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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Gilbert O'Sullivan| image = Gilbert O Sullivan.jpg| caption = Gilbert O'Sullivan in concert in Tel Aviv on 23 May 2009| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Raymond Edward O'Sullivan| birth_date = birth date and age|1946|12|1|df=yes|birth_place = Waterford , Republic of Ireland|Ireland | death_date =| origin = Swindon , England | instrument = Vocals, piano, keyboards| genre = Pop music|Pop , soft rock | occupation = Singer-songwriter, pianist| years_active = 1967–present| label = Bygum Records MAM Records | website = http://www.gilbertosullivan.net/ Official website'''Gilbert O'Sullivan''' (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish people|Irish - English people|English singer-songwriter , best known for his early 1970s hit record|hits " Alone Again (Naturally) ", " Clair (song)|Clair " and " Get Down (Gilbert O'Sullivan song)|Get Down ".cite web|url= http://www.gilbertosullivan.net/in_print/hotpress.htm |title=Gilbert O'Sullivan Articles |publisher=Gilbertosullivan.net |date=31 October 2007 |accessdate=13 January 2012 The music magazine Record Mirror voted him the No. 1 United Kingdom|UK male singer of 1972.cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 411
Worldwide he has charted 16 top 40 discs; including six number one songs, the first of which was 1970's "Nothing Rhymed" (for further information see Gilbert O'Sullivan discography ). His most successful recording period was between 1970 and 1980, though he has since recorded nine studio albums up to 2011's "Gilbertville". Speaking in 2009 he said; "I write pop songs. End of story. That's all I wanted to do. That's all I want to do. And that's all I continue to want to do. I have no interest in just touring, and living in the past." http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b013rl86 ''Gilbert O'Sullivan, Out on His Own BBC Four
Early life
O'Sullivan was born '''Raymond Edward O'Sullivan''' in Waterford , Republic of Ireland|Ireland .cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p110770/biography|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Jason Ankeny |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=5 March 2009 In 1960, aged 13, his family moved to Swindon , Wiltshire , England . He attended St Joseph's and the Swindon College of Art, where he briefly played drums in a band called Rick's Blues, founded by Rick Davies (who later founded Supertramp ) and where he developed his lifelong interests in music and art.cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 318 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 According to a 1972 interview with O'Sullivan, Davies taught him how to play both drums and piano.Cite book|last=Melhuish|first=Martin|title=The Supertramp Book|place=Toronto, Canada|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=1986|isbn=0-9691272-2-7|page=18|ref=harv|postscript= Other semi-professional musical ensemble|bands he played with while at college include The Doodles and The Prefects.
Music career
In 1967, O'Sullivan was signed to a five-year contract with April Music , Columbia Records|CBS Records' house publishing company, by the general manager Barbara Hayes. He was paid an advance of £12 with which he bought a piano. He was signed to CBS Records by the A& R manager Mike Smith ( The Tremeloes and the Love Affair ) and renamed 'Gilbert O'Sullivan', a pun|play on words of Gilbert and Sullivan .
After two unsuccessful singles with CBS, "What Can I Do? " and "Mr. Moody's Garden", and one with the Irish record label , Major Minor Records|Major Minor , O'Sullivan sent some demo (music)|demo compact cassette|tapes to Gordon Mills , the manager of Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones and EngelbertHumperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck , whereupon O'Sullivan was signed to Mills' label, MAM Records . O'Sullivan's self-created eye-catching visual image comprised a pudding basin haircut, cloth cap and short trousers. Mills reportedly hated the image, but O'Sullivan insisted on using it initially,Citation needed|date=July 2011 until he assumed a more modern 'college-like' look in which he often wore a sweater bearing a large letter 'G'.
Early success
At the end of 1970, O'Sullivan achieved his first United Kingdom|UK Top 40|Top 10 hit with "Nothing Rhymed", which also reached chart-topper|No. 1 in the Netherlands . Subsequent hits including "Underneath The Blanket Go" which also reached chart-topper|No. 1 in the Netherlands , "We Will" and "No Matter How I Try" followed, and in 1971 O'Sullivan issued his debut album , Himself .
In 1972, O'Sullivan reached international celebrity|stardom with the self-penned ballad , " Alone Again (Naturally) ", which reached No. 3 in UK; No. 1 in the United States|U.S. , spending six weeks at Chart-topper|No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart|chart and selling nearly two million copies; No. 2 in New Zealand (11 weeks on the charts in total); No. 1 in Canada for 2 weeks (13 weeks in the Top 40); http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/Charts/1972 Webfitz.com and No. 1 in Japan (21 weeks on the chart). The song earned O'Sullivan his first music recording sales certification|gold disc .. The guitar solo was played by Big Jim Sullivan .
O'Sullivan followed this success with the songs " Clair (song)|Clair " (1972, from the album '' Back To Front (Gilbert O'Sullivan album)|Back To Front ), which reached No. 2 in the United States on the Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada (14 weeks in the Canadian Top 40); "Out of the Question" (also from Back To Front ), which reached No. 14 in Canada; and "Get Down" (1973, from the album I'm A Writer Not A Fighter''), which reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in both the U.S. and Canada. Following "Alone Again (Naturally)" and "Clair", "Get Down" was his third million-seller, with the Recording Industry Association of America|R.I.A.A gold disc award presented on 18 September 1973. His gramophone record|disc sales exceeded ten million in 1972, and made him the top star of the year. The success led to him taking part in the BBC 's anniversary programme Fifty Years Of Music in November 1972.
In 1973, O'Sullivan was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Alone Again (Naturally)" in the Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year and Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year categories.
MAM Records
O'Sullivan enjoyed nearly five years of success with MAM, a run that included seven UK Top 10 singles and four UK Top 10 albums; three U.S. Top 10 singles and one top 10 album; five Dutch Top 10 singles and three Top 10 albums; five New Zealand Top 10 singles; three Canadian Top 10 singles; and seven Japan Top 10 singles. http://www.gilbertosullivan.com Gilbertosullivan.com
O'Sullivan's singles like "Ooh Baby" and "Happiness Is Me and You" continued to reach the charts, but sold increasingly fewer copies. After 1973, his overseas popularity essentially ceased altogether. At home, he notched his final Top 20 hit in over five years, with June 1975's "I Don't Love You But I Think I Like You".
Things turned more sour when he discovered his recording contract with MAM Records greatly favoured the label's owner, Gordon Mills. A lawsuit followed, with prolonged argument over how much money his songs had earned and how much of that money he had actually received.cite book | first= Jo | last= Rice | year= 1982 | title= The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits | edition= 1st | publisher= Guinness Superlatives Ltd | location= Enfield, Middlesex | page= 149 | isbn= 0-85112-250-7 Eventually, in May 1982, the court found in O'Sullivan's favour, describing him as a "patently honest and decent man", who had not received a just proportion of the vast income his songs had generated. They awarded him £7 million in damages (worth £20 million at 2011 prices). He had won, but the court battle had put his sound recording and reproduction|recording career on hold.
Later career
The first single, "What's In A Kiss? ", reached No. 19 in the UK in 1980 and No. 21 in Japan . It was his first UK Top 20 hit in five years. Following this release, and due in part to the then-ongoing MAM court case, O'Sullivan released no new material between 1983 and 1986. Apart from the single "So What ? " in 1990 and a compilation album in 1991 Nothing But The Best , O'Sullivan was absent from the charts until another compilation album, ''The Berry Vest of Gilbert O'Sullivan , returned him to the UK Top 20 in 2004.
O'Sullivan is also noted for his role in bringing about the practice of clearing samples in hip hop music as a result of the 1991 court case, Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc. , Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc. , Case citation|780 F. Supp. 182 ( S.D.N.Y. 1991) in which he sued rapping|rapper Biz Markie over the rights to use a sampling (music)|sample of his song "Alone Again (Naturally)".
O'Sullivan has continued to record and perform into the 21st century. He enjoys particular acclaim in Japan . His album A Scruff At Heart was released in 2007, featuring "Just So You Know". On 14 July 2008, O'Sullivan released "Never Say Di". He appeared at the Glastonbury Festival 2008|2008 Glastonbury Festival , and played London's Royal Albert Hall on 26 October 2009. On 26 August 2010 O'Sullivan announced that he had joined Hypertension, a record company that also holds Leo Sayer , Chris DeBurgh , Fleetwood Mac and Gerry Rafferty .
His latest album Gilbertville was released on 31 January 2011; it features "All They Wanted To Say", which deals with 9/11, and his most recent single "Where Would We Be (Without Tea)? ". On 19 July 2011 O'Sullivan played live on the BBC Radio 2 Ken Bruce Show. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012hkht Ken Bruvce 19/07/2011 at bbc.co.uk On 26 August the Documentary "Out On His Own" was broadcasted by BBC4 (before by Irish RTE). In March 2012, the compilation "Gilbert O'Sullivan : The Very Best Of - A Singer & His Songs" entered the UK album charts at No.12.
Personal life
In 1980, O'Sullivan married his Norway|Norwegian girlfriend, Aase. Later that year the first of their two daughters was born. That same year, after a five-year hiatus, he returned to his old record label , CBS.
Discography
Main|Gilbert O'Sullivan discography
Contemporary usage of his songs
"Alone Again (Naturally)" was used in the second series of Life on Mars (TV Series)|Life on Mars , while "Get Down" was also used in the American version of the show. "Alone Again (Naturally)" was used in " The Wettest Stories Ever Told " episode of The Simpsons . "Alone Again (Naturally)" was used in the films Summer Time Machine Blues , Stuck on You (film)|Stuck on You , I Could Never Be Your Woman , Stuart Little 2 , Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs , Megamind , and The Virgin Suicides while "Nothing Rhymed" was featured on the soundtrack of and Anita and Me .
"Nothing Rhymed" was used at the start of the second series finale of Consolevania , played over an archive new reel Montage (filmmaking)|montage of an alternate history of the 20th century. The same song was a hit in Italy in 1971, performed by the local group, I Profeti, with the title translated into "Era bella" ("She was Beautiful").
The Japanese television version of the anime series Maison Ikkoku used "Alone Again (Naturally)" and "Get Down" for the opening and ending sequences respectively in episode 24.
A cover of the song "Nothing Rhymed" was performed by Burton Cummings on his 1975 debut solo album.
"Gilbert O'Sullivan" is the title of a song by The Uncle Devil Show on their album, A Terrible Beauty (album)|A Terrible Beauty .
The Dublin based band, Aslan (rock band)|Aslan , covered "Nothing Rhymed" on their 2009 album, Uncased .
A cover of the song "Nothing Rhymed" was performed by Morrissey on his 2002 tour.
Alone Again (Naturally) was used as the opening of the Japanese drama "Home Drama".
See also
List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
List of artists who reached number one in the United States
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart
List of performers on Top of the Pops
List of stage names
List of Irish people
References
Reflist
External links
IMDb name|1067821
http://www.gilbertosullivan.net/ Official Gilbert O'Sullivan page
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p110770|pure_url=yes Biography at Allmusic
Persondata|NAME= O'Sullivan, Gilbert |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= O'Sullivan, Raymond Edward |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Singer-songwriter |DATE OF BIRTH= December 1, 1946 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Waterford , County Waterford , Ireland |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH=DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, Gilbert Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish pianists Category:Irish singer-songwriters Category:Irish songwriters Category:Irish pop singers Category:British soft rock musicians Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English male singers Category:English pianists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters Category:English pop singers Category:People from County Waterford
