David Cassidy in the News
The Beat
August 4, 2001
By Melinda Newman
David Cassidy will release his first album on a major label in 11 years this October when Universal Records U.K. puts out Then and Now. Cassidy, who is now signed to Universal worldwide, says a U.S. release has not yet been secured, but he's hoping for a 2002 release.
"We're going to meet with Universal's [U.S. team], when I deliver the CD in about six weeks," says Cassidy from London, where he's completing the project. "But I'm sure what they're going to say is, 'Let's see how it does in the U.K. and the rest of the world.' Whether they'll be committed to it depends upon who's there at the moment they get it."
Cassidy's last album, Old Dog New Trick, came out on his own label, Slamajama, in 1998. It featured the track "No Bridge I Wouldn't Cross," which reached No. 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Prior to that was 1990's David Cassidy, released on Enigma Records. Hit single "Lyin' to Myself" was No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 when the Capitol-distributed label folded.
After that disappointment, Cassidy focused on the stage, including stints in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Blood Brothers on Broadway with his brother Shaun.
In the mid-'90s, Cassidy replaced Michael Crawford in the Las Vegas show EFX. His success there led to two other Vegas shows, At the Copa (with Sheena Easton), in which he performed as well as produced, and The Rat Pack is Back, which he produced.
It was during At the Copa's run that Universal came calling. "They came to see the show eight or nine months ago," Cassidy says. "They said, 'No one has your material in the U.K.,' and I said, 'We can do something about that.'" The album will consist of new material that Cassidy has written (in some cases, with his wife, songwriter Sue Shifrin), his take on some classic tunes, such as Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," and remakes of some Partridge Family songs.
Cassidy is on his first U.S. tour in 10 years and will play more than 50 dates before the current leg ends in the fall. He plans to tour England in November and possibly follow with his first tour of the Far East in 25 years.
His U.S. dates included a July 21 show at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre that left him glowing: "The audience wasn't jaded at all; they were overtly enthusiastic. I just wanted to go out and play and have a great time and celebrate the fact that I've been doing this for 30 years. I love that they were so open."
