THERE is something blissfully nostalgic about the songs of Gilbert O’Sullivan. They take me back to childhood car journeys on long summer days.
Having grown up with his music, it was a treat to see him on stage at St George’s Hall, where a delighted audience sang along and danced in the aisles.
One of the country’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters, counting the likes of Paul Weller and Jarvis Cocker as fans, Gilbert is celebrating 60 years of music on tour.
Taking to the St George’s Hall stage with acclaimed guitarist Bill Shanley, Ray Davies’ longtime lead guitarist and musical director - “but I nabbed him,” grinned Gilbert - he delivered a flawless two-hour set, from much-loved classics such as Clair and Nothing Rhymed to tracks from new album, On the Record.
In the early 1970s Gilbert was the biggest-selling UK artist in the world, with six No. 1 hits and three Ivor Novello Awards. His first two albums stayed in the charts for more than a year. The multi-million selling Alone Again (Naturally) topped the US chars for six weeks, gaining three Grammy nominations.
Between songs, he reflected on his career with amusing stories. He made his first record with CBS in 1967 - “until then I’d been making music in the garden shed,” he smiled.
More recently, listening to two women leaving the venue after his concert, he was tickled to hear one of them say: “I think he must be a tribute act. He still looks so young!”
Now 80, he still has that lovely purr of a voice, breathing life into timeless songs blending warmth, wit and melancholy, with those sublime melodies. Sitting at the keyboard, with Bill at his side, he delivered an intimate, nostalgic and fun concert, earning a standing ovation following a rousing encore of Matrimony and Get Down.
Along the way were familiar favourites such as the heartbreakingly beautiful Alone Again (Naturally), What’s in a Kiss, the jaunty Where Would We Be (Without Tea) and Ooh Wakka Doo Wakka Day - with a cheer for the line ‘Now, up in Bradford a chap named Radford...’
New tracks included Growing Old Disgracefully and Is That Me? a duet with Andrea Corr on the album.
Born in Ireland, Gilbert is, he said, an Irishman who writes very English songs. He told us that when Andy Williams wanted to cover his song We Will he called him to ask what the line ‘I bagsy being in goal’ meant. In the end, Gilbert allowed him to take the line out, sensing that it would baffle the American market.
He remains a prolific songwriter and it was great to see him perform new material, blending seamlessly with the old crowd-pleasers.
One thing we noticed, as people got up to dance, was that there were no phones - no-one filming or taking endless photos. Everyone was just being in the moment, enjoying those beautiful songs.