A biography for Gilbert O'Sullivanhasn’t been written yet.
“I always want to keep moving musically and trying new things.”
“The Beatles changed everything . I knew I couldn't compete, couldn't be as cool, so I went completely the other way.”
“I never wanted global fame you know.”
“I thought my singing and songwriting were good, but nothing different. Then you're presented with this picture image that contradicts the impression you get from listening to the record.”
“You see, I read reviews of people like Paul Simon, and they don't talk about the fact that he's looking old or whether he is fashionable; they talk about the music, which is how it should be.”
“I love writing and I just sit at my keyboard and write.”
“I always tell people that I went through long hair. I was a typical art school scruff. It was good then.”
“I don't trust anybody.”
“It's very easy to think about rhymes and just usage of words that sound good but don't mean anything. Basically, I try to put into song the way people actually talk.”
“I'd love to see myself on sale in shops. It tickles me, does the idea of me being marketed.”
“The way I do that is to keep coming up with good songs and when I do a concert, I make sure I give a good performance. It's not rocket science.”
“To be successful to me meant to have a hit record in England. I never looked outside England.”
“I couldn't live without Radio 1. They condemned me to oblivion, but they're what I grew up with.”
“I wanted to look different. I liked being original.”
“It is ironic that losing makes you more liked than winning.”
“Success for me is to write what I think is a good song. When I'm pleased with it, that, for me, is a magical moment. I never lost that buzz.”
“What I would hate to go through is what happened in the mid-90s playing in front of a half-empty theatre, which prompted me to say 'never again' when it came to Waterford. To go through that again in any of the places I call home would destroy me.”
“I think I'm a good lyricist.”
“I always take a teapot with me on tour. I suppose it's only natural that I've just written a song called 'Where Would We Be Without Tea?'”
“As long as I can write songs, make a record and do concerts, I'm really quite happy.”