Daniel O’Donnell has had much to celebrate in 2022. Not only did the Irish country star mark his 20th wedding anniversary with wife Majella and embrace the first year of his sixties, he broke records with his latest album.
The 14-track collection, I Wish You Well, gave him an entry in the top 40 for the 35th consecutive year. And it is proof the Donegal-born artist has a fiercely loyal fanbase.
“To think all those years that people have been following me, and people are so loyal, especially here in the UK,” he says.
“It’s great that I’ve been able to record every year. As well as having this year’s album, I have next year’s album almost finished!”
As well as Daniel’s core followers, some of whom have supported him since the 80s, he explains that he’s now reaching a whole new audience. “Younger people are starting to come out to the shows now,” he says.
“I’m not saying there’s a load of teenagers. Well, there are some who come – but I think they’ve been coerced!”
There have been many highlights for Daniel in a career spanning four decades but one notable moment has to be being made an MBE in 2002 for his services to the music industry. He was handed his gong by the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles, who he described as “pleasant and nice”.
“I wish Charles and Camilla all the best, obviously it’s a huge role, but I do think he will be very good,” Daniel says of our new monarch. “When I met him, I found him to be very pleasant, very nice. It was a brief meeting but he still chatted to us all. My mother was there and he chatted with her and my sister and brother. It’s a nice memory to have.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t meet the Queen, but I always admired her. She was such a great woman. I was actually in Canada when the funeral was on. In the middle of the night, we were travelling by bus and the satellite on the bus worked and I was able to watch every bit of the funeral.”
Another high point for Daniel has to be meeting and working with his idols – the late country star Loretta Lynn, who passed away in October aged 90, and Sir Cliff Richard, who has become a close friend.
“I was very sad to lose her but we had a lovely friendship,” he says of Loretta.
“I would talk to her on the phone every so often and I visited her a few times at her home in Tennessee. I got to record with her, which was lovely.”
“The first time I met Cliff I was tongue-tied, I have to be honest,” Daniel adds.
“Majella and I have grown to be great friends of his and we cherish the friendship we have. I was a huge fan of his for years, so I’m very privileged to get to know all these people I was a fan of.”
So, what are his favourite memories from his years of friendship with Cliff?
“The quiet times we’d spend at his home or on occasions sometimes we go on cruises together or holidays,” Daniel says.
“It’s very normal. We just have a nice time and a good laugh. I love his music – always have and always will. He’s had a great career and he’s a very nice man!”
But there is one pop star in particular the crooner would love to collaborate with.
“I joke sometimes that myself and Robbie Williams would make a good team, but I don’t know how Robbie would feel about that,” he laughs. “That would be a big shock for Robbie’s fans, I think, if I appeared.”
Daniel met Majella, 62, in 1999 in Tenerife and last month they celebrated 20 years of marriage with a luxury cruise.
“We’re very lucky, we get on tremendously well,” he says. “We met at the right time for one another, we have a great time.” Daniel, who turns 61 tomorrow, is step-parent to his wife’s children, Michael, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, and daughter Siobhan. They also share grandchildren Olivia, seven, Archie, five, and one-year-old Luke, and it’s clear in our interview that they are the apple of his eye.
“The grandchildren are a great bonus to our lives – they’ve brought us so much joy!” he says. “And that’s a big part of why I reschedule the way I tour and I’m not away as much and I get to spend time with them. It’s just lovely.”
Daniel has dabbled with reality TV, taking part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 and finding himself pitted against Peter Andre, Kellie Bright and eventual winner Jay McGuiness.
“It was the best and the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he says of the experience. “I was never as nervous as I was on Strictly. Kristina Rihanoff, my dance partner, was super. It’s an amazing show!”
He still keeps in touch with the Russian dancer and her family, saying, “I texted her a few weeks ago on her birthday and her and Ben [Cohen] and the little one [daughter Mila] were in Tenerife last year, so we met up with them. We occasionally keep in touch.”
But while performing in lycra on the Strictly dance floor is one thing, eating bugs in the Australian jungle is another and Daniel rules out an appearance on I’m A Celebrity.
“I saw something on the TV today... Ant and Dec saying about I’m A Celebrity. And funnily enough I was thinking, ‘Would I be able?’ I thought, ‘Oh, gee, no I couldn’t.’ I think I would die!”
But while he’s said no to heading to Australia for the show, he is welcoming someone from Down Under to his house over Christmas and looking forward to spending some time with his family over the festive season. It will be stepson Michael’s first Christmas in Ireland since before the pandemic.
“He never missed a Christmas before lockdown,” Daniel says. “It’ll be lovely, we’ll all be together for Christmas this year.”
And in the new year, he’ll be getting ready for his tour, performing 12 dates across the UK and Ireland from May. Daniel is famed for his interaction with fans and will be resuming meet and greets for his next set of shows after having to cancel them amid the pandemic.
Speaking of the dedicated fans who come to every tour, he says, “I know some of them by name, I know a lot of them by sight. A lot of them have come for years and I know them well.”
But while waiting for the spring, O’Donnell enthusiasts can get a fix by grabbing a copy of his latest album.
“A lot of the songs are original songs,” he says. “When I was getting this together, I just had that idea that I would send messages to writers and tell them I’m recording.
“And they came back with great songs – I love them. I hope the [fans] will enjoy it.”
