FROM the 1972 Eurovision winning song Come What May – whose lyrics include the line “in a world full of change” – to the poignant Our Special Absent Friends and Remember Me, you could be forgiven that thinking Daniel O'Donnell’s song choice for his new album was selected in response to the year we have been living through.
However, the Donegal singer confesses that the self-entitled studio album was actually recorded before the coronavirus pandemic.
“It's not Irish, it's not country, it's just an easy-listening mix of songs I enjoy and hope others will too,” he says.
Daniel, released on October 16, features 13 tracks of new recordings produced by Nigel Wright who has been responsible for a number of TV talent shows and worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber on several of his musicals and films.
“I really enjoyed working with Nigel for the first time and he’s produced a slightly different sound for me,” says Daniel.
Other highlights include: Memories Are Made Of This, made famous by Dean Martin; Magic Moments, a huge hit for Perry Como; Take Good Care Of My Baby by the legendary Bobby Vee; John Denver’s Leaving On A Jet Plane and more surprisingly a new arrangement of Ed Sheeran’s hit Perfect.
“I don't usually do modern covers of songs that are popular for the youngest singers, but Perfect is a song I really liked musically and I thought I would have a go at it,” the 58-year-old says.
The song he is most proud of on the album is Remember Me, featuring his wife Majella. The pair performed the song on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show in May, dedicating it to “those who lost someone in the recent past”. Such was the response to their emotional performance that Daniel decided to re-record the song remotely for the album, reducing the instrumentation and opting for a simple and beautiful arrangement.
“Majella and I did a more acoustic version of Remember Me and we thought it came across nicer than the recorded version. So we recorded it in a studio beside us in Donegal, with the band recording the backing from their homes,” he explains.
In a year when cancellations and postponements are the norm, Daniel says he never contemplated putting back the release date of the album.
“You have to have some diversions in life in the middle of all this and music is a great way to occupy people's time. Hopefully the album will bring a bit of solace to people,” he explains.
The pandemic forced him to postpone tours of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania this year, as well as plans to celebrate wife Majella’s 60th birthday on a luxury cruise.
But having spent 35 years on the road, Daniel welcomed some downtime; spending much of it in his Donegal garden, as well as enjoying playing bridge online.
“We are very lucky where we live in the country, with beautiful walks on our doorstep. We occupied much of our time during lockdown in our garden. We thought we were setting nice wee flowers in the springtime, but they've grown up now nearly as big as ourselves, " laughs Daniel, who shared many videos of the couple's garden, complete with enchanting fairy doors and a campervan bird box, in homage to their TV travel series Road Trip, on his Facebook page.
One of Ireland’s most prolific and successful recording artists, last year Daniel became the first recording artist to chart at least one new album each year in the UK Artist Albums’ chart for 32 consecutive years.
So how does he account for his enduring and international appeal?
“I guess I have just been fortunate and developed a great following down through the years. A lot have been following me for 30-something years and have been very loyal. So, it’s really down to the audience that this has all been made possible,” he says humbly.
Over the past number of months fans from all over the world have been reaching out to him through social media and Daniel hasn’t disappointed, hosting a number of Facebook Live chats and performances and impromptu online concerts.
He admits that technologically it’s been a steep learning curve. “Well, it's not easy... to get organised with things online,” he tells me.
One hilarious video clip, which saw him and Majella growing increasingly exasperated with the technology and each other, unaware that they were actually streaming live throughout the session, went viral, being viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.
“Aww it was great fun,” he laughs. “When we did the Facebook nights there were at least seven or eight thousand coming on to watch live. It’s great knowing that people were getting something out of it.”
Daniel also delighted his older fans by staging a number of open-air concerts at residential and care homes in north-west Donegal, as well as in Falcarragh and Dungloe community hospitals, since the Covid-19 restrictions.
“I would sing Mass on Christmas morning to the residents at Dungloe hospital and just thought it would be nice to go and raise the spirits. I’ve visited about 20 residences,” says Daniel who is hoping to continue this work this autumn, having just completed his 14-day quarantine after travelling to his second home in Tenerife last month.
However, he is itching to get on stage again and while his touring schedule has been put on hold until August next year, he is hoping to join with his band in Derry’s Millennium Forum on Sunday November 1, for his first ever live streaming concert.
The two-hour set will feature a selection of tracks from his new album, as well as old favourites and hits from over the years. The idea behind the live event was not just to reconnect with his fans worldwide, but to bring in some much-needed income for his dedicated band and crew.
In May Daniel co-wrote and performed the song Don’t Let the Music Die with fellow country singer Sean O'Farrell. The song's hopeful lyrics celebrated the power of music during challenging times and looked forward to a time when they would be "on the road again to sing near and far".
“You try and plan events but you're at the mercy of the virus and the government. That's why we're doing this show in the Millennium Forum, to hopefully give the band and crew a chance to earn a bit of money,” says Daniel, who won’t be taking any fee himself from the event.
And does he believe that live music should currently be allowed to take place?
“In our situation, socially distanced theatre performances just won't work as they wouldn’t be financially viable. 'I don't know' is the answer."
:: Daniel O'Donnell’s new studio album Daniel is released on October 16 and is available on CD, Vinyl LP and download. Daniel performs his live-stream concert from Derry’s Millennium Forum on Sunday November 1 at 7pm. After purchase the event will be available to view for one week. Tickets, priced €20, available at Danielodonnell.org
