0:00:06 > 0:00:09Billy Joel doesn't care if he's bald...
0:00:09 > 0:00:11and bearded at 50. Who gives a shit?
0:00:12 > 0:00:17Neil Sedaka, up to his last tour, wore a toupee.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21We all get kind of sucked in to thinking
0:00:21 > 0:00:23we need to look like we used to look.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27I think it's much better if you can be allowed to age gracefully.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31I love the name Gilbert O'Sullivan.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34- What's your real name?- O'Sullivan. Raymond O'Sullivan.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Originally, I was going to be Gilbert just for recording purposes
0:00:37 > 0:00:39and use O'Sullivan for writing.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41I always thought you'd invented the whole name,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44sort of as if you were doing a play on words.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47You know, using the name of the famous team of Gilbert and Sullivan
0:00:47 > 0:00:49to sort of make people notice you.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55I just did what I wanted to do and it was different to everybody else.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I was the biggest selling solo artist in the world in '72.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02I'm only aware of that now.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..Mr Gilbert O'Sullivan.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06APPLAUSE
0:01:06 > 0:01:09'I think I was in every secretary's wall,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11'with my hairy chest.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12'You were their idol.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16'There was David Cassidy, there was you, there was The Osmonds.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18'There was you.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22'It was good times. Been there, done that, enjoyed every minute of it.'
0:01:22 > 0:01:26There's an old saying in showbiz. "When you're hot, you're hot. When you're not you're..."
0:01:28 > 0:01:32The first to ignore you are the very people that praised you the most.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34That's true of anybody.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38You haven't had a really big hit for quite a while.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40- HE SOBS SARCASTICALLY - Isn't that a shame?
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- Isn't that a shame? - AUDIENCE AHS
0:01:43 > 0:01:45I mean, as an artist,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49- I'm rock bottom.- No!- No, no, no. I mean, that's OK, but it's true.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52- Where is it true?- It's called "credibility crap".
0:01:52 > 0:01:55MUSIC: "Nothing Rhymed" by Gilbert O'Sullivan
0:01:55 > 0:01:59I'm not in the best position, at 62 years of age,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01to be making pop music
0:02:01 > 0:02:05when, to all intents and purposes, your career's over, you're history.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10# Would you punish me so, unbelievably so
0:02:10 > 0:02:13# Never again will I make that mistake... #
0:02:13 > 0:02:17You can't really film this, it's a bit naff.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19Why?
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Well, you know, is that really interesting? I didn't think it was.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Is that really interesting?
0:02:27 > 0:02:30I wouldn't be here... Normally, I'd be...
0:02:30 > 0:02:34RADIO PLAYS That's me and tea. Is that all right?
0:02:37 > 0:02:39I don't drink tea in silence,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43so you're not getting the real me, are you? Come on.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47You can come in here for two minutes and sit here.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50- Sit here for two minutes. Ignore them.- I'm not ignoring them.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54You must ignore them. That's what you have to do.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58- Did, um, did FX get back to you, then?- Yes. They have everything.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02- They have it, yeah?- Yes. - And were they...- I'll pick it up.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- He won't send it to you? They'll just do it.- It's easier to pick it up.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Kevin has a nice way about him,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12that he can charm my enemies,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16and there's plenty of them. So, Kevin's good like that. He doesn't make enemies,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18which I think is a good trait to have.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I'm the opposite, in a way.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25By being blunt and honest. If I think you're fat, I'll tell you, you know.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Oh, God. I mean, I got into trouble by being like that.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34I figure that, if I think somebody's fat and I should tell them, aren't I doing them a favour? No!
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Artists like Kate Bush, Carly Simon,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42have never toured because they just don't tour
0:03:42 > 0:03:46because they have nerves problems. I think Carly Simon has a nerve problem,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and I think that Kate Bush, for some reason...
0:03:49 > 0:03:52She brought out an album about four years ago, after so many years.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55If you won't get on the road, I don't think it works.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58# I told you once before and I won't tell you no more.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02# Get down, get down, get down
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- # Oh, you're a... - (AUDIENCE)..bad dog, baby
0:04:05 > 0:04:07# ..but I still want you around. #
0:04:07 > 0:04:11I've been touring more in the last five years than the previous 30.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14I'm doing the Albert Hall in October, Birmingham, Manchester...
0:04:14 > 0:04:17And in between that we'll be finishing off another record.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20I write pop songs, end of story.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25That's all I wanted to do, that's all I want to do and that's all I continue to want to do.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29I've no interest in just touring and living in the past.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48You get off the treadmill, I don't think you deserve to get back on...in my opinion.
0:04:48 > 0:04:53Don't. You shouldn't get off the treadmill if you want to maintain that career.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55If you give up, retire and come back
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and expect everybody to like you again, I don't get that.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04SHE TALKS IN HEBREW
0:05:06 > 0:05:07Touch-up?
0:05:07 > 0:05:11No, I'm all right. Unless I'm shiny or something, but I don't really like make-up.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- You sure you don't want anything? - No, I don't.- Absolutely nothing.- No.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:05:17 > 0:05:21I don't like make-up rooms. For a start, there's mirrors in there.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24And people in them. I've never like make-up rooms.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25A bit like barber shops.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34HE TALKS IN HEBREW
0:05:34 > 0:05:39- What do you expect of the Israeli audience?- That's a good question. - Thank you.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43That's what I'm asking myself. It's the kind of question I ask myself because
0:05:43 > 0:05:46this is the first time I've been here, so it's an experience for that.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50- And then...- Where have you been all these years? Why didn't you come?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52- Well...- We have been waiting for years.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56- You didn't call, you didn't write. - Better late than never!
0:05:56 > 0:05:59# Once upon a time I drank a little wine
0:05:59 > 0:06:03# Was as happy as could be, happy as could be... #
0:06:03 > 0:06:08- All right, you've got your show tomorrow night. Are you excited? - Really looking forward to it.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13- It's a beautiful place. Have you seen it?- No. I've seen pictures. The amphitheatre looks really good.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Very nice. And then the culture hall in Tel Aviv.
0:06:17 > 0:06:211980, you got married with Aase, your Norwegian girlfriend.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25- Yeah, that's right.- And ever since then, happily ever after?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Yeah, we've been together through thick and thin,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30with our two nice, daughters, two lovely daughters
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- in their mid-20s now, living in London.- Oh! That's great.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I admire you for talking so much about yourself.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I'm not talking about myself, I'm talking about Gilbert O'Sullivan. There's a difference.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49That's what it's about. Song writing, tour...
0:06:49 > 0:06:51- You don't know...- No, no.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55That's what it's about. That's what they want to hear. What's the point of doing it?
0:06:55 > 0:06:59I don't feel it's about me, I feel it's about the person
0:06:59 > 0:07:00who that is, you know.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06One o'clock they're coming, aren't they?
0:07:06 > 0:07:071.15pm you've got to be up there.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Right. You sort it out?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13In business, you have to be tough to tough it out.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Demand what you think you're worth. Without a formal manager,
0:07:18 > 0:07:24Kevin fills that space, albeit on the level of communication with people.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30That's the danger of representing yourself is that you have to kind of
0:07:30 > 0:07:34blow your own trumpet, which is generally what managers do.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38They're they ones that go in and say, "I want this for my artist, he deserves this."
0:07:38 > 0:07:44In my case, I have to do that and it's quite good with e-mails cos I can use somebody else's name.
0:07:44 > 0:07:50I'll do letters for Kevin. I can say I'm Kevin and make demands.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55And if I do get up people's backs, then Kevin can be there to smooth it out a little.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57He's good like that. He's very easy-going, Kev.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06I take care of how it sounds, but we have sound technicians,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10we have on-stage technicians, a lighting technician. It's a big crew.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- # Side by side... # - And back to back
0:08:17 > 0:08:19(BOTH) I think it's fair to say that's that.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Martin, tonight, don't play on on "we will".
0:08:23 > 0:08:26'Great musicians behind me, but it's my voice that's at the forefront.'
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- And Nothing Rhymed, be more gentle even.- OK.- Yeah.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32'I can't hide behind anything.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35'You know, it's... The focus is on me.'
0:08:35 > 0:08:41I've actually taken it down. It's really loud. I can't hear anything.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43It's really hard-sounding this. Wah!
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Is this feeding back to Francis? I can hear...
0:08:47 > 0:08:49One. One, two.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53It's really hard-sounding. Wah. Wah! One, two.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55If you're a singer with a hard voice,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00what you don't want to ever hear in your monitor is it sounding harder.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02If it does that, then you just withdraw.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It makes it difficult for you to reach simple notes.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08# ..and left standing in the lurch
0:09:08 > 0:09:11# At a church where people're saying... #
0:09:11 > 0:09:14The nightmare for me is you know from the first song it's wrong,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18and you've got 30 songs to go. It's just horrible!
0:09:18 > 0:09:21You just want the earth to swallow you up.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25# Alone again, naturally. #
0:09:30 > 0:09:34The big issue is that the audience enjoyed it, really.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36They really enjoyed it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And that's the main thing, really.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45And you managed, you managed to complete the show.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50The second half was really good.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21'Well, it's nice of people, you know, to say, "Not to worry," and, "We thought it sounded great."
0:10:21 > 0:10:25'It doesn't really, in my heart it doesn't help me at all.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27'I know how bad it was.'
0:11:05 > 0:11:09'I'm still pissed off about last night. I'm kind of depressed.'
0:11:09 > 0:11:11After the first number, I knew I had a problem,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13- and I had 30-odd numbers to go.- Yeah.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16So you ima...so every number, I'm dreading.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19I dropped certain numbers. I just couldn't face it.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23- Yeah.- It's a silly thing, but it's such an important thing.- Yeah.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24But if it's right, it's magic.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45# If I give up the seat I've been saving
0:11:45 > 0:11:49# To some elderly lady or man
0:11:49 > 0:11:51# Am I being a good boy?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53# Am I your pride and joy, mother?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56# Please, if you're pleased Say I am
0:11:59 > 0:12:01# Nothing good, nothing bad
0:12:01 > 0:12:05# Nothing ventured, nothing gained
0:12:05 > 0:12:07# Nothing still-born or lost
0:12:07 > 0:12:09# Nothing further than proof
0:12:09 > 0:12:11# Nothing wilder than youth
0:12:11 > 0:12:13# Nothing older than time
0:12:13 > 0:12:15# Nothing sweeter than wine
0:12:15 > 0:12:19# Nothing physically Recklessly, hopelessly blind
0:12:19 > 0:12:20# Nothing I couldn't say
0:12:20 > 0:12:26# Nothing, why? Cos today, nothing rhymed. #
0:12:26 > 0:12:27One.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29It feels pretty good.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33- Great.- Yeah. Hi, guys.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:12:58 > 0:13:01- Oh!- Good.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03- From your fans.- That was good. OK.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04I didn't know you cared.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06HE LAUGHS
0:13:06 > 0:13:08How fantastic was that?
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Hmm?
0:13:12 > 0:13:13Hi1
0:13:17 > 0:13:21- OK, come on in.- I must be in a picture too, please.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- Did you enjoy it? - Yeah, thank you.- Cool.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28'The only kind of down thing is once it's over, it's over.'
0:13:28 > 0:13:30APPLAUSE
0:13:32 > 0:13:36'The great concert is over. The following day it's gone.'
0:13:36 > 0:13:38- Did you enjoy it?- Yeah!
0:13:38 > 0:13:41'So the glory of that is very short-lived,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45'but the glory of a successful record or a really good song lives on,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'beyond you, even, if it's good enough.'
0:13:48 > 0:13:52I loved that. Alone Naturally it's my hymn. You know, my hymn?
0:13:52 > 0:13:57- I love you.- OK. So what's your name?- Anita.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Not many singers put their own clothes away. Notice that?
0:14:04 > 0:14:08See, this is...You wouldn't catch Elton John doing this.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20'I was born in Waterford, County Waterford.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23'Left when I was seven, moving to Swindon, a council house in Swindon.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27'I was 13 when my father died.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32'The biggest regret I have is not knowing him.'
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And my mother was extremely good and strong and,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39you know, bringing up six kids ruled with a rod of iron.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42# Take off your shoes
0:14:42 > 0:14:45# The both of yous... #
0:14:47 > 0:14:49I spilled my dinner on the floor once,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51and she made me pick it up and eat it again.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Can't waste dinners!
0:14:54 > 0:14:57'The other side of that is the piano was there,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00'guitar was there for me, drum kit was there.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02'Who got me those?'
0:15:02 > 0:15:04My mother was...
0:15:05 > 0:15:09..tough on one hand but there she was providing me
0:15:09 > 0:15:14'with these things which were the basis of my future, my career.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'Everybody on a Sunday, the men would be out digging their little bit of garden,
0:15:20 > 0:15:25'and Ray would be out there in the garden shed, banging away on this old piano in there.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29'What they had to put up with was incredible, when you think about it.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34'You could see where it was leading. It was leading me to a musical kind of career of some kind.'
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Gordon Mills, manages Tom Jones, Humperdinck.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43He was like a god. He was the most powerful manager of a solo artist in the world.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47'I thought I was fantastic, and when I wrote to Gordon I just said, look, I would like you to manage me.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51'I didn't say, would you like to manage me? I said, I've picked you
0:15:51 > 0:15:55'cos I think you're the right manager for a great artist like me.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05'He produced great records.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09'Alone Again, Clair, Get Down, he produced them all. He was a top man.'
0:16:11 > 0:16:13He was like a sort of father figure to me.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17'I went on holiday with him and his family. If I needed any money to buy
0:16:17 > 0:16:19'on a boat trip, I'd ask him and he'd give it to me.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21'It was just like being one of the family.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24'I babysat for Gordon and his wife,'
0:16:24 > 0:16:29and Clair was the one that would tend to get up in the middle of the night and whatever,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34so I grew very fond of her, so the song was written not for her but for the parents.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37So really it's a song, almost a thank you to them.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40# As hard as I might do
0:16:40 > 0:16:43# I don't know why
0:16:43 > 0:16:47# You get to me in a way I can't describe
0:16:47 > 0:16:51# Words mean so little when you look up and smile
0:16:51 > 0:16:53# I don't care what people say
0:16:53 > 0:16:56# To me you're more than a child Oh, Clair... #
0:16:56 > 0:17:00'He was a great manager in the beginning, I had respect for him.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04I think he was losing interest, he had gorillas and tigers,
0:17:04 > 0:17:10and I'm young and I'm still very kind of ambitious and stuff, so...
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I think his big mistake was
0:17:12 > 0:17:15not letting me work with another producer.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19The tragedy of the whole situation,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22with the litigation, with the breaking up,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24was not so much with him, but his family.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26As far as his family are concerned,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28they only saw what was on the surface.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30All I wanted was the interest in my songs
0:17:30 > 0:17:32that had been promised to me, that's all.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36I didn't get it, and then when we split - amicably, I thought -
0:17:36 > 0:17:41he told me that I would get it, go into his office and see
0:17:41 > 0:17:45his chairman, or managing director, and he'd sort it out.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48And I go in there and he tells me to eff off!
0:17:48 > 0:17:52And it's not funny, cos it wasn't funny, it was devastating for me,
0:17:52 > 0:17:57it was absolutely devastating for me. It was just horrible.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01And so I then left that determined to fight.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06On the day of the judgement, sitting with my lawyers and saying,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08what does that mean? And he's looking at me and he says,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12"You get everything." I said, "What do you mean, I get everything."
0:18:12 > 0:18:13"You get everything."
0:18:13 > 0:18:17The shirts off their back was basically what I was given.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20I was the bastard, so I was the one that, after all he had done for me,
0:18:20 > 0:18:21this is how I repay him.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25I sued a manager and won.
0:18:25 > 0:18:26Massively.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30I think the business turned on me, but it is ironic that
0:18:30 > 0:18:34losing makes you more liked than winning.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37It's a strange thing, that.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39It's a human trait, I think.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Do people actually call you Gilbert?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43It depends. If they like me, they call me Gilbert.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46If they don't like me, it's usually Bastard or something.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54# You say you got a big house out in the country
0:18:54 > 0:18:56# With a ruddy great swimming pool
0:18:56 > 0:19:02# You say you got a lot of things I never had, that's true
0:19:02 > 0:19:03# But are you happy?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06# Are you happy?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09# Are you happy?
0:19:09 > 0:19:15# When you get right down to the nitty gritty, are you happy? #
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I'm very much a home person.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I'm not interested in celebrity on any level.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26I was always very shy as a person, still am,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28but I was never shy musically.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34The last people I let in here were The Guardian,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37and I'm a Guardian reader, and I was thrilled to bits.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Again, I do it when I have a record out.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42We'll push for any press we can get, of course.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Eight times out of ten, you don't get it.
0:19:44 > 0:19:50I've learned not to read good things about me if there are good things,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52because you can't be a hypocrite and say,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54"Well, I read the good reviews but I ignore the bad ones."
0:19:54 > 0:19:56You have to take the view that
0:19:56 > 0:19:59if you're not going to read one or the other, don't read any of them.
0:19:59 > 0:20:00That's the important bit.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04# I love it, but it doesn't knock me out
0:20:04 > 0:20:08# I think it's great, but it could be better... #
0:20:08 > 0:20:12The Gilbert O'Sullivan baggage of images has hurt me deeply.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13# It's just not my cup of tea... #
0:20:13 > 0:20:16If I was the kind of artist that had no image,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18it would have stood me in much better stead.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21As a songwriter, I would have had much more credibility.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25# I hate it, but that doesn't mean it's bad... #
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Lots of doors have closed, yeah.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30The business is a young business, it's youth orientated.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Mojo, Q, these are the magazines that
0:20:32 > 0:20:34people who are interested in music buy,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37so if you're not written about in those magazines, you don't exist.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42You don't fit into their view of what are good songwriters.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I don't get bitter.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Bitterness leads to it affecting your work.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54I get angry, I can put my fist through a door.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58I did some phone interviews from my home in Jersey,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01and one of them was from a reporter from your paper,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06and he said... He started off by saying, "Do you still write songs?"
0:21:06 > 0:21:08So I figure that, you know...
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I mentioned that, has he heard of the word "research"?
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Because I had an album out.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16And so a little bit of research would have told him
0:21:16 > 0:21:18exactly what I was up to and what we were doing.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22But anyway, when I pointed it out to him, he said,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"I can't handle this," and he put the phone down on me.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27So I wrote to your editor,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and the editor said they were going to check out.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35I think he was an independent who wasn't... Not like you are!
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I'm famous for my letters.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41I do write.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45Hot Press have got in their files quite some vitriolic ones from me.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49So I don't mind doing that. I think Spike Milligan was a bit like that.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Spike used to write to people
0:21:51 > 0:21:54that made what he felt were unfair comments
0:21:54 > 0:21:58about his problems, or whatever. So he would send off notes and stuff.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01So I'm quite famous for doing that. I can be quite...
0:22:01 > 0:22:02But I get to the point.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06I get my point across. I'm not looking for a response,
0:22:06 > 0:22:11necessarily - I just like to point out certain things.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Interesting thing yesterday. I heard that Radio 2 are going to do
0:22:14 > 0:22:16a Billy Joel celebration of his 60th birthday.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Where were they when it was my 60th?
0:22:18 > 0:22:23They never came calling. Anyway, they are celebrating his 60th birthday.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Billy Joel, one of the greatest singer-songwriters ever.
0:22:25 > 0:22:31It'll be Sting next, and it'll be Elton John again.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Then it'll be Paul McCartney again,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35and then it'll be back to Billy again.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37So that's what comes around.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Which doesn't bother me.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46'You seem to be quite healthy
0:22:46 > 0:22:50'after a career in the music business which produces so many...'
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- 'Not after a career.'- 'Yes...' - 'A career that's still going on.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56'Be very careful here!'
0:22:56 > 0:22:57'APPLAUSE'
0:23:00 > 0:23:04'I can see why the lyrics of your songs were so good,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07'because you're careful, picking me up on my...
0:23:07 > 0:23:10'There's people that would like to see me written off. I have to be very careful.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12'Well, I'm not about to write you off.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Out of sight, out of mind.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17If you're not on the box regularly, you're a has-been.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21No harm in that. Not in the public eye, people think you're dead.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22I meet people all the time who say,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25"We used to love you, we thought you were dead."
0:23:25 > 0:23:29I mean, it's OK, I know exactly where they're coming from.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33It only ever gets to me when people think, you know,
0:23:33 > 0:23:34"What do you do now?"
0:23:38 > 0:23:42I'm at it, I'm well at it.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I'm scratching at the door, you know, I'm desperate for success,
0:23:46 > 0:23:52even at my age, because I want to be as successful as Snow Patrol.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56I want to be up there with all of them.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Why not?
0:23:58 > 0:24:02MOBILE RINGS
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Aase, your phone.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09All these are kind of up-to-minute stuff that I need to work on.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11They're all good stuff.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12MUSIC PLAYS
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Just... It's all good stuff.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I've always been enthusiastic about the song writing,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25regardless of what hasn't happened.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28We sell 15, 20,000 albums, which is fine,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32but obviously you'd like to sell hundreds of thousands.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38I've just finished the remaining four lyrics of this album.
0:24:38 > 0:24:4214 songs, we have. I'll probably use 12. I'll drop a couple.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46There are two elements in this album which are very interesting.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Orchestra tracks, which are very different to the Nashville stuff.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50Nashville stuff rocks,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and the orchestra stuff is kind of traditional.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55# Don't be a stick in the mud
0:24:55 > 0:24:58# Be a little clean... #
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Well, I put my money where my mouth is.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06It's me that pays for this.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- I've written these songs, I want to do it with an orchestra.- I see.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17- And I like what Laurie does, and so that's what we do.- Great.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22We have great pleasure in accompanying Gilbert,
0:25:22 > 0:25:27an old friend of mine, and always composes interesting music,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30so it will be fun. Shall we take an A?
0:25:31 > 0:25:36- Laurie played piano on Get Down, that's his claim to fame.- Yeah.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39He played the electric piano.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41- I was...- Engelbert's. He was Engelbert's MD.
0:25:41 > 0:25:46I was Engelbert's musical director, and that was '69 to '75.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- And Laurie got out.- I did.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Actually, I'm going to a dinner the Variety Club are giving.
0:25:53 > 0:25:54- I was invited.- Were you?
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- To Engelbert's.- Yeah. So I said, "Yes, I'd love to go,"
0:25:57 > 0:25:59and then I found out it's in Manchester.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Yeah, yeah. I had to turn it down, because I said we'd be away.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05- It was nice of them to ask me, actually.- Mmm.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07- On behalf of Engelbert, they asked you?- Yeah.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09- Engelbert had asked them to ask you?- Yes.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Why couldn't he have called you up and just said...?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14He probably wanted me to play the bloody piano, didn't he?!
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Free, another freebie!
0:26:17 > 0:26:22The way Laurie plays, I couldn't play like that, pianoforte and stuff.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25You know, Laurie as a piano player
0:26:25 > 0:26:30is traditional, piano-style playing, moving around and stuff,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33whereas with me it's very chord, strict chord...
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Which is good for me on my other songs,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38but it would have been a little static on this.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I'm not fond of myself in other areas, but musically, I am really...
0:26:45 > 0:26:49I have no problem having a healthy arrogance about my music
0:26:49 > 0:26:50and about music in general.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I'll talk with... I'll stand with anybody.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57I'm going to play this, yeah?
0:26:57 > 0:26:58I think I should play it.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- Let me...- One, two, two, two.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17It's about talking of murder.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20It's, you know... What is it? I've never... No.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24I never thought I'd see the day when murder would become so commonplace,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27hardly a day goes by without a murder taking place, and why?
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Well, for a start, the punishment is not hard,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33they send you to jail for life, but you're out in no time.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35So it's that line of argument. It's a fact of life.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42# I never thought I'd see the day... #
0:27:42 > 0:27:47Most contemporary songwriters, from Lennon and McCartney through,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51don't read music. That's not how we write.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Our generation of songwriters wrote through their love of the music,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58and it's that ignorance,
0:27:58 > 0:28:03that naivety about not knowing which has helped me as a songwriter.
0:28:36 > 0:28:41This song about Private Eye, it's nonsense.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44"A lady asked me nicely if I'd find just what it is that is on her mind.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48"I said, 'Certainly, that's my job - you see, I'm private eye.'"
0:28:48 > 0:28:51End of story!
0:28:51 > 0:28:53It's the contrast to murder.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57You know, when you get depressed about writing a song about murder,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00you just move into a light-hearted mood. So it's a bit of fun.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04# So I investigated right away
0:29:05 > 0:29:09# Started from her head and through the day
0:29:09 > 0:29:15# Worked down to her feet, no time to stop and eat
0:29:15 > 0:29:19# I'm private eye, at your service until I die
0:29:19 > 0:29:24# My nose angles... #
0:29:24 > 0:29:27# La, la, la, la, la, la
0:29:27 > 0:29:29# La, la, la, la, la, la
0:29:29 > 0:29:31# La, la, la, la, la
0:29:31 > 0:29:32# La, la, la, la, la. #
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Done. A good day at the office.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Yeah, a lot of hard work,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46and, you know, it's work in progress, there's no sitting back.
0:29:53 > 0:29:54# When, a little while from now
0:29:54 > 0:29:57# If I'm not feeling any less sour
0:29:57 > 0:30:00# I promised myself to treat myself
0:30:00 > 0:30:03# And visit a nearby tower
0:30:03 > 0:30:06# And, climbing to the top
0:30:06 > 0:30:09# Will throw myself off
0:30:09 > 0:30:11# In an effort to make clear to whoever
0:30:11 > 0:30:15# What it's like when you're shattered
0:30:15 > 0:30:17# Left standing in the lurch
0:30:17 > 0:30:20# At a church where people are saying
0:30:20 > 0:30:23# "My God, that's tough, she stood him up
0:30:23 > 0:30:26# "No point in us remaining
0:30:26 > 0:30:29# "We may as well go home"
0:30:29 > 0:30:31# As I did on my own
0:30:31 > 0:30:35# Alone again, naturally. #
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I mean you can't write something like that, you know -
0:30:40 > 0:30:42I mean, it's so personal, the song -
0:30:42 > 0:30:46I don't think you can have written it without having lived it.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48It had to come from your own life, I would think. No?
0:30:48 > 0:30:53Well, that's what most people who hear it say. They say to sing about something like that,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56you obviously must have experienced it. But that's not true,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58and, really, the way I answer that question is by saying
0:30:58 > 0:31:01it's not necessarily to experience a situation
0:31:01 > 0:31:03to write about it. What's important,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05to me anyway, is to understand the situation.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09These are the original Alone Again lyrics.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12In those days, I didn't write that many extra verses.
0:31:12 > 0:31:13I do that a lot more now.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16"To think that only yesterday, but to think that this afternoon,
0:31:16 > 0:31:20"a week tomorrow afternoon, we'd have been on our honeymoon."
0:31:20 > 0:31:23You know, so those are the... "Lying in the sun, having lots of fun,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26"As any newly-married couple would do,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30"but reality is such, I suppose, that to keep us on our toes..."
0:31:30 > 0:31:34So those are all the Alone Again early stages. Interesting.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40I have a good memory for all my songs.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44I often think that if a fire came in here and razed everything,
0:31:44 > 0:31:45I'd remember a lot.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Of course, I'd be absolutely gutted to lose all this stuff.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51# What's in a kiss?
0:31:51 > 0:31:55# Have you ever wondered just what it is?
0:31:55 > 0:31:57# More perhaps than just a moment... #
0:31:57 > 0:32:00All these songs are my very first songs.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02A lot of them I haven't used. Some of them I haven't used.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Mary And Me is a really good song.
0:32:09 > 0:32:14# Mary and me, a couple deep in love, I know it's true
0:32:14 > 0:32:18# I always wanted to
0:32:18 > 0:32:21# Please go away and leave us be, the way it used to do. #
0:32:23 > 0:32:28People say, "Who inspires you lyrically?" Very few people.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31But Dylan was a big inspiration in one sense,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35because he wrote about other things than moon in June.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38But Spike Milligan was a huge influence,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42nonsensical lyrics and stuff, and I like that aspect of lyric writing.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Life In The Old Dog Yet, good album title.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Growing Old Disgracefully, I have a song called that.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51So these things kind of remind me of these things.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54We've done that one.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00That was on... Look at that.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03That's Gordon Mills' handwriting for Nothing Rhymed.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06So he wrote that, it was the first time it was written out.
0:33:06 > 0:33:11I'd had the idea for the lyric having seen the... I think it was Biafra,
0:33:11 > 0:33:15but it was certainly the significance of starving children on the screen,
0:33:15 > 0:33:19which nobody had seen. That was the first time footage like that had been
0:33:19 > 0:33:23on a major TV channel. That really brought it home to so many people.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26So you couldn't not be affected by it.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30# When I'm drinking my Bonaparte Shandy
0:33:30 > 0:33:33# Eating more than enough apple pies
0:33:35 > 0:33:40# Will I glance at my screen and see real human beings starve to death
0:33:40 > 0:33:42# Right in front of my eyes? #
0:33:44 > 0:33:46It's no big deal.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49These are just the songs you have at the time.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Nothing stands out being the relevance of writing that,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54it's just what comes out at the time.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03# I may be old-fashioned
0:34:03 > 0:34:06# So what if I am? #
0:34:06 > 0:34:09I was a prolific songwriter.
0:34:09 > 0:34:10A nine-to-five songwriter. You know,
0:34:10 > 0:34:14you're touching on all kinds of areas that interest you, intrigue you,
0:34:14 > 0:34:15that catch your attention.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17I am chauvinistic in the sense that
0:34:17 > 0:34:21I believe I don't think marriage works without children.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23# But I believe
0:34:23 > 0:34:27# A woman's place is in the home... #
0:34:28 > 0:34:31What's the role of the woman within marriage?
0:34:31 > 0:34:33A housewife, of course.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36It's not the healthiest thing to be writing about
0:34:36 > 0:34:38if you're looking for exposure,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41but on the other hand, as a lyricist, it's great.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46I'll defend it because I do take the... It's not straight ahead,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49it looks at both sides.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52I think it covers the issue pretty well,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56but if you just pick up aspects of it, just the title throws you.
0:34:56 > 0:34:57That came later, which is
0:34:57 > 0:34:59I Don't Trust Men With Earrings In Their Ears.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05You know, what's it...? "I don't like women that look like they're men,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08"I trust only those who are true to themselves,
0:35:08 > 0:35:10"and God knows there aren't too many of them."
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Relentless rhythm has always been Gilbert's trademark.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17At home, bashing away karate-style,
0:35:17 > 0:35:21he builds a lot of songs and destroys a lot of pianos.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26That's why I break notes.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30It's what's known as a karate chop.
0:35:30 > 0:35:31Your left hand is your drum.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33I've always played like that.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Very, very tough left hand and stuff,
0:35:37 > 0:35:42so it, I think, would make most piano teachers scream with horror.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46If you wanted to kind of categorise
0:35:46 > 0:35:49an O'Sullivan approach to song writing,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52what's nice about his work is that when you do middle...
0:35:52 > 0:35:53I love middle sections,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56because I like going off the beaten track lyrically
0:35:56 > 0:36:00to go into another story and getting back to the original story,
0:36:00 > 0:36:01but I also do it musically,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04because what's nice is... And Lonely is a good example.
0:36:10 > 0:36:11MUSIC CHANGES
0:36:11 > 0:36:15You see? Suddenly you're into a "How do you do that?"
0:36:15 > 0:36:18And it's because when I was writing it, I came up with that
0:36:18 > 0:36:20and I also came up with another one,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23a different one, and I just chose that one.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24So that searching for...
0:36:24 > 0:36:27After having the original inspiration on melody on the verse,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30you look for the middle section. I like middle sections.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34You say you still sit down every morning and...
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Hey, it's a nine-to-five.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37This is a daily thing still?
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Yeah, I'll sit there. I love it. It's hard work. I mean, you know,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43you can get up and it's a sunny day and you think, "Who needs this?"
0:36:43 > 0:36:47I don't have to do it, but I love it, because it's exciting to think
0:36:47 > 0:36:50what this lyric, what this melody I've come up with...
0:36:50 > 0:36:54What could I write about, what's the lyric, what's coming out of my head?
0:36:54 > 0:36:57I feel that there is so much still to write about.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59I love lyric writing,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03- and I like the difficult thing of coming up with good melodies.- Mmm.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06Because the danger is, as you get older as a writer,
0:37:06 > 0:37:08that you lose interest in honing in on
0:37:08 > 0:37:11getting the influence to write a good melody.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Because very often, good melodies you write are based on an influence
0:37:14 > 0:37:15of hearing other melodies.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19You buy CDs not because you want to amass a collection of them,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22you buy them because you're interested in what's going on,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and you listen to them and put them away.
0:37:24 > 0:37:29That's a pretty broad church of music.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33I like Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37I'll buy Take That to see what they're up to.
0:37:37 > 0:37:38That's the one I last bought,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41which, of course, is Shirley Temple's greatest hits.
0:37:41 > 0:37:42It's a knockout LP.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44The Killers.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Fleet Foxes, interesting vocals.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52RAP MUSIC PLAYS
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Biz Markie, he's a famous rapper.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Biz Markie was the main man to begin with in the '80s.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08They requested the use to sample the intro to Alone Again.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Such is life.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17- And the reason you didn't let him use it?- Because he's comedy.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20I don't want that song associated with anything humorous.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23The song is too important to be used for anything humorous.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24So we protect that.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27The great thing about ownership is that we can protect that.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29We said no.
0:38:31 > 0:38:38But being who they were, they just went ahead and released it.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41So, you know, so what do you do?
0:38:42 > 0:38:46So I got hold of American lawyers
0:38:46 > 0:38:48and went through the whole process
0:38:48 > 0:38:50that I had to go through years before earlier.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53I had to go to New York, to go to court in New York.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55In fact, all we said to begin with was,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57"Just don't put it out, just withdraw it."
0:38:57 > 0:38:59We weren't looking for money, just pull it back.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00So we just said,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03"If you don't withdraw this track within the next...
0:39:03 > 0:39:07"I'll have every single Warner Bros record that's scheduled..."
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Well, the S hit the fan there and then,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11and that evening it was all settled.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15We got a massive settlement, and a precedent was set there.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19First, that was the first sampling case ever to go to court.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23There had been sampling cases before, had been settled out of court,
0:39:23 > 0:39:24but none of them had ever...
0:39:24 > 0:39:28No sampling cases had ever gone to court with a ruling.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33But who needs that? I wasn't looking for that, for God's sakes.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42# In a little while from now... #
0:39:42 > 0:39:45In my history, I have various songs
0:39:45 > 0:39:48that mean more to some countries than they do to others,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52but in this particular instance, American took Alone Again (Naturally) to their heart,
0:39:52 > 0:39:57and it's never lost the impact it has for them. So that's great for me.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Because, as I say, it helps us, opens up doors.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Nashville is like Los Angeles was in the '70s,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08where all these top US session guys played,
0:40:08 > 0:40:13and now they all moved to Nashville. The standard of musicianship is high.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16The idea of coming here to record appealed to me,
0:40:16 > 0:40:21and also to have a base for future live work.
0:40:21 > 0:40:26# Alone again, naturally. #
0:40:26 > 0:40:30It's taken me seven years, or almost eight years, since I bought the house
0:40:30 > 0:40:32to actually get down here to record,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36but better late than never, so I'm really looking forward to it.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44But Nashville, again one song has led the way.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46It's a song written about 9/11,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50so therefore it would be nice to record that with American musicians.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Well, I have to have a piano which is detuned below concert pitch,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58which is unusual. It's unthinkable that
0:40:58 > 0:41:01anybody would play a piano and want it detuned,
0:41:01 > 0:41:03but I am that weird exception to the rule.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08I have a limited vocal range, so the difference between a semitone and...
0:41:08 > 0:41:10I mean, it affects my voice, and to cut a long story short,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13when I started writing songs I used to buy really cheap pianos
0:41:13 > 0:41:15which were never tuned, obviously,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17because I could never afford to buy a tuner,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20so they were always under pitch. So I'd then go to a studio
0:41:20 > 0:41:23to make a record for the first time and I think, "What's going on?
0:41:23 > 0:41:26"I'm playing in the same key, but it sounds higher."
0:41:26 > 0:41:29You learn with experience that it's because everything is concert pitch.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31But I'm so used to the semitone,
0:41:31 > 0:41:34so I actually have a grand piano made by Bluthner in East Germany,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36who made it for me, which is probably unique,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38the only one in the world that has a lever,
0:41:38 > 0:41:40so you turn the lever and it goes down a semitone.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44- Oh, wow. So you play in C and you're singing in B?- Yeah, yeah.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46We need to get copies of these.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Well, they'll probably do the wrong charts, I'd say.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51Yeah? How do you want to work that?
0:41:51 > 0:41:55Well, they'll probably say run the song once or twice, just run...
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- Yeah?- Run the actual... Raise the tone.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00- They can sit round me and they can listen to it?- Exactly.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Hey, play that sequence with the left hand, please.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08Just the chords, without the rhythm, real slowly.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11A flat minor or B, uh-huh.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16Yeah, that's a diminished chord. OK, so that's a B diminished.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20# La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
0:42:20 > 0:42:22# La, la, la, la, la, la, la... #
0:42:22 > 0:42:24There's that slight variation.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25# La, la, la, la, la, la, la... #
0:42:32 > 0:42:35I can't get to that, because of my right-hand chord.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Shall we put one down?
0:42:52 > 0:42:53Yeah.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56The vocal set-up is really good here. It's priceless to have that.
0:42:56 > 0:42:57So we, another day...
0:42:57 > 0:43:01I mean, because you know that problem that we're going to have at home.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04'If I make a record, the vocal set-up has to be right.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09'I've gone to studios where I've worked with a new engineer
0:43:09 > 0:43:13'and the vocal set up is wrong, and I've had to terminate the session,
0:43:13 > 0:43:19'bring in another co-producer and write down what it is that works.
0:43:19 > 0:43:20'So all that you want to hear is
0:43:20 > 0:43:23'your voice sounding the way, naturally, it should be.'
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Let me just have a listen.
0:43:25 > 0:43:26Might as well hit it.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34MUSIC STARTS
0:43:42 > 0:43:44# I don't know what makes a man
0:43:46 > 0:43:52# Or a woman even think that terror isn't evil
0:43:52 > 0:43:56# How could anyone have plans
0:43:56 > 0:44:01# That would guarantee the death of thousands of people?
0:44:01 > 0:44:06# And yet as I look back now on what happened
0:44:06 > 0:44:10# Like the calls from those in planes they were trapped in
0:44:10 > 0:44:16# Whatever they felt that day
0:44:16 > 0:44:18# "I love you"
0:44:18 > 0:44:22# That was all they wanted to say. #
0:44:28 > 0:44:30- That was nice. - Well done. That's good.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33- It sounded really good. - It's a good day.
0:44:33 > 0:44:34It's a nice song, that.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37- So we'll call it a day? - It's a beautiful song.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41- Yeah, man.- You've got some really great compositional ideas coming.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43Yeah.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56'You see, I don't want to be in a hotel,
0:44:56 > 0:45:00'I don't want to be in a hired apartment. I hate all that.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03'You get back from a studio
0:45:03 > 0:45:05'and you're not in your own kind of environment.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08'You can't really relax properly,
0:45:08 > 0:45:13'and the beauty of having this place is that this is home.'
0:45:13 > 0:45:14Ah.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29'Always when I come back from a trip abroad, Aase will tell you this,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31'it's so annoying, the first thing I do
0:45:31 > 0:45:33'when I walk in the house is straighten the rugs.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36'I'm very obsessive compulsive.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38'I don't suffer from it, I just have that.'
0:45:38 > 0:45:43I'm very set in my ways. I hate it when things are not...
0:45:43 > 0:45:45it drives my wife crazy.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49It's a bit like if I see a waste bin, I have to empty it.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52I don't like to see a waste bin with anything in it.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54Work that one out. That's very Freudian!
0:45:59 > 0:46:01'Taps always have to be clean.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03'I go to the girls' flat in London,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05'the first thing I do is check the taps.'
0:46:07 > 0:46:14So it's just a quirk, just a freaky little thing I do.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29# Nothing you can say or do
0:46:29 > 0:46:32# Alters the fact
0:46:32 > 0:46:36# Even with experience, which I don't lack
0:46:37 > 0:46:45# I'm like a little lamb that can't find my way home
0:46:51 > 0:46:54# Write about it, talked about it,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57# Even asked
0:46:57 > 0:47:00# Wanted it to happen
0:47:00 > 0:47:02# And now it has
0:47:03 > 0:47:06# I'm like a little lamb
0:47:06 > 0:47:14# That can't find my way home
0:47:20 > 0:47:24So it's strange really, in a way my mindset is on the new album.
0:47:24 > 0:47:29- But this is certainly interesting to be here, right? - You know you're here.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34Mentally I was going in with a T-shirt that said "Everybody's going to the Albert Hall except me."
0:47:36 > 0:47:39- I found that four clover up in the fields.- Yes.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Where the cows are.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44So that should bring lots of luck.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55I'm looking forward to this.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58You know, we did Glastonbury, we were on the same bill as Leonard Cohen
0:47:58 > 0:48:01and Neil Diamond and all those kind of people.
0:48:01 > 0:48:02No problem.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06It's good. I mean, for me it's... I have to...
0:48:06 > 0:48:11Unlike a Cohen and a Diamond, I have to rebuild that
0:48:11 > 0:48:14kind of respect. I have to get...
0:48:14 > 0:48:19I have to work harder to get people to like my work than they do.
0:48:19 > 0:48:25And that, in a way, is also part of what I attempt to do.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27APPLAUSE
0:48:40 > 0:48:42One, two, three, four.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54# I don't wish to hurry you, love But have you seen the time? #
0:48:54 > 0:48:58# It's a quarter to ten, and we're supposed to be there at nine... #
0:48:58 > 0:49:02I'm always 21 when I write, but there will be a point even if I continue...
0:49:02 > 0:49:07Irving Berlin was writing when he was 100, so I could continue to write for a long time, but there will
0:49:07 > 0:49:13be a point where you stop. Leonard Cohen had his biggest ever tour success last year and he's 73.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Yeah, so there's life in the old dog yet.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18# Once upon a time I drank a little wine
0:49:18 > 0:49:20# Was as happy as could be
0:49:20 > 0:49:22# Happy as could be
0:49:22 > 0:49:26# I'm just like a cat on a hot tin roof
0:49:26 > 0:49:29# Baby, what do you think you're doing to me? #
0:49:29 > 0:49:36It's an unpredictable business and our business is full of nobody knows and that's comforting.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39So there's always the possibility I can turn that corner
0:49:39 > 0:49:42so this time next year I could be talking to you on who knows?
0:49:42 > 0:49:441, 2, 3, 4.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49WHISTLING INTRO TO "CLAIR"
0:49:49 > 0:49:51You can sing along if you want.
0:49:52 > 0:49:58# Clair, the moment I met you I swear
0:49:58 > 0:50:02# I felt as if something somewhere
0:50:02 > 0:50:06# Had happened to me Which I couldn't see
0:50:06 > 0:50:13# And then the moment I met you again... #
0:50:13 > 0:50:15< This is Clair.
0:50:17 > 0:50:24These girls! So how you been? We were going to maybe bring you on,
0:50:24 > 0:50:29but you must come to other shows. Next year we're going to tour a lot. I'm really pleased you are here.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32I tell you what, that film.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37Is my make-up still all over my face? Because all of us were weeping.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39< Sobbing. Sobbing!
0:50:39 > 0:50:45It was amazing, I loved it. Yes, it was fantastic.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48- Bloody good show.- You enjoyed it?
0:50:48 > 0:50:51- Yes.- Cool. I'll see you all after.
0:50:51 > 0:50:56The ultimate success for me is to be number one
0:50:56 > 0:50:57and nobody to know it was me.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59- This is to...- Christine.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02And Daniel, my husband. We love your music.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04So is that K? With a K?
0:51:05 > 0:51:10What's your documentary experience been like, to make that step?
0:51:10 > 0:51:16Well, it was horrendous to actually agree to it, because I didn't really want to do it.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18The intrusion just seemed awful to me.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22It goes against the grain of what it is that I kind of stand up for.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25On the other hand once I gave the go-ahead, as I told you,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28I can't be a hypocrite and start complaining about it.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31So I just kind of accept it.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33If I don't like what you're doing...
0:51:35 > 0:51:38..you'll have a hard job getting your show and...
0:51:38 > 0:51:41you'll see the fiery side of me if it ain't good.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55# I've no wish to hurry you, love But have you seen the time?
0:51:55 > 0:51:59# It's quarter to ten and we're supposed to be there at nine
0:51:59 > 0:52:04# I don't think the registrar Will be very pleased
0:52:04 > 0:52:08# When we show up an hour late Like two frozen peas
0:52:11 > 0:52:15# Both now facing for the first time Presently and past
0:52:15 > 0:52:19# Something that begins with M And ends in alas
0:52:19 > 0:52:24# More than not complete disaster Even from the start
0:52:24 > 0:52:26# What could it be?
0:52:27 > 0:52:29# It's matrimony. #