Fear not. The words “farewell tour” are printed next to Mike D’Abo’s name as he heads to Worthing with The Sensational 60's Experience. But it’s certainly not a farewell to music.
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00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Real pleasure
00:07this afternoon to speak to Mike Darbo, no less. And Mike, this is such a significant
00:11year in so many respects. You are currently recording your 80th birthday album, having
00:17celebrated 80 years earlier this year, but you're also out on what is, sadly, your farewell
00:24tour. What's the thinking behind this being the farewell tour now?
00:28Well, yes. Farewell tours are always broken, Sinatras. Everyone else has a comeback, so
00:36possibly I will. But I've decided I want to spend more time at home making music, not
00:43at the expense of doing live gigs. Yes, I'll do individual live gigs, but the thought of
00:48being away from home for a month or two at a time, actually, I think I've earned the
00:53right to say, no, I'm going to be a bit more fussy than that. But you're right, I have
00:58done an 80th birthday album. I haven't finished it, so it's not on release. It's going to
01:03obviously be re-recordings of Handbags and Gladwrights and Build Me Up Buttercup. A whole
01:09lot of songs that missed the boat in the 70s, one called Broken Rainbows, another one called
01:15Papa Didn't Tell Me. So that's four songs from way back. Everything else is stuff I've
01:21written over the last year or so. And I'm going to be proud of it. I hope it will come
01:27sounding absolutely great. I hope that the music will be in the grooves and that people
01:32will play it. Because I do think of myself first and foremost, as a singer songwriter.
01:38And I think I've been a disappointment even to myself. But it's never too late to sort
01:44of turn a corner and say, well, that's about it.
01:46I think a few people would suggest you're being slightly harsh on yourself when you
01:50say a disappointment.
01:51Well, yes, you know, I have had people say that. I'm not one to rest on my laurels. I've
01:57achieved a few things, but my end of term headmaster's report would say, come on,
02:03Darbo, you should have done better. You could have done better. You've got the ability and
02:07the talent to do better. So get it together before it's too late.
02:11It's probably not truly disappointment. It's more the fact that you haven't finished,
02:15isn't it?
02:16Yes, unfinished business. I like that. I think that's the way to look at it. And, you
02:21know, some of us are late bloomers, possibly. So I had my heyday, age 22, three years of
02:27success with Manfred Band, during which time I wrote some hit songs, for which I never
02:32got paid. But that's another story. And here I am, you know, 60 odd years later, having
02:38another crack. And I shall keep doing it, even though I say, yes, this is officially
02:43my last tour. I did my last Manfred's tour last year. This is my last solo tour. But
02:49if the album is a success, who knows? I could be talked out of retirement.
02:54Fantastic. Let's hope that happens. Mike, lovely to speak to you. Belated happy 80th
02:59birthday. Good luck with the Firewire tour and the 80th birthday album. Great to talk
03:03to you.
03:04Bill, you're a star and a real pro. Thank you for your time.
03:07My pleasure. Thank you.