quote:

Originally posted by Martin G:

acknowledge by a gaze in the eyes of another listener who really get’s it; who has been similarly moved by the depth of soul, of human-ness communicated so adroitly regardless of age, ethnicity or social status. The only requisite is an understanding of self and an open heart willing to be touched by another in a profound way.

quote:

Originally posted by Seal Samuel:
Well what can I say; it has been a very interesting journey indeed. I didn’t quite know what to expect having not played outside of the US for a good number of years but to my delight, the reception that we’ve received across Europe has been better than I ever imagined … outstanding! I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you for the kind words you all have to say and for the relentless commitment and loyalty each of you has shown. I read a lot of your postings saying things like “he gives so much at his concerts” or “I wonder if he knows how deeply he touches people”. Well those are wonderful things for anyone to hear but the truth of the matter is that the phenomena that takes place either at the shows or through personal experiences listening to the albums, is really a two-way event. The reason I am able to continue doing what I do is largely due to the incredible amount of love and good wishes I receive from almost everyone I meet. I remember being approached by a woman about a year ago in Chelsea. She told me that she’d hoped that she would meet me one day to tell me how much the music had helped her through a difficult time and that I would never really know what it had done for her. As she was telling me this, there were tears welling in her eyes but she hastened to point out that she was no longer in a dark place in fact, she was the happiest she’d been for a while but she was clearly overcome with the emotion of the situation. “I just want you to know this” she kept saying.
Well, the reason I tell you this in such detail is that I’m trying to give each of you an understanding of what it is like to experience something like this. It is like God telling you that you are doing what you’re supposed to be doing in this life … serving your vocation here on this earth. That is an amazing feeling, to know that in your own small way, you are contributing to the cause … LOVE!

There are so many questions I wish I could answer but there is only so much time. One subject I want to touch on however is the state of the records commercial success in the UK. I don’t really know what to tell you other than that I worked my ass off (well not literally of course) doing everything they asked of me by way of press etc. yet seemingly ... to little avail. Far be it for me to ever pass the blame for the lack of success of one of my records but I think in this case, one has to look at the facts. How is it that ‘SEAL IV’ can enjoy considerable success in the US and other parts of Europe including a # 1 airplay record in France (non-English speaking country where, by law, 70 % of all music played on French radio must be French), Germany (where we have sold over 400,000 albums), Sweden #1, Switzerland (platinum), US (platinum) the list goes on. Yet in the country of my birth, my producer Trevor Horn wasn’t even aware that ‘Love’s Divine’ had even been released as a single! … an indication of how pathetic the promotion behind it was. There are some people at the grass roots level of WB like Andy Preveso, Sarah Adams and Andy Hipkiss who have endeavoured to do the best they can but the truth of the matter is that the head of WB UK has shown no enthusiasm whatsoever in promoting this record and has therefore not championed it nor made it a priority! So there you have it … another over-paid, tired record company executive deciding the fate of yet another Seal record.

On a brighter note, ‘SEAL IV’ is not the only record I will make, as long as there is life in my body I will sing and make records for whoever cares to listen. This brings me to the next topic, THE NEXT OFFERING! Well I know a lot of you are asking for a DVD and I can tell you that the plan is to record a double album which will consist of a greatest hits with perhaps four new tracks and an acoustic album which will be accompanied by a live DVD of probably both the acoustic sessions and our live shows.

One of the things that I feel particularly blessed by is my amazing band. Chris Bruce, Darren Johnson, Ramy Antoun and Eric Shermahorn are quite simply the best musicians I’ve had the privilege to work with to date. I regard them as my family because that is what it is like to travel with them. Every night I feel as though they completely have my back and there is little I wouldn’t do for them. Also I want to give a nod to Charlie who does the lights, what a hard working, brilliant lighting technician he is, not to mention … a great person to be around. My dear friend Steve remains as steady as a rock (his official title is guitar tech but does much, much more). Tom, whose commitment over the years has proved priceless,

Well I must sign out for now but once again I want to send everyone my gratitude and love for being there during the rough and the smooth.

Love, love, love,
S.