurants and many connections. Nashville Airport is small, welcoming and you always see someone you know as you go. You see struggling artists singing for the customers in the cafe… putting their truth into the lyrics of a great country song. Plus…I have family there to meet me. I love hearing all the stars making the announcements on the tannoy system.    

Late night bar  Any smokeless, quiet, cozy, intimate place that is close to my hotel room. It’s where the bartender is from the school of Casablanca and will lend an ear and keep his eye off his watch. It’s a place to watch the world in slow motion and unwind. There is one place that fits the bill to a tee. It’s across the cobbled courtyard from my home in Leicester…she’s called The Duchess of Hamilton and is my very own pub. Only open to family and friends and I hold the key and draw the pints.

Best food  I am definitely exotic when it comes to my palette. Indian, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and sometimes just a toasted cheese sandwich dipped in a good cuppa tea…

Weekend getaway  Paris would have to top the list. I spent my honeymoon there before we had anything. We saw everything through the eyes of love and it was more than enough. Now I have dear friends there and love this authentic city and it’s architecture and culture and music. The French love a great melody and romantic lyric…as do I.

Beach  I remember a beach in Waikiki where I sat and chatted with Lana Turner every day and my daughter chatted and flashed her braces at Tom Selleck. My wife was happy to join either conversation and keep her eye on the situation! I’m kidding. The point is, there are some beautiful beaches in this world, but it’s who you chose to bury your toes in the sand with and soak up the sun and conversation with that really makes the location one to remember.

Walking city  I’d have to say Sydney, as the city is just waking up and the fruit shops and cafes are setting up. It’s such a clean city and very welcoming.

Place you never get sick of  Hawaii. From the moment you step off the plane, the aroma fills you and pushes aside the everyday worries. The people and the beauty of the place make me feel tranquil, as does New Zealand.

10  What’s your favorite American city?

I love the city of angels, Los Angeles. I’ve had some spectacular years here. From the days in the Pink Palace on Sunset…formerly owned by Jayne Mansfield, to the quiet cul-de-sac, high atop a mountain where I live today and where no-one complains when I crank up the music outside and learn my songs, and I can pop next door for a good English meal and a bevy with friends of 40 years.

Life is busy in the valleys and streets below, but they are far enough away that they are just part of the glow of the city. A place where dreams come true and stars land on the sidewalk and are part of a Walk of Fame forever story, told over and over. I am lucky enough to be on the sidewalk outside of the Roosevelt Hotel. Go by and give me a spit shine sometime.

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