Er war nie diese Art von Pop-Star, bei dem Mädchen reihenweise in Ohnmacht fielen, oder Jungs meinten, sie wären Fans von ihm und dabei cool rüberkamen. Gilbert O‘Sullivan, der am 1. Dezember 75 Jahre alt wird, wirkte eher wie ein Klassensprecher, der obendrein die besten Zensuren bekam. Und für eine gewisse Zeitspanne in den Siebzigern war er tatsächlich ganz oben. Songs wie “Alone Again (Naturally)“ (1972, UK #3, D #35, US#1), “Clair“ (1972, UK #1, D #12, US #2), “Get Down“ (1973, UK #1, D #1, US #7) oder “Ooh Baby“ (1973, UK #18, D #8, US #25) kannte praktisch jeder. Ab 1977 stritt sich O‘Sullivan mit seinem Manager um Tantiemen an seinen Songs und kassierte 1982 sieben Millionen Pfund. Der Mangel an Präsenz hatte den Sänger jedoch in Vergessenheit geraten lassen, weshalb er in den Achtzigern Bühne und Studio weitgehend fern blieb und erst ab den Neunzigern wieder durchstartete und seither zahlreiche Alben veröffentlichte.
He was never the kind of pop star who made girls swoon in rows, or made guys think they were fans of his and come across as cool. Gilbert O'Sullivan, who turns 75 on December 1, seemed more like a class president who got the best grades. And for a certain period of time in the seventies, he was indeed on top. Songs like "Alone Again (Naturally)" (1972, UK #3, D #35, US#1), "Clair" (1972, UK #1, D #12, US #2), "Get Down" (1973, UK #1, D #1, US #7) or "Ooh Baby" (1973, UK #18, D #8, US #25) were known by practically everyone. Starting in 1977, O'Sullivan fought with his manager over royalties on his songs, collecting seven million pounds in 1982. The lack of presence, however, had caused the singer to fall into oblivion, which is why he largely stayed away from stage and studio in the eighties and only took off again in the nineties and has since released numerous albums.
