Talk:Gilbert O'Sullivan

Citation tags

Apparently somebody learned how to add the citation tag and went hog-wild on the article. Some of the tags were needed and the unsubstantiated, obvious POV material was deleted by me, but over half of them were frivolously added for minor info that seemed plausible even if not directed cited/footnoted and should be considered as being derived from the source materials. I did find a direct citation for one fact about the #19 chart hit and I added it.Bamadude 00:41, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

question

Presumably he named himself after Gilbert & Sullivan. Anyone know the story behind this? Cigarette 01:00, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

His real name was Raymond Edward O'Sullivan and it was his manager Gordon Mills who had him re-branded as Gilbert, playing on a pun.

plagiarism

Much of the phrasing of this item - including the entire phrase "in favor of an endless series of collegiate-styled sweaters embossed with the letter 'G' " - is taken directly from Jason Ankeny's entry on O'Sullivan at AMG. Please correct to avoid plagiarism.

Removed unsourced statement

This text Often favorably compared to Paul McCartney may be true but it 's more of an opinion than an encyclopedic fact. If anyone notable can be cited as saying then it might fit in somewhere, either way it shouldn't be tagged onto the end of the article as a six word paragraph. Psychonaut3000 02:36, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Photo

Can someone provide a photo of him in his heyday? 83.146.54.22 18:37, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Good point. Hence.... Derek R Bullamore 19:13, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Trivia

I don't see the need for all the "citation needed" tags in the Trivia section. Barring the statement about the "minor uproar" regarding Maison Ikkoku (which should, by all means, have a cited source), surely the citation for the remaining trivia items is, in fact, the very film for which the trivia is related to? I have removed the excess tags for now until someone can provide a stronger reason as to why they should be there. DJ Mike TJG 16:44, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Thinking about it, many of the trivia items about the one song ("Alone Again, Naturally") could probably be condensed into a shorter, single entry. DJ Mike TJG 16:47, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Hip Hop Sampling

Isn't this the guy (or it was his label) who sued Biz Markie, and changed the sound of Hip-Hop forever? I just saw that mentioned in the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique article, but not a word, here. 71.246.207.67 22:02, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Just Irish?

I strongly contest this, as he just self-described himself on the BBC'S One Show as more English than Irish. --Τασουλα (Shalom!) (talk) 18:23, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Never-mind, found a ref in which he describes himself as Irish and English. Ridicules that it wasn't in the article already. --Τασουλα (Shalom!) (talk) 18:33, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

I should think it fitting he be called ‘Irish-English’, as he was Irish-born, but largely raised in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. (American-born actress Jennifer Ehle is described as ‘American-English’, as she was largely raised in England; just as Kim Cattrall is referred to as an ‘English-Canadian’ actress, since she was born in Liverpool, but grew up mainly in Canada).

On BBC Breakfast, 21st Feb 2011, Gilbert O'Sullivan said of himself:- ‘I have a song about tea; I mean I love tea. “Where Would We Be Without Tea?” It's a very English song, and I'm an English song-writer. I was born in Ireland ironically enough, born in Waterford’.

(I, myself, grew up in Salisbury in Wiltshire, and think of him as one of our own, even if we technically adopted him). To simply expand his identity as ‘English-Irish’ is to give a more accurate reflection, whilst not detracting from Ireland nor Ireland's claim to him, nor showing any disrespect towards the people of Ireland. It's an apolitical statement ... we simply both lay our respective claims to him.

Christian Gregory (talk) 05:51, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

Dave Grusin?

From the article: "In 1972, O'Sullivan reached international stardom with the Dave Grusin-penned ballad, "Alone Again (Naturally)." Where does THAT come from? O'Sullivan wrote the song himself, and Dave Grusin had NOTHING to do with it. There's even a Wikipedia page on the song, with no mention of Grusin. Rich (talk) 05:30, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

Unable to find any reliable source. It's now been removed. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:08, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Birth name

There seem to be a significant number of sources that have his birth name as Raymond Sullivan. We have his own website supporting "O'Sullivan" [1] but do we have a reliable independent source stating this? All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 18:53, 22 June 2015 (UTC).

Exactly how "significant" is that number? I'm having difficulty finding any in WP:RS. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:02, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Claire

who lived in the 70ies might know that the song "Claire" refers to the daughter of Gilbert's producer. too bad - I once saw a short statement of this woman on youtube but i cannot find it any more. please, add a note about her real name. Gerald Trost — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.109.227.71 (talk) 13:06, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Yes, the article for the song Clair (song) says: "The real Clair was the young daughter of O'Sullivan's producer-manager, Gordon Mills, and his wife, the model Jo Waring." But it does not name her. Martinevans123 (talk) 13:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Nationality

The article says he was born in Ireland, suggesting he is Irish. But the Categories suggest he is English and/or British. Does it matter? In the past the nationality of some Irish-born personalities has been contentious. So maybe it's best left undefined? Martinevans123 (talk) 09:32, 25 August 2016 (UTC)

See under "Just Irish" above. Although he is recorded as identifying himself as English, he does acknowledge his birthplace as Ireland.

As one contributor pointed out in December 2015, there is a tendency on WP to resist "diminishing Irish people's Irishness in any way". It seems strange, when a person self-identifies as English, that such a delicately vulnerable sense of Irishness can show itself. So, if an edit "reduces" a person's "Irishness", it may well be reverted. But have at it. 2602:30A:2C4A:1CB0:EB:3BBB:90D:5B49 (talk) 23:42, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

Is this correct?

One of six children, his mother May ran a sweet shop—this sentence states that his mother May was one of six children, and that she ran a sweet shop. Is this what was intended? Koro Neil (talk) 11:22, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

I suspect that the intended subject on "one" was O'Sullivan himself. Martinevans123 (talk) 11:32, 3 October 2021 (UTC)