Want to feel young again? Just go to an Engelbert gig
MY BIRTHDAY meal last night was great, I got a free drink from the waiter; And when I told him I was 53, He sat me next to the defibrillator…
I wrote that wee poem after “celebrating” yet another birthday last Thursday with the wife & wean at our favourite restaurant.
But you know what? After suggesting I was ready for the knacker’s yard in last week’s column, I suddenly felt like a teenager at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Sunday night.
Yes, folks, Engelbert Humperdinck was in town and I reckon I was the youngest member of the audience by a country mile.
I’ve honestly never seen so many mobility scooters and walking frames in my life. When the bell rang for last orders at the bar, it was like an OAP version of Wacky Races.
I’d bought my tickets way back in September 2019 on the Friday morning they went on sale – and I was down at the box office for 9am to beat the queue.
There was no queue. Nope, just me and a wee Glasgow wifie who looked as if she may have seen Halley’s Comet three times. “We must be keen, eh?” I smiled. “The show’s not until May 2020.”
“I know, son,” she laughed, “I just hope I f***ing make it!”
Well, the good news is she DID make it. And I was delighted to see her in the foyer on Sunday night – almost two years (thanks to Covid) since the gig was originally scheduled. (Hope you enjoyed the show, Jessie!)
To be honest, folks, I’m just relieved Engelbert made it. Believe it or not, the veteran crooner – best known for Release Me and The Last Waltz – is now 85 years old.
But you’d never have guessed it as he
I bet Peter Andre and East 17 won’t be going strong at 85
effortlessly rolled back the years to brilliantly belt out all the classic songs to his adoring audience.
Tell you what, I bet your modern-day pop stars like, ehhh, Peter Andre and East 17 won’t still be going strong at 85.
I’m a lifelong fan of Engelbert Humperdinck. I’ve interviewed him at his house for Radio Scotland, the first song at our wedding was his 1977 US hit After The Lovin’ and (courtesy of my old pal Billy Sloan) I even got a surprise video message from him on our big day.
But he’s not the only global superstar to pass on his best wishes.
Nope, last week I received a lovely wee happy birthday message from none other than… Rod Stewart! The veteran rocker never misses the Daily Record – he invited me down to the Hydro in 2013 after waxing lyrical about his opening night gig in my column – and, when he read in last Thursday’s paper that it was my birthday, he sent a text to my colleague Keith Jackson.
“Please wish Tam Cowan a happy 53rd birthday. He’s one of my favourite journalists.” Lovely. And Keith’s reply? “I’ll let him know. Never heard him described as a journalist before, right enough…” Fair dos, Jacko! Anyway, to complete a memorable name-dropping hat-trick, my old North
Lanarkshire mucker Professor David MacMillan – the man who said winning the 2021 Nobel Prize for chemistry was his pathway to an appearance on Off The Ball – had a private dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson last week.
And guess what? He’s also a big fan of the show!
His verdict on the chubby co-host fae Motherwell?
“Tam Cowan?” he told the Prof. “He’s mad.”
That’ll do for me, Sir Alex. I’m pwoud, vewy pwoud…
PS. Terrified at the thought of turning 53, I think I’ll move to Japan. Well, that’s where the oldest people in the world always seem to live.… The latest was Kane Tanaka from Fukuoka who passed away this week at the age of 119.
Aye, they definitely seem to age a lot slower in the Land of the Rising Sun. I remember watching Japanese wrestling once and – even though the competitors were well into their 40s – they were both still wearing nappies…
PPS. Hello to regular reader Kenny McGurk who says his local undertaker has increased its prices – and they’re blaming it on the cost of living!
A wee plug for my pal Grado’s Big Family Wrestling Bash at the Glasgow Pavilion on Saturday, May 7. Just one question, mate. Are they accepting cash at the box office or, just like the wrestling, is it 100 percent contactless? (I’m going to pay with a £15 note and insist it’s not fake…)