Raymond Edward O'Sullivan was born in Waterford, Ireland on December 1, 1946. In 1958, at the age of eleven, the family was off to England. Gilbert recalls hearing the news with mixed feelings. He had lived all his life in Waterford and loved the surrounding countryside. The O'Sullivans' settled in the English town of Swindon. In 1960, Jack O'Sullivan, who had reared six O'Sullivans: Marie, Deirdre, Kevin, John & Terry passes away. Raymond is 13 years old. In Swindon, Raymond attended St. Joseph's Comprehensive and went on to the Swindon Art College. Prior to college he spent hours pounding at the family piano which finally forces his mom to relocate it to the wood shed. It is there that Gilbert's songwriting begins. While at college he's a band member (drums, guitar & vocals) of The Doodles, The Prefects and Rick's Blues. After graduating he went to work in a London department store. One of his co-workers was under contract with CBS, and soon O'Sullivan was signed to the label as well. Two CBS singles "Disappear/You" and "What Can I Do?/You" were released to little attention. In 1967, The Tremeloes record "You" for their "Here Comes The Tremeloes" LP. In 1968, they record another O'Sullivan composition, "Come On Home". The CBS release is heard by BBC's John Peel who gives Ray a live airing on his "Top Gear" Radio Show in May where he performs 3 songs. Disappointed with CBS, he moves on to Phil Solomon's Major Minor label, the single "I Wish I Could Cry/Mr. Moody's Garden" is released with the adopted name of Gilbert listed on the 45. This also fails. Seeking a manager, he sends a demo tape and photo of himself dressed in a grey flannel suit, a Bisto Kid hat, football socks, little boy's school tie and clod hop boots to Gordon Mills. Mills had already launched Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck to international stardom. Mills was impressed by the demo tape and relaunches the songwriter on his new MAM label under the name Gilbert O'Sullivan. The debut "Nothing Rhymed" had some clever lyrics and a strong melody. It reached Number 1 in The Netherlands and UK#8 in late 1970. Gilbert had successfully combined a flair for Beatlesque popcraft with an old-fashioned music-hall sensibility and he was on his way! Michael Watts in the October 9th, 1970 issue of Melody Maker wrote "Gilbert O'Sullivan seems to be the only genuinely interesting and original 'new' single talent to have appeared in Britian in the seventies." The wit and craft of Gilbert's music coupled with his unusual image (at the peak of the hippie movement) produce subsequent hits including "Susan van Heusen", "I wish I could cry", "We Will", "Matrimony" and "No Matter How I Try". In 1971, Himself his debut LP is issued. The LP proves that his hit-making potential was undeniable and his ability to pen a memorable melody recalled the urbane charm of Paul McCartney. A year later, he finally broke through to the American market with the ballad "Alone Again (Naturally)," which topped the U.S. pop charts and sold over a million copies. Around this time, he quickly jettisoned his so-called 'Bisto Kid' image in favor of a series of embossed letter 'G' sweaters. In late 1972, Gilbert scored his first British number one with "Clair." The song, written about Mills’ daughter, stalls at number two in the States. His second offering, "Back To Front", reached number 1 in the UK and his appeal stretched across the board, embracing teen and adult audiences. For a time, he seemed likely to rival and even excel Elton John as Britain's most successful singer/songwriter export. 1973 proved to be a productive and exhausting year for Gilbert. In April, he is named "Songwriter of the Year" at the 18th annual Ivor Novello Awards. On May 25th he begins his 18 city UK Tour at London's Royal Festival Hall. In September, his first and only United States Tour commences, "Get Down," and "Ooh Baby" become top selling singles and his third LP "I'm A Writer Not A Fighter" is released. He opens the official fan club and finishes the year with sold-out shows at the London Palladium. Also in '73, Gilbert mets his long standing girlfriend, Norwegian airline stewardess, Aase Brekke at London's Heathrow Airport. In May of 1974, "Get Down" wins the Ivor Novello Award for the "Best Song of the Year." In September he opens for The Carpenters at the Hollywood Bowl. He returns to Europe and spends the rest of the month on his 16 date European tour, which takes him to Italy, Spain, Germany and other countries. In October, his fourth LP, "A Stranger In My Own Backyard" is released and hits UK#9. In November he plays a one-week stay at the London Palladium. Although singles like "Why, Oh Why, Oh Why", "You Got Me Going", "A Christmas Song" and "Happiness Is Me and You" continued to chart, they sold increasingly fewer copies, and after the 1974 album his overseas popularity essentially ceased altogether. During March 1975, Gilbert embarks on his British Tour which takes him to dates in Ireland, Scotland and England. In May, the single "I Don't Love You But I think I Like You/That's A Fact" is released which is his final Top 20 hit. November starts a serious media campaign for the release of the MAM Greatest Hits album, which reached UK#13. Gilbert embarks on a national radio tour to promote the LP. "Matrimony" is pulled from the lp as a single along with "You Don’t Have To Tell Me." Gilbert’s Greatest Hits TV program for ITV is broadcast on Boxing Day (12/26). In 1977, leaving MAM after a well-publicized dispute with Gordon Mills, this last effort, the self-produced, "Southpaw" fails to find an audience, and O'Sullivan disappears from the charts. In 1978, he performs on the BBC-TV show "Sight & Sound" concert series. In 1980, Gilbert returns to CBS Records with the Gus Dugeon-produced LP "Off Centre", which contains the global hit "What's In A Kiss." In Latin speaking countries it will be his greatest hit up till now. On New Year's Day 1980, Gilbert popped the question to Aase. The couple tied the knot on Wednesday, January 10th at All Saints Roman Catholic Church at Hersham, Surrey. In the fall of '80, the O'Sullivans become pride parents of Helen-Marie their first daughter. January 5, 1981 Gilbert presented his last TV special:Off Centre. He performed 11 songs and his guest was Barbara Dickson. In 1982, the Graham Gouldman-produced LP "Life and Rhymes" is released. To pay his legal costs Gilbert had to sell his £250,000 Weybridge home in Surrey. He moves to Ireland and a six bedroom farmhouse in County Wexford. The move to Ireland brings the O'Sullivans their second daughter, Tara who was born in 1984. The litigation with Gordon Mills and its aftermath effectively halted Gilbert's recording career from 1982 through 1989. He returned to the fray in 1987, when Germany released "Frobisher Drive" name after a street in Swindon. A revamped and re-titled LP "In The Key Of G" followed in the UK in November 1989. Thanks to the use of "Alone Again (Naturally)" in Maison Ikkoku, the highly successful Japanese animated TV series, Gilbert gains a huge legion of new fans. The Maison was a comicstrip which was adapted into a 96-episode TV anime series. It ran on Fuji TV from March 1986 through March 1988. In 1986, Kitty Records in Japan releases the first cd compilation in the world. March 1990, Kitty release the Original Collection, a beautiful box set with the original 5 MAM Cds, a booklet and 3" cd single. In November 1991 "Sounds Of The Loop" is released with a Japanese duet with Takao Kisugi on Can't Think Straight. A 1992 single, Tomorrow Today, from SouthPaw, reached #1 - a residency which was to last for nine weeks. Used as TV drama series theme it becomes Gilbert's first Japanese Number one. The younger Japanese generation is more familiar with this song than "Alone Again (Naturally)." This success led to a February 1993 Japanese tour which was recorded and filmed at Nakano Sunplaza Hall, Tokyo for the live album "Tomorrow Today." Kitty also released "The Little Album" and "Rare Tracks" (1992) and numerous compilations throughout the decade. In February 1990, Gilbert found himself with a very successful dance record called "So What". It was released under the Italian name GOSS. Gilbert embarked upon a 16 city UK Spring Tour to showcase Every Song Has Its Play, a musical drama about the trials and tribulatons of a singer's rise to fame which he devised. In 1991, O'Sullivan was again in court and again victorious thanks to a judge's landmark ruling that rapper Biz Markie's unauthorized sample from "Alone Again (Naturally)" was, in fact, theft. In March and April of 1991 Gilbert embarks on a 26 date UK Tour. BBC Radio2 broadcasts the Paignton Festival Theatre performance on April 13th. April 1993, Sounds of the Loop is released in Europe. In Norway, "Can't Think Straight" is sung as a duet with Kirstin Siggard. In Spain it is sung as duet with Silvia Tortisa. Sounds Of The Loop Tour takes place in Nov-Dec 1993 with 10 UK dates. On December 3rd, BBC Radio 2 presented the last night live from London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. In 1995, he was invited to the annual Glastonbury Music Festival and his performance was aired by BBC Radio Two. Also in 1995, Park Records released the recorded version of "Every Song Has Its Play." In November,the "Every Song Has Its Play" Tour had 5 Irish dates including Dublin's Olympia Theatre and 5 English dates. Gilbert was accompanied by a 9 piece band which includes a string quartet.The tour ended at London's Jazz Cafe. On ITV's "Stars In Their Eyes", Paul McCoy wins 2nd place as Gilbert Impersonater on May 25,1996. In the Fall of '97, Gilbert embarked upon a 14 date "Every Song Has Its Play" Tour of the Netherlands and in November, "Singer Sowing Machine" is released. Having purchased the rights to "I Wish I Could Cry" from EMI, Gilbert re-records the song with Ron Argent and releases it in Holland. At Christmas Time, Gilbert flies to Japan for a series of concerts at the Blue Note in Osaka. In February 1998, Gilbert appears on ITV's "The Morning Show" where he performs an acoustic verison of "I'll Be The Lonely One". In June '98 Gilbert embarked upon a short UK tour. On July 4th he shared the bill with Elkie Brookes at Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield, Cheshire. The single "Ain't No Telling (What Tomorrow Will Bring)" was released on October 26th, 1998. The song is a remix of the single released in Austria for the National Ski Championships. In June 2000, "Irlish" was released in Japan where he also embarked on a fall tour and visited Australia for the first time. 2001 was also a very busy year with the release of "Irlish" in Ireland followed by a well-attended series of homeland concerts in March, the release of a new compilation cd and new song "Taking A Chance of Love" in Japan, the April radio broadcast of the Olympia Theatre Concert from Dublin and a radio & TV promo tour of Japan. In September, his own record label, BYGUM Records and his own official website www.gilbertosullivan.com were unveiled. The fall also saw the release of "Irlish" in the UK. Q Magazine said "Ex-short trousered person continues low-key comeback." As well as "...the signs are that Gilbert O'Sullivan is on the upswing again." Irlish is the combination of the words Ir-ish and Eng-lish. Gilbert said "I feel I am an English-style of lyricist. I'm very much an English songwriter and an Irish person." In the Spring of 2002 Gilbert embarked on a five-city UK tour which started in Newcastle and ended at Ronnie Scott's in London. He performed over 25 songs including "Disappear" and "Mr. Moody's Garden." Japan released another greatest hits collection called "Twin Best" with 36 songs. A video of the new single "Two's Company (Three is Allowed)" was produced with comedian Harry Hill portraying Gilbert in the famous G Sweater. He was also featured in the April 13th, Sunday edition of the Daily Mail Magazine. On June 12th, he appeared on the BBC Radio 2 broadcast: "Steve Wright In the Afternoon." He spent the rest of the year writing and recording new music. However, he made a brief visit to the University of Leeds, to see his daughter Helen graduate with a BA Hons in English and media from Trinity & All Saints College. In 2003 "Piano Forplay" saw the light bringing forward a jazzy Gilbert assisted with a small combo. Word Magazine said.."But it's full of those wry, downtrodden everyman songs - with typically Gilbertesque titles like It Never Rains But It Pours, Barking Up The Wrong Tree (Such Is Life) and What's It All Supposed To Mean? - that remind you he could have become Britain's Randy Newman." On October 22, Gilbert performed "Nothing Rhymed" and "Make My Day" on Top Of The Pops2. In Japan, the MAM CD Catalog is re-released in mini LP-style cardboard sleeves with complete artwork. In January 2004 Rhino Handmade Records in the US released a 3 CD anthology Caricature: The Box. With an astounding 73 tracks it is the first in-depth survey of his musical career. In February, Japan released The Other Sides of Gilbert O'Sullivan" a b-side collection with many tracks available on CD for the first time. In March, EMI released the first comprehensive UK Greatest Hits package "The Berry Vest of Gilbert O'Sullivan." For the first time in many years Gilbert was chart-bound reaching UK#20 and number 4 in Ireland. On April 26th, Gilbert performed a marathon concert at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. Gilbert sang 35 songs and played for two hours. Piano Foreplay was the cd most represented. Of the show Gilbert said: "With a new album and a "Best Of" on release it's more important than ever to be out there performing live." Best Hits & Rarities, another compilation cd was released in Japan on June 16th, 2004. It appears that the cd is a tie-in with Gilbert's commercial works in Japan. The Berry Vest Tour traveled to Japan in June. Gilbert performed four nights at Tokyo's Duo Music Exchange from June 5-8, 2004. He also did numerous radio and TV appearances. The shows were connected to the release of a new Japanese compilation Best Hits and Rarities and a CD single. November and December were busy months with a 20 date European Tour (UK, Ireland, Norway and Denmark) . In February 2005 Japan releases a DVD/CD set of the Duo Music Exchange (Tokyo) June 2004 show. Gilbert returned to Japan in June 2005 for a series of 13 Blue Note shows and in June, during an interview, he tells reporter Roisin Ingle, that some people still regard him as perenially uncool. He spent the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006 recording his latest studio effort A Scruff At Heart which was released in Japan in October 2006. On July 31, 2006, Eagle Vision in the UK released and expanded the Live In Tokyo DVD concert selection and added two promo videos.The Gilbert O'Sullivan: In Concert special was re-broadcast on BBC 4 Friday, August 11th, 2006. The original air date was December 18, 1971. This was his first British TV special. On Friday, December 1 2006, Gilbert celebrated his 60th birthday. In 2007, Gilbert entered the digital world. Three of his albums are now available on iTunes. In June, Bygum Records releases A Scruff At Heart in the UK. Uncut Music Magazine said "...it's a decent set, with McCartneyesque vocals competing against thunderous piano, on songs which deal with mid-life infidelity and romance." In mid-August, Gilbert joins the MYSPACE community (www.myspace.com/gilbertosullivan) and places an official video to his new single "Just So You Know" on YOUTUBE.com. The fall of 2007 found Gilbert on a 14 date UK and Ireland tour. He and his full band played in Dublin, Liverpool, London and other cities. New to this tour were "Happiness Is Me And You", "Come On Home" and "Why, Oh Why, Oh Why." Now it seems as though the rest of the world is catching up to his fiercely devoted fan base. His music has sound tracked films and television shows from "Stuart Little 2", 'The Simpsons' to Sofia Coppola's 'The Virgin Suicides', Meera Syal's "Anita & Me" and the BBC series 'Life On Mars'. The next Noah Baumbach film Margot at the Wedding staring Nicole Kidman will feature "Clair." His songs have been covered by, amongst others, Vonda Shepard, Olsen Brothers, Petula Clark, Morrissey, Dusty Springfield, Andy Williams, Nina Simone, Herb Albert, Shirley Bassey, Bobby Darin, Sarah Vaughan and more recently Har Mar Superstar and Donny Osmond. He received BMI's 4 Million Airplay Award for "Alone Again (Naturally)." Today, Gilbert with his Norwegian-born wife, Aase, and daughters, Helen-Marie and Tara, continues to call the Isle Of Jersey in the Channel Islands home. About the island, Gilbert says: 'Jersey's a wonderful island,' he says. 'We moved here because it's a perfect place for a family. It has a very healthy climate and there aren't the pressures of life you have in the UK, such as motorways and crowds. It's a great place to relax... and write songs, of course.' He is a firm believer in his three R's: Writing, Recording and Releasing! Revised November 3, 2007