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Engelbert: from dawn till dusk

Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

ONE SLEEPY eye topped by tousled black hair raised itself from under the bedclothes and a voice said: " Ho, lads, we sail on the morning tide!" It was Engelbert Humperdinck's traditional greeting to a new day in his comfortable, lived-in flat in Hammersmith, West London. The line is from Engel's star pantomime Robinson Crusoe at the London Palladium and he uses it every morning at about 9.30 am when he starts most event-filled days. MM joined Engelbert one day for the whole day — from breakfast time at his flat to his return to his home after midnight.

Total word count of piece: 1973

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