Gilbert O’Sullivan, Sampling’s Accidental Gatekeeper, Preps New LP

Six decades into a career defined by melodic elegance, lyrical wit and a stubborn refusal to follow anyone else’s path, Gilbert O’Sullivan is still writing songs — and still making the music business reckon with his legacy.

The Irish-born British songwriter today (Aug. 13) announced On the Record, his 21st studio album, due Nov. 6 via BMG. The 13-track set is led by the upbeat “Growing Old Disgracefully” and will serve as the centerpiece of O’Sullivan’s 60 Years in Music celebration, which also includes a major U.K. and Ireland tour beginning Sept. 1 in Malvern and concluding Nov. 8 at London’s Palladium.

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O’Sullivan’s catalog — from “Nothing Rhymed” and “Alone Again (Naturally)” to “Clair” and “Get Down” — has made him one of British pop’s most distinctive songwriters, earning three Grammy nominations, three Ivor Novello Awards and millions of sales along the way. His influence also extends into hip-hop history, albeit through one of the music industry’s most consequential copyright battles.

In 1991, O’Sullivan sued Warner Bros. Records and rapper Biz Markie over Markie’s unauthorized sampling of “Alone Again (Naturally)” on the track “Alone Again.” In Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., a federal judge ruled that sampling without permission constituted copyright infringement and granted a preliminary injunction. The decision helped fundamentally reshape hip-hop production, making sample clearance a necessary part of the recording process and dramatically increasing the cost of incorporating samples into records.

Four months shy of his 80th birthday, O’Sullivan is looking forward rather than backward. On the Record reunites him with producer Andy Wright, who also helmed 2022’s Driven and 2024’s Songbook. The album was recorded at O’Sullivan’s purpose-built studio in Jersey with the same musicians who have become part of his recent recording team.

Among the new songs are “It’s Me,” “No Place Like Home” and “Is That You?,” a duet with Andrea Corr. But for O’Sullivan, the fundamental principle remains unchanged: the song comes first. “Daring to be different was the key for me,” he says. “The writing has never stopped being the most important thing.”

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