No Brit can resist the temptation of singing Sweet Caroline at the top of their lungs – especially in the pub – as Neil Diamond’s hit single has become the unofficial anthem of British sporting success.
The American singer-songwriter has enjoyed a glittering career spanning seven decades, selling more than 130 million records worldwide. Neil, 83, has written some of the most recognisable songs in pop history including Solitary Man and I’m A Believer.
In an interview on CBS Sunday Morning last year, Neil told how it had taken him a year or two to come to terms with his diagnosis of the incurable brain condition, which causes shaking, slow movements and stiffness. “When the doctor told me what it was, I was just not ready to accept it,” he said, “I said: ‘Oh, OK, I’ll see you whenever you want to see me, but I have work to do, so I’ll see you later’.”
Third marriage
Neil is married to music manager Katie McNeil, falling for his third wife when she was 42 and him 71. The star says it was strictly business when they first began working together. “There was nothing,” he told Mail Online. “She was just another business person handing me work to do and another business person I was trying to get away from. I stopped trying to get away after a year or so, once I got to know the person she was, and I liked that person very much.
“Katie’s got a big heart and she’s very transparent. I can read her heart from a mile away. She does a terrific English accent too, which makes me laugh every time.”
Neil was previously wed to high school sweetheart Jayne Posner, with daughters Marjorie and Elyn. That marriage ended in 1969 and he was married to Marcia Murphey for 25 years before their divorce in 1994 with two sons, Jesse and Micah.
The star has spoken candidly about how his career and touring schedule affected family life. “There were always tears,” he told 60 Minutes Australia. “The kids cried, my wives cried, I cried… I walk around with a sense of guilt still because I left them more than I should have but the work required it. It was that simple.”
Neil, who is a grandfather of eight, also told People magazine: “The best thing I can do for my kids is give them a normal life, be supportive and let them find their own way.” Through years of therapy, he has come to terms with his perceived past relationship failures and insists: “There will not be a fourth wife. I have the best woman in the world and I’m taking good care of our relationship. I’m making sure it’s going to last forever.”
Surprising song inspiration
The star hasn’t been the subject of too much controversy over the course of his career but his famous song Sweet Caroline, played at many sports grounds around the world including after the Lionesses’ success at Euro 2022, has proved a talking point. In 2007, Neil said the track had been inspired by John F Kennedy’s daughter Caroline, who was 11 when the hit was released.
“It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony,” he said. “It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there. It was a number one record and probably is the biggest, most important song of my career, and I have to thank her for the inspiration.”
In 2017 the star said the song was actually written about his second wife Marcia, saying he had called it Caroline because he needed a three-syllable name. In 2012, the tune had been banned from a US football university game which was in the midst of a sex abuse scandal, due to the lyrics: “touching me, touching you”.
Watch the tribute evening on BBC2 tonight, starting with Neil Diamond at the BBC at 8.25pm
