NEWS

Sabrina Barr

Monday 8 May 2023 2:30 pm Metro

Just over a decade ago, the UK sent a legend of the music industry to the Eurovision Song Contest, putting forward acclaimed singer Engelbert Humperdinck to represent the nation.

Real name Arnold George Dorsey MBE, Engelbert headed to Baku in Azerbaijan for the contest, where he performed his song Love Will Set You Free.

As he releases a new album to mark his 87th birthday, Metro.co.uk spoke to the crooner about his time in the competition, some of the biggest milestones in his career and why he took his stage name from the 19th century composer behind the opera of Hansel and Gretel.

The artist also shared what he thought of the recently-released Austin Butler biopic about his close friend Elvis Presley, and what it’s been like to brush shoulders with royalty over the decades, having spoken ahead of the King’s Coronation.

Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for speaking with me on your birthday.

You’re welcome. It’s a big day today because today my album is released, All About Love, and it’s a great gift to me. It seems to be doing well. I’m looking forward to comments from social media and to see what happens.

Eurovision is coming up very soon. When you represented the UK in 2012 in Baku, what were some of your biggest standout memories?

I was a little bit concerned because they took somebody like me, who’s been around the world several times and got 65 gold and 20 platinum albums on my wall and I was with people who, they didn’t even have a record [contract].

One of the things they did, which I thought was rather harsh for me, they put me on first. There were grandmas that were there who were cooking and talking and singing, and they came somewhere like second.

I really hope that we have a winner this time with this young lady, Mae Muller. The song is great and may the best song win. Mae – you get that one?

Yes, great fun! Will you be tuning in to watch this year?

I’ll be watching, if I get a chance.

You have led such an incredibly illustrious career. Are there any achievements or milestones that you’re particularly proud of?

I’m very proud of the fact that I’m an artist that has been put on the Hollywood Walk of Fame along with many great legendary figures over there, that I was so happy to see when I walked down that strip. I’m in a very prominent position on that road. I’m right in front of The Roosevelt Hotel, so it’s a very prime position. I’m very happy about that.

I love the fact that your stage name was taken from the famous German composer. Going all the way back to when you adopted that name, what pushed you to make that decision?

I had a manager that gave me that name, his name was Gordon Mills. And I said, “Gordon, it’s very difficult carrying somebody else’s name.” And people were getting me confused and saying that, “How did you write Hansel and Gretel?”

But our late Queen was very kind to me during her time of life. She gave me the MBE, which I can put behind my name now, so it distinguishes me from the original.

Was it the Queen that you met when you had the ceremony?

No, it was Princess Anne.

What was it like meeting Princess Anne?

She was fantastic. I do admire her and her tenacity and the way that she could stand there for hours and talk to all the people receiving awards, one after the other, and with patience. When she spoke to me, I was so thrilled to be talking to this lovely lady. She really spent a lot of time with me, and I was thrilled about that.

I have been in the presence of royalty many times. I’ve met the Queen many times, I met the Queen mum, and of course the Duke of Edinburgh. When I performed for him, he used to sing all my songs all the way through. So I’ve been in that company many many times, which is really thrilling.

I have read that your most passionate fans have a nickname, the ‘Humperdinckers’. What do you think of that title?

There’s a lot of various silly names that they use, using my name as a play-off. The Humperdinckers, yes that’s one of those. I’ve got a plaque on the wall, it’s got all the names of it. They had a lot of strange names using my name.

It’s lovely to see the way that you connect with your fans a lot on social media.

Well, I do this this thing called Tuesday Museday, and I service them with all the information about what’s going on in my life at that particular moment, that day or that week, or whatever. It’s nice that I can communicate with them all over the world, and they all reciprocate. They answer me and I read the answers, when I have time I sit down and I go through the comments.

It’s so wonderful to know that people around the world appreciate you and your music and your way of life.

I know that you were very close with Elvis Presley. Did you see the recent biopic about him with Austin Butler?

Oh yes, I saw the movie. Absolutely fantastic and a very real life situation, because that was what he went through, his manager was taking him for a ride. I thought the actor did a great job of portraying him. Knowing Elvis in person, I think he did a very, very good job.

How would you feel if someone wanted to make a film about your life?

It would be a great thrill to know that my life was on film. It would make a good story. I’m thinking about writing my second autobiography, and putting in some home truths – more home truths than I did in the first one. It might make a good story for the movies.

Who would you want to play you?

It was tough to find a lookalike who was still on the planet. There were a few classic stars who could have pulled it off. I’ve been through so many looks, including hair below my shoulders and an almost-blonde era without the sideburns, but the sideburns have been my constant companion for most of my life. Harry Styles came to mind.

I’d have to leave it to a casting director though. I was so thin when I was young that I couldn’t keep the deck chair from folding in.

The music industry evolves at such a fast pace, and especially nowadays with social media as well. How do you feel in your experience that the music industry has evolved in recent years?

It’s a whole different ballgame in today’s world. In the early days, you had your arrangers that you met with, they would write the arrangement, and then you go into the studio with all the musicians and you would sing the song. In today’s world, you don’t do that.

You record the tracks early, and you could take your time recording and putting your voice on. Everything is so easy today, but not as rewarding as it was in the past. Because in the past, you had to sell a million albums to get a gold album. In today’s world, you don’t have to do that.

Can you tell me a bit more about your new album All About Love?

My producer and I have decided to take songs that are familiar to the public and songs that have been done before by many great artists. Finding new songs in today’s world is very difficult, it’s like a needle in a haystack. So I decided to do some songs that other people have done, and do it myself. All the tracks were done in Nashville, so it has a country flavour to it. I enjoy the music.

Performing live is a huge aspect of your career. How do you feel about your new tour?

I just got back from Chicago and Minnesota. I did a couple of shows and now I’m relaxing and preparing to go down to South America, to Chile and places like that.

In my new album, I did a couple of duets with two lovely ladies. One of them is a huge, huge star in Mexico, the sweetheart of Mexico, [Angelica Maria]. I sang one of my songs with her, A Man Without Love, and as a matter of fact, she had a big hit with it. She did it in Spanish and I did it in English, then I did it in Spanish and she did it in English on this particular album.

Another one is with another girl called Lupita Infante, with a romantic song Bésame Mucho, which is probably one of the most romantic Spanish songs written. It was recorded by Lupita Infante’s grandfather, and was a big hit by him, and now she’s recording it with me.

Do you have any memorable fan stories that you can share?

I used to take 175 shirts on the road, as every night I’d leave the stage and just be left with the cuffs. It may be hard to imagine, but that cost hit my pocket after every tour. Crazy movie-like days. 

A friend pretended to be me and exited the stage door while I slipped out another way and he was just left with cuffs.

When you go out on stage, do you have any pre-show rituals that you do?

First of all, I always have a good meal before I walk out on stage. I do warm up a little bit prior, but I am always very nervous at first when I’m on stage. I get cold hands, but after about two or three minutes of being on stage and getting a warm reception from my wonderful audience, that all goes away and I start to perform like a real performer.

For any other performers that feel nervous when they go up on stage, do you have any advice for how to get over the nerves?

It’s a personal thing, it really is personal and how do we get over it? They’ll find out in their own little way. It’s a personal thing getting nervous, and the way you handle it this the way you handle it. Some people handle it with a little bit of a tipple, a little bit of a drink, but I don’t. I just get over it naturally.

We have the King’s Coronation coming up. Are you going to be watching it?

I certainly will. I wouldn’t miss that for the world. I’m very happy and I’m sure it’s going to be a wonderful, wonderful sight for the world to see.

Have you met King Charles in the past?

No, I haven’t but I’ve met all the rest of the family. I’ve met the Queen, the Queen mum, Princess Anne, Princess Margaret when she was alive. The Duke of Edinburgh, who loved my music, because whenever I did something for him, he’d sing all my songs all the way through the show. It’s been wonderful.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s new album All About Love is out now.

https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/08/eurovision-engelbert-humperdinck-on-elvis-biopic-and-king-coronation-18729336/

Guy Bellamy's interview with Engelbert Humperdinck will air tonight, May 15th, at 9PM BST / 4PM EST / 1PM PST

https://greatmusicstories.com

Engelbert will be doing a live-streaming hangout Thursday, May 4th at 12:30 PT / 3:30 ET. Join Engelbert for a chat on his new album, and share a few stories and laughs:

https://www.youtube.com/@EngelbertHumperdinckTV

05-02-2023 AntiMusic.com

(Reybee) For his 87th birthday today, iconic singer Engelbert Humperdinck is enjoying his special day with the release of his brand new album All ABOUT Love via OK! Good Records. 

Part of his celebrations includes the release of his new video - a Spanish/English reworking of his hit "A Man Without Love" - with "Mexico's Sweetheart" Angelica Maria (who currently has a recurring role in the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer). Generating close to 190,000 views in just three days. Engelbert's video is further proof that Engelbert only just gets better with age.

A collection of eye-opening reinterpretations of classic love songs, reworkings of some of his own classics, and duets with two of the most-celebrated Mexican singers vocalists today (including the aforementioned Angelica Maria and GRAMMY-nominated Mariachi star Lupita Infante), his new 13 track album finds the four-time GRAMMY-nominated and multiplatinum selling legend tackles some of the most beloved romantic tracks and puts a unique spin on them.

Among the classics he revitalizes include the #1 R&B hit "If You Don't Know Me By Now" which was originally released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1972 (also covered by Simply Red in 1989) and the Philly soul classic "When Will I See You Again" (originally released in 1974 by The Three Degrees). Further tracks are The Bee Gees' first US #1 (and one of the greatest love songs of the era) "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," Lou Rawls' perennial classic "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," and Mel & Tim's "Starting All Over Again." Released last Fall, his country-western tinged rendition of Barry White's 1974 Gold-selling chart topper "You're The First, The Last, My Everything" has amassed over 2.7 million views on YouTube and inspired a line-dance from its celebratory music video, which was filmed at Los Angeles' authentic Honky-Tonk club, Cowboy Palace Saloon. 

As a nod to his ever-growing Latin popularity, Engelbert not only recorded "A Man Without Love" with Angelica Maria, but he has also recorded one of the most important songs in the history of Latin music, the bolero classic "Besame Mucho," featuring two-time GRAMMY®-nominated Mariachi star Lupita Infante, who incidentally is the granddaughter of iconic film star Pedro Infante who originally introduced the song in Mexico. 

All About Love was recorded at famous Black Bird Studios with some of Nashville's finest musicians, including Dave Cohen (Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Florida Georgia Line) on keyboards, Rob McNelley (Buddy Guy, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban) on guitars, Lex Price (Shemekia Copeland, Neko Case, Indigo Girls) on bass, Jerry Roe (LeeAnn Womack, Luke Combs, Keith Urban) on drums, Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson) on drums, and even legend Charlie McCoy (Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan).

https://www.antimusic.com/musicpressbox/news/engelbert_humperdinck_celebrates_his_87th_birthday_with_special_release-050223/

April 28, 2023

In anticipation of Engelbert Humperdinck‘s new album, All About Love the iconic singer has released an official video for his duet with “Mexico’s Sweetheart” Angélica María. Trading off in both English and Spanish, the two vocalists deliver a breathtaking rendition of “A Man Without Love / Cuando Me Enamoro”.

After appearing in the premiere of the hit series, Moon Knight (Marvel/Disney+) in 2022, Engelbert’s rendition of “A Man Without Love” became a breakout global hit. The song hit #1 on Shazam’s US Pop Chart, #1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs Chart and become a viral hit on TikTok with close to 100 Million Spotify streams.

Now Engelbert is finally delivering a new studio-recording of his iconic hit, collaborating with Angélica María who also had a hit with the song in Spanish with “Cuando Me Enamoro”. The new duet is sure to be a hit with fans of both singer and songs, and is the closing track on Engelbert’s new album All About Love out on May 2nd.

Instead of receiving gifts in celebration of his 87th birthday on May 2nd, Engelbert Humperdinck will be giving one to his fans with the release of his new album All About Love. The 13 Track collection shows off the singer’s romantic side with his uniquely personal renditions of some of the greatest love songs of all time.

Recorded at the famous Black Bird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee the album delivers a beautiful blend of country and soul productions, providing a sneak peek at Engelbert’s current live set.

http://www.okgoodrecords.com/blog/2023/04/28/engebert-humperdinck-angelica-maria-a-man-without-love/

Posted by Andy Argyrakis Chicago Concert Reviews April 28, 2023

When it comes to crooners, England’s Engelbert Humperdinck is amongst the world’s most revered and longest-running, who even at 86, keeps recording and rolling down the road exactly as he’s done since the late 1950s. 

In fact, when he turns 87 on May 2, the balladeer will release yet another new album, “All About Love,” which as its namesake implies, is filled with romantic remakes, fresh takes on his own standards and a few similarly-themed duets.

Humperdinck brought that very essence, alongside all the previous classics, to the stunningly restored and acoustically ideal Rialto Square Theatre, where for 90-minutes, he wowed a capacity crowd of varying ages, thanks a ton of current movie and television appearances, including the Marvel Universe series “Moon Knight,” Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy” and Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train.”

Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” was an appropriate place to start considering how long he’s been entertaining, though the headliner and a much younger five-piece band continued to dazzle through the decades of Carl Belew’s “Am I That Easy To Forget,” Elvis Presley’s “Girl Of Mine” and mounds more he personally popularized.

“Quando, Quando, Quando” was one such gem, while Humperdinck put just as much of a personal stamp on the newly selected “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” initially cut by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and later, Simply Red.

There was a slice of country come Toby Keith’s “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” the R&B of Barry White’s “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything,” Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s “Old Time Rock And Roll” and a Latin-flavored take on the constantly covered “The Power Of Love,” suggesting there truly wasn’t anything the headliner couldn’t conquer.

The gorgeous “The Last Waltz” laid the groundwork for a mega medley of so many more memories, though his signature “Release Me” naturally closed the main portion of the night, likely presented for the millionth time, but with a renewed passion, thanks possibly in part to the Rialto singing along. 

They sure don’t make artists like Engelbert Humperdinck anymore, yet he’ll forever go down as a one-of-kind interpreter who can still spin anything that comes across his legendary lips into pure gold.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Rialto Square Theatre include The Mavericks (May 18); Patti LaBelle (May 19); Dave Mason (May 24); Eddie Griffin (Jun. 30); Dave Wickerham (Jul. 3); Simon Gledhill (Jul. 6); Killer Queen (Jul. 11-12); Trey Kennedy (Jul. 13); Travis Tritt (Aug. 10); The Australian Pink Floyd Show (Sept. 12); Skid Row and Buckcherry (Sept. 20); Kevin James (Sept. 21); Justin Willman (Sept. 23); Kevin James (Sept. 26); Josh Gates (Oct. 21); Hairball (Oct. 27); Wayne Newton (Dec. 14) and The Rat Pack Is Back (Dec. 16). For additional details, visit RialtoSquare.com.

https://chicagoconcertreviews.com/2023/04/27/engelbert-humperdinck-rialto-square-theatre/?fbclid=IwAR2_ggJKpm9TgJ3lWz1rQPJ52iFlXLMmwDFOki098ylgAPfizNQKDs7qE_I

Looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift? Why not send her a personalized video from Engelbert? With the Cameo app, you can get a custom video that will be cherished by any Engelbert fan! It’s the ultimate gift - perfect for Mother's Day, birthdays or anniversaries! For more details, please see his Cameo profile here.

Engelbert's duet video with the lovely Angélica María, "A Man Without Love / Cuando Me Enamoro" premieres tomorrow on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_uDRjhLEKFs

04-06-2023 antiMusic.com

(Reybee) Instead of receiving gifts in celebration of his 87th birthday on May 2, 2023, iconic singer Engelbert Humperdinck will be giving one... the release of his brand new album ALL ABOUT LOVE via OK! Good Records. A collection of eye-opening reinterpretations of classic love songs, reworkings of some of his own classics, and duets with two of the most-celebrated Mexican singers vocalists today ("Mexico's Sweetheart" Angelica Maria and GRAMMY-nominated Mariachi star Lupita Infante), his new 13 track collection is more proof that Engelbert just gets better with age.

The four-time GRAMMY-nominated and multiplatinum selling legend tackles some of the most beloved romantic tracks and puts a unique spin on them, including the #1 R&B hit "If You Don't Know Me By Now" which was originally released by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in 1972 (also covered by Simply Red in 1989) and the Philly soul classic "When Will I See You Again" (originally released in 1974 by The Three Degrees). Among other tracks are The Bee Gees' first US #1 (and one of the greatest love songs of the era) "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," Lou Rawls' perennial classic "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," and Mel & Tim's "Starting All Over Again." Released last Fall, his country-western tinged rendition of Barry White's 1974 Gold-selling chart topper "You're The First, The Last, My Everything" has amassed over 2.7 million views on YouTube and inspired a line-dance from its celebratory music video, which was filmed at Los Angeles' authentic Honky-Tonk club, Cowboy Palace Saloon.

As a nod to his ever-growing Latin popularity, Engelbert has recorded two duets in Spanish with two of Mexico's best female singers. Considered one of the most important songs in the history of Latin music, the bolero classic "Besame Mucho" features two-time GRAMMY-nominated Mariachi star Lupita Infante, who incidentally is the granddaughter of iconic film star Pedro Infante who originally introduced the song in Mexico. Reworking a mixed Spanish/English version of "A Man Without Love," Engelbert goes head-to-head with "Mexico's Sweetheart" Angelica Maria who also had a Spanish hit with the song (and coincidentally has a recurring role in the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer).

All About Love was recorded at famous Black Bird Studios with some of Nashville's finest musicians, including Dave Cohen (Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Florida Georgia Line) on keyboards, Rob McNelley (Buddy Guy, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban) on guitars, Lex Price (Shemekia Copeland, Neko Case, Indigo Girls) on bass, Jerry Roe (LeeAnn Womack, Luke Combs, Keith Urban) on drums, Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson) on drums, and even legend Charlie McCoy (Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan).

Thanks to massive awareness from creative placement of his classic hits in current and vastly popular mainstream TV shows and films, Engelbert's popularity has exploded exponentially in recent years. The aforementioned "A Man Without Love" was featured on the Marvel Universe series Moon Knight and "Quando, Quando, Quando" found itself on Netflix's Umbrella Academy. His newly recorded version of West Ham United's football anthem "Forever Blowing Bubbles" was featured prominently in Brad Pitt'sNo.1 runaway hit movie Bullet Train.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Engelbert is planning a worldwide tour featuring stops in the USA, Europe, South America and SE Asia. Not bad for someone about to turn 87!

https://www.antimusic.com/musicpressbox/news/engelbert_humperdinck_celebrating_87th_birthday_with_new_album_release-040623/

BY TINA BENITEZ-EVES American Songwriter

To celebrate his forthcoming 87th birthday on May 2, 2023, Engelbert Humperdinck is releasing an album featuring a reinterpretation of one of his hits, along with covers of songs by the Bee Gees, Barry White, and Lou Rawls, and more classics.

All About Love (OK! Good Records) finds Humperdinck revisiting 13 songs. The project features the Bee Gees’ first No. 1 from 1971, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” through the 1972 Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes R&B hit “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”

Other covers include Humperdinck’s country-western take on the Barry White classic “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything” — which pulled in nearly three million views on YouTube since it was released in late 2022 — along with Rawls’ hit “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” and “When Will I See You Again.” The latter was originally released by The Three Degrees in 1974. The project also includes covers of Mel & Tim’s “Starting All Over Again” and The Flamingos’ 1959 crooner “I Only Have Eyes For You.”

On All About Love, Humperdinck also revisits the 1940 bolero song “Bésame Mucho” with mariachi star Lupita Infante and a Spanish and English duet of his 1968 hit “A Man Without Love,” featuring Mexican singer Angelica Maria.

Along with “A Man Without Love,” which hit the top 20 in the U.S. and was recently featured in the Marvel series Moon Knight, Humperdinck released several hits in the 1960s through ’70s. Those songs include “Am I That Easy to Forget,” “There Goes My Everything,” “This Moment in Time,” and “After the Lovin’.”

In 2021, Humperdinck released the five-song EP, Regards, featuring his soulful renditions of songs by Willie Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley and Charles Chaplin.

To keep his birthday celebration going, Engelbert is also set to embark on a world tour in 2023, which will include dates in the U.S., Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. 

All About Love track list:

1. “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything”
2. “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”
3. “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
4. “Kiss And Say Goodbye”
5. “Starting All Over Again”
6. “Walk Away”
7. “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”
8. “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”
9. “I Only Have Eyes For You”
10. “Take Me Back Again”
11. “When Will I See You Again”
12. “Bésame Mucho” (with Lupita Infante)
13. “A Man Without Love” (with Angelica Maria)

https://americansongwriter.com/engelbert-humperdinck-to-commemorate-87th-birthday-with-album-all-about-love/