THE GIMME GIMME GIMME AND NOTTING HILL ACTOR ON HIS LOVE OF HAZEL O’CONNOR AND JOAN ARMATRADING AND A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH ELVIS COSTELLO...
STEVE O’BRIEN
What was the first pop song you remember truly loving?
It has to be way back in the 70s. My mum had a lot of Carole King. I remember enjoying Tapestry and recall loving those early ABBA albums. The first song I remember really being into, though, was Seasons In The Sun by Terry Jacks. There was also Love Is In The Air by John Paul Young and Ain’t No Stopping Us Now by McFadden And Whitehead. Those are my earliest memories.
Do you have a favourite album?
If you could put every Joan Armatrading track onto an album, that would be it. She has had the biggest effect on my life. In those seminal moments, it was always Joan Armatrading, to this day. So if you could mash every single one of her songs onto a triple album I would take that to my desert island. And if I’m allowed any more favourites, I’ll pick Kate Bush’s The Kick Inside and Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Are there any contemporary artists that excite you?
Not really. This is where I’m terrible. Music for me ended a while back. Anything after 2000 I’m not good on. I sort of stopped because I never heard anything that really interested me. Obviously there have been a few, but I’m basically very stuck in the 70s and 80s and some of the 90s.
Tell us about a few of your favourite gigs.
The last one I went to was Hazel O’Connor, about five years ago. I went to see her perform Breaking Glass and Sons And Lovers – that was phenomenal. Breaking Glass is one of my favourite movies. You know when you go to a gig and can recite all the words, that was one of them. I’m trying to think of some other highlights... I saw Joan Armatrading at the Royal Albert Hall, that was great, and also Marc Almond. I don’t go very often, though, as I don’t like crowds. I don’t go to any big places, but if they’re doing it in a theatre, I’ll go.
Have you ever met any of your musical heroes?
I met Elvis Costello, that was very exciting. He was lovely. It was at the premiere of Notting Hilland he had about five ladies attached to his arm. He strolled over to me and said something quite complimentary about my performance, and I just stood the
