Interview: Englebert Humperdink, singer

FORGET the Olympics, the Queen’s Jubilee and Euro 2012, there’s one event this year that’s set to eclipse all of those in its sheer level of camp revelry, let alone drama and politics – the Eurovision Song Contest.

And this year, the UK will be represented by an unlikely choice – the sideburned vision of veteran crooner Engelbert Humperdinck. “When I learned the BBC wanted me to represent my country for the Eurovision Song Contest, it was overwhelming. It’s the greatest honour I’ve had in a long time and I’ll do my best to bring the contest back to our country,” says the 76-year-old, wearing jeans, black shirt and a black leather jacket.

With his wide features and bouffant dark hair, I can’t help but think he looks how Elvis might have done had he reached a similar age. In the grand tradition of Eurovision, the event is being hosted in the previous winner’s country of residence and this time it falls to Baku in Azerbaijan.

The UK has managed to bypass the two semi-final stages ahead of the grand final on Saturday by qualifying automatically as one of the five biggest financial contributors to the competition, along with France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Sara Cox and Scott Mills covered the first semi-final on Tuesday (the second is today) on BBC Three, with Humperdinck popping by to share his opinion on the potential competition, which will include Irish coiffed twins Jedward, and Russia’s Babushka grannies. “They’re in the running, let’s see what happens,” he says simply of the latter. “I think they tried to top the fact I was the oldest member on the team but good for them.”

For those wondering how Humperdinck came to be selected to represent Britain, the answer is simple: after 50 years of having viewers pick the Eurovision performer, last year the BBC kept the decision in-house. And this year, the corporation chose Humperdinck after hearing the songs he is working on for his new studio album.

Following a draw to determine the order of performers, Humperdinck will be kicking things off as the “first out of the box” on the big night. “I’m nervous about that but it’s also a good position to be in,” he says. “When you lose your nerves, you’ve lost everything. No matter where I go, no matter how many performances I do, I always have that slight nervous reaction before I go on. It’s like being a boxer but I think it’s a good thing. It gives you the edge; it makes you come out fighting.”

On the night he’ll be singing Love Will Set You Free, a romantic, melodic waltz written by Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek, who between them have worked with the likes of James Morrison, Mary J Blige and James Blunt. “I think the song was written by two of the greatest people that could ever write a song for this particular occasion,” says Humperdinck. “It has a great melody and the potential of being played by an orchestra without the lyrics as it’s outstanding but it’s the lyrics that will carry it into orbit.” Of course, he believes it has the potential to win but jokes: “It all depends on the performance, my dear.”

It can’t hurt that, bar being called ‘The Hump’, he’s also known as the ‘King of Romance’. “I’ve represented romance all my life and have been a part of the business for 45 years,” he says. “You can’t pretend, it has to be within you. Romance is what makes the world go around. ”

Born Arnold George Dorsey in India to a British military father and an opera singer mother, the young Humperdinck and his nine siblings were brought up in Leicester. He still has close ties with the city. Apart from owning a home there (he also has one in LA), he received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Leicester in 2006 and in 2009 was awarded the freedom of the city. He started by playing the saxophone in nightclubs but switched to singing after he won a singing contest in a pub, to which his friends had secretly invited him. After a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis in his early days, the young Gerry Dorsey, as he became known, realised he needed a big comeback and changed his name to Engelbert Humperdinck. The name was a suggestion of his old roommate, Gordon Mills, who went on to manage Tom Jones and who lifted it from the 19th-century composer of operas such as Hansel and Gretel.

In 1967 he released his own version of Release Me, which he had recorded as a ballad but with the support of a full chorus and it proved a sensation, much to the annoyance of The Beatles, who were stopped from reaching No 1 with Strawberry Fields Forever by Humperdinck’s single which, at its height, was selling 85,000 copies per day. The late 1960s and early 1970s were Humperdinck’s heyday. Few will recall several of the major forces in the world of rock’n’roll, including Jimi Hendrix and The Carpenters, started out as opening acts for him. It was during this period that he cultivated the iconic image of shaggy sideburns and the flamboyant wardrobe that included numerous leather jumpsuits. It’s why he often jokingly asserts that Elvis “stole” the image from him.

Among his many female fans, or “Humperdincks” as they are known, is Princess Anne. He keeps them happy because he enjoys his career and strives to remain relevant, although he has eased back a little on the 200 shows a year for which he was once famous.

A few years ago Damon Albarn, the founder of Blur, contacted the singer’s then manager to ask if he would perform on the Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach. Unfortunately the manager turned the offer down without contacting Humperdinck, who was furious when he eventually heard. In a previous interview he said that his manager’s refusal was “the most grievous sin ever committed” and that he then sought new representation, eventually hiring his son, Scott. “I’d really like to rekindle that suggestion again and bring it back. Hopefully they will ask me again. My son Scott will definitely say yes.”

In 45 years in the business, he’s sold more than 150 million records worldwide and become one of only a handful of artists with a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Las Vegas Walk of Fame, but Humperdinck doesn’t want to ease up any time soon. “Definitely not, I’m ready to go to Baku and do my thing,” he laughs.

Beyond that is a new album release called Engelbert And The Girls. “It’s a collaboration with artists but I can’t give you any names right now. After all the excitement of the contest is over we’ll bring all that out.”

One thing’s for sure, though, Humperdinck won’t be letting age be a barrier. “Pop music is pop music. It doesn’t matter how old you are; if you sing a pop song and it’s a good one you’ll score a No 1 with it no matter what age you are.” The key to longevity is to simply move with the times, he adds. “When I first started recording, if you had a gold album you had to sell a million, if you had a platinum album, it was over a million, and for diamond it was three million. Now you’re in the charts with 100,000 but that’s because of the way of modern life today,” he says.

“But I’m very proud of the fact I have all those gold and platinum albums on my walls. I look at them and think of all the millions of people who have supported me over the years. I just hope they support me in Eurovision.”