With no friends, I really am a Solitary Man says Neil Diamond

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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After a 42-year duck, Neil Diamond has just topped the UK and US charts with an album of original material for the first time in his career.

Yet when he arrives next month for his biggest ever British tour, there will nobody special to welcome him off stage.

At 67, Diamond has revealed that after two broken marriages he has no family to turn to, no love in his life, and only one friend who he has not heard from in years.

Indeed, while many might hope by his age to be seeing in their autumn years with the love of their life, Diamond's life is more like the lyrics of his hit song Solitary Man.

Like Melinda, and like Sue from the 1966 song, his loves have all vanished, not to be replaced.

Neil Diamond, who has just topped the British and American charts, has no close friendships due to his obsession with work

The superstar from Brooklyn, whose work has seen him painted as a melancholic loner, claims his obsession with work means he does not have anyone close to him.By his own admission, he shuts himself away and can only look on with envy when  he sees others enjoying a normal family life. But, he claims, he would not have it any other way.

"Personal relationships? I have none. I have no friends and it's just  impossible to have relationships," he said.

"My closest friend is a fellow I went to high school with. I haven't  seen him in four years. Not spoken to him in three and haven't written to him in two. And he will always be my closest friend. I have people I love but not friends in the usual way.

"Does it sadden me? It's my life - it's just what it is. I see photographs of people who are friends and I would like to be able to call somebody up and just chat or go out for a beer. As it is, I don't  have that.

"I'm very envious of people. My brother - who I adore - is surrounded by friends. His life is all about social situations. I see it and I want it - but I never have it. It's the price I have to pay and I have absolutely no complaints. I make this journey, for the most part, alone."

Neil Diamond and his second wife of 26 years Marcia Murphey

Diamond has married twice.

In 1963 he wed Jaye Posner. They had two children but divorced six years later in 1969. The same year he was married to Marcia Murphey, who he again father two children with before their split in March 1995.

As a performer, Diamond has done it all.

His hits Cracklin' Rosie, Sweet Caroline and Beautiful Noise have helped build a multi-million pound fortune.

His compositions have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Barbra  Streisand and Johnny Cash and earned him a coveted place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Surprisingly, it is only now that Diamond - who has sold more than 150 million records worldwide - has chalked up his first ever No.1 album.

His latest CD, Home Before Dark - recorded with Beastie Boys' producer  Rick Rubin - has topped the UK charts tonight.

Yet Neil reveals that this latest success has again come at a price.

"It would be amazing if I had a No.1 album and beyond all my expectations at this point in my life," he told the Sunday Mail.

"Making the record for the last 15 months has meant there has been nothing else on my horizon. I have not read a single newspaper. I have not seen a single movie or television show.

"I've not gone to a baseball game - or seen one on TV - which is my big passion. I've only occasionally seen my family. It's not that I planned it that way. It's just what my world is.

"When I'm working, I suppose people keep away from me. I try to act like I'm normal but I don't really want to be involved with people other than working people. It's not a normal way to live - just what is required. For me, the music begins and I don't stop dancing until it's over."

Diamond has broken a 42-year duck after topping the UK and US charts with an album of original material for the first time in his career.

The Official UK Chart Company said the singer's Home Before Dark album, released 42 years after his debut, The Feel of Neil Diamond, had broken a record. Diamond is one of the best-selling artists on earth. Yet no other artist has taken so long to get to the top of the charts with an original work.

Diamond topped the UK albums charts 16 years ago with a compilation, but none of his previous 45 studio albums had reached No 1 on either side of the Atlantic.

The New Yorker, who tours the UK next month, is expected to be one of the highlights at the Glastonbury Festival, where Diamond follows Dame Shirley Bassey be performing in the 'legends' slot.

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