WIRRAL LIFE TALK TO ALEXANDER O ' NEAL
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INTERVIEW
WIRRAL LIFE TALK TO ALEXANDER O ' NEAL
Alexander O ' Neal is embarking on his last ever UK tour ' Time to Say Goodbye .'
This will take the audience on a journey through his incredible career with never-before-seen-photos , testimonies and tributes , all set to the tune of some of Alex ' s most beloved songs from his legendary catalogue including “ Criticize ,” “ Fake ” and “ If You Were Here Tonight .” Accompanied by his exemplary 9-piece live band , there won ’ t be a dry eye in the house as audiences come together to celebrates soulful legacy . Culminating at the historic Royal Albert Hall for his final ever live performance on the 7th June 2024 .
He came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist , with eleven Top 40 singles on the US R & B chart . However , he enjoyed huge mainstream success in the UK , achieving fourteen Top 40 singles on the UK Singles Chart between 1985 and 1996 , along with three top ten albums on the UK Albums Chart .
You make no bones about how much you love your British fans , so much so much you currently living in Manchester . The pace here is a lot like Minneapolis in the United States , so we really get on good Manchester and I . It ’ s been working out well , so far .
You ' ve been making music for over thirty years now , what keeps your fans so loyal ? You know , they seem to appreciate nostalgia , they have great appreciation for R & B music , and the one thing I love about the fans in England is that they grew up with you and they grow older with you . They still keep coming out and often that ’ s what keeps me excited .
Actually , I ' m gonna be performing as many songs from what I ’ ve recorded as I can . I try to pretty much put my show together with my fans in mind , so all of the songs that ' ve become hits and also some of the songs that weren ’ t singles - I ’ ll be playing those songs and some new stuff too . I ’ m excited for this tour , it ’ s really gonna be great .
We thought it was really interesting , that you re-recorded your huge hit album Hearsay 30 years later to great acclaim , receiving 5 out of 5 stars by reviewers . Well , you know , I ’ ve never actually heard of anybody who recorded an album 30 years ago and re-recorded it 30 years later ; but it was put to me by my management team and it was a challenge for me . They ’ re different projects but with Hearsay 30 , one of things that intrigued me the most about doing it was the fact that I ' d be working with the band . I worked with a great group of guys out of Manchester called Mamma Freedom and we put this album together and it had that live band feel . We put a couple of different twists on certain things but basically the whole feel of it is of being in the studio with a band with live horns ; with live musicians ; and that ’ s a wonderful , great feeling .
When you did make it into the UK charts in the mid eighties , you were in the company of the likes of Luther Vandross , ( who shared your record label , Epic ), George Benson and Al Jarreau , all also big stars , was there ever any rivalry between you ? There ’ s always a rivalry , it ’ s friendly competition . We all wanna do well and we all wanna have the top status - everybody wants to be number 1 , everybody wants a number 1 record . I ’ ve enjoyed a lot of great times within my career ; saw a lot of chart success , so yeah of course it was competitive but in a friendly kind of a way because you were only going as far as your record company were going to take you anyway .
You are clearly a dedicated musician and you ' ve never really been away from the music scene and your adoring fans , do you still love to be performing ? I ’ ve always spent a lot of time here in UK over the years . In America your audience is only as big as your last hit record . Here , the fans grew up with you and they stay with you . They still come out to the shows , they still buy your music and I don ’ t know why that is but the R & B music here in the UK is alive and well , especially old school R & B . I ’ m just grateful to be here and to be performing my biggest hits .
So what ’ s your secret of longevity ? I don ’ t know if it ’ s a secret , my dear - just to keep going . You just do what you do . You know a lot of times the music industry is one thing but life is another , so you gotta get the secret in life and that ' s that they both go hand in hand . Music is what I do , it ’ s my job and everybody knows I ’ m a working class artist , so I enjoy performing and I love being on stage . I think it ’ s keeping a buzz and keeping the excitement within what you do , is one of the biggest secrets . Still enjoy it and have fun with it . I just trying to keep going . Just having respect for what I do . Just trying to be the best person I can be each and every day . That ’ s a chore in itself . If I can accomplish that then the rest of it will have to take care of itself .
For anyone starting out in the music industry today , any advice ? First of all you ’ ve got to determine ; have you have the stuff that it takes to be in the limelight , to be that type of star ? Have you got the gift , have you got talent ? Don ’ t play with yourself - deal with the real first of all . Get your priorities into perspective and if you do , then go for it .
Everybody ’ s got something that they do well and it doesn ’ t have to be music . It could be something else . You might be dreaming of a career in music when the door is open for you in some other area .
How would you most like to be remembered ? Just being a good guy , a good person . Trying to be the best person I can be . If I can accomplish those kinds of things , I like the music industry , I like everything I ’ ve received from the industry but it ’ s not my whole life , it ’ s not my whole world . When you get to my age 69 in life , sometimes other things are much more important than music .
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