Getting Engelbert Humperdinck to be a walking sight gag in your trendy movie, CD soundtrack or MTV special may seem like the ultimate in irony, but according to the singer himself, "it's more than a joke that keeps people around for more than 30 years."
But the jokes help. The "irony factor" has given career boosts to several old-school crooners. Consider Tom Jones in Mars Attacks! or Wayne Newton in Vegas Vacation. Once again, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
In Humperdinck's case, singing a number called Lesbian Seagull for the Beavis & Butt-Head soundtrack has drawn quite a few younger folk to his concerts. People might not know what to expect, but most come away pleasantly surprised, he says.
"I've seen (Beavis & Butt-Head) many times and it was a fun thing to do," he says, an urbane British accent on the phone from a tour stop in Seattle. "Obviously I want to keep putting stuff out to my fans who have followed me for over 30 years, but it's always nice to see the new faces.
"Music in general has its cycles and people discover talent and singers that have been around for a quite a few years, like Tony Bennett and Tom Jones and people like that. It looks like it's my turn now and I'm happy about that."
Performing tomorrow at the Jubilee Auditorium, the 64-year-old entertainer has no intention of retiring soon.
"As long as people keep coming to see me and my records keep selling, I'll keep doing it," he says.
His latest CD is a Latin cheese festival called The Dance Album. Warning -- a conga line may form.
Humperdinck, whose given name is Arnold George Dorsey, came to fame in the early '60s with a string of sugary hits. You know them all, or your mom does: Release Me, After the Lovin', There Goes My Everything, The Last Waltz and so on. Don't worry. He'll perform all the favourites at the show ("I have to," he says) plus a little of his classic Jerry Lewis impersonation that got him started.
You see, in the good old days, it wasn't enough just to stand on stage and sing songs. You had to entertain. He promises the whole package.
"I work very hard and I try to give the audience 100 per cent every night, whether I'm playing in front of 1,000 people or 100,000 people."
Since the Humpster is such a good sport about the irony thing, we broached the one dumb subject all of his female fans are dying to know about.
What does he do with all those undergarments that his fans throw on stage?
"I always think it's such a waste of time because none of them ever fit me," he jokes.
"It may sound stupid, but we have trunkloads of them all packed away in different places. I know we've been approached by the Hard Rock Cafe to donate a whole bunch.
"And I think that's what we're going to do when the time's right."
