The man responsible for a not-too-shabby 360 million records sold, including three of Joe Dolan’s biggest hits, paid a surprise visit to Mullingar at the weekend to pay tribute to the late singer, and to announce details of an Irish tour in the autumn which includes a Mullingar date.
Albert Hammond may not be an instantly recognised name, but chances are you have heard at least a handful of his songs for other artists. In fact, almost fifty of his songs have topped the charts at one stage over the past five decades.
The artist, songwriter and producer was in Ireland to make a well-received appearance on The Late Late show (after which it seemed the whole country was talking about him) and to play a couple of gigs in Dublin and Cork. It was whilst en route to Cork that he decided to divert to pay a visit to Joe’s hometown.
“Everywhere I go, people ask me about Joe, so I was glad to come here and see where he came from,” Albert told Topic.
Albert met with Joe’s family, including brother, Ben and nephews, Adrian and Ray, as well as Joe’s long-time manager, Seamus Casey and his son, Topic journalist and author Ronan Casey, and local music promoter and one-time member of Joe’s band, Tommy Swarbrigg, among others. He happily posed for pictures at the Joe Dolan statue where he met many fans, and afterwards he enjoyed lunch in the Greville Arms which Topic was present for.
Albert told Topic he was saddened to learn from Joe’s official biography by Ronan Casey that Joe was down in the dumps after Hammond and his writing partner, Mike Hazlewood left the UK for America. At the time they had just penned Joe’s international breakthrough hits, “Make Me an Island, “Teresa” and “Good Looking Woman” but they had also started a hits hot streak with other artists which brought them to the States.
It took Joe and his manager a number of years to find a writer as good, and Joe always maintained that Albert was his number one.
“I was saddened to read that, why didn’t he write to me or find me?” Albert said. “I loved his voice, I’d have written any amount of songs for him. In fact I often found myself writing songs in the 70s, 80s and 90s thinking ‘this would suit Joe’ because he had such a unique voice.”
“I was very sad to read he was very depressed when the two people who wrote his songs moved away. Why didn’t he write to me, I’d have written all the songs that he wanted! But at the time I had to move on. I had three songs in the top 20 in the same week (including one he sang himself, “It Never Rains in Southern California”). I thought, ‘what am I gonna do next?’ America! And then when I got there I couldn’t work for two years because I’d no work permit. I was struggling, living on borrowed time and on couches. I wrote “The Air That I Breathe” for a secretary who looked after me and gave me somewhere to sleep and her car to drive when she was at work, and other songs started to get picked up.”
He then went on to work with some of the biggest names in showbusiness. It is said that Albert didn’t just write hits – he wrote classics. His songs have mass appeal, timelessness and depth that over time turns them into standards.
He has written for – and with – artists such as The Carpenters, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Elton John, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross, Johnny Cash, K.D. Lang, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, to name just a few, and he has been responsible for songs like ‘The Hollies’ “All I Need Is The Air That I Breathe”, Leo Sayer’s “When I Need You,” Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” “I Need To Be In Love,” “One Moment in Time,” “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” “Careless Heart,” “Don’t You Love Me Anymore” and three-time hit “Don’t Turn Around,” recorded by Ace of Base, Neil Diamond and Aswad. In 2008, Albert was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and also received an OBE from Queen Elizabeth II.
Albert’s local link doesn’t stop with Joe. He met Tommy Swarbrigg at a songwriters’ event in the 1970s’, and Tommy had the great pleasure of putting his autumn tour together for his old pal. One of the best ears in showbusiness, Tommy saw Albert wow the nation on The Late Late and he immediately booked a full Irish tour! He says when he spoke to Albert about the dates, the multi-million seller insisted that a Mullingar date (or two) be included.
Albert revealed he was “blown away” by the statue to Joe in the town square. “It’s incredible, but why does one have to die to get a statue built? Mullingar, by American standards, is a village, but look at what you have done for your hero: A statue, a bridge and probably more. What a town!”
Albert revealed that when he played “Good Looking Woman” to artists like Glen Campbell, he said it was the worst song he ever heard. “I didn’t play it until I was doing an audition for Clive Davis and I played a bunch of songs and he asked had I any more. I said there’s this one, but all these people told me it’s such a bad song. I played it and he said, “that’s going to be the name of your album and your next single’. Instead Joe’s manager and publisher heard it and it became Joe’s song.”
“Good Lookin’ Woman” was a hit for Joe three times and was one of a number of Hammond tracks Joe recorded. Albert includes them all in his live ‘Songbook’ show, which fills venues worldwide since he returned to touring after a 35-year break.
His tour lands in Mullingar on October 16 and includes dates in Dublin, Castlebar, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Galway and Limerick. See www.alberthammond.com.
