Gilbert O'Sullivan: Alone Again (Cup of Tea) Quiz

Answer: The surname

Raymond Edward O'Sullivan was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1946, the second oldest of six children. His family moved to England in 1960.

Over 40 years on, it is unclear exactly who dreamed up the name. Various sources attribute it to Gilbert (Ray?), Stephen Shane at CBS, Gilbert's first record label, and Gordon Mills, Gilbert's manager when he moved to MAM in 1970. The latter is probably to be ruled out as his first single, "Disappear" in 1967, already had him as "Gilbert":
"He is twenty years old, has an old fashioned bobtail jacket with grey creaseless trousers at half-mast. School tie and clod-hopper boots. He looks as if he escaped from an old Greyfriars School story ... He says "I am not a gimmick. I believe in my music and my image. ... Is it for real? Heck - you'll have to listen and make up your own mind." (Record Mirror", 16th December 1967)

Answer: 1970-75

The period between "Nothing Rhymed" (1970) and "I Don't Love You But I Think I Like You" (1975) saw Gilbert enjoy 12 top 20 hits in the UK with the biggest of these coming between 1971 and 1973. He topped the charts twice with "Clair" (1972) and "Get Down" (1973). Initial success in America came slightly later with "Alone Again (Naturally)" (1972) although this was compensated by the song staying on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.

The only sizeable hit to follow was 1980's "What's in a Kiss?" which reached number 19 in the UK.

Answer: The Bisto Kid look

There may be confusion as to who suggested his name, but Gilbert's 'Bisto Kid' image was entirely his own creation. In media interviews he gave different reasons for adopting it that ranged through mass market appeal, putting audiences at ease and brand identity to the fact that this was who Gilbert really was. Was it really? Because the look was ditched as soon as Gilbert made it big in America.

"The reason I did all this, short-trousers, short-hair bit was to get to as many eyes and ears as possible This is where people like James Taylor and Elton John have failed - they still quite truthfully have a minority audience - that I don't want." ("Melody Maker", 1970)

"No matter who you are, there is always tension between the performer and the audience. I hope by appearing like this the audience will burst out laughing as soon as I come on. Then we can dispense with that slow painful getting to know you process that can eat up half a concert." ("New Musical Express", 1971)

"I've got knickerbocker suits and things to wear and it's just a laugh really - and it's totally representative of me. ... With an audience, you can have fun and when someone dresses like me, you can do stupid things and have a bit of a laugh. But of course everything is based on music. The idea was to create an image that people could associate with and I hope one day things will get to the stage where I'll just have to have a coat stand, an oil lamp and a boot on the LP cover with nothing else at all and people will know it's me." ("Mirabelle", 1971)

"Anyway the short hair and Chaplin clothes are really me. I've had them for years now. If you can get an image of your own then you've got a head start on anyone else. It's all a question of identity - if you are going to put in that extra effort then people are going to like you for it." ("New Musical Express", 21 Aug 1971)

Answer: Suicide

"In a little while from now
If I'm not feeling any less sour
I promise myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower
And climbing to the top will throw myself off"

In the song, Gilbert describes being jilted at his wedding and goes on to relate the deaths of his parents. The only detail that was autobiographically true was that Gilbert's own father had died when he was young, as he related to "Jackie" magazine in 1974:
""My Dad worked in the slaughterhouse of a meat factory in Waterford. My Mum ran a sweet shop. Home was a council house in the Cork Road. The Swindon job came up because Dad's firm also had a factory there. Dad asked for the move because the money would be a lot better in Swindon." ... But in 1960, not all that long after they had settled into their new home, a shadow fell on the O'Sullivan family. Gilbert's father became ill. For a time he struggled on at work. When he had to give up and it was obvious he wasn't getting any better, it became clear there was something seriously wrong. "I remember my mother breaking the news to us that Dad had died," says Gilbert. "It was a terrible blow to us, as you can imagine.""

Answer: Home Alone

Not only does "The Simpsons" use the song in the episode "The Wettest Stories Ever Told", but it is also referenced in two further episode titles - "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" and "No Loan Again, Naturally".

In "Ice Age" the song is sung by ... a nut to a squirrel (with lyrics rewritten by screenwriter Yoni Brenner):
"How I miss your furry lips, your shallow, rapid breathin';
I wish you only knew that I'm only nuts for you!
Alone again, naturally".

Answer: That a song cannot be sampled without the permission of the original artist

The case Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Brothers Records Inc. saw Gilbert up against comedic rapper Biz Markie. The accusation was that Markie's song "Alone Again", released on the album "I Need a Haircut", had sampled Gilbert's original without permission.

The judge's idiosyncratic pronouncement reads as follows: ""Thou shalt not steal." has been an admonition followed since the dawn of civilization. Unfortunately, in the modern world of business this admonition is not always followed. Indeed, the defendants in this action for copyright infringement would have this court believe that stealing is rampant in the music business and, for that reason, their conduct here should be excused.

The conduct of the defendants herein, however, violates not only the Seventh Commandment, but also the copyright laws of this country."

Answer: Clair

"But why in spite of our age difference do I cry
Each time I leave you I feel I could die
Nothing means more to me than hearing you say
I'm going to marry you
Will you marry me Uncle Ray?
Oh! Clair"

"Clair" was famously written about babysitting his manager's daughter, Clair Mills, then aged three. It topped the UK chart in 1972 and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Clair and Gilbert never did get together! By the time she was old enough for matrimony, he had married Norwegian wife Aase with whom he has had two daughters. Clair did, however, marry a musician in Jason O'Bryan of the Dub Pistols.

The 1973 interview with Paul Gambacinni also revealed that "Underneath the Blanket Go" had been interpreted as describing masturbation and I can't even begin to describe the possible interpretation that it put upon "Get Down".

Answer: His contract was on hold while he sued his manager

The case of Gilbert O'Sullivan Vs Management Agency and Music Limited (MAM) saw Gilbert taking on his manager, Gordon Mills, alleging that their contract should be voided as a result of undue influence and unreasonable restraint of trade. He had been promised that he would be co-publisher on his songs but this never materialised. The judge found in his favour and awarded him copyright to the material in question together with the master tapes and £7m.

The option of being a house husband was never very likely as Gilbert freely admits to having old-fashioned chauvinistic values:
"Oh yes, always have been - I don't think you lose that. I married a woman and asked her to stay at home and look after the children. I'm old-fashioned in that I want to be the breadwinner." ("Hello", 25th November 1989)

Answer: "I'm a Writer not a Fighter" - He spent six years in the British army

"Success certainly hasn't changed Gilbert as a person, as I'm sure his mother and brother, who live at Frobisher Drive on the Walcot Estate at Swindon would agree. Gilbert told me that he visits them as often as he can - "Usually once a month, when I take my washing down."" ("Swindon Evening Advertiser", 7th September 1971)
Ironically, the picture on the front of the "Frobisher Drive" album cover is of a different street.

As a boxer, Gilbert reached the quarter-final of the English Amateur Boxing Association junior championships. The six years in the army belong to fellow singer-songwriter James Blunt.

Answer: Get Down

"Once upon a time I drank a little wine
Was as happy as could be, happy as could be
Now I'm just like a cat on a hot tin roof
Baby what do you think you're doin' to me
Told you once before
And I won't tell you no more
So get down, get down, get down
You're a bad dog baby
But I still want you around"

"Get Down" took the novel approach of writing about a girlfriend as though she were a dog - and a bad one at that!

Tea features in many of Gilbert's lyrics - his favourite is Assam - and some of these appear below. Boy George famously once quipped that he preferred a cup of tea to sex. Put the two together and we could have another Gilbert and George.

"I hope you'll stay and have a cup of tea
Oh I hope you'll play my monopoly" ("I Hope You'll Stay")

"I think it's great, but it could be better
I like it a lot, it's just not my cup of tea" ("I Love It But")

"Now if you love me
You're not above me
And if you don't well
What can I say
Except we'll see when
You come to tea then
you can go
Ooh wakka doo wakka day" ("Ooh Wakka Doo Wakka Day")

"Congratulations everyone and two and three and four
You've really made my day for me
So here's what I've in store
An ounce of tea that will if we
Stir well turn into glue" ("Mr and Mrs Regard")

Welcome to the world of work
It's a nice beginning
Followed shortly by a coffee or tea" ("World of Work")

"The tea and toast I bring us up in bed
The pleasure I get when you stroke my head
That I can be there when you use the loo
Is how I say that I love you" ("How I Say That I Love You")

"I will if you ask
Buzz into a flask
Filled up with cold coffee and tea" ("Valentino")

"Like a needle without a thread
A Guinness without its head
Where would we be without tea" ("Where Would We Be (Without Tea)")

"All I ever get from you is breakfast dinner and tea" ("Breakfast Dinner and Tea")