It will always be home

FOR a man who became world famous some years before he turned 30, Gilbert O'Sullivan makes a youthful-looking 57-year-old.

Songs such as Clair, What's In A Kiss and Alone Again (Naturally) the latter spent six weeks at the top of the US charts in 1972 have ensured a permanent place for Gilbert, whose born name is Raymond, in the public consciousness.

But what people generally do not realise is that he has been releasing an album, on average, every 15 months since 1990, having spent much of the 1980s unable to release much of anything because of business disputes.

The tracks he cuts these days, although more mature than the work for which he is best-known, still combine smooth melodies with lyrics which tend to bite the unwary listener.

For example, in a song called A Love So, he sings: "Proof of the pudding/Is in the eating/ Not anymore it's not/Now it boils down to ingredients."

And in a piece of social commentary called World Of Work, he cautions the young: "Wel-come to the world of work/Only place a loyal servant can be/Kicked in the teeth."

In September, he released his latest album of new material, called Piano Foreplay, on EMI, which contains both of these songs, and a 'best of' collection will be issued early next year.

That collection will be a standard CD, but fans in America and there are many can look forward to a box set with no less than 66 tracks.

And all this from a Swindon boy made good.

Gilbert was 13 when he and his family moved to the town from their native Waterford in Ireland.

Like many Swindonians with an Irish background, Gilbert attended St Joseph's school and later studied art at Swindon College.

Married to Asa, he has two daughters and is based in Jersey, where he has lived since 1985 and has a personal 48-track recording studio in which to create his music, but will always regard Swindon as home.

He returns as often as possible to see his mother, Mary Hartnett, who lives in Old Town.

There are also brother Kevin and sister Marie who help with issues such as licensing and publishing. It is such a family affair, in fact, that Marie is in charge of a firm called Bygum Records, which was set up in 2001 to make Gilbert's recordings more widely available and give him the freedom of having his own record company if the majors decided his unique style did not fall within their criteria for acceptance.

Gilbert also sees another Swindon-based sister, Deirdre, and there are two other brothers John is in Kent and Terry is in Michigan.

There is an official Gilbert O'Sullivan website, although Gilbert himself admits to being no fan of high technology. The internet also has independent fansites set up by devotees from locations as diverse as the Netherlands and Japan.

Despite living in the Channel Islands, Gilbert insists that Swindon will always be home. He said: "Swindon is where we were brought up, and it will always be the most important place.

"I'm Irish by birth and proud of my Irish roots, but all my memories are of being brought up in Swindon.

"I come home as often as I can."

He is also less than pleased with the seemingly growing fashion among certain comedians and comedy writers to make snide comments at the town's expense.

Gilbert said: "I'll defend Swindon to the hilt.

"If anybody has a go, I'll hit back, even if I don't have a full brief about what they have against it!

"It needles me. I'm always annoyed that the town has a bad PR image."

When visiting Swindon, he usually takes the opportunity to stroll around Old Town as well as the town centre, although much of the town centre of his youth vanished with the building of the Brunel Centre and the pedestrianisation of Regent Street.

It was in Swindon that he took his first steps in the world of music and discovered his love of and talent for writing songs. Because the town punches well above its weight when it comes to producing celebrities, he did so among some equally illustrious company.

The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward was a contemporary, and an early bandmate was Richard later Rick Davies, who was to earn worldwide celebrity in the 1970s as a member of Supertramp (and be photographed on the back cover of one of the band's multi-million-selling albums with a copy of the Evening Advertiser).

Another early bandmate was Ken White, now acclaimed as arguably Swindon's best known artist. Ken, still a dear friend, produced the cover design for the American box set.

After serving his apprenticeship in various bands in Swindon, Gilbert moved to London, like so many before and since, in search of fame and fortune. But Gilbert was one of the lucky few who found it. By 1973, his talent was recognised to such an extent that fans queued in their millions to buy his records and attend his concerts, and he was the recipient of that year's Ivor Novello Award for Excellence in songwriting.

As is the case with many recording stars, sales eventually slowed, although he did score a major hit in 1980 with What's In A Kiss? and the song remains a favourite among fans.

In his last extensive interview with the Evening Advertiser, in 1989, he spoke of his relief that a legal dispute with former business associates which had prevented him from releasing new material had been resolved in his favour.

He is the sole owner of the rights to everything he records, along with his entire back catalogue.

But what of the future? It would perhaps be wrong to speak of a comeback, because he has never really been away, but he admits to being as hungry as ever for hits.

He said: "I have been in this business for 35 years, and I have never lost that drive. I also always fight for what I believe in."

And his message for his local fans? Gilbert makes a point of never reading reviews, whether good or bad, and admits to being sensitive to criticism.

But he said: "Anybody who likes me, I have very great respect for.

"It is nice to think that if I did a concert in Swindon, there would be people who were genuine friends of mine. I have all the time in the world for them."

But he confessed that he would not give a concert in his home town until he scored that next big success.

The official Gilbert O'Sullivan website can be found at www.gilbertosullivan.com. Bygum records can be found at www.bygumrecords.com.