NEWS

by PAUL CASHMERE on DECEMBER 4, 2023 Noise11.com

Music legend Engelbert Humperdinck will tour Australia in 2024 for the last time.

Engelbert will turn 88 just before the tour. He was born on 2 May, 1936. Those who saw him on his last Australian tour of 2019 know exactly how great the voice still is.

Engelbert’s first hit in Australia was ‘Release Me’ (no 3, 1967). His first number one was ‘The Last Waltz’ that same year. 

Engelbert hits in Australia included ‘’There Goes My Everything’, ‘Am I That Easy To Forget’, ‘A Man Without Love’, ‘Les Bicyclettes de Belsize’ and in 1976 the lnow classic ‘After The Lovin’.

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK TOUR DATES 2024:
Tuesday 14th May
QPAC, Brisbane QLD

Thursday 16th May
The Star, Gold Coast, QLD

Saturday 18th May
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide SA

Monday 20th May
Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW

Thursday 23rd May
Hamer Hall, Melbourne VIC

Saturday 25th May
Riverside Theatre – PCEC, Perth WA

https://www.noise11.com/news/the-legendary-engelbert-humperinck-announces-his-last-ever-australian-tour-20231204

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/singer-engelbert-humperdincks-new-documentary/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

Hosted by Steve Chiotakis Nov. 14, 2023 KCRW Greater LA

Arnold “Gerry” Dorsey’s name might not ring a bell to most, but his alter ego, Engelbert Humperdinck, should. The multiple platinum-selling performer has been at it for over 70 years, singing his heart out to crowds around the world. Just don’t call him a crooner. “I don't like the word. When I started singing, I had a three-and-a-half octave range, crooners don't have that,” Humperdinck proudly explains.

He refers to himself as a “thespian of song,” explaining that performing is so much more than just singing.

“Being an artist, you have to portray it in a way that actors do when they're in front of a camera,” Humperdinck explains of his approach to song. “You have to use your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your face, your actions, your body language. It's all acting, it's a performance.”

A new film about his life — Engelbert Humperdinck, The Legend Continues — premieres tonight at the Montalban Theater.

https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/venice-book-club-humperdinck-indigenous/humperdinck-legend-continues-documentary

https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/venice-book-club-humperdinck-indigenous/humperdinck-legend-continues-documentary

This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Morning News on Nov. 13, 2023.

https://ktla.com/video/engelbert-humperdinck-tells-his-life-story-in-engelbert-humperdinck-the-legend-continues/9168441/?fbclid=IwAR1KC5RkOTdrgwqVnUxr6VrwPeMHlnrfviIQrWQIvVZ9oJBMXkOimwDw5Vg

All about Engelbert Humperdinck, ballad singer for the ages

by Bill Kopp Rock On Magazine

Romantic singer Engelbert Humperdinck is one of the most beloved singers in modern times. He’s also one of the most prolific, with more than 100 albums released between his 1967 debut and today. His latest release, 2023’s All About Love shows that time has not diminished the skills nor appeal of the Madras-born and London-raised singer. Today at age 87, Humperdinck still maintains a busy concert touring schedule, and there’s a new documentary film chronicling his life and career. Ahead of a North American tour that takes him back and forth across the continent (including a January 13 date at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, NV, Humperdinck spoke with Rock On about his enduring passion for music and performance.

On All About Love, you manage the neat trick of sounding contemporary without pandering to trends. Do you personally choose the songs? 

Well, I’ll be honest with you: no. My producer [Jurgen Korduletsch] brings the songs to me, and he asks me, “Do you think you’d like this?” He says, “I think these are going to be good for you,” and I listen to them, because he’s the man who’s making it happen for me. And I say, “Well, some of them.” There are some that he brings to me that I throw out. I pick the songs I think that would be appropriate, and we work together on it.  

On this particular one, all the arrangements were done in Nashville with Nashville musicians, and I wasn’t there. I would have loved to have been there. 

It worked all right, but I’d rather have been there with him. As I do with everything that I do in life, I like to put my little input in every now and again. I like to have my finger on every project, but this particular one, [Jordan] did it on his own. And it worked out.  

When there’s a song that’s suggested and you decide for one reason or another that you don’t care to do it, what kind of reasons figure into that equation?  

If I listen to it, and I don’t think it suits my style,  I just say, “It’s a ‘no’ on this one, but this one looks good.” I’m very particular. 

When you sing a song that has already been a hit for another artist – which is the case with several of the songs on this new album – how much notice do you take of the style in which the song was cut before? 

I just give it my own stamp. And it’s very hard to do, mind you. It’s very hard to do after somebody else [puts their] stamp and style on it, but I do.  

I’m singing a lot differently now than I did when I first began; my style has really changed a lot,  because I’m growing rather than standing still. And the way I read into a lyric now is differently than I did before, because a lot of things have transpired in my life that have been a bit hard. For instance, I lost my wife [Patricia, in 2021]. And so, when I read a lyric now, it’s a lot different. Her image always comes into my head and my heart. So it comes out a lot differently. 

With regard to music, I sometimes think of method actors, even though that’s a very different thing from singing. They immerse themselves in the character that they’re playing. And I wonder if that approach would have value for a ballad singer. Your songs always seem to completely convey the mood that they contain. When there’s a session, do you do any kind of emotional preparation ahead of singing a particular song to get into that headspace? 

I consider myself a thespian of song. Because I think you have to be. Like an actor, you have to read your lines the way it’s written. And like an actor, it comes through your eyes and through the expression of your face and your body language and all those things that go along with portraying your subject matter.  

And that’s what I do on stage now. I live the part, and then you can see it in my expression. You don’t have to move a lot. An actor, if he moves like this, he goes out of the shot. And it’s the same thing when you’re on stage. You have to let [the audience] recognize your moves, and the more you are steady, the more you get across, I think. When you’re moving around, it’s for a different kind of song; not for a ballad, not for something you’re telling a story with. 

You’ve been on stage countless times. To what degree are you able to get a sense of how the audience is reacting to your performance, and how does that factor into what you’re doing in real time? 

Well, you can see the front rows. You can [see] what’s happening in the first few rows, and you can judge from that, what is happening throughout the audience. 

Sometimes it’s rather surprising to the performer, like me, who sees the reaction of what takes place in an audience. Sometimes, when I’m singing a particular song, I can look down and see somebody reach over and touch the person’s hand and squeeze them, or put their arm around them. And it’s just amazing to see what transpires during a performance. It’s rather wonderful to think that you are responsible for that, actually. 

There’s a new documentary, Engelbert Humperdinck: The Legend Continues. What can you tell me about it? 

Well, I haven’t watched many documentaries in my life, but I watched this one because it’s about me! I did it a few years ago, and it was rather shocking, actually, because there were many touching moments in it that made me cry.  

And I also was shocked at the fact that I must’ve been going through some trauma at that particular time, because I was 40 pounds heavier than I am today. It’s shocking to watch myself in that state, you know? When I look at myself today, I’m 200 pounds. At that particular time, it was in the middle of my wife’s illness and having to deal with doing my work plus the worry of what’s going on at home, you know? It was a hard time. 

Following on from that, do you ever find yourself overcome by the emotion of a particular song? 

Many times, yes. As a matter of fact, I wrote a song for my wife about 30 years ago called “Everywhere I Go” [on 1993’s Yours – ed.] If you look it up and listen to it, you’ll understand what I mean with the lyrics, and it’s a wonderful arrangement by Bebu Silvetti. He did all these wonderful string arrangements for me – he did about six albums for me – and he did the arrangement for that particular one.  

Since my wife has been gone, I sing “Everywhere I Go” in my show. I dedicate the song to her, and there’s many a night that I don’t get through it. It’s one of those things.

I would imagine that you take the audience with you on that emotional journey…

Yeah, I do see people weeping in the audience. And it’s something you can’t put on. It just happens, you know? There are nights when it won’t happen, but the majority of shows that I do, it does get me, because it was written for her. And it gets me. 

Are there any surprises in the film for audiences? 

Well, they’ll see footage that they’ve never seen before about my children and growing up. They’ll see me talk about my life in a way that I’ve never done before. You see my humble beginnings, you know? It takes me back to the place where I first began, when I lived in a flat in Hammersmith, London. It had no carpet, no curtains, no light bulbs or lamp shades, and very [few] chairs to sit on. And it took me back to that era. I remember those wonderful days. 

“The Hungry Years," you know, which I had joy in singing, and it brought all sorts of memories back. If you listen to “The Hungry Years” [from 1976’s After the Lovin’], which I had joy in singing, it’s really my life story. I feel as though Neil Sedaka wrote it for me, but he didn’t. He wrote it for himself, so he must’ve been going through the same thing in his beginning. 

Plenty of artists who’ve had successful careers retire when they’re 20 years younger than you are now. What motivates you to keep recording and performing? 

It’s the passion I have. I don’t consider my job as work. When I walk on stage, it’s just a passion. It’s not hard work for me, not at all. I just love what I do, so therefore the passion strengthens my whole being. I just feel good about it.  

If I didn’t want to perform, I wouldn’t get that feeling. But I love it. I love the performance, I love the reaction. And my audience feeds me with the passion that I love to portray.

www.engelbert.com

https://rockonmagazine.com/engelbert-humperdinck

https://www.amazon.com/Engelbert-Humperdinck-Legend-Continues/dp/B0CF3L1Z9Q

https://geni.us/Engelbert_TLC

November 14, 2023

Doors 6pm/Screening 7pm

The Montalban Theater
1615 Vine Street
Hollywood, CA  90028

ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK: The Legend Continues

The Definitive Documentary 

November 14th, 2023  / Doors Open at 6pm / Film Starts at 7pm

Live Q&A Session on Stage with Engelbert  Humperdinck 8:15 pm

VIP Meet & Greet Backstage with Engelbert Humperdinck 8:45 pm

Limited Edition Merchandise for sale in the Lobby till closing

SYNOPSIS: Engelbert Humperdinck has been entertaining global audiences for decades,accumulating 64 gold albums, 35 platinum albums and a Golden Globe Award along the way.With unprecedented access to Engelbert and his close family, friends and business associates, director Steven Murray delivers a documentary – shot across two continents at locations close to Humperdinck’s heart - which shines an insider’s light on this multitalented, yet humble and unexpectedly humorous musical genius. “EngelbertHumperdinck: The Legend Continues” offers a unique insight into the world of Humperdinck, including never before seen concert footage and funny, frank and touching narration by Engelbert himself.

Tickets available here:

https://themontalban.ticketspice.com/engelbert-humperdinck-the-legend-continues

Richard Duckett Worcester Telegram & Gazette August 25, 2023

When Engelbert Humperdinck brings his "All About Love" tour to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts on Sept. 27 he'll be all business.

"That's what my business is all about, really," he said of the subject of love during a recent telephone interview. " I find that's the best way for me to go."

Humperdinck, 87, will be returning to The Hanover Theatre, where he performed in 2018 following the release of his "The Man I Want To Be" album, which was dedicated to his wife, Patricia. "It's a love letter to my wife," he said at the time of Patricia, who had Alzheimer's disease and later passed away in 2021.

The iconic English pop singer/balladeer has sung a lot of songs about love in all its manifestations and ups and downs from the time of his first spectacular 1967 hit single "Release Me." That song is about a person who wants to be released from a relationship because they have found someone new to love. "The Last Waltz" which quickly followed to the top of the charts in 1967 is about the singer's first and last dances with the woman he loves. Other hits have included “A Man Without Love,” which was just featured in Marvel’s “Moon Knight” Disney+ Series more than 50 years after it was first released.

'All About Love'

On May 2, to mark his 87th birthday, Humperdinck released his latest album, "All Abut Love." The album includes renditions of Barry White's "You’re The First, The Last, My Everything,” “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” (Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes), “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (the Bee Gees), and “Kiss And Say Goodbye” (The Manhattans).

"The new album has a country feel to it," Humperdinck noted. All the tracks were recorded in Nashville.

"All About Love" also includes duets sung partially in Spanish with Mexican starLupita Infante on "Bésame Mucho” and “A Man Without Love” with Angelica Maria.

Humperdinck divides his time between homes in California and England. On the album and on the phone he sounds like you would expect Engelbert Humperdinck to sound — smooth, strong, but with undercurrents of vulnerability. He hasn't lost his English accent, and there's no denying the Englishness of remarks such as the album is "doing quite well. People quite like it."

"When it comes to the personal side of love, Humperdinck said "I'm a one-person lover."

'I think about her all the time'

It was obvious that he feels acutely the loss of his wife, Patricia, who died in 2021 at 85 after contracting COVID-19. He met her at a dance hall when she was 17. She had been battling Alzheimer's disease for more than a decade.

The tenor of the whole conversation changes when he talks about her.

"I think about her all the time," he said. Patricia was "an irreplaceable person."

When he performs his repertoire now, "The lyrics and songs have taken on a different sort of feeling. It hits me in a different way. I read the lyrics in a different way. For some reason it hits home," he said.

"It shows in your face, eyes and voice. My interpretations are a lot different now. When you've suffered a blow lyrics take on a different meaning altogether. But life goes on. You want to keep doing it," he said of performing.

"I keep fresh and I keep performing. That's all I think about these days," he said. His mood lightens when he talks about that.

"I love my job. I love the reaction I get (from fans). They're still with me, and I love that and I'm gonna keep doing it," he said.

'Looking forward to coming back'

He's toured "so many theaters" over the years, but asked about The Hanover Theatre he said, "I do remember coming there. I'm looking forward to coming back."

Another veteran singer who made repeat performances at The Hanover Theatre was Tony Bennett, who died earlier this year aged 96. Both Bennett and Humperdinck performed separate shows at The Hanover Theatre in 2018.

"I met Tony in 1968 when I first came to the United States," Humperdinck recalled.

"A couple of years later he was on my show in England. He did three songs. He was just a great person. I admired him very much."

What's in a name?

Humperdinck was born with the name Arnold George Dorsey and lived for a while as a child with his parents in India before they returned to England and settled in the city of Leicester. Dorsey performed as Gerry Dorsey but his singing career was sidelined for a while by illness. His new manager/agent suggested a change of name. Engelbert Humperdinck (1854–1921) was a German composer best known for the opera "Hansel and Gretel."

"I was a struggling artist. When my new manager came up with the name, I didn't question it," Humperdinck said.

The name was romantic and fun. "It distinguished me from the other guys," he said.

Humperdinck had the name, his good looks, and then he had a winning song, "Release Me." He was 30 and had maybe been wondering if his time would ever come.

The song was originally written by Eddie "Piano" Miller and Robert Yount in 1949, but had been successfully recorded by several artists. 

Humperdinck's version hit No. 1 on the British charts, blocking the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane" from the spot, the first time in four years that a Beatles single hadn't made No. 1. "Release Me” eventually went into the Guinness Book of Records for achieving 56 consecutive weeks on the charts. It was No. 1 in 11 countries.

Asked if he had a favorite song, Humperdinck said "not really," but did note that "Release Me" was "the one that started it ... I've been very lucky. The songs kept my career going."

A new audience

"A Man Without Love" appearing on Marvel’s “Moon Knight” has helped introduce a younger audience to the singer.

"So now I get young people in my shows," he said.

For Sony Pictures’ 2022 Brad Pitt film “Bullet Train,” Humperdinck was brought in to sing the perennially popular song “Forever Blowing Bubbles.”

A documentary about Humperdinck will be coming out later this year.

All told, Humperdinck has generated sales in excess of 140 million records over the decades, including 64 gold albums and 35 platinum, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe (for "Entertainer of the Year"), and stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Las Vegas Walk of Fame and Leicester Walk of Fame.

"I have stepped out," he said of performing in different music genres, including a dance album, movie theme songs, disco, rock, and gospel. He was good friends with Elvis Presley.

Meanwhile, he performed for Queen Elizabeth II four times, several presidents and many heads of state.

He was made an MBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours list, and was presented the award at Windsor Castle in April, 2022, by Princess Anne. The Queen died Sept. 8 last year.

Humperdinck was proud to receive his MBE. "I think anything the Royal Family bestows on you is very important," he said. "I loved our old Queen very much." He recalled that he had also met the Queen Mother

'I'm ready to go back around the world again'

Before coming to The Hanover Theatre, Humperdinck will have performed some engagements in the Philippines, and then will travel across the U.S.

Regarding his remarkable longevity, he said, "Know what it is? I'm a hard worker. I'm always rehearsing and getting new ideas. I've always loved the idea of being in show business, and now with social media (there's) a wonderful way of being in contact."

So don't look for Humperdinck to be retiring any time soon.

"Retirement? It doesn't look like it. Next year is a world tour. I'm ready to go back around the world again."

He also has a new project where he'll be "stepping out of my comfort zone, but can't talk about it right now," he said.

He will "keep working and do what I have to do, and hope the people come along with me."

Engelbert Humperdinck: All About Love Tour

When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27

Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester

How much: $49, $59, $69 and $89 depending on seat location. (877) 571-7469; www.thehanovertheatre.org.

https://www.telegram.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/08/25/engelbert-humperdinck-will-be-all-about-love-at-the-hanover-theatre/70645249007/