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Click for lyrics
It's been a life-long trip to get here
Took many years to reach this place
Past the high's and lows and in-betweens
A journey to the centre of hopes and dreams
I've run and walked, I've tripped and fallen
Picked myself up and dusted me down
Faced up to the future, I stared down the past
It's been a slow passage but now it's speeding fast
And if you ask me about regret
What would I do now if I could start afresh?
I'd say it's not about surplus or about debt
Who I am is where I am is what I am
The rights and wrongs were wrong and right
So the rough and smooth the dark and light
Ah Yes, I'm willing to be the imperfect me
To be the sum of all life threw at me
And never have undone the sum of what life threw
At my life, my life, my life.
I've come upon a thousand crossroads
Was it left or right or straight ahead?
Should I've turned back and tried again?
But then I'd face the same old terrain
Brush fires and mudslides they were just tests
While green valleys in sunshine left me blessed
A whole lot of laughs - pools of tears
But the sum of the parts is the part that got me here
And if you ask me about regret
What would I do now if I could start afresh?
I'd say it's not about surplus or about debt
Who I am is where I am is what I am
The rights and wrongs were wrong and right
So the rough and smooth the dark and light
Ah Yes, I'm willing to be the imperfect me
To be the sum of all life threw at me
And never have undone the sum of what life threw
At my life, my life, my life.
I'm the hero and villain of my own story
And I'm written in stone and the seeds that
I've sown
They can't be disowned
In my life, my life, my life,
In my life, my life, my life,
In my life, my life, my life
The list of people who have recorded his music in the past 50 years reads like a 'Who's Who' of popular music culture; Roy Orbison, Bonnie Raitt, Gladys Knight, Barry Manilow, Kim Carnes, Frankie Valli, Michael Ball, Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones, Andy Williams, Dionne Warwick, Herb Alpert, Natalie Cole, The Righteous Brothers, John Denver and Kenny Rogers to name just a few.
More recently, he enjoyed a No. 1 record in the UK when, under the direction of Simon Cowell, Westlife recorded 'Mandy' written with long-time collaborator Scott English. This coupled with other major hit songs like 'Somewhere In The Night', 'Looks Like We Made It', 'I'll Never Love This Way Again', Shine On' and 'No Night So Long' have garnered 2 further Grammy nominations, 14 BMI special awards and more than 13 million airplays, plus 40 million records sold in the USA alone. As a solo artist he has recorded four albums and written title songs for film and television, in the main with academy award-winning lyricist Will Jennings.
In the past year he has once again given his life over to the recording process after being introduced to Kipper (most noted for his work with Sting on 'Brand New Day' and 'Sacred Love') and the result is a stunning collection of new songs along with a couple of old favourites performed exclusively by Richard and titled 'Late but in Earnest' which is the Kerr clan motto.
A new creative collaboration with Pete Bellotte (famed for his work with Donna Summer) has yielded two stunning new songs, 'Riding The Moon', where Richard sounds like a man half his years, then there's the beautiful Smile', the breathtaking ballad 'Faces' and a splendid reworking of the multi million selling 'Mandy' ...and a stunning song written with his old friend Tim Rice called 'One Of My Best Friends'. I could go on...
This is a record for grown ups. People who love music and wonderfully crafted songs. Your best bet is to listen… listen and fall in love with the music. Embark on a journey. It may be late but in earnest, to my mind it's perfect timing.
Nick Battle, Summer 2015
