It took a while before I could sing again...
ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK TELLS MARION McMULLEN EVERY LOVE SONG ON HIS TOUR WILL BE FOR HIS LATE WIFE
“I COULDN’T sing after my wife died earlier this year,” admits Engelbert Humperdinck.
He and Patricia – who he affectionately called Popea – had been married for almost 60 years and she sadly died in February after contracting Covid-19.
She had been by his side throughout his long career but had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for more than a decade.
“It’s been tough, it’s a tough thing. She stood by me all these years. She was very special,” the Leicester-born singer says. “She was fantastic and always helped me to make the right decisions. I think she is helping me now. I think she would want me to do what I love.”
Engelbert, 85, has also come through his own brush with Covid. “It’s been quite difficult for me. I got it in February. I had long Covid and it had an extremely bad effect on me, I think.
“I couldn’t swallow or walk properly and it went into my back.
“It’s all come together now and I think I’m good and about ready to hit the stage. It was very scary, not just for me, but for everybody in that situation.
“I just kept saying, ‘I’m going to be fine. I think I’ll be alright.’”
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Engelbert has generated sales in excess of 140 million records, including 64 gold albums and 35 platinum, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe, and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Las Vegas Walk of Fame, and Leicester Walk of Fame.
Now based in Los Angeles, he is returning to the UK next month for the start of an autumn tour and says he is dedicating every concert to his wife. He admits performing again will be emotional.
“I know it has changed some of the songs I sing,” he says.
“I’m reading new meaning into the lyrics. It’s a lot different to the way I’ve sung them before.
“When I lost my wife I couldn’t quite handle it right at the beginning. It took a while before I could sing again. The lyrics of the songs have always affected me but it is in a different way now. I’m trying to handle it and I’m sure my audience will rally if I do have an emotional moment on stage. I’m sure they will understand it.”
The singer, born Arnold George Dorsey, was persuaded to adopt Engelbert Humperdinck as a memorable stage name. “Not good if you want to sign an autograph,” he chuckles. “I would start today and finish tomorrow.
“You know there are two Engelbert Humperdincks? One who composed a version of Hansel and Gretel and me. People would get us mixed up all the time and tell me they loved my arrangement of Hansel and Gretel.
“I even thought of putting an initial like E or H in between the first and last name, but her Majesty did me a big, big favour recently and awarded me an MBE for services to music so now I can put MBE at the end of my name.
“No one ever calls me by my real name. They call me Engs. My parents called me Engels, which I quite like, it means Angel in German – although I’m not an angel.”
Release Me was his breakthrough single in 1967 and went into the Guinness Book of Records for achieving 56 consecutive weeks in the charts. It was number one in 11 countries. “The song has been sung around the world, it’s given me a career, and it’s a favourite on karaoke machines. Everyone always sings that song. It’s so wonderful that people like it.
“Back in 1967, I was doing 300 shows a year. It was an incredible time for me. I was building a name for myself and Release Me stopped the Beatles from having their 13th number one.
“The most exciting part of my career was right at the beginning when I was first on the London Palladium stage.
“Release Me had been out for a while without any success and had sold about 3,000 copies and then I appeared on TV on Saturday Night At The London Palladium and the next day the record started selling 80,000 and 90,000 copies a day and that went on for a number of weeks.
“It was unbelievable. It changed my life. A shooting star landing in my garden.”
Engelbert reveals that he bought his parents a home before buying his own house and was able to get a nice car, adding that he “appreciated the success when it came along. I never took my success for granted”.
He is now counting down to his biggest UK tour in years.
“I was supposed to do it last year and the pandemic happened and I didn’t do anything. Now it’s possible and I want to fulfil the task. People want the songs that made me and I’m going to give them that, but it is also contemporary as well. It’s exciting.”
Engelbert will be touring the UK from October 31. Go to biglink.to/ EHTickets for booking details