0:00:02 > 0:00:05# ..Puppy love... #
0:00:05 > 0:00:08In the 1970s, teenage girls had only one hobby.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Screaming.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13For some, Donny was the reason. For others, it was David.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15- Hi there. - THEY SCREAM
0:00:15 > 0:00:19And there were even those who bellowed for the Bay City Rollers.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22- THEY CHANT:- Bay City Rollers!
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Out of their teens, British women became more restrained,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31but they too had wholesome pop star pin-ups of their own to idolise.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33For them it wasn't David, but Goliath.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Forget the Rollers, they fancied a rocker.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Who needed imported Donny, with our own home-grown dreamboat?
0:00:39 > 0:00:43The screaming teenyboppers scoffed, but their mums and sisters
0:00:43 > 0:00:46knew who were the true Kings of '70s Romance!
0:01:19 > 0:01:22This is the story of five improbable heart-breakers.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25The shy and sensitive singer-songwriter.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28The sweaty but seductive balladeer.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30The TV cop turned chart-topper.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33And the curly-maned clown.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35But first, the most surprising of all,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39and the inspiration for budding Shirley Valentine's everywhere.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43# Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah
0:01:43 > 0:01:48# Ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah... #
0:01:48 > 0:01:51- Well, what DO we want to listen to then, Beverly?- Demis Roussos.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55# Ever and ever For ever and ever
0:01:55 > 0:01:59# You'll be the one... #
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Demis Roussos always seemed to be this unlikely heartthrob,
0:02:02 > 0:02:07because he was the wrong shape, he wore all these ridiculous kaftans,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09and yet women adored him.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12# ..and ever Forever and ever
0:02:12 > 0:02:15# You'll be my dream... #
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Different. He was, with a capital D.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19# ..rainbow's end... #
0:02:19 > 0:02:24He could sing the news and make it sound happy or sad.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27He could sing the Bible, and put it over in so many different ways.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30# ..destiny... #
0:02:30 > 0:02:32He was Kool and the Kaftan.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36# ..eternally... #
0:02:36 > 0:02:38The image was part of a snowball
0:02:38 > 0:02:42that has been created through record companies and managements.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45The most important thing in my head was the music.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49He actually has a track record which is quite interesting.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53He was in a fairly progressive band called Aphrodite's Child,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56with Vangelis early in his life, in which he played bass.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Dishy young Demis and his psychedelic chums
0:02:59 > 0:03:03had a hippie hit in 1968 with this sandal-tapper.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08# ..tears in the sun... #
0:03:08 > 0:03:13With the three albums, two of them were like pop albums
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and the third one was much more serious.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20After going all apocalyptic, Aphrodite's Child split,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22and Demis went solo.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Hits like Goodbye My Love turned him into a massive star in Europe.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29# Goodbye my love
0:03:29 > 0:03:31# Goodbye... #
0:03:31 > 0:03:36But here, his British record label struggled to interpret his unique appeal.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41We've got a big problem here. How do we break Demis Roussos in this country?
0:03:41 > 0:03:46I said, "I think I've got a German song called Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun
0:03:46 > 0:03:52"that's about beaches, it's the feel that Demis Roussos would like."
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Hey, we've got a great guest!
0:03:54 > 0:03:58He's a big star on the continent, he's a super singer, and he's Greek.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- It's Demis Roussos! - APPLAUSE
0:04:01 > 0:04:08# Sitting in the sun Waiting for a senorita to show... #
0:04:08 > 0:04:12In two or three weeks it charted. That set the whole ball rolling.
0:04:12 > 0:04:17# The smell of sweet roses To each and every one... #
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The phenomenon can be explained in one word - holiday.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25# ..on an island in the sun. #
0:04:25 > 0:04:31It conjured up that image of sunshine, relaxing, romance.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34A fling they might have had with a Greek on an island.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36A Greek lover.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40The Roussos phenomenon even merited its own documentary,
0:04:40 > 0:04:46confirming Demis would last longer than just one night of Mediterranean passion.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48'This man is an enigma.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52'A gentle giant with the mysterious power to hypnotise millions.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55'He is a phenomenon,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'and fast becoming a living legend.'
0:04:58 > 0:05:03His lavish lifestyle provided a marble-coated, gold-plated alternative
0:05:03 > 0:05:05to humdrum '70s suburbia.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I was so gobsmacked at this house.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13The marble staircases, just all the marble in the bathroom as well.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16It was just something that I hadn't really seen.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20And Demis was very proud
0:05:20 > 0:05:22of his home.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25I do think that part of his appeal
0:05:25 > 0:05:29had to do with the fact that he looked like and lived
0:05:29 > 0:05:32as a real superstar.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36I always liked to live comfortably, and I still do.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Today, I live even more comfortably than back then.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43It was opulent.
0:05:43 > 0:05:49We went to Paris, and I think we turned up at his mini chateau
0:05:49 > 0:05:53at about 12 o'clock, and told his servants that we were there,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58but in fact Demis didn't make his real appearance until an hour later.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00In full, flowing robes.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05He liked the best of everything, as most people would.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07He was a connoisseur of food,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and I'm sure he had the best wine, drank champagne.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Why shouldn't he have the best?
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Why shouldn't you lavish yourself with these? I would.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17In Formica-topped homes everywhere,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20millions more women were seduced,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23and Demis was propelled to the top of the charts.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27It's time for the number one, and what is the really big thing in Greece at the moment?
0:06:27 > 0:06:31No, not a BBC hamburger, it's Demis Roussos.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33APPLAUSE
0:06:33 > 0:06:37It was a big hit all over the world.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38Because it's a good song.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43# Ever and ever Forever and ever
0:06:43 > 0:06:47# You'll be the one... #
0:06:47 > 0:06:50He sang it on Top of the Pops one evening. I was laid on the floor,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53watching him, and I was just mesmerised by the whole song.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56# ..You're my dream come true... #
0:06:56 > 0:07:00He sings like he's speaking to you specifically,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04and a lot of women out there really can feel that.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08My goodness. Everyone wants a man to talk to them like he sang.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12# ..my symphony... #
0:07:12 > 0:07:16He's very manly, as well. Did you see that big, hairy chest?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Mmm, gorgeous!
0:07:18 > 0:07:22And it wasn't just that hairy chest that sent temperatures rising.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The sun-kissed strains of Forever And Ever
0:07:25 > 0:07:30provided a sweltering soundtrack to the long, hot summer of 1976.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33That was the one everybody wanted to hear.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36And he was very happy to sing it.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Demis's ample Greek charms
0:07:38 > 0:07:42translated into bumper ticket sales at venues across Britain.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46You could feel people getting more and more excited.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50And then all of a sudden, in the middle of the stage,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53appeared Demis Roussos, and he was enormous at that time.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56This huge, white, satin kaftan,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59which was volumes of material.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04His arms spread out, almost like a religious prophet.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09Just stand there, with the music surrounding him.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11APPLAUSE
0:08:11 > 0:08:15# Ever and ever Forever and ever
0:08:15 > 0:08:19# You'll be the one... #
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Afterwards, you would often get people coming backstage.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26< ..and please don't push!
0:08:26 > 0:08:28English women are wonderful. I love them.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Because I love women. They're very important for us.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34We can't do without them.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37He was absolutely fantastic. Out of this world. Yes.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I'd come again and again and again. I'd go to London to see him.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I've never gone anywhere to see a singer before,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47but I... And I'm getting on, you know!
0:08:47 > 0:08:50But I come to see him.
0:08:50 > 0:08:56Demis really knew how to work an audience.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59He would walk to the front of the stage, ask the girls to come forward.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03We tried to put security men on the front,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06when he came back he'd say "No, let the girls come."
0:09:06 > 0:09:10I remember having lots of shouting going on
0:09:10 > 0:09:13between me and the so-called security staff
0:09:13 > 0:09:15because these girls were just crazy.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20I had a lot of gifts, a lot of fan mail,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23and I had some... interesting encounters
0:09:23 > 0:09:28which I don't think they are for this show to talk about.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31# ..that shines on me... #
0:09:31 > 0:09:35The ladies weren't the only ones who loved Demis.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38He also proved very popular with British comedians.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43- DEEP VOICE:- # ..take me forward in my dreams... #
0:09:43 > 0:09:45I think he set himself up to be lampooned.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50I mean, you can't go around in these floating kaftans and not be lampooned.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54HIGH-PITCHED SINGING
0:09:54 > 0:09:57He never complained about it.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00In fact, some of them he used to really laugh out loud at.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04# Ever and ever I ne-e-e-e-ed your love... #
0:10:04 > 0:10:10Don't forget that the comedian lives out of that, it's his job.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13And it is very important for a comedian
0:10:13 > 0:10:17to take the goofy, if we can say, out of celebrities.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25He was happy that he was being talked about.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30- So happy that he joined in on the joke!- Demis Roussos!
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Even to the point of forming his own double act.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- I see that you are wearing a very nice kaftan.- Thank you, Mr Demis.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41It's a little thing I ran up myself as a compliment to you.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44'Basil Brush was a cult show in England.'
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And I enjoyed it because the guy that was behind the puppet
0:10:48 > 0:10:50was a very clever and talented man.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54I say, Mr Demis, what's Greek for "Boom-boom!"?
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Well, it's BOOM! BOOM!
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Watch it! I'll do the boom-booms.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03'This is why I say that I had a lot of fun'
0:11:03 > 0:11:06by mocking the image they were giving to me.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12# ..forever as one... #
0:11:12 > 0:11:14The image achieved one more big hit for Demis,
0:11:14 > 0:11:19but sadly, after forever HAD gone, so did any more UK chart success.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Thankfully, in 1977, an iconic TV play
0:11:24 > 0:11:27meant that the kaftan-clad crooner will never be forgotten.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30He is immortalised, strangely enough,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35not in catalogue record sales, but in Abigail's Party.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37The Mike Leigh play,
0:11:37 > 0:11:42in which the horrifying hostess insists on hearing Demis Roussos.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Angela likes Demis Roussos. Tony likes Demis Roussos.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49I like Demis Roussos, and Sue would like to hear Demis Roussos.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52So please, do you think we could have Demis Roussos on?
0:11:52 > 0:11:57Abigail's Party was one of those seminal moments of television.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02Would anybody mind if I turn this next track up?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Cos it's my favourite. It's Forever And Ever,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and I'd like us all to hear it. Anybody mind?
0:12:08 > 0:12:13Beverly from Abigail's Party sort of sums up the typical Roussos fan.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Sort of slightly older suburban housewife
0:12:16 > 0:12:20who'd maybe, you know, had a bit of a naughty holiday in Greece.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- Do you think he's sexy, Ange?- Yes!
0:12:23 > 0:12:26It's a pity he's so fat.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Yeah, but he doesn't sound it, though, does he, when you hear him?
0:12:30 > 0:12:34'That was good, because that was a cult show.'
0:12:34 > 0:12:39I'm very happy that my song was, like, part of that.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Ange? Imagine making love to this, d'you know what I mean?
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Well, that'll survive for decades,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51so there you are, Demis, a place in history.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55The kaftan is now history, but Demis has survived.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00He's still out there, and 2007 sees him celebrate 40 years of serenading.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04# When you lie close to me
0:13:04 > 0:13:08# My heart is aflame... #
0:13:08 > 0:13:12'I've reached the point where I consider myself a world music artist
0:13:12 > 0:13:14'and I feel very comfortable with it.'
0:13:14 > 0:13:18OK, I don't have a number one as I had in the '70s,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20but for me, that doesn't mean anything.
0:13:20 > 0:13:27# ..we're forever as one. #
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Demis's appeal still lingers on.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Possibly in the UK, we don't understand how big Demis really is.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38He's determined, absolutely determined to ensure
0:13:38 > 0:13:41his career goes on for ever and ever.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51With flares a-flapping,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55our next improbable pin-up who sent female pulses racing
0:13:55 > 0:13:56is the diminutive Leo Sayer.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00# ..How much love do we need? #
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Women probably liked him more than...
0:14:02 > 0:14:05The young girls were screaming over David Cassidy,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08but there was Leo Sayer looking vulnerable and a bit different.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10# ..How much love, I wanna know... #
0:14:10 > 0:14:13I think that maybe what you lack in romantic looks at times
0:14:13 > 0:14:16you can make up for in enthusiasm and humour.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17# ..How much love... #
0:14:17 > 0:14:20You see that cute little face and that mass of hair,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and that great big smile, always.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26# ..so much love don't know where to begin... #
0:14:26 > 0:14:30It all began for Leo in Brighton.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Long before the X-Factor, Adam Faith's former drummer
0:14:33 > 0:14:36fancied himself as a south coast Simon Cowell.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38I put an ad in the local paper.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Unfortunately, I did make one omission,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43because I didn't limit it to bands.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46I had people turning up and doing farmyard impressions.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52He says, "Damien. You're a comedian. OK, you've got five minutes."
0:14:52 > 0:14:56And the comedian would be like, "Funny thing happened to me..."
0:14:56 > 0:15:00and meanwhile we're setting up our gear. You can imagine the scene.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04About band or artist 48 on the list, and by then I had a migraine.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07This little character sort of walked across the stage,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11with this fuzzy hair, and this voice coming out of him.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16# ..in a pub they call the Lady Jane... #
0:15:16 > 0:15:20To co-manage his new discovery, Dave teamed up with Adam Faith,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22a man who knew all about stardom.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Adam was really flash, he was very cool.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27He was a cool dude.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31But he said to me, and I think it was very genuine,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34"You have the voice I've always wanted."
0:15:34 > 0:15:37But Adam's masterplan didn't originally involve Leo's voice.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Someone else was to record the songs Dave and Leo wrote together.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Roger Daltrey.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47# Oh, I was just a boy... #
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Lead singer from The Who.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51# ..Giving it all away... #
0:15:51 > 0:15:54At the time he was one of the biggest rock stars. Massive.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57He was Bruce Springsteen or Robbie Williams now.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58He was there.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01# ..and I know better now... #
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Leo and David and Adam saw an opportunity for them as well
0:16:05 > 0:16:08because they realised that if Roger recorded
0:16:08 > 0:16:10songs by an unknown artist,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14somebody's going to start sitting up and saying, "Who is this Leo Sayer?"
0:16:14 > 0:16:17# ..I know better now
0:16:17 > 0:16:19# Giving it all away... #
0:16:19 > 0:16:25Giving It All Away became Daltrey's first solo hit in spring 1973.
0:16:25 > 0:16:31It was fantastic. I drove around with Dave all day in his sports car waiting for it to come on Radio 1
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and when it played eventually it was just like...
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I don't think anything's ever topped that moment.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40When Leo came to release his own album,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43everyone now knew who he was but not what he looked like.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46So his TV debut came as a bit of a surprise.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48# Baby
0:16:48 > 0:16:50# I know I chose this lonely life
0:16:50 > 0:16:53# It seems it's strangling me now... #
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'I was absolutely, pricelessly nervous.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59'I think I'd thrown up all over myself about five times.'
0:16:59 > 0:17:02# ..but they're all laughing at me now... #
0:17:02 > 0:17:05'Apparently the phone lines lit up.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:09"What is THIS?! What's this crazy, loony bloke?"
0:17:09 > 0:17:15# ..but I won't let the show go on. #
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Adam Faith had been a huge heartthrob himself, you know,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21the blond hair and the chisel-cut features.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25But when he looked at Leo, there wasn't the heartthrob look to work on,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28so putting him in a Pierrot outfit,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30making him the little, mournful clown,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32was just brilliant thinking.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34# ..Doo-doo dum doo-doo dum doo-doo dum doo-doo
0:17:34 > 0:17:36# Dum dum dum whooo... #
0:17:36 > 0:17:40'People like Elton John are phoning up and saying, "Who's he?"
0:17:40 > 0:17:42'And suddenly it all happened.'
0:17:42 > 0:17:47It gave Leo mystique, which he'd not had before.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50It worked on film, it worked on camera,
0:17:50 > 0:17:54and something like that catches the media's attention.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59Having done its job, the clown suit went back to the circus, but the hits continued.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03# ..Moonlighting They're losing everything... #
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Adam then decided to move Leo to the States
0:18:06 > 0:18:09to work with the hot-shot producer of easy-listening stars
0:18:09 > 0:18:13like Carly Simon, Harry Nilsson and Barbra Streisand.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16'Adam Faith called me and said,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19' "Would you like to produce Leo Sayer?"
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'And I immediately expressed interest.'
0:18:22 > 0:18:26We had a meeting and I felt a kinship toward him
0:18:26 > 0:18:27right from the get-go.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31I felt almost like he was my kid brother.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33I was really happy to be in America.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Happy to be working there with some really groovy people.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40He brought me a tape of ten or twelve songs
0:18:40 > 0:18:43that he had been working on for the past six months
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and I listened to them carefully,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48and I sat him down the next day
0:18:48 > 0:18:53and I said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but none of them are good enough."
0:18:53 > 0:18:56"What? I'm a songwriter, for God's sake, that's what I do!"
0:18:56 > 0:19:02And he said, "No, no, I like the voice. It's the voice that I like."
0:19:02 > 0:19:06To his credit, and I admired him for it,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08he went along with it.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13At first we started recording some old Motown songs.
0:19:13 > 0:19:19And Leo just started to ad-lib in this falsetto voice.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22And I just, like, lunged for the tape machine,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25because I knew that this was very special.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27# ..You make me feel like dancin'
0:19:27 > 0:19:30# I wanna dance the night away... #
0:19:30 > 0:19:34It had a great uplifting kick to it. Good track.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Dodgy jumpers aside, their next single turned the troubadour clown
0:19:38 > 0:19:40into a fully fledged love balladeer.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44# When I need you
0:19:44 > 0:19:50# I just close my eyes and I'm with you... #
0:19:50 > 0:19:52It's a fabulous romantic song.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55And I think it doesn't really matter what the singer looks like -
0:19:55 > 0:19:59if they're coming out with fabulous words, then every woman will melt.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03# ..only a heartbeat away... #
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Ladies, men, anybody.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Eunuchs would have to fall in love when they hear that song.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16# ..Honey that's the heavy load that we bear... #
0:20:16 > 0:20:20You have people that come up to you and say "We met to When I Need You.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24We got engaged to When I Need You, we got married to When I Need You,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26and then we got divorced to When I Need You!
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Now he's no longer there, I still play it all the time.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31What a cross to bear, you know?
0:20:31 > 0:20:35# ..When I need love
0:20:35 > 0:20:41# I hold out my hands and I touch love... #
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I was in Las Vegas
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and he was the main lead star.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52And I was sitting in the front row. And I've interviewed him a lot over the years.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56He reached down to where I was, and came down with the microphone.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01And I stupidly, like a silly cotton-wool type teenager,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03was going a bit like "Aaah! It's Leo Sayer!"
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Gloria wasn't the only one smitten, as Leo found out backstage
0:21:07 > 0:21:11at the concert held to celebrate the Silver Jubilee.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16# It's not easy when the road is your driver... #
0:21:16 > 0:21:21Her Majesty turned round to me and she said, "Are you English?"
0:21:21 > 0:21:23And I said, um, "I am, ma'am."
0:21:23 > 0:21:30And Philip behind her, Prince Philip, said, "I told you so. I told you so."
0:21:30 > 0:21:34She said, "You're awfully good. We did enjoy you."
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I've got a very pleasant surprise for you.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- This for your album...- Oh, my God! - Endless Flight -
0:21:40 > 0:21:43a platinum disc for a million pounds' worth of records.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46APPLAUSE Fantastic.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49'The only problem with When I Need You was as soon as it was a hit,'
0:21:49 > 0:21:53suddenly it put me into a straitjacket of loads of people coming up with,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55"Got another love ballad for you, Leo."
0:21:55 > 0:21:58# Saw you leaving
0:21:59 > 0:22:01# In the morning... #
0:22:01 > 0:22:06It was something he could do and do extremely well, but it meant he threw out of the window
0:22:06 > 0:22:12an opportunity to have far greater success than he actually had
0:22:12 > 0:22:16and far greater recognition and respect that he ever got thereafter.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21# I can't stop loving you... #
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I didn't mind being the balladeer,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28but I didn't want people to think that was all I ever did.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33# Though I tr-ry-ry-ry! #
0:22:33 > 0:22:38The thing is with rock'n'roll, you go one direction like that, you can't come back.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44He had big hits with When I Need You, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing and How Much Love
0:22:44 > 0:22:50and all these, but that early audience was gone now, that door had been closed,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and Leo was now appearing in Vegas with Bill Cosby.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57# I just can't stop loving you... #
0:22:57 > 0:22:59'It was only part of my picture,'
0:22:59 > 0:23:01and it was great to be recognised for that,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04but I was always trying to - dare I say? - break out of that
0:23:04 > 0:23:07and show that the soul singer was there, you know.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09# When the money runs out... #
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Turning back the years, Leo tried to get all funky,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16reuniting with Dave Courtney on the album Here.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18The songs that we were now writing -
0:23:18 > 0:23:23great - the musicians on the album - the best you can get -
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and the album, the quality of the album, everything for it,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29but the audience now want to hear When I Need You.
0:23:29 > 0:23:35Reverting to love songs proved to be the only way that the hits would continue for Leo.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38# Woh-oh-oh, yeah, yeah... #
0:23:38 > 0:23:43Leo had become a balladeer, which was, for a ten-year journey,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46twice as long as your pop star usually has.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47# I love you twice as much... #
0:23:47 > 0:23:50The problem is, where do you take it from there?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Inevitably, you're middle-aged,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56and...he fell off the charts.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59# 6, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9... #
0:23:59 > 0:24:02And straight into the arms of light entertainment.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07# One thin dime won't even shine your shoes... #
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Chart success seemed to be a thing of the past,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14until a club DJ from the Ministry of Sound rediscovered him.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18I think Leo would know, he comes with a sort of cheesy connotation.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24If I'm honest, I would say I wasn't a massive Leo fan.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Like most of the population, I probably only knew three or four
0:24:28 > 0:24:29of Leo's records.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31# Call on me, brother
0:24:31 > 0:24:33# And give me your hand... #
0:24:33 > 0:24:38My business partner, Clive Black, brought in this album,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42stuck it on my stereo in the office and said, "Listen to this. You've got to hear this record.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46"This is the record I used to get ready to go out to when I was young."
0:24:46 > 0:24:48# Standing here, alone with you... #
0:24:48 > 0:24:51He said, "Can you guess who it is? "I said, "Is it so-and-so?" "No."
0:24:51 > 0:24:56"Is is so-and-so?" "No." He said, "You're not going to believe it. It's Leo Sayer."
0:24:56 > 0:25:01It just about blew me away, cos I couldn't guess from the vocal delivery who it was.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03I said, "I must do something with that record."
0:25:03 > 0:25:06# Baby, I'm all yours... #
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Do something, he did.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Realising there was more to Leo than just sweet love songs,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Meck brought him his first No.1 in three decades.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18I always knew I was going to come back.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21I knew it would happen. I knew it would work.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24I knew that the work we did between '73 and '78 was good.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28It was done with heart and soul and passion.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29# Thunder in my heart! #
0:25:39 > 0:25:43Dashing David Soul may have roared to fame as a TV tough guy,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45but music was his first love.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51# You smile that misty way and something in me says... #
0:25:51 > 0:25:54My name is David Soul. I want to be known for my music.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57# Remember the last time... #
0:25:57 > 0:26:00David took his music very seriously.
0:26:00 > 0:26:07# This time I'm going in with my eyes open... #
0:26:07 > 0:26:11A very macho man delivering these very lovely lyrics -
0:26:11 > 0:26:12it's a winning combination.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17What he did was to cash in on his popularity with Starsky And Hutch.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Well, not quite. Growing up as the son of a Lutheran minister,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24music had always been an important part of David's family life.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29I grew up in high-school days, singing in a quartet and with the church choir.
0:26:29 > 0:26:35I learned very early on, the way you get a girl is through music.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37You play a guitar, you can hook the bird.
0:26:37 > 0:26:44With the birds well and truly hooked, David invented a bizarre new persona to boost his profile.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47I am the covered man.
0:26:47 > 0:26:54# Many girls and many guys complain that life is such a task... #
0:26:54 > 0:26:58The idea was that I didn't want to be known for what I looked like.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00I want to be known for my music and I did it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04# Cos I'm a man who has to be free! #
0:27:04 > 0:27:07I thought, "This is a fantastic angle.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09"What does he really look like?
0:27:09 > 0:27:12"Is he hideous? Is he deformed? Why is he doing this?"
0:27:12 > 0:27:17It's so hilarious to think there was a handsome guy underneath this hood.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19# And as long as I'm me... #
0:27:19 > 0:27:24I recorded a song called I Am The Covered Man.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26It's so bad, it's good.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28It's so bad, it's good!
0:27:29 > 0:27:35The mask worked. It got it noticed by one of Hollywood's top talent scouts.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40Lovely voice, lovely voice, and after the show, I said,
0:27:40 > 0:27:41"He's got to be an actor.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45"Nobody else would come out with a bag over his head like that."
0:27:45 > 0:27:50I said, "I'd like to get in touch with him. I'd like to have him come in and audition."
0:27:50 > 0:27:54David dropped the mask, donned a cravat and passed the audition.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56He was on his way to TV stardom.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59I got a call from Aaron Spelling,
0:27:59 > 0:28:04and he said, "I'm going to do a show called Starsky And Hutch. I'm stuck.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09"I need a couple of leads. You got any ideas for me?"
0:28:09 > 0:28:11And I said, "Well, yeah, I do, as a matter of fact."
0:28:11 > 0:28:16I told him about David and I also told him about Paul Michael Glaser.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20He saw them both, he fell in love with them and there was Starsky and Hutch.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Starsky And Hutch was an immediate hit,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29both in the States and around the world.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33As soon as that show hit the air, he became a major star.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37David Soul was a heart-throb right from the start.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41I watched the first episode of Starsky And Hutch as it was screened here and went, "Wow!"
0:28:41 > 0:28:43CLAPPERBOARD SNAPS
0:28:43 > 0:28:44Action!
0:28:44 > 0:28:47But David hadn't given up his love of music.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Bless his heart. He worked very hard to get music-themed episodes
0:28:50 > 0:28:54into Starsky And Hutch, where he could actually have a little go.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56We did a country music version once.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00It was a big passion of his to try and work the music in somehow.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04It was no secret that I wanted to sing, that I enjoyed singing.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06It wasn't a career, I just enjoyed singing.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11The blue-eyed soul boy was offered the chance to release an album,
0:29:11 > 0:29:17but the hits didn't come until he joined forces with top songwriter Tony Macaulay.
0:29:17 > 0:29:18The album wasn't bad,
0:29:18 > 0:29:20but we needed something to kick it off.
0:29:20 > 0:29:25I got a call from Larry who was the head of a record company with whom I'd worked before
0:29:25 > 0:29:30and he asked me, "Are you aware of David Soul?" and I said, "Yes,
0:29:30 > 0:29:35"I know him as one of Starsky And Hutch, the big drama series on Saturday nights and that's all.
0:29:35 > 0:29:41He said, "If you could come up with a hit single for him, we could really build a major star here."
0:29:41 > 0:29:44And everything, they say, in show business is timing,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46and I'd written a couple of songs already...
0:29:47 > 0:29:51..and so I went up to Larry the following day.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54I said, "Well, really all I've got is this."
0:29:54 > 0:29:57# Don't give up on us, baby... #
0:29:57 > 0:30:02After round-the-clock recording sessions over a few frantic days and sleepless nights,
0:30:02 > 0:30:04the track was rush released.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Got up, turned the radio on and the first track I heard was Don't Give Up On Us.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10# Don't give up on us, baby... #
0:30:10 > 0:30:14I've played Don't Give Up On Us, Baby so many times.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17I wish I had a penny for every time I played it.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20# The future isn't just one night... #
0:30:20 > 0:30:24It's a song that gets into your brain and it's hard to get out.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27It's got a great lyric. He sold it really well. He looked terrific.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29# And painted on the stars
0:30:29 > 0:30:31# We can't change ours... #
0:30:31 > 0:30:34The strongest thing about it was that David was an actor
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and the lyric was quite an emotional one
0:30:37 > 0:30:41and he put the song across with a tremendous degree of emotion.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44# Don't give up on us, baby
0:30:44 > 0:30:49# We're still worth one more try... #
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Show me a woman who wouldn't want a man saying those lyrics to her.
0:30:52 > 0:30:58"Don't give up on us, give us one more chance, I still love you, it'll all be OK in the end."
0:30:58 > 0:31:00# Don't give up on us, baby... #
0:31:00 > 0:31:03David appeared very dreamy on Top Of The Pops.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07They used lots of shots of his face all in one sort of screen,
0:31:07 > 0:31:11so it was very dreamy, very romantic. Yeah, it was lovely.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15# The angel and the dreamer... #
0:31:15 > 0:31:20I can't tell you how many people over the years have told me, "That song kept us together."
0:31:20 > 0:31:24Well, you can't have a better compliment than that.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25# Don't give up on us
0:31:25 > 0:31:32# I know we can still come through-ough-ough... #
0:31:32 > 0:31:36With dreamy David topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40he flew into the UK to play a series of sell-out shows.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43CROWD CHANTS "What do we want? David Soul!"
0:31:43 > 0:31:47My abiding memories of my first trip to the UK with this record is terror.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50I'm talking about, "Woh!"
0:31:50 > 0:31:53The reaction was just extraordinary.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56I'd never...really seen anything like that,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59even when we were making Starsky And Hutch.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03And even more terrifying was the thought of topping the bill.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06I've dreamed about this all my life.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08I just want to go back to Los Angeles.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13I was out there on my own, I was the head-liner, you know, I had somebody opening for me,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and, um...I was a little frightened by that.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19No wonder. Screaming teens and their mums wanted a piece of him.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Mum said she'd get us tickets to go and see David Soul in concert at The Rainbow.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I was so excited. I couldn't believe I was going to see him live.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29All I remember is just screaming.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33You couldn't hear anything except people screaming. It was so loud.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Every time I did something, like, pick up my guitar, they'd scream.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Sobbing their hearts out and screaming and tearing their hair.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45I'd put my hand on the fret and play a chord and they'd scream.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47"David! David!"
0:32:47 > 0:32:49As soon as you opened your mouth, they'd scream.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51You said hello - "aggh!"
0:32:51 > 0:32:55It was horrible. These people didn't come to listen, they came to scream.
0:32:56 > 0:32:57He was a grown man.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00A lot of the people the kids were screaming at
0:33:00 > 0:33:02were not much older than they were,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04whereas David was probably in his 30s.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09There was an exciting part to the... sort of Beatlemania, if you will,
0:33:09 > 0:33:15and then there's a part that says, "Wait a second, guys, this isn't what it's about."
0:33:15 > 0:33:18But increasingly it was as, like it or not,
0:33:18 > 0:33:22he was now a chart-topping fan-clubbing bona-fide pop star.
0:33:22 > 0:33:23# Drifting, searching
0:33:23 > 0:33:26# Shifting from town to town... #
0:33:26 > 0:33:30My records were the best-selling of '77, '78.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33I suppose I was proud of that.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37# I can't blame you if you won't take me back... #
0:33:37 > 0:33:41He won Artist Of The Year, which considering the Bee Gees were omnipotent in that period,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43was pretty extraordinary.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45# But, honey, you're my last hope. #
0:33:45 > 0:33:47There's one year when he's sold more singles
0:33:47 > 0:33:50than any other recording artist in Britain, which is...
0:33:50 > 0:33:53It's like one of those Trivial Pursuit questions.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56You get the answer, you think, "Are you kidding? David Soul."
0:33:56 > 0:34:00# Come on, silver lady, take my word
0:34:00 > 0:34:02# I won't run out you... #
0:34:02 > 0:34:06He was the golden boy. He looked the part of the pin-up.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08He was the pretty boy.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10He capitalised on it while he had it.
0:34:10 > 0:34:17But serious muso David had misgivings about being seen solely as pop eye-candy.
0:34:17 > 0:34:24The term "heart-throb" probably would have bemused him somewhat.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28I didn't set out to become a heart-throb. I'm just glad my heart works, which is nice.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30It's still pumping.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34# It sure brings out the love in your eyes... #
0:34:34 > 0:34:38After their successful partnership, David and Tony Macaulay went their separate ways
0:34:38 > 0:34:41and the string-laden ballads were no more.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46The third album we did was an album called Band Of Friends
0:34:46 > 0:34:48and more than any other album I've done,
0:34:48 > 0:34:52it was closer to the David Soul that I wanted out there.
0:34:52 > 0:34:58The Band Of Friends album saw a more bluesy, country-rock approach.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59# Can't change it
0:34:59 > 0:35:02# You can't change my heart... #
0:35:02 > 0:35:07Unfortunately it was the album that didn't get a release, except in Japan.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10When his record label went bust,
0:35:10 > 0:35:15David's recording career lost momentum and his pop-star days were behind him.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20They were great days, but I've had years of great days since then,
0:35:20 > 0:35:22and bad days too.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25This is it. It's time for Jerry Springer, The Opera.
0:35:25 > 0:35:31Screams of passion turned to screams of outrage after David appeared in Jerry Springer, The Opera.
0:35:31 > 0:35:37# I'm tired of drifting, searching, shifting from town to town... #
0:35:37 > 0:35:40He's since appeared in other West End musicals,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43and the old hits still get the occasional outing.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47David can now reflect on the upside of his brief spell as a '70s singing heart-throb.
0:35:47 > 0:35:54I think those 18 months probably gave me an aspect of living that very few people would ever experience,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57you know, so I'm thankful for that.
0:36:05 > 0:36:11In the mid-'70s, somewhere between the excesses of progressive rock and the filth and the fury of punk,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14sat the intensely private Gilbert O'Sullivan.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17# Sign on the door says go away
0:36:18 > 0:36:21# Sign on the grass says you will pay... #
0:36:21 > 0:36:29I've thought of him probably as the most missing-in-action artist of my adulthood.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32# Ask your neighbours... #
0:36:32 > 0:36:36There are always people you think, "Gee, why aren't they in the chart?"
0:36:36 > 0:36:41# I don't know if your father knows but I'm a boy... #
0:36:43 > 0:36:48As he has done since his adolescent days in Swindon, Gilbert, born Raymond O'Sullivan,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51still spends eight hours a day writing songs at his piano.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55This is a folder, actually, from when I first started writing,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57in the shed in my mum's garden.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Raymond got on very well at school,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03then music became a big part of his life
0:37:03 > 0:37:05and my mother bought him a drum kit,
0:37:05 > 0:37:09and, to accommodate that, we had to have a shed built at the bottom of the garden.
0:37:09 > 0:37:15She also got him a piano. He had his record player and he was in a little world of his own.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Time alone in a shed can do things to a man.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22Ray decided that to become noticed he would become Gilbert O'Sullivan,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and dress up in a flat cap and short trousers.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Ah, Bisto!
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Ah, bonkers!
0:37:27 > 0:37:32As a show-biz journalist, you get sent loads of photographs
0:37:32 > 0:37:34and hand-outs, publicity hand-outs,
0:37:34 > 0:37:39and I was so startled - I saw this ridiculous photograph of this young singer
0:37:39 > 0:37:40called Gilbert O'Sullivan.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44I'm working in A & R at the moment in EMI.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47If I'd seen my dad coming along, I'd be totally interested,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49because what he did was to create,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52like, a totally different look to what was going around
0:37:52 > 0:37:56cos everyone had long hair, so he decided he was going to have short hair.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Everyone was wearing sweaters, he wore suits and hats, so that would catch my eye.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03# It's not unusual to be loved by anyone... #
0:38:03 > 0:38:06It seemed a funny way of interesting female fans,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10but Gilbert now turned to the manager of Tom Jones -
0:38:10 > 0:38:12a man who knew all about attracting women.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16My dad, Gordon Mills, at the time, he had 100 tapes
0:38:16 > 0:38:18coming in a day for him to listen to,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20which he did try and listen to - every one of them.
0:38:20 > 0:38:25And Gilbert's was opened and he had a little giggle at the photos of Gilbert.
0:38:25 > 0:38:31He was listening through the tape and my mum came in and said, "Who is that?"
0:38:31 > 0:38:34So Dad had another listen through again and again
0:38:34 > 0:38:36and that's how it started.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39# Turn the landing light off
0:38:39 > 0:38:41# No, wait, leave it on... #
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Since swapping life in Swindon for California,
0:38:44 > 0:38:48big sister Marie had no idea Gilbert had been rummaging through the dressing-up box.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53It was the Tom Jones' Special and Raymond was going to be on there as a guest and so was Liberace.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58I was really looking forward to seeing him and telling my friends about it.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59Gentlemen, if you please.
0:38:59 > 0:39:07I think I was more shocked at seeing the outfit on there for the first time, you know.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11Well, obviously one of us has to make a costume change
0:39:11 > 0:39:14- and I think it had better be me. - LAUGHTER
0:39:14 > 0:39:19After upstaging Liberace, the gravy train beckoned for the Bisto kid.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23# If I give up the seat I've been saving
0:39:23 > 0:39:27# To some elderly lady or man... #
0:39:27 > 0:39:29I was listening to one of the songs recently
0:39:29 > 0:39:32and I was able to sing along to it all these years later.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36Every word was ingrained. I must have played it over and over.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40# And this pleasure I get from, say, winning a bet
0:39:40 > 0:39:42# Is to lose... #
0:39:42 > 0:39:46He did seem very shy. He did seem sensitive.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51The typical singer/songwriter and that was his romantic appeal, if you like.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55# Nothing gained, nothing still-born or lost... #
0:39:55 > 0:39:58It is one of the great songs of all time.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02It's so deep, it's so profound,
0:40:02 > 0:40:07that I thought we were in for a lifetime of revelations
0:40:07 > 0:40:08from this man.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10# Nothing I couldn't say
0:40:10 > 0:40:12# Nothing why, cos today
0:40:12 > 0:40:14# Nothing rhymed... #
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Never wanted the fame. He just wanted his songs to be heard.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21That was the main thing about everything. It was about the songs and the music.
0:40:21 > 0:40:26And when the fame came along, I always say I wished that I'd been there, going to the parties.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28He just didn't take advantage of it.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30# Alone again
0:40:30 > 0:40:32# Naturally... #
0:40:32 > 0:40:36The solitude he desired got even less likely after a No.1 hit in America,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40and the decision was made that it was time for a makeover.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44They advised him that he should have a more sporty image,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46and, as a result, cardigans came in.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50The hair was grown longer and groomed
0:40:50 > 0:40:53and you suddenly saw this rather good-looking young man.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58For his new album, Gilbert took off the flat cap and turned all hunky.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02I remember Lewis, the store in Manchester, had their window
0:41:02 > 0:41:06completely plastered with it - "Is that what he looks like now?"
0:41:06 > 0:41:07- It was...- It was...
0:41:07 > 0:41:11And then, you know, at 18, something starts to flutter.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15When people hear who my dad is, straightaway, they're like,
0:41:15 > 0:41:20"Oh, my God. My mum used to really fancy him. Can you get an autograph, please?"
0:41:20 > 0:41:24# Who was that lady I saw you with?
0:41:24 > 0:41:28# It was not your wife... #
0:41:28 > 0:41:32He became just... almost an obsession.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36I don't think my parents had to decorate my room for quite a few years,
0:41:36 > 0:41:37cos it wasn't worth it.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42Floor to ceiling. Get in bed at night, look up and there he was.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47Big G's biggest hit had an unlikely inspiration -
0:41:47 > 0:41:49his manager's three-year-old daughter.
0:41:49 > 0:41:55# Clair - the moment I met you I swear... #
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Uncle Ray was very much part of our family.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01Um, he lived just down the road.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05On occasions when Mum and Dad were going out, he'd baby-sit.
0:42:05 > 0:42:10The song is about me being a terror, I think, as a child,
0:42:10 > 0:42:11which I was,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14but he wrote it very lovingly, that's for sure.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18# Nothing means more to me than hearing you say
0:42:18 > 0:42:23# I'm going to marry you. Will you marry me, Uncle Ray? #
0:42:23 > 0:42:28Always when I come across a Clair, who's however many years younger than I am,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32I'll always ask them to find out why they were called Clair,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34and more often than not, it's because of the song.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37# Oh, Clair! Clair! #
0:42:37 > 0:42:42I was pulled out of the pool to go into the studio, which I wasn't too happy about,
0:42:42 > 0:42:47but I sat on my mum's lap and she just tickled me to get that giggle.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49# Oh, Clair! #
0:42:49 > 0:42:50CLAIR GIGGLES
0:42:53 > 0:42:57Giggling all the way to his first British No.1,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Gilbert was now so popular that he had his own fan club.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03They were happy to follow him all over Europe.
0:43:03 > 0:43:09We were 18 at the time, but people that we met, they were 40, 50, you know,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and they used to write to him,
0:43:11 > 0:43:13so it wasn't just young girls, was it?
0:43:13 > 0:43:18There were married women following him around that were old enough to be our mothers.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21The camaraderie was just wonderful
0:43:21 > 0:43:24but to say, I know it sounds a bit cheesy, if you like,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26but to say it was one big happy family - it really was.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31WOMEN SING
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Maybe you all want to kiss him.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Give him a kiss in the camera.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39At the time, we would have been more than happy to blow him a kiss,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42probably would have wanted to deliver it in person if we could.
0:43:42 > 0:43:48# Why is it you must be so very cruel to me
0:43:48 > 0:43:52# In order to be kind? #
0:43:52 > 0:43:57He loves the fact that people were at the concerts and the shows and everything,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00but once a show was over, he became very, very shy.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04We'd be in airports and people would come up and say, "Are you Gilbert O'Sullivan?"
0:44:04 > 0:44:05He'd say, "No, not today."
0:44:05 > 0:44:11# Why, after all these years we've been together...? #
0:44:11 > 0:44:14Never entirely at ease as a sexy pin-up,
0:44:14 > 0:44:17difficult questions were asked of the retiring pop star
0:44:17 > 0:44:20when the Top 10 hits began to dry up.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23How long is it since you had a big hit with a single?
0:44:23 > 0:44:26Oooh! I guess two years.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Two years.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32Is that a long time or a short time in pop-star terms?
0:44:32 > 0:44:33What do you think?
0:44:33 > 0:44:36- I'd say it was a long time. - Yes, of course.
0:44:36 > 0:44:42As chart success continued to elude them, the cosy arrangement with Gordon Mills came to an end.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46# As I miss the stars that shine above
0:44:46 > 0:44:51# Telling me one day my love will come to me again. #
0:44:51 > 0:44:55A lengthy high-court battle over the rights to his songs followed.
0:44:55 > 0:45:01It took five years out of his life and a lot of things went on hold then,
0:45:01 > 0:45:06but he came out in the end - he came out a winner.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Millions richer, but more reclusive than ever,
0:45:09 > 0:45:15Gilbert moved the shed to Jersey, shut himself away and carried on composing.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18It's a bit too far for us to keep nipping over to now.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21"Put some water between us" is probably what he said.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25One of the few to penetrate Gilbert's Jersey retreat
0:45:25 > 0:45:27was journalist David Wigg.
0:45:27 > 0:45:32It was very difficult to get an interview with Gilbert after all the court case
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and everything because he literally did want to go away
0:45:35 > 0:45:39and cut off from everything and just do his songwriting,
0:45:39 > 0:45:43but Gilbert very much doesn't want to look back.
0:45:43 > 0:45:44# You won't be lonely
0:45:44 > 0:45:46# You'll make my day tonight. #
0:45:46 > 0:45:49How far do you think we're going to get before I say,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52"Er, what have you been doing for the last 20 years?"
0:45:52 > 0:45:57You must get tired of people asking you about the early days, but I'm going to anyway...
0:45:57 > 0:46:02- Is there a '70s revival or are we making it up?- I've no idea. It's anathema to even think of that.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04That was then. I'm not interested.
0:46:04 > 0:46:10- You are very defensive.- I mean, as an artist, I'm rock bottom...- No! - No, that's OK, but it's true.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14- Where is it true? - It's called credibility crap.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16# I look like I want to look
0:46:16 > 0:46:17# I wear what I like... #
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Despite his apparent wish to do so,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Gilbert has never quite shaken off his '70s image.
0:46:23 > 0:46:29I think there's a frustration that he's not respected more than he is,
0:46:29 > 0:46:36because when you think of it, he did have five years of major hit songs which were very appealing.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40In a way, he was damaged by the image he created for himself.
0:46:40 > 0:46:46It would be nice if he had come and spoken to you himself,
0:46:46 > 0:46:50but he has been misinterpreted so many times in the past.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54He's very much the future and that to him, it's kind of great memories,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57but he doesn't really want to kind of talk about it again,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00so I'm happy to do it instead.
0:47:00 > 0:47:01# Now looking back over the years
0:47:01 > 0:47:04# And whatever else that appears... #
0:47:04 > 0:47:11There's no doubt that his early work DOES rate with the people with whom he would like to be compared,
0:47:11 > 0:47:17and no-one can tell me there couldn't have been more from the same.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21And maybe in tomorrow's post there'll be the next one.
0:47:23 > 0:47:24# Alone again
0:47:25 > 0:47:27# Naturally. #
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Our final singer was very much a king-sized king of '70s romance -
0:47:46 > 0:47:52a heavyweight heart-throb with legions of female fans - Barry White.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53# Eager and eager... #
0:47:53 > 0:48:01With people like Gilbert O'Sullivan and Leo Sayer, it's very sentimental, it's very romantic.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Barry White, I think, is a great deal more direct.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08# I'll take you just the way you are... #
0:48:08 > 0:48:12He has the most gorgeous voice you can imagine.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15I mean, it just conjures up so much romance, sex, everything.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18# Can't get enough of your love, baby... #
0:48:18 > 0:48:24It was that gruff, rough sound. He was just like a huge teddy bear.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27# This girl's gonna drive me crazy... #
0:48:27 > 0:48:31They were romantic songs but sung with such intensity,
0:48:31 > 0:48:35as if he was singing to the one woman in the world he wanted to hold and touch.
0:48:35 > 0:48:41# You're my first, my last, my everything... #
0:48:41 > 0:48:45The ladies loved Barry because Barry loved the ladies so much.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50If you stand back and study the lyrics, you realise
0:48:50 > 0:48:56he was talking from - this big huge guy - from a woman's point of view.
0:48:56 > 0:49:01The reason why women loved his music so much
0:49:01 > 0:49:04is because in R & B, women are always the villain.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06"You broke my heart, you ran off with this guy,
0:49:06 > 0:49:08"you left me for another guy."
0:49:08 > 0:49:11In Barry's music, women come off as goddesses.
0:49:11 > 0:49:17Goddesses were hard to find on the tough streets of Los Angeles in the 1950s.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Barry grew up in South Central LA,
0:49:20 > 0:49:25which was a very notorious section of Los Angeles.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29Gang life was something that was obligatory.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32You had to have something in that area
0:49:32 > 0:49:35that would pull you away from the bad,
0:49:35 > 0:49:36and for Barry, it was the music.
0:49:36 > 0:49:43His love of music took him to Hollywood where he established himself as a producer,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47transforming a trio called the Croonettes into Love Unlimited
0:49:47 > 0:49:49proved to be Barry's big break.
0:49:49 > 0:49:55Barry took them under his wing and became their father figure, their mentor, their teacher.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59He had a vision. He knew what he wanted.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04He could see it in his head and he somehow needed to bring it to fruition.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08# Walking in the rain with the one I love
0:50:08 > 0:50:11# Feels so fine. #
0:50:11 > 0:50:15He was recording Walking In The Rain and he came up with a great idea -
0:50:15 > 0:50:17to answer the phone himself.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22He was going to let someone else do it, but he said, "Well, I'm going to try it myself,"
0:50:22 > 0:50:27so he put that voice on - that deep, "HELLO," you know,
0:50:27 > 0:50:29and it sounded pretty good.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31'Hello.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33'Baby, I've got something to tell you.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36- 'What?- I love you.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39'I love you too.'
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I listened to the record and four minutes later, I said,
0:50:42 > 0:50:44"How much do you guys want?"
0:50:44 > 0:50:46They said, "10,000," and I said, "You got it."
0:50:46 > 0:50:49And then we put it out and it became a huge hit in America
0:50:49 > 0:50:52and it was a big hit in England too.
0:50:52 > 0:50:58The maestro of lurve had made his debut with a voice that left women hypnotised.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02Usually with a deep, progressive voice like he had, men intimidate women,
0:51:02 > 0:51:04but Barry came on with it.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08It, like, relaxed them and I think he used that in his music too.
0:51:08 > 0:51:14Russ Regan moved to 20th Century Records and signed up Barry as a solo artist.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17# I'm gonna love you, love you, love you
0:51:17 > 0:51:19# Just a little more, baby. #
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Last thing at night when you're relaxing,
0:51:22 > 0:51:24how wonderful to hear that voice,
0:51:24 > 0:51:25just gorgeous.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27The sort of voice that makes you go, "Thwrrrr!"
0:51:27 > 0:51:29and slide off your chair.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Women loved the voice but would the love handles prove a turn-off?
0:51:36 > 0:51:43When I signed him, Barry weighed about 350 pounds and I was wondering
0:51:43 > 0:51:45about that sex-symbol area,
0:51:45 > 0:51:50so I said, "Let's try him out. There's a Baptist church in Santiago.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54"I know the preacher. We'll put on a free concert for them."
0:51:54 > 0:52:02Barry White comes out and starts singing and the place went crazy.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04Women were screaming and I said,
0:52:04 > 0:52:08"Wow! He is a sex symbol. I mean, women love this guy."
0:52:08 > 0:52:12# Eager and eager to feel your sweet lips on my face... #
0:52:12 > 0:52:16All my friends were really into the Osmonds, the Jackson Five,
0:52:16 > 0:52:24they couldn't understand how I could like this huge man with this deep voice
0:52:24 > 0:52:26and they just thought I was crazy.
0:52:26 > 0:52:31My mum gave me four pounds to go buy a ticket
0:52:31 > 0:52:33and it was like having gold.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35RAUCOUS CHEERING
0:52:35 > 0:52:42The minute that man strode out - my God, there was no words to describe it,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45he just strode out -
0:52:45 > 0:52:48it was God, he was there, he was real!
0:52:48 > 0:52:53I'm going to do one for all the sweet, sweet ladies in the house tonight.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56I'd never seen anything like it -
0:52:56 > 0:52:58the reaction, these women leaping up,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01this great big, 26-stone man coming on stage.
0:53:01 > 0:53:06All right! All right! All right! All right!
0:53:06 > 0:53:12They were totally seduced by the growl. You could only call it a growl of this man.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16# Oh, oh, baby! # Wow!
0:53:16 > 0:53:19# Oh, oh, baby!
0:53:19 > 0:53:21# My darling, I...
0:53:23 > 0:53:25# Can't get enough of your love, baby. #
0:53:25 > 0:53:29All these people were running down the aisle to him
0:53:29 > 0:53:34and then I just took off out of my seat - I flew to Barry -
0:53:34 > 0:53:36and the tears were just pouring... This is my man.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40This is the man I love. This is the man whose picture I have all over my room.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43This is me and him.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46And I'm just holding his hand and I'm just crying
0:53:46 > 0:53:49and he smiled at me but he carried on singing
0:53:49 > 0:53:52and then I tried to take the ring off his finger -
0:53:52 > 0:53:56he had a ring on his little finger - and he just carried on singing.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00He knew what I was doing and he bent his finger so I couldn't get it off.
0:54:00 > 0:54:08# Oh, you're the first, my last, my everything... #
0:54:08 > 0:54:12When I saw these people coming up to Barry White and kissing his ring
0:54:12 > 0:54:15and holding onto his hand and shaking his hand
0:54:15 > 0:54:18and trying to hug him and everything else,
0:54:18 > 0:54:24I said, "This guy... It's like a reverend. Barry White is like a minister up there almost."
0:54:24 > 0:54:26The minister of love, if you will.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28God bless you.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30God keep you.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32Right on.
0:54:35 > 0:54:42Lurve certainly was unlimited when Barry married lead singer Glodean James
0:54:42 > 0:54:45and his songs now left even less to the imagination.
0:54:45 > 0:54:46# Oh, baby, sweet baby
0:54:47 > 0:54:50# What am I gonna do? #
0:54:50 > 0:54:57She inspired him to go further and to reach even further than he ever dreamed he could,
0:54:57 > 0:55:05and he loved to write them sexual lyrics and sensual lyrics and stuff. He loved that.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07# Been making love for hours
0:55:07 > 0:55:10# And, baby, we're still going strong... #
0:55:10 > 0:55:14The lyrics that he wrote, he believed in.
0:55:14 > 0:55:19This is serious business. This is not just a silly little ditty that I'm singing for you.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23If some guy put a Barry White song on for a girlfriend,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26you knew he meant business - that was it.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Barry White was going to do the wooing, he was going to do the seducing,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32he was actually going to get her bra off...for him.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35Look, guys, this is how you have to talk to women.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39You have to go get them some flowers.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42You have to wine 'em and dine 'em.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46And try saying this this way and if you don't know how, I'll show you how.
0:55:46 > 0:55:51# Don't go changing trying to please me... #
0:55:51 > 0:55:56One of the greatest moments of my life was reading the New York Times
0:55:56 > 0:56:01and seeing that Barry White had raised the birth rate of America by 5%.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05# We're gonna take our time... #
0:56:05 > 0:56:12People would come up to him and tell him, "I conceived this baby when I was listening to I'm Gonna Love You,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15"or Can't Get Enough Of Your Love."
0:56:15 > 0:56:19That's some of the greatest, greatest compliments
0:56:19 > 0:56:21of all the compliments I get -
0:56:21 > 0:56:26that life has been created from my music.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29He knew he had hit a home run. He knew it.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33Wasn't a single, wasn't a double. He knew he hit a home run.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36They told me he was coming over to do Jonathan Ross,
0:56:36 > 0:56:41so soon as I knew he was coming, I was trying to get tickets for the show.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44- Ladies and gentlemen... - WHOOPING
0:56:45 > 0:56:47..wait for it -
0:56:47 > 0:56:53this is a man - please welcome the one, the only, Mr Barry White.
0:56:53 > 0:57:00The door opened, Barry White - big, in this beautiful green suit - comes walking out,
0:57:00 > 0:57:06and I just...shot out of my chair, ran past the cables, ran to him
0:57:06 > 0:57:10and he just looked back and he opened his arms
0:57:10 > 0:57:15and he just looked at me and he gave me the biggest hug
0:57:15 > 0:57:18and I gave him the rose.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23You know, Jonathan Ross was kind of shocked and kind of laughed.
0:57:25 > 0:57:27Well...
0:57:27 > 0:57:29that's fabulous.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32I didn't know that Interflora worked this way.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Please welcome the bard of bedroom soul - Barry White.
0:57:36 > 0:57:43Barry's love affair with his UK fans continued as his music played on until early 2003.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45Some news in in the past hour -
0:57:45 > 0:57:51the soul singer, Barry White - known worldwide for his deep voice and popular love songs - has died.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53He was 58.
0:57:53 > 0:57:54# Let the music play
0:57:55 > 0:58:01# I just wanna dance the night away... #
0:58:01 > 0:58:06Heard on the radio that Barry White had died. My phone started ringing,
0:58:06 > 0:58:09and all the radio and TV shows wanted comments
0:58:09 > 0:58:12and I really couldn't think of much to say except that
0:58:12 > 0:58:17what he left behind would keep him alive for ever.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21Physically Barry's gone, but spiritually Barry hasn't gone anywhere.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24His music's there, his videos are there, his pictures are there.
0:58:24 > 0:58:29Barry's still here, Barry hasn't gone anywhere. He hasn't gone anywhere.
0:58:30 > 0:58:32# Let the music play. #
0:58:32 > 0:58:34CHEERING
0:58:48 > 0:58:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.