Alexander O'Neal talks ahead of Shrewsbury show

Alexander O’Neal is looking forward to a more sedate autumn with a tour starting next month and running through November. It reaches Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn on November 10.

The man with a voice often compared to that of Otis Redding has a glitzy back catalogue from which to draw. Fans can look forward to such hits as If You Were Here Tonight, Fake, Criticize, The Lovers, (What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me, The Christmas Song, All True Man, Love Makes No Sense and In the Middle.

Alexander is looking forward to it, having been in the game for nigh on 40 years.

“The best of Alexander O’Neal is what I do on stage. I’m so comfortable up there. I always work hard and give my fans the best I possibly can. When I got my first record deal with Taboo records, that’s when I started feeling comfortable.”

Alexander came from the wrong side of the tracks. Born in Mississippi, his father was killed a few months before his birth. Music was his salvation and he played in a number of bands after moving to Minneapolis. “I come from a singing family and they always sang in church. I never sang in church because I was too shy.”

Shyness, however, didn’t hold him back. Alexander learnt how to hustle before he hit 10 and singing gave him a passport to freedom. “At nine-years-old, I did my first paying gig. I got paid a dime for singing a song for a kids’ mother. I didn’t want to do it. But they gave me a dime and that was it.

“So after that, I just kinda found myself working a lot of hard jobs then singing for local bands.”

In 1975, Alexander set himself the challenge of making it within ten years. He signed to Prince’s label in 1981, Warner Bros, but following a row with Prince, Alexander left. He went on to form an a band and in 1985 he released his self-titled debut record. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic and led to 1987’s smash record, Hearsay, which earned three platinum discs in the UK.

“I gave myself 10 years to get a record deal. In 1985, on the 10th year, it came good.

“But I was always confident it would happen. Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and the old school stuff, those were the people I looked up to.

“When I did my first album, I had nothing. I got paid $10,000. By the time I went back into the studio, the fee had gone up and I got $175,000. When it became a hit, it was a great feeling, you know. It’s like being a footballer. You know when you sign with Man United you know you’ve made it so when I signed a national deal with a reputable company and distributor, it was like, Wow.”

Alexander was at that time an integral part of the Minneapolis scene, which was the hottest on the planet.

He frequently crossed paths with Prince. “We describe him as the Godfather of the Minneapolis scene. We all have him to thank. Prince and I, we had our differences. I got fired by Prince before I got hired. But it was one of the best things that happened to me.”

Whitney Houston was another friend. “I spent time with her and was around, y’know. Whitney was fantastic, I mean, I never had any problems with Whitney at all. People said she was a diva, but she was always sweet and kind around me. Whitney was a great singer.”

And yet for all of the success, Alexander was stalked by troubles. He got into drugs and fell deeper and deeper before finally escaping their clutches. He’s sanguine about that now and happy to be clean. He sometimes wishes he hadn’t opened up to the press about it – his reputation now precedes him wherever he goes.

“I don’t think the industry is at fault for someone’s personal choice. When I came into the industry, drugs were an accepted thing. But even though it was accepted in the industry, when I came out and told people many later, well, that could have been the biggest mistake I made in my whole career.”

Andy Richardson