GET MY WIFE WELL
THE SHOWMAN: Englebert has been performing for 50 years and to celebrate is going on tour with a new album had caused that he vowed to be faithful from then on.
These days he prefers to be by her side whenever possible. “Because of her Alzheimer’s I like to be with her so that she knows me all the time and so that I’m with her for her treatments,” explains Engelbert, who was born Arnold George Dorsey in India in May 1936.
Still, ever the showman, next month he will fly back to England without her to perform at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane in London as part of his 50th anniversary tour.
His new album, The Man I Want To Be, is also released in November and includes his first original material in more than a decade, as well as two covers – Ed Sheeran’s Photograph plus Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars.
“I’m touring like crazy and I’m so excited about the way my career is going,” he says, with the vigour of someone half his age, adding that the album is a lyrical love letter to his wife.
“Had someone told me 50 years ago when I had my first hit that I’d still be doing this aged 81 I would never have believed it. Only a few days ago I performed to 5,000 people in Canada.
“My new album is a very different style from my normal albums and I’m thrilled about that. It’s got a lot of great new stuff on it and a few really special things too.”
Dubbed the “King of Romance” by his legions of fans, he is referring to two songs dedicated to his wife. One of them, the poignantly titled I’m Glad I Danced With You, is a duet with their nine-year-old granddaughter Olivia. “She is absolutely fantastic,” he says, the joy suddenly back in his voice.
“It’s hard to talk about because people think, ‘Oh, he’s only saying that because she’s his granddaughter,’ but I’m telling you, this kid can sing.
“She sings like Ariana Grande or Whitney Houston, that sort of style, and she’s flying over to sing it with me in the West End next month. It is very exciting. She’s already done Vegas with me and she was sensational. She was nervous on that date but she’s coming around a bit now. She has got so much confidence for a little girl of nine.
“But although she comes to sing with me for special occasions mostly I do a virtual duet with her when I’m on stage because she’s got to go to school at home in Nashville.”
Engelbert admits that he would find it impossible to contemplate a live performance of the second song dedicated to Patricia, Just Like The First Time. “It’s an absolutely fantastic song but it’s a little bit too emotional for me right now. I have always looked after my little girl – my wife – and made sure she is in the safest hands possible at all times.
“She was always an unbelievably strong woman. She was a showjumper when she was young and she was going to be in the Olympics. It was only meeting me that stopped her.
“She used to run five miles a day every day, and she loved gardening. As you know, we have a big garden in England and she was responsible for making it look magnificent.
“She raised our children wonderfully well, most of the time on her own while I was out trying to make a living and put a roof over our heads. Looking back I didn’t spend enough time at home. I feel sad about that.”
After his concert in London he will perform numerous other international dates but not before he has had a pint of beer and a curry at his favourite Indian restaurant in Leicestershire, as well as a “little dingdong at my pub for family and friends”.
His only regret is that Patricia won’t be with him and has not been well enough to watch any of his anniversary shows. The last time she saw him perform was in 2016.
“I brought her home to England last year and it set her health back about six months,” he adds.
“I wanted us to come home for Christmas this year but I just can’t subject her to the journey.
“So I’d rather she stays in LA and has her treatments and maybe next year we will be able to come home together and celebrate Christmas here. That’s how I like to think. I will never give up. I will get her well.”
Meanwhile, this is one old-timer for whom the show must go on.
‘Patricia was always an unbelievably strong woman’
Engelbert plays the Theatre Royal, London on November 19. Visit ticketmaster.co.uk