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EspañolGILBERT O'SULLIVAN
'Raymond Edward O'Sullivan', known professionally as 'Gilbert O'Sullivan' (born 1 December 1946, Waterford, County Waterford, Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter, best known for his early 1970s hits "Alone Again (Naturally)", "Clair" and "Get Down".
Early in his life, his family moved to Swindon, Wiltshire, England, where he attended St. Joseph's Secondary School. Here he began to develop an interest in music and art. At Swindon Art College in 1963, he met Rick Davies who would later become a member of the progressive rock band Supertramp.
O'Sullivan signed a five-year contract with CBS Records in 1967. However, after two unsuccessful singles with CBS, and one with the Irish label ''Major Minor'', he sent some demo tapes to Gordon Mills, the manager of Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck, whereupon he signed with Mills' label, MAM Records. It was Mills who redesignated him Gilbert O'Sullivan, a pun on the names of the Savoy Opera writing team of Gilbert and Sullivan, but the eye-catching visual image comprising pudding basin haircut, cloth cap and short trousers, was O'Sullivan's own idea, reportedly hated by Mills but O'Sullivan insisted on going with it, at least for a couple of years, after which a more modern look took over, in which he often wore a sweater bearing a large letter 'G'. At the end of 1970, O'Sullivan achieved his first UK Top 10 hit with "Nothing Rhymed", which reached No. 8 (No. 1 in The Netherlands), and enjoyed nearly five years of major success. This run incorporated thirteen more hit singles, six of which reached the UK Top 10, plus four Top 10 albums, including ''Himself'' (1971), ''Back To Front'' (1972), ''I'm A Writer Not A Fighter'' (1973) and ''A Stranger In My Own Back Yard'' (1974). In 1972, his international star raised after his self-penned ballad, "Alone Again (Naturally)," a No. 3 hit in Britain, became a chart-topper in the U.S., spending six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and selling nearly two million copies there.
He also landed two consecutive UK chart toppers, with the songs "Clair" (1972) and "Get Down" (1973), which reached No.2 and No. 7 respectively in America. However, things later turned sour, as O'Sullivan discovered his recording contract with MAM Records greatly favoured the label's owner. A litigation followed, with prolonged argument over how much money his songs had earned and how much of that money he had actually received. Eventually the court found in O'Sullivan's favour, awarding him seven million pounds sterling in damages. He had won, but the court battle had put his recording career on hold.
Sometime before the case had come to court, he had returned to his old record label, CBS, after a five year chart absence in 1980, with a new contract. The first single of the new contract - "What's In A Kiss" - reached No. 19 in the UK.[1] But then the hits completely dried up, and due in part to the court case, O'Sullivan released no new material between 1982 and 1987. Apart from a minor hit single in 1990 and a compilation album in 1991, O'Sullivan was absent from the charts, until another compilation album returned him to the Top 20 in 2004.
However, O'Sullivan continues to record and perform to the present day, and enjoys some success in Japan. His latest album (''A Scruff At Heart'') was released in 2007.
★ See - "Alone Again (Naturally)" article.
★ Two of O'Sullivan's more famous songs, "Get Down" and "Alone Again (Naturally)", were used in the closing and opening credits (respectively) of the Japanese Anime, ''Maison Ikkoku''. Because the songs were used without authorisation it caused a minor uproar and only episode 24 featured them, after which the previous songs replaced them. Because of copyright reasons they have not been included with any home video releases outside of Japan.
★ "Nothing Rhymed" was used at the start of the second series finale of ''Consolevania'', played over an archive new reel montage of an alternate history of the 20th century.
★ Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
★ Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
★ The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
★ The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
★ Official Gilbert O'Sullivan Page
★ Gilbert O'Sullivan on magazine covers
★ Biography at AMG website
| Contents |
| Biography |
| Discography |
| Contemporary usage of his songs |
| References |
| External links |
Biography
Early in his life, his family moved to Swindon, Wiltshire, England, where he attended St. Joseph's Secondary School. Here he began to develop an interest in music and art. At Swindon Art College in 1963, he met Rick Davies who would later become a member of the progressive rock band Supertramp.
O'Sullivan signed a five-year contract with CBS Records in 1967. However, after two unsuccessful singles with CBS, and one with the Irish label ''Major Minor'', he sent some demo tapes to Gordon Mills, the manager of Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck, whereupon he signed with Mills' label, MAM Records. It was Mills who redesignated him Gilbert O'Sullivan, a pun on the names of the Savoy Opera writing team of Gilbert and Sullivan, but the eye-catching visual image comprising pudding basin haircut, cloth cap and short trousers, was O'Sullivan's own idea, reportedly hated by Mills but O'Sullivan insisted on going with it, at least for a couple of years, after which a more modern look took over, in which he often wore a sweater bearing a large letter 'G'. At the end of 1970, O'Sullivan achieved his first UK Top 10 hit with "Nothing Rhymed", which reached No. 8 (No. 1 in The Netherlands), and enjoyed nearly five years of major success. This run incorporated thirteen more hit singles, six of which reached the UK Top 10, plus four Top 10 albums, including ''Himself'' (1971), ''Back To Front'' (1972), ''I'm A Writer Not A Fighter'' (1973) and ''A Stranger In My Own Back Yard'' (1974). In 1972, his international star raised after his self-penned ballad, "Alone Again (Naturally)," a No. 3 hit in Britain, became a chart-topper in the U.S., spending six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and selling nearly two million copies there.
He also landed two consecutive UK chart toppers, with the songs "Clair" (1972) and "Get Down" (1973), which reached No.2 and No. 7 respectively in America. However, things later turned sour, as O'Sullivan discovered his recording contract with MAM Records greatly favoured the label's owner. A litigation followed, with prolonged argument over how much money his songs had earned and how much of that money he had actually received. Eventually the court found in O'Sullivan's favour, awarding him seven million pounds sterling in damages. He had won, but the court battle had put his recording career on hold.
Sometime before the case had come to court, he had returned to his old record label, CBS, after a five year chart absence in 1980, with a new contract. The first single of the new contract - "What's In A Kiss" - reached No. 19 in the UK.[1] But then the hits completely dried up, and due in part to the court case, O'Sullivan released no new material between 1982 and 1987. Apart from a minor hit single in 1990 and a compilation album in 1991, O'Sullivan was absent from the charts, until another compilation album returned him to the Top 20 in 2004.
However, O'Sullivan continues to record and perform to the present day, and enjoys some success in Japan. His latest album (''A Scruff At Heart'') was released in 2007.
Discography
Contemporary usage of his songs
★ See - "Alone Again (Naturally)" article.
★ Two of O'Sullivan's more famous songs, "Get Down" and "Alone Again (Naturally)", were used in the closing and opening credits (respectively) of the Japanese Anime, ''Maison Ikkoku''. Because the songs were used without authorisation it caused a minor uproar and only episode 24 featured them, after which the previous songs replaced them. Because of copyright reasons they have not been included with any home video releases outside of Japan.
★ "Nothing Rhymed" was used at the start of the second series finale of ''Consolevania'', played over an archive new reel montage of an alternate history of the 20th century.
References
★ Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
★ Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
★ The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
★ The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
External links
★ Official Gilbert O'Sullivan Page
★ Gilbert O'Sullivan on magazine covers
★ Biography at AMG website
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