ln Waterford, O'Sullivan's father worked in a meat factory while his mother ran a sweet shop. In 1958, at the age of 11, he moved with his family to Swindon in England in search of a better life. He attended St. Joseph's Comprehensive school in Swindon. While there he developed an interest in both music and amateur boxing. Musically he began with the guitar and progressed to the piano. In the boxing ring he had nearly 50 bouts. Meanwhile his painting and drawing had won him a place at Swindon Art College. He started there in September 1963. His aim was to be a graphic designer. He played drums in his first group The Doodles and left them to join The Prefects while attending Swindon Art College. It was while at college that he met Rick Davies, who was later a member of Supertramp. While at college he began writing songs and sending out demo tapes, alas they were always returned unopened. The first song he remembers writing was Ready Miss Steady.
After finishing college, O'Sullivan moved to London in 1967 to try and further his musical career. He took a part-time job as a salesman at the C & A department store in Oxford Street. Mike Ward who also worked at C & A, had a contract with CBS and Gilbert went with him one day and played his tapes for some of the CBS executives. Gilbert signed a five year publishing contract with CBS which called for one single a year, and released two singles Disappear/You in 1967 and What Can I Do/You in 1968. Gilbert was disappointed that he was not allowed any input into the arranging or production of the singles. Neither single did well. Disillusioned with CBS, O'Sullivan signed with the Major Minor label and released I Wish I Could Cry/Mr. Moody's Garden in 1969.
O'Sullivan came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey, John Peel, who gave him a slot on his radio show Top Gear, little of note resulted, and O'Sullivan spent part of 1969 applying to other record labels and management companies. It was at this time that O'Sullivan formulated his 'Bisto Kid' image; grey flannel suit, flat cap, school boy tie, football socks and hobnail boots. In search of a manager he sent some demo tapes to Gordon Mills, an ex-pop singer and himself a songwriter of repute, who had successfully guided the careers of Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. Gordon Mills recognised something unique in the young Irishman and signed him for management as well as to a songwriting contract.
O'Sullivan made an irresistible impression with Nothing Rhymed, his first Top 10 hit and an introduction to his witty lyrics and original approach as a singer/songwriter. Signed to MAM Records, the label launched by Gordon Mills, who was also his record producer, great friend and surrogate older brother, O'Sullivan enjoyed four years of major success, incorporating a dozen more hit singles, ten of which reached the UK Top 10, and four Top 5 albums: Himself (1971), Back To Front (1972), I'm A Writer Not A Fighter (1973) and A Stranger In My Own Back Yard (1974).
Both Clair (written about Mills's infant daughter for whom Gilbert occasionally babysat) and Get Down were number one hit singles in Britain, and additionally, Back To Front topped the UK LP chart in 1972, emulating the success of the two million seller Alone Again (Naturally), a six week US chart-topper in 1972. O'Sullivan made his live debut in The National Stadium in Dublin in October of '72. Around this time, the singer jettisoned his so-called "Bisto Kid" image in favour of an endless series of collegiate-styled sweaters embossed with the letter "G". As quickly as O'Sullivan ascended to fame, however, his star began to fall , although singles like Ooh Baby and Happiness Is Me and You continued to chart, they sold increasingly fewer copies, and after 1973 his overseas popularity essentially ceased altogether. At home, he notched his final Top 20 hit with 1975's I Don't Love You But I Think I Like You. After a Greatest Hits album in 1976, and Southpaw in 1977, by which time the hit singles had dried up, disagreements over future direction led to a bitter split between O'Sullivan and Mills, which effectively sidelined the former as a recording artist for five years. The gruelling court case between O'Sullivan and his erstwhile manager, producer, music publisher and record company boss finally gave him control of his own recordings and the copyright in his songs, although it exacted an inevitable toll on his energy and his creativity during it's precedent-setting course.
Gilbert returned to CBS in 1980 and released Off Centre (1980) and Life & Rhymes (1982) but maintained a low profile during much of the 1980s, recharging his batteries and moving to Jersey, where he still lives with his wife and two children. Off Centre provided his 13th UK Top 20 single, What's In A Kiss?, after which legal proceedings monopolised his time. However, he continued writing songs, performing what he called "concepts within four walls" rather than starting back on the road before it was appropriate. He later recalled that the lyrics he wrote during that period were too heavily influenced by his personal emotions - having been extremely close to Mills before their disagreement, he was highly distressed to discover that his dear friend had been guilty of considerable financial greed at Gilbert's expense. Even so, he applied himself to his lonely creativity, working from 9 to 5 each day "just like Goffin & King and people like Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield at the Brill Building in New York used to do", although he later confessed "Really, the words were no good, because my mind was cluttered with all the problems". Lyrics have always been O'Sullivan's most unique facet, reflecting what's going on in his mind, and the strain under which he found himself was hardly conducive to much positive artistic or commercial creativity.
The first release for five years was Frobisher Drive and was only available in Germany. The same album with a slightly different track listing was released in the UK in 1989 under the title In The Key Of G, and included So What, his first chart single in almost a decade. Since the low-key comeback, the pace has increased, with five more albums. Gilbert also made a return to live performances in the early nineties, playing regularly in both Europe and Japan. In 1991, Gilbert was again in court, this time he sued American rapper Biz Markie and won the decision after Markie's unauthorized sample of "Alone Again (Naturally)" on his 1991 album I Need a Haircut. A 1992 single, Tomorrow Today had topped the Japanese charts for nine weeks, and this success led to a tour of Japan in early 1993 with his newly formed backing group, during which he recorded and filmed his first ever live album Tomorrow Today. Gilbert's newfound success in Japan led to the Japanese only release of The Little Album (1992) and Rare Tracks (1992). 1993's critical acclaimed Sounds Of The Loop (Daily Telegraph's Record Of The Week) included a duet with the legendary Peggy Lee on Can't Think Straight and even a solo version of the same song in Japanese. This album was recorded almost entirely at his home in Jersey in the Channel Islands.
By Larry (with a similar track listing to the Japanese released The Little Album) was released in 1994. Larry is a famous English cartoonist, much admired by Gilbert. Larry provided original cartoons for the album sleeve and booklet. Every Song Has It's Play was released the following year and was the soundtrack of the semi-autobiographical stage show that Gilbert had acted and sang in, in 1991. Singer Sowing Machine was released in 1997. The title is a humorous reaction by Gilbert to being constantly referred to as a singer/ songwriter. Irlish was released in 2000 and yielded three singles, Have It, Say Goodbye and Two's Company (Three Is Allowed). The album title Irlish, combination of the words Irish and English, appropriate for someone born in Ireland and raised in England. Gilbert's family was part of this migration. In 2001 The Official Gilbert O'Sullivan Website was launched as well as his own record label ByGum Records.
Gilbert continued to tour and he played a series of concerts in Ireland in 2001 and in the UK in 2002 to promote the Irlish album. A new studio album Piano Foreplay followed in 2003. In 2004 Rhino Handmade Records released a 3 CD anthology in the USA of Gilbert's music entitled Caricature: The Box. It contains 73 tracks which span the years 1967-2001. This is the first in-depth survey of Gilbert's lengthy career. It contains numerous singles and B-sides, tracks from 16 of his albums, and five previously unreleased tracks. A b-side collection entitled The Other Sides of Gilbert O'Sullivan was released in Japan in 2004 and contained many tracks available on CD for the first time. A series of concerts followed in Japan in June 2004 followed by a 20 date European Tour of the UK, Ireland, Norway and Denmark in November and December. In February 2005 a DVD/CD set of the 2004 Japanese show was released in Japan. Gilbert returned to Japan in June 2005 for a series of 13 shows. Gilbert spent the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006 recording his next studio album "A Scruff At Heart" which was released in Japan on 25 October 2006.
Houdini Said
Gilbert O'Sullivan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All others close to you
Is it the Queen is it obscene
Tell me I want you to
Oh I've often wondered what it is that incites
So many young people to take part in those riots
Whereby all men in blue are the targets to destroy
Lady be good I wish you would
Have I the right to print in spite
Of what your views would be
Concerning those matters of the utmost degree
The point being the question and the question being he
Who laughs first has a thirst to laugh longest
Has he?
Over there (over where)
Over there (over where)
On the wall (what wall)
The one in the hall (oh the hall)
I can see (we can see)
Well you could have fooled me
Some take the attitude that life is a drag
They say and I quote "Man it just isn't our bag"
But if that's where it's at why the hell don't they go
Houdini said to get out of bed
Was the hardest thing he could do
Yet when he's tied strait-jacket plied
He's out at the count of two
It seems elementary my dear Watson I know
But think what would happen if for instance this show
That we're in should begin not one hour but
Two late
Over there (over where)
Over there (over where)
On the wall (what wall)
The one in the hall (oh the hall)
I can see (we can see)
Well you could have fooled me
The lyrics to Gilbert O'Sullivan's song "Houdini Said" are somewhat abstract and open to interpretation, but there are a few themes and ideas that stand out. The song seems to be a somewhat nonsensical stream-of-consciousness meditation on a variety of topics, including love, politics, social unrest, and the nature of reality. The first verse suggests a concern for the relationship between power (represented by a doctor or the queen) and the people, with a hint of scandal or taboo ("is it obscene?") thrown in. The second verse turns to the idea of the "attitude" some people have toward life, positing that if they find it so unbearable, why don't they just leave? The third verse is the most cryptic, referencing Houdini and his ability to escape from confinement, and then posing a hypothetical scenario in which a performance is delayed by two hours.
While it's difficult to say exactly what this all means, the lyrics may be seen as a commentary on the various forms of constraint and oppression that can hold people back, whether it be political power, societal norms, or simply one's own mindset. The references to Houdini and his escape artistry could represent a desire to break free from these restrictions, or to find some way to exercise power and control over one's own life. The overall effect of the song is somewhat surreal and dreamlike, but there is an underlying sense of unease or unrest that gives it a certain edge.
Line by Line Meaning
Doctor in love who is above
A highly respected doctor who is superior
All others close to you
Better than all others who are near you
Is it the Queen is it obscene
Is it the Queen or something inappropriate?
Tell me I want you to
Please tell me, I'm curious
Oh I've often wondered what it is that incites
I have been curious about what motivates
So many young people to take part in those riots
Many young people participate in the riots
Whereby all men in blue are the targets to destroy
The police are the targets of destruction
Lady be good I wish you would
Lady, please be good
Meanwhile exclusively
At the same time, but in a specific way
Have I the right to print in spite
Do I have the right to publish despite
Of what your views would be
Even if your opinions differ
Concerning those matters of the utmost degree
Regarding the most important matters
The point being the question and the question being he
The issue is the question and the person in question
Who laughs first has a thirst to laugh longest
The person who starts laughing wants to laugh the longest
Has he?
Isn't that right?
Over there (over where)
In that direction
Over there (over where)
In that direction
On the wall (what wall)
Which wall are you talking about?
The one in the hall (oh the hall)
You mean the wall in the hall
I can see (we can see)
Yes, I see it too
Well you could have fooled me
I'm surprised, I didn't realize that before
Some take the attitude that life is a drag
Some people think that life is boring
They say and I quote "Man it just isn't our bag"
They say that it's not their thing
But if that's where it's at why the hell don't they go
If that's the case, why don't they leave?
Houdini said to get out of bed
Houdini found it difficult to get out of bed
Was the hardest thing he could do
It was the hardest thing for him to do
Yet when he's tied strait-jacket plied
But when he's tied up and restrained
He's out at the count of two
He's able to escape quickly
It seems elementary my dear Watson I know
It seems simple, as Sherlock Holmes would say
But think what would happen if for instance this show
But consider what would happen if this program
That we're in should begin not one hour but
Started not one hour late, but
Two late
Two hours late
Over there (over where)
In that direction
Over there (over where)
In that direction
On the wall (what wall)
Which wall are you talking about?
The one in the hall (oh the hall)
You mean the wall in the hall
I can see (we can see)
Yes, I see it too
Well you could have fooled me
I'm surprised, I didn't realize that before
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RAYMOND O'SULLIVAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ARK Ministries
Doctor in love who is above
All others close to you
Is it the Queen is it obscene
Tell me I want you to
Oh I've often wondered what it is that incites
So many young people to take part in those riots
Whereby all men in blue are the targets to destroy
Lady be good I wish you would
Meanwhile exclusively
Have I the right to print in spite
Of what your views would be
Concerning those matters of the utmost degree
The point being the question and the question being he
Who laughs first has a thirst to laugh longest
Has he?
Over there (over where)
Over there (over where)
On the wall (what wall)
The one in the hall (oh the hall)
I can see (we can see)
Could have fooled me
Some take the attitude that life is a drag
They say and I quote "Man it just isn't our bag"
But if that's where it's at why the hell don't they go
Houdini said to get out of bed
Was the hardest thing he could do
Yet when he's tied strait-jacket plied
He's out at the count of two
It seems elementary my dear Watson I know
But think what would happen if for instance this show
That we're in should begin not one hour but
Two late
Over there (over where)
Over there (over where)
On the wall (what wall)
The one in the hall (oh the hall)
I can see (we can see)
Could have fooled me
david rieuwerts
It is one of the great epic pop songs as far as I'm concerned, fantastic sound with loads going on to keep it moving along. Brilliant melody, lyrics and arrangement. Truly great all round.
Martin Wedge
This man is pure genius and this song is absolutely wonderful x
Tom Beasley
Agreed.
K.G.
Staggeringly prophetic piece of art. This song was released almost half a century ago.
Jean Abbott
I grew up with this man's music. I was heavily into Cat Stevens, Ralph McTell, Don McLean etc, but the poetic and musical timing of Gilberts lyrics drew me away and I was hooked. 'Alone again' fitted my situation but so did so many other songs. A great big 'Thank-you' to someone who made my life so much more than 'a life' - the story only begins here ! :)
melancholiac
Amazing debut LP. So much lyrical and musical talent. Thanks fpr posting this.
James Freebury
Bought this when it was issued on vinyl. Talented chappy that Gilbo! Briliant!
Krzyszczynski
Shout-out for Johnny Spence, who did the arrangements for this and other tracks on the Himself album.
Puddleglum137
One of my favourite guitar solo's at the end of this.
jose cg
fantastico Gilbert¡¡ logre sacar la armonía básic con la guitarra¡¡¡ MARAVILLOSO....