NEWS

By Jane Rocca, March 3, 2019 The Sydney Morning Herald

Occupation Singer. Age 82. Relationship status Married. Best known for His 1967 hit Release Me. Currently Touring Australia.

My mother, Olive, had a wonderful operatic voice and used to make the chandeliers shake when she sang. I am sure I got my powerful singing voice from her. She always said I was the only one of her 10 children – I was the ninth, born in Madras, British India – who took after her, and would always refer to me as "my son, my son" and say it twice. I felt we shared a bond she may not have had with the others – at least that's how it felt to me growing up.

My father, Mervyn Dorsey, was an officer in the British Army and travelled a lot for his work. I knew very early on that I didn't want to follow in his footsteps.

I had seven sisters growing up. Two, Celine and Olga, have now passed, but the rest of us are all still very close. My parents raised us to be loving and supportive of one another, a valuable tradition that we hold on to. We are as close-knit as it gets.

Olga gave me a saxophone when I was 11. I quickly started playing it and bought lessons after doing paper rounds each week. I was very shy but loved to sing with my family.

My career as a singer happened accidentally. It was only after getting a standing ovation after being on stage at a working-man's club as a 17-year-old that I thought maybe this could be a career path for me.

The first song I released, Release Me, stopped the Beatles from having their 13th number one and it is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling the most singles in that era. It gave me world recognition.

My sisters were really supportive of me as their brother who reached the pop charts. My family was very proud of my achievement. I have since sold more than 150 million albums.

I have had the honour of working with some incredible women over the years, from Dionne Warwick to Olivia Newton-John. Olivia duets with me on a Shirley Bassey cover, Never, Never, Never, we recorded in 2014. She is a beautiful woman who I have a lot of time for.

I always adored Dusty Springfield. She sang Ain't No Mountain High Enough on my TV show in 1970 – that was lots of fun. I knew her family before she got into the business and invited her to sing with me. I stand by the fact she is one of the best singers I have ever met. Karen Carpenter is another favourite.

My first kiss was actually with my wife, Patricia. It happened before we married, of course. I met her when she was 17 at a dancehall and we've been together ever since.

I never had to worry about female fans getting in the way of my private life because I have been happily married to Patricia since 1964. Being a global star means you do get lots of recognition, but I got married before I became famous and Patricia stood by me through all the years while I was trying to make it.

It's not that hard to ignore the attention of women these days. It was in the beginning, but not any more! Audiences now don't care if I'm married, but when I started out they did care. Women want you to be single and available.

My marriage works because it comes down to a little word called "love". Patricia has been a great asset to me, a great wife and a wonderful mother to our four children.

Our daughter, Louise, is the firstborn child and I'd go as far to say she is the one who leads the family. She is instrumental in keeping my family together and is the matriarch. She's a songwriter who lives in the USA. We also have three sons – Bradley, Scott and Jason.

My latest album, The Man I Want to Be, is a love letter to my wife. It's really about reminiscing about the history between us.

There is a song on the album written by my daughter Louise and her husband called I'm Glad I Danced with You. Their child Olivia, my nine-year-old granddaughter, sings it with me – it's the only duet on the album. It's wonderful to have a grandchild who's drawn to the stage like me. It brings me to tears.

Engelbert Humperdinck is performing at the State Theatre, Sydney, on March 8 and the Palais Theatre, Melbourne, on March 9.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/engelbert-humperdinck-my-latest-album-is-a-love-letter-to-my-wife-20190228-p510sn.html