Daniel O'Donnell: My music is 'not everyone's cup of tea'
- Published
Millions of records sold, hordes of adoring fans, a dedicated museum and the best hair in the business.
It's 40 years since the man from Kincasslagh in County Donegal, Daniel O'Donnell had his first single.
That was the beginning of a remarkable journey. The Boy from Donegal (that's an early album, for the uninitiated) has had an album in the top 100 charts every year since 1988.
However, he admits that not everyone is a fan of his music.
"Everybody has different tastes and some people will like one type of music and some will like another and that's the case with me," he said.
"There's people who enjoy what I do and for other people - it's just not their cup of tea.
"That's the way music is," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster.
One woman for whom O'Donnell was most certainly her cup of tea was the late Queen Mother.
The late Queen Mother was a Daniel fan
"Derek Hill was a painter who lived in Donegal and he was friendly with then Prince Charles, who is a keen artist, and they used to paint together," he said.
"I would sign the CDs: 'To Ma'am - Best wishes, Daniel,' and Derek would give them to Charles who gave them to his grandmother," he added.
He recalled an interviewer being in Clarence House and one of his videos was sitting on the coffee table.
She must have been a fan because in 2002, he was awarded an Honorary MBE for his services to the music industry.
This week marks the release of his new album, How Lucky I Must Be, and he's hopeful to get new fans along the way.
"Sometimes you have people come to the show along with other people and you ask if they enjoyed it and they almost say: 'I did!' - like it's a surprise.
"It's kind of like - 'I didn't expect to enjoy it but I'm here now and I'll be back again'."
O'Donnell opens the Donegal Shop in St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre in August 1996
His home county of Donegal loves its famous son so much there is even a Daniel O'Donnell Visitor Centre in Dungloe.
That in turn inspired a Halloween movie Night of the Daniels - in which the waxworks of Daniel in the museum come to life and terrorise the town.
"There's Daniels everywhere - imagine if you weren't a fan and all these Daniels arrived. You would go off your head," O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell and wife Majella in 2015 in Dublin
His perfectly coiffed hair is as much a part of his image as his singing and is a source of envy for wife Majella.
"Sometimes I wake up in the morning and she will look over and say: 'Oh my god you could go on stage.'
When it comes to his own musical taste he doesn't stray far from his own genre.
"I love country music like Charlie Pride and Loretta Lynn but my favourite song is Cliff Richard Miss You Nights - I think it's a real fan favourite."
Daniel O'Donnell in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin in 1988
O'Donnell also touched on social media abuse those in the public eye can face.
He said new Late Late Show presenter Patrick Kielty is "finding his feet" and called out those who have been critical of him.
"It amazes me how people can watch something they are not enjoying," he said.
O'Donnell with dance partner Kristina Rihanoff on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015
"I can't imagine why you would waste your time sitting doing something you're not getting pleasure out of - if there's something on TV you don't like turn and watch something else.
"But don't write about how bad it is. If you can't appreciate something that's your problems - there's loads of people enjoying it.
"I just cant be annoyed with it," he added.
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- Published19 October 2015
