Daniel O'Donnell on his new album, starring in a 'horror' film and why the late Queen Mother was a fan

"I love The Sound of Music. I could nearly do all the dialogue, but I still sit and watch it to the bitter end, until they go up that hill and off they go.

“I used to think that somebody would put on a show and I could be Captain Von Trapp, but I think I’m too old for that now,” he laughs.

One thing Daniel won’t be doing on the big day is cooking.

“Everybody would be poisoned if I took to the cooking. Majella (his wife of 20 years) will do that and our son-in-law Gavin is a great cook too. I just wash the dishes. It’s important to know your spot.”

But he may indulge in some well-travelled Christmas cake sent by fans in Australia all the way to his home in Donegal.

Daniel O’Donnell, 61, is a legend in his own lifetime, the clean cut performer, beloved for his easy listening tunes and gentle, soft spoken personality.

Say ‘Daniel’ and everyone knows who you mean – like ‘Madonna’, ‘Rihanna’ or ‘Beyonce’.

The wholesome performer’s current album, I Wish You Well, a mix of up-tempo songs and ballads, entered the UK Albums Chart at number 16, in a week of stiff competition from Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran.

"I can’t believe that over the last 35 years I have had an album in the top 40 each year. I am so grateful to all my fans who have been so loyal and supportive and helping the album to do so well."

"A lot of the songs (on I Wish You Well) are new songs with Irish writers – there’s four that would be older songs, but the majority are newer songs. I just love them, they are very much what I enjoy to sing.

“When I was going in to the studio to record the album I sent out messages to people that I would have recorded with before, asking them if they had anything written or if they would like to write something, and I got 10 great songs that I was able to record.”

And not one to rest on his musical laurels, Daniel has half of next year’s album recorded as well.

“That one will be out in October or November next year, but we better let this year fall first.”

There’s also an Irish tour planned for August 2023, but for now the down-to-earth Donegal megastar is taking a well deserved rest until May 2023, following a run of 32 dates in the US and Canada.

Daniel is a picture of health and wellbeing, with flawless skin, twinkly eyes, his lustrous locks, a smattering of silver now pomaded to perfection, but apart from being teetotal, he says he doesn’t follow any fitness regime to keep in shape or prepare for his exhaustive touring and work schedule.

“I don’t spend much time trying to keep fit. I suppose I am blessed with the health that I have, it’s been good. I am grateful for that, it’s just how I am and I never really have had any health problems, thank God.”

Daniel’s appeal across the Pond has grown exponentially over the last couple of decades, so why does he think folks in the States are so captivated by him?

"I think it’s just the music. We’ve been very lucky. I was 40, I wasn’t a teenager, when the American audience got really interested in what we were doing.

"On TVS television in 2002 they heard some of our shows and that continued and we ended up doing 15 or 16 specials that went out on TVS.

“Then just before the pandemic another cable channel called RFD started putting out some of the shows and that goes out every Saturday night at 9pm all over the States and into Canada too. And that has just given us an audience –so that if people see something and they like it and then if you are coming, they are going to try and get to see the show – that’s really what has helped us there.”

So would the modest singer ever like to collaborate with any of the big US stars like Taylor Swift, say?

“It never crossed my mind. I’m sure Taylor Swift wouldn’t even know who I am or would even care less who I am. But I am never closed to anything in the way of collaboration. I would always look at anything that came in if somebody wanted to do something. I’ve done a lot with younger singers that are trying to get ahead and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Prior to the album, Daniel delighted his fans, with a spooky surprise for Halloween as he starred in Night of The Daniels.

The hilarious video features a zombie apocalypse of ‘Daniel’ waxworks who escape from the fictional ‘Daniel O’Donnell Wax Museum’ to terrorise the Rosses and Gweedore.

Daniel springs into action to defeat the evil with the power of music and save the day.

The star once again collaborated with the makers of his previous viral video Down at the Lah De Dah - Shaun Doogan and Ciaran McCann of Re-Act Productions.

"It was good fun to make. The young lads that made it are so, so talented. It was their idea. They came to me before Covid and asked if I would do something with them. I looked at what they were proposing with my manager and we decided we would do it and then with Covid it was put to the back burner.

"And then we recorded the Lah De Dah video (where he surfs, wears a grass skirt and floral garland) which was super. We eventually got to do what they wanted to do and that was the Night of the Daniels.”

So he doesn’t mind taking the hand out of himself?

"Not at all, sure who would have thought you’d save the town with hairspray.”

After Night of the Daniels, could a segue into the movies be on the cards?

“Ah, you never know. I could be 007 yet.”

There’s an hilarious episode of Father Ted where Daniel O’Donnell is parodied as Eoin McLove, a sickly sweet television presenter and pop singer whose hits include My Lovely Mayo Mammy.

Daniel takes it all in good humour, but isn’t so keen on the memes where is face or voice is dubbed.

“I don’t really look at them, but I’m not crazy about all the bad language, because I wouldn’t do that in my own life, I wouldn’t go on like that.

“But that’s the era that we are in and the technology allows people to do all sorts of things and you’d be fighting forever if you were trying to get things taken down.

“The one thing that we try to highlight is that there’s a lot of people impersonating you for the wrong reason, to try and sometimes extract money from people, it’s very hard to stop that, but we try to make people aware that I never contact anybody directly.

“But there’s good in it too (social media). I did bits and pieces on Facebook during the pandemic. A lot of people get enjoyment out of it too, so it’s not all bad.”

Daniel has a legion of fervent fans, and it seems the late Queen Mother may also have had a spot for the modest singer’s lilting voice.

“When the Queen Mother was alive there was a reporter in doing something in Clarence House and he saw either a CD or a DVD of mine sitting on the coffee table.

"I used to give them to the painter Derek Hill, God rest him, who was very friendly with Charles. He lived in Donegal, but was very involved in the circle of the Royals. He and Charles painted together and I would sign the CDs ‘To Ma’am’ and then I would give them to Derek and he would King Charles, as he is now, and he would bring them to the grandmother. ​​​​”

Whether or not the late Queen Mother was a fan, or if the CD was there by happenstance, Daniel says he’ll never know, but there’s always the chance, and for the man, who is himself musical royalty, that’s good enough.

*For more on Daniel’s tour dates, visit www.danielodonnell.org or

https://www.facebook.com/DanielODonnellOfficial.