“Irving Berlin was still writing songs when he was a hundred years old,” Gilbert O’Sullivan reflected during a lively 20 minute chat on Friday last.
“I’m 63 now, love getting into the studio first thing on a Monday morning and getting to work on an album. Music is what I do. It’s what I love.
“Now I don’t know if I’ll make it to a hundred, but until such time as I fall out of love with music, I can’t imagine ever wanting to do anything else. I hope it’s something that I’ll never have to go through, especially since I love playing in front of an audience, be it 100, a thousand or 10,000. It’s just a really nice feeling.”
Hang on a minute; says the thought ringing in this reporter’s head. A comment made almost 12 months ago to the day by Gilbert suggested that audience numbers are something he’s given much thought to, especially when it comes to his native city.
“I was depressed after that (Waterford concert),” he said in another interview, referring to his last gig here back in the mid-1990s.
“I locked myself in my hotel room. I couldn’t understand it; they were obviously trying to tell me something.”
It’s a question Ryan Tubridy put to Gilbert on ‘The Late Late Show’ the Friday before last and one put to him again by The Munster Express a week later: will he ever play a gig in Waterford again?
Audibly in fine fettle from the other end of the phone (speaking from his home in Jersey), O’Sullivan explained why his March 18th concert at the Wexford Opera house is as close as he’ll get to home. For now.
“For me, there are three places I call home: Waterford where I was born, Swindon where I was raised and Jersey where I’ve lived for the past 20 years,” he said.
“I’ve never played in Swindon, nor in Jersey – I was asked to play in a concert here only last week which I declined and of course I’ve not played in Waterford since the mid-90s, so I’ve only found playing at ‘home’ a bit difficult.”
But it would appear that the presence of a big fan of his in Waterford City Council might hold some sway as to when, rather than if Gilbert will showcase his music at home again.
See The Munster Express newspaper for full interview and photos.
