GMTV – We have got an exclusive for you now. The star we're about to talk to has sold over a hundred and fifteen million albums in a career spanning more than 37 years, countless number ones, Grammys, sell out tours, the lot.
He's the one and only Mr. Neil Diamond.

Very good morning to you, Neil. Or should I say, a good evening? How are you doing? You look well.

ND - Well, thank you very much, I'm happy to be here and welcome to Los Angeles. Thanks for coming.

GMTV - It's been raining over there, right?

ND - It actually rained for the last two days and there were celebrations in the streets. You know, this is basically a desert, Los Angeles so when it rains, horrendous things happen; floods and bridges fall down and it's only rained for a matter of couple of hours. But the news report last night said that it had not rained in Los Angeles for one hundred and eighty-one days. So .. huge celebrations.

GMTV - I'll tell you what, Neil. You should come here. You'd be celebrating all the time. It rains constantly over here. You'd have a fantastic time; like a party for you.

ND - We would love some of that rain. I mean, it's been desperate here. So, this is a happy town right now and it cleans the air up and everybody feels great after it rains.

GMTV - Well, you're gonna need to feel fresh, Neil, because you've got some news to tell us, haven't you? An exclusive announcement.

ND - Yes, I'm coming to England and I'll be touring there next May and June and I can hardly wait. We’ll be playing a lot of outdoor stadiums; Hull and Ipswich and one of my all time favourite places in the world, Woburn Abbey, which I haven't played in almost thirty years.

GMTV - It won’t be about what you're going to be doing on the tour, we’ll find out about that in a moment but we've got a bit of you in action, as it were. We're gonna have a look at this now.

GMTV - Neil, you are born to do this, aren't you? You must love it because, I mean, you know, you're the wrong side of forty now, not by far, but you're the wrong side of forty. And you still want to get out there and do this whole tour.

ND - I think I'm on the right side of forty, Andrew. It’s one of the most exciting things that you can imagine. You go out, there's an expectant audience, there’s a happy audience and you just want to make them even happier and you know, it's one of the joys of my life. You know, I have a little bit of butterflies now, there's that excitement that you always feel before you go out and you're ready to tour although we start rehearsals in about ten days. So, it's a little scary, you know, because you want to do something really spectacular and something special.

GMTV - But you get butterflies, do you? I can't imagine because you must have been singing, what, since you could first walk. When did you first know that you had a bit of a voice there?

ND - Well, I've been singing since I was a kid. My dad had a little shop and he always had the radio on to the popular music stations and I was always singing. But to do it in front of an enormous audience and that's a little bit … you know, it puts you on the mark. But the beautiful thing is that it's my audience, they're people who know my music, they love my music and they're there to have a great time and to enjoy the music. So, it's an exciting thing, you know, it's kind of difficult to explain, you kind of have to be there.

GMTV - Fantastic.

ND - But I'm looking forward to it.

GMTV - And if you forget the words, they're singing along to every word anyway. So they can keep you going, Neil.

ND - I don't dare forget the words because the fact is, they know the words. You can't make mistakes.

G

MTV – And now I want to join in ..now somebody else that we hear rumours might be joining in is somebody who you went to school with, I'm told - Barbra Streisand. Is she going to be coming along on the tour?

ND - Ah, no, not next year. I mean, maybe sometime in the future. But not next year. I have my whole tour booked out. Although Barbra and I sang together…. we did a political fundraiser recently for Senator Kerry and that was great, I mean, it's wonderful and she's great, she’s always great to be with, but this tour will be just me and about 30,000 of my closest … you know …friends.

GMTV - Neil, we can't wait. It's going to be fantastic. And I can't imagine what your school days were like with you and Barbra Streisand in the same class. We'll have to find out that next time. Maybe you'll come and have a chat when you come over.
Yeah, bring in some of those shirts again!

ND - I'd love to, I'd love to. Thank you.

GMTV – And we have got details of Neil’s tour dates on our website at GM.tv
He’s doing pretty well – 63!
Yes, energy and a life he enjoys living .. no doubt.