Charlie Landsborough plays Worthing on farewell tour
He will be taking in Worthing’s Connaught Theatre on April 27 – for one final time.
Charlie admits it is going to be a wrench, but it feels like very much the right decision.
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Hide Ad“I would like to bow out while I am still able to do it reasonably well,” Charlie laughs. “I have seen greater artists than me that have carried on for just too long. I want to stop while I am still able to sing and still able to play.
“I suppose it was just a gradual realisation that I am getting on a bit. You have only got to look at a picture to realise that’s true! I thought to myself that it was about time to bow out gracefully. But I will still record. I couldn’t just cut the lifeblood off completely.”
For Charlie, touring started in 1995 after he had his break: “I remember thinking that if this lasted for six months, then it would be great. I am just thankful that it has lasted rather more than that!
“I was 53 when I got the break, and that was something pretty remarkable in itself. My cousin said to me there are a lot of people in the business that are still going that are a lot older than me, but they had actually started when they were very young. To get the break at 53 was pretty unusual.”
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Hide AdDid it mean that Charlie was more able to cope with the success, being more mature?
“I don’t think I have ever been mature, to be honest. And I am not the most confident person in the world either. I used to feel under great pressure. I remember my first night in Dublin. It was sold out. The place was full of people, and I was at the front and the band were a few yards behind me in darkness. I came off the stage shaking at the end, shaking with the relief of it all and the euphoria.
“I got through the first few years on booze, not drinking a huge amount, but I drank a little bit more than I should have done just to calm me down. I was very nervous, and I am still not the most confident person, but I am better now. Before touring, I would be worrying about this and worrying about that, but now I am much more relaxed. I am surrounded by smashing people. I am meeting people that I know and I am going back to places that I know.
“Some well-known star said that it took him 15 years to relax on stage, and it took me about that long. But I do think it is timely now, and I am actually very excited about it, even though I will miss touring tremendously. I am thinking what am I going to do. I am not going to vegetate. I will take up some more art. I will go to night school. I will get more involved in the church.”
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Hide AdAnd yes, he will continue to record, though not necessarily more: “Sometimes I have released an album because it has been pushed upon me, but now I can just put an album out when I have got the material that qualifies for it.”
Known for his major successes such as My Forever Friend, Colour of the Wind and I Will Love You All My Life, Charlie’s final tour will encompass all genres of music from his ballads to Folk, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, pop and gospel.”