IS THIS REALLY THE LAST WALTZ?
Gill Sherry
I grew up listening to Engelbert Humperdinck. His vinyl albums (of which there were many) were frequently played on the family record player before being lovingly returned to their protective sleeve and then slotted inside the glossy, cardboard cover.
I still know all the words to many of his songs: ‘Release Me’, ‘Quando Quando Quando’, ‘Lonely is a Man Without Love’… the list goes on. So it’s somewhat surreal that I should be chatting to the man himself some five decades after first hearing my mum swoon at the very mention of his name.
It’s a Monday evening and Engelbert is sitting in my kitchen (via Zoom, admittedly). Having enjoyed such a long and successful career, I suppose there’s only one place to start – at the beginning.
“It all started when I first went into a little club in Leicester. Everyone was getting up and singing. I usually sing at home so I’d thought I’d get up and sing a song… and then I was inundated with people saying, ‘Who’s your agent?’ I was only 17 years old.”
Sensing an opportunity, he searched for a pianist, bought some music and learned what key he sang in. He then began to sing in working men’s clubs before joining the army, aged 18.
“I did some concerts when I was there… and when I came back I pursued the idea of going into show business.”
He enjoyed some success under the name of Gerry Dawson (he was born Arnold George Dorsey) but soon after, developed tuberculosis.
“I was ill for almost two years. This took me to the age of about 24. Then I found an agent and I started doing small shows. I did a TV show called Song Parade… but nothing really happened until 1965 when I entered a competition in Belgium. I won that and then Decca got interested in me and signed me up.”
At this point, he employed Gordon Mills as his manager and it was he who suggested the change of name to Engelbert Humperdinck.
“I got the song ‘Release Me’ and it went in the charts at number one around the world. And the rest is history!”
I imagine, after all this time, he’s used to the name, but what did he think at the time?
“I thought it was a group!” he laughs. “I got to like it. People made fun of it, they called me Pumperdinkle. When I finally made it in the industry and I met artists like Dean Martin… he never called me Engelbert, he always called me Humpy Bumpy Lumpy Dumpy! I didn’t mind that, it gave me a wonderful career.”
He does, however, have a word of thanks for our late queen.
“There are two people with that name. There’s Engelbert Humperdinck who wrote Hansel and Gretel, and there’s me, who’s been fortunate enough to have a lot of gold and platinum albums. But people were still getting a little confused. Our late queen did me the favour of giving me the title of MBE. I put it behind the name now so it distinguishes us.”
He attended Buckingham Palace to receive his MBE after being appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music.
“Princess Anne presented it to me,” he tells me. “She was absolutely wonderful.”
He’s clearly very proud of the honour and he confirms it’s one of the highlights of his illustrious career. But the success of ‘Release Me’ takes some beating.
“When I recorded ‘Release Me’, it sat on the shelf for about three months. Then unfortunately, an artist got sick and I took his place on Saturday Night at the London Pallidum. After that, the record flew off the shelf at 90,000 a day. It went straight to number one and stopped The Beatles from having their 13th number one. This unknown person from Leicester stopped the almighty Beatles! And of course, that gave me my big start in the industry.”
With that in mind, is it safe to assume ‘Release Me’ is his favourite song?
“It has to be. The lyrics are quite negative, but people love it. It’s my signature tune.”
He goes on to tell me that ‘Release Me’ was a hit numerous times before he got to record it. The song was actually written in 1949 and was released by Esther Phillips and Ray Price amongst others.
“I got it in 1966. I played around with it… gave it a wonderful key change… and it’s been an amazing song ever since. It’s on every karaoke machine you could ever come across!”
Yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it being murdered numerous times in the past…
“With compilation albums, I’ve recorded 82 albums in my life and everywhere I go – they recognise me with my sideburns – the first thing they sing is, please release me, let me go…”
I love the fact that Engelbert Humperdinck has just burst into song in my kitchen! Wait till I tell my mum!
Of course, Mum doesn’t have long to wait before she, too, gets to hear him sing. Engelbert is just about to embark on ‘The Last Waltz’ Farewell Tour which includes a date at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall on Thursday 12th September.
“I haven’t toured in England or Scotland for a while… it’s about five years since I’ve been there… but I’ve always enjoyed my tours over there, that’s where my career started and I have quite a wonderful following. I’m just happy to be coming back.”
At 88 years old, a world tour is quite an undertaking (he will be performing in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, and Europe) but his desire and energy to perform has never waned.
“It’s my life,” he says. “Since I first became successful I’ve been touring the world over and over again. It’s in my blood. One doesn’t know how long our careers, or our voice, are going to stay, so I decided to call it ‘The Last Waltz’ Tour. But if everything goes well, it may not be the last waltz.”
Let’s hope not!
Needless to say, his shows will include the old favourites but he’ll also be singing some new songs.
“At the moment I’m doing a concept album. I’m doing things with artists from a different category, big band people like Journey. I haven’t finished it yet… but during my tour, I’ll probably do a couple of songs from that particular concept album. It’s quite out of my style and my comfort zone, but I’ll be doing it.”
It’s certainly one way to keep things fresh. And he’s not afraid of social media or other modern methods of promoting his music either.
“Of course I’ve used social media… ‘A Man Without Love’ was in a series called Moonlight and it went back into the Spotify charts at number one – it was recorded 54 years ago! And all the young people that watched that particular show wanted to know what Engelbert Humperdinck was all about… so I see these young faces in the audience now, and it’s just unbelievable.”
Having been in the business since the late 1950s it’s no surprise that he’s worked with a host of other big names.
“I was able to record with some of the most famous people in the world… like Elton john, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Cliff Richard, Dionne Warwick. I also had the privilege of singing with the great Bing Crosbie.”
There was, however, one particular star who he never got to perform with.
“I knew Elvis Presley but I never sang with him… that’s something I was looking forward to doing but it didn’t happen because of that terrible circumstance.”
What a duet that would’ve been!
He did, however, help other artists to become global successes.
“The Three Degrees were my backing singers right at the beginning of my career, until they became stars in their own right. And The Carpenters were on my tour before they became successful. I’m so pleased I was part of their rise to fame.”
His own rise to fame began in the East Midlands city of Leicester, and he was thrilled to learn that Leicester City FC recently secured promotion back to the Premier League.
“When I’m home, I do go there,” he informs me (he lives in the US now). “I’m the son of Leicester, I’ve got Freedom of the City. I’ve been very privileged with all of those wonderful honours.”
The honours, of course, all stem from his extraordinary voice. So what’s the secret to its longevity?
“I’ve been very fortunate because when you get older the vibrato gets slower. Mine has almost disappeared, so my voice has a more contemporary sound now than it did when I first began. Although, I can’t knock how it began… all those millions of albums that I sold, and this wonderful career that I have.”
A wonderful career indeed. I feel as though we’ve only scratched the surface during our brief conversation. But it’s been an absolute pleasure to chat to the man who provided the soundtrack to my childhood. I can’t wait to hear him sing again in Glasgow on 12th September.
After wishing him all the very best with his tour, there’s only one thing for it…
“Alexa, play Engelbert Humperdinck!”
And then, I must phone my mum…
