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‘I’ll be there’
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times, Engelbert Humperdinck apologises for not coming to Sri Lanka earlier and promises an unforgettable show on June 11
By Ranjit Vethakan
Engelbert Humperdinck has promised an "unforgettable evening" for his Sri Lankan fans at his Water's Edge concert on June 11. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times last week he also wasted no time in apologising for not having come to Colombo all these years, blaming his non-appearance on the wrong strategies of his minders.

"I blame them for this lapse," said the usually mild-mannered Briton in an uncharacteristically scathing attack on his then managers for preventing him "from visiting a good part of my world-wide audience.”

This is the first interview the legendary superstar has given to a Sri Lankan journalist during his illustrious 40-year career! Of course, having first met him way back in March, 1982, I have had the privilege of speaking to him on several occasions, but this was the first formal interview.

Speaking from his opulent residence in countryside Leicester, in the English East Midlands, the undisputed King of Romance said he discovered the "missing link" in his career only recently, and set out immediately to correct the picture.

"My previous managers, as you know, made me work mostly in the United States, Canada, Britain, Europe, Australia and the Far East. Yes, they are wonderful audiences too, but I now realise what I've missed out on.. . that there were so many other places I should have been to.

"Those guys (managers) never realised the importance of my going to these places. They organised the concert schedules to their own convenience and I simply followed it!

"I have had great world-wide record sales, so I should have made a greater effort to visit my fans in every possible region," he confessed during a lengthy phone chat that went well into the better part of an hour. "I'm truly sorry about this!" said the man who still retains all the humility and charm he is renowned for, notwithstanding his enormous fame and fortune.

Please Release Me
Engelbert has sold almost 150 million albums, which includes 64 gold and 23 platinum. And it all began well before his impassioned public plea, ‘Please Release Me', in April 1967. "It took 14 months for me to make it to No 1 with Release Me after my then manager, Gordon Mills suggested I change my name to Engelbert Humperdinck," he said. That song not only opened the doors to a glittering career, but also an unhindered passage deep into the hearts of his millions of fans.

Engelbert took the time to explain that his Colombo concert will be as good as he's done anywhere else. "Now that I'm finally coming over, I promise to provide an unforgettable evening for my patient, faithful fans there. "I'm a lucky man to have so many fans all over the world. They have been good to me and that includes Sri Lankans," he said, revealing that he has had a lot of correspondence with many locals over the years.

Engelbert said his concert is a fast-moving show and promised lots of "great" songs and “wonderful music” during his two hours on stage. "Oh, no, there won't be much talking; that's a bloody waste of time!"

"You've been there, haven't you?" he asked, adding " . . . you should know!" Enge, as he's known by his fans, turned 69 last Monday (May 2), but hasn't let his advancing years slow him down. Although a touch of the flu prevented him from keeping his date with his Canadian fans for the umpteenth time during the weekend of April 22-24, he's in the pink of health.

Good voice, good health
And judging from reports on his concerts in the US in the past couple of months, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome is sounding as refreshing as ever!"I do feel happy with my voice and, more importantly, with my health," he said, adding that he doesn't spend much time in the gym, as one would expect. "I have a small bike in the back of my house, that's all!"

But Engelbert's fondness for chasing that ball around a golf course is well-documented, and he is certain to try out the new layout at Water's Edge. He comes to Colombo with his 10-piece band and two back-up singers. "My band is comparatively new; we've been together for just under two years, but that's no major drama because my music director, Jeff Sturgess, has been with me for almost three decades.
"He's a great asset. We work together very well," Engelbert added.

The beginnings
Starting out on his career, the ninth in a brood of 10, the then Gerry Dorsey was too proud to seek any help from his middle-class parents. His father, Mervyn Dorsey, was a British army officer, and wasn't all that keen on seeing his son becoming a musician. So the young Dorsey packed his bags and left home, to chase that rainbow, vowing to do it all by himself! He then described the nights he spent in public toilets, because he couldn't afford accommodation!

"I was quite young when I left home, and money was hard to come by. I was too big-headed to ask for help from my parents. Little did my audiences in those early days realise that this clean-dressed young man, entertaining them in the club or pub, had slept in public conveniences the previous night," confessed the man who, until about three years ago, owned and lived in that magnificent Beverley Hills address, known to the rest of the world as the Pink Palace, once owned by Hollywood actress of yesteryear Jayne Mansfield!

“It didn't cost me much money!" he chuckled, recalling his nights in the toilets! “You just drop a coin in and stay the rest of the night.” Engelbert, who spent a considerable period of time living in California, has moved back to England, to Leicester, where he grew up as a child after being born in Madras. "It's so easy to travel anywhere from here.

"I've owned this house since 1978, and I've got 20 stables on this 25-acre property, just outside Leicester," he said.
What on earth are you doing with those 25 stables?
"Oh, yes, I used to breed horses once upon a time.”
"I've now given them away," said Enge, who also owns, among other quality assets, the plush Hotel La Posada de Engelbert, a five-star hotel in La Paz on the Mexican peninsula of Baja California Sur which serves as a secret hideaway for many Hollywood celebrities.

Engelbert will be coming to Colombo as part of his latest swing through Asia, which begins on June 5 in New Delhi and ends a month later in Shanghai, on July 3 - after a two-night stand in the Chinese city.

Besides "Please Release Me", he will be singing most of his hits together with a selection from his latest album Let There Be Love, in which he again specialises in covering some of his favourite contemporary hits, in a style all his own.

The well-loved crooner is still one of the most hard-working entertainers in the world, criss-crossing the planet on his way to the 140 sell-out concerts he performs each year.

And, where did he get his voice from? The saxophonist-turned-singer believes it may be from his mother, Olive. "She was a soprano, involved in the local (Leicester) opera, so that's where it probably came from," he said.

Elvis and me
Touching on his close friendship with the late Elvis Presley, he said it began when the two began hanging out together. How did that happen? "Well, we were both playing the major venues, the MGMs, the Caesar Palaces in Las Vegas back in the 1970s. And we were also, basically, singing the same kind of songs. So we clicked somehow.

"He came to my shows and I went to his shows, and it sort of grew from there! "It didn't take us too long to hit it off, and we visited each other on a regular basis,' said Enge, who has had similar relationships with other celebrities, such as Muhammad Ali, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and a whole lot of others.

Retirement?
Don't try bringing that up! "What am I gonna do after I retire? "Oh, no, I love this job too much to think about giving it away. I'll keep on going as long as my body lets me," he said. "I've never taken my career for granted; have never taken long sabbaticals, like some others in my business do. I'll be out there as long as those out there want me.”

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