The $500 million man

The nicest man in music lifts his hat to greet you and a number of questions immediately battle for attention. What's this refugee from Bonanza doing in an elegant London hotel lobby where pianist and tea cups tinkle in unison? Is there any other music star who would grasp your hand this tight, look you in the eye this directly and say: "Good day, sir"?

And - as the Stetson hovers on its return journey to the balding moon of a face - how has such an unlikely figure prospered in the last six years to become the bestselling singer on the planet? "A lot of entertainers are complete rebels, and I love 'em that way," says Garth in his low, slow drawl. "But me, I'm pretty much a meat 'n' potatoes guy."

True to an extent, but typically disingenuous. He knows exactly what America wants and how to provide it - to the tune of 56 million record sales in that country alone. And now he has Britain in his sights.

He's ridiculously modest for his achievements: his 1989 debut, Garth Brooks, became the bestselling album of the Eighties in the States. A follow-up, No Fences, sold 13 million to become the biggest selling country album ever. A third album, Ropin' the Wind, which was the first country album ever to enter the US charts at number one, sold 11 million. His latest album, Fresh Horses, sold 100,000 copies in England after only a few weeks, thereby going gold - as did his greatest hits collection in 1994. Forbes Magazine estimates his combined gross income from 1994- 1995 alone was $40million, and though he never reveals his total worth, the music biz rumour is a pretty reliable $500million.

This has not been achieved without a frighteningly intense ambition . . . and Sandy, a former rodeo rider who has "stood by her man" despite his public philandering. And on the sleeve of his latest album, sandwiched between copious thanks to sound engineers and The Almighty, the 33-year- old country superstar makes his request: "Sandy, will you marry me?"

What makes it all the more unusual, as Garth fans will know, is that Sandy has been Mrs Brooks for the past 10 years.

"Yep, we're getting married again. It's our 10th anniversary in May and we wanna start clean. It's been a real hard 10 years for our marriage and we need to start over. So we're gonna get all the same people back together and do it again. And we'll probably do it every 10 years from now on."

Today, though, Garth is more concerned with winning "a certain response" from the British public to his new single, the romantic ballad She's Every Woman, out tomorrow, and an appearance on the Des O'Connor Show on Wednesday week.

He is also hoping to shake off the memory of his last British TV appearance when presenter Paula Yates treated him as a joke with cries of "yeee-haw" and "giddy-up cowboy".

Riding a wave of American nostalgia for "the good old days", his record sales back home surpass Jacko and Madonna, but will his new assault on Britain succeed on the US scale? Perhaps the songs about hoedowns, rodeos and Mom's apple pie are not exactly relevant in Britain?

Garth sighs: "Believe me, dude, we've had thousands of meetings about changing the image. Lose the hat, change the shirts. But I can't do it. I gotta be me. I look in the mirror and I gotta be true to myself."

And where's the truth in dressing up like John Wayne? He's not offended. "I make my living as a musician, but I still like to drive cattle when I get the time." He glances at my own headgear but is too polite to ask me when I last played baseball.

Can this guy be for real? Yep, he can. He grew up in a musical home - his mother recorded in the Fifties under the name Colleen Carroll. Brooks focused on athletics before music - he attended Oklahoma State University on an athletics scholarship for javelin. At college, he began performing in bands. Having collected a following in Stillwater, he ventured to the Country mecca of Nashville in 1985. Expecting to be greeted with open arms, he turned tail and fled back to Oklahoma after he witnessed a noted songwriter grovelling for a $500 advance. Total time spent in Music City? Less than 24 hours.

Two years later, he returned to Nashville with new wife, Sandy Mahl (right), in tow. He made a living selling cowboy boots and singing demos, while he struggled to get a deal. Every major label had turned him down by the time he turned up at a songwriters' showcase in 1988. A representative of Capitol Records stopped, listened, liked what he heard and by the next day, Brooks had himself a recording deal. The rest is financial history.

Garth in concert (he's planning a UK tour in 1997) is an experience which graphically demonstrates his appeal: the rock stadium techniques of Garth's teenage favourites Queen and Kiss, merged with the sensitivity of his singer/songwriter influences Elton John, Billy Joel and James Taylor, all mixed with the country music background passed on from his mother.

And at precisely that point in a show where Jacko or Madonna would grab their crotch, Garth Brooks pounds his heart with his fist. The crowd goes wild. This man-of-the-people sells his tickets and T- shirts cheap, and after the show shakes thousands of hands in a "meet 'n' greet" - a process known to us cynics as "shake 'n' fake".

I continue the search for a weak spot. Drink? "No sir." Smoking? "Never." Drugs? "No way." Food, he admits, can be a problem. "I could eat the whole world," he grins, casting an eye on the slight paunch above his elaborate belt buckle.

Money? Surely that is some kind of vice for someone who has earned around $500 million? Sadly, no. He lives in Nashville on a Fergie- style ranch with only four bedrooms.

"As long as I've got a roof over my head and enough to pay the kids' school fees, then I'm happy," says Garth. And for the first time, you begin to doubt the John Boy Walton act. His real weakness is women. He once fell off stage while eyeing the charms of one female fan in the front row.

"I'm real vulnerable where love is concerned," he volunteers. "In my position the temptation is always there and I've let Sandy down in the past and put my family through hell." Sandy walked out on the marriage in a much publicized bust-up after Garth admitted an affair a few years ago - and returned after much pleading with even more publicity.

More recently Sandy has lost out, it seems, to another great love: music. "Making this album took a lot out of our marriage," sighs Garth, who listened to 5,000 potential songs for Fresh Horses and then ended up writing most of the tracks himself. "It was the hardest album I ever made. I threw up, cried, passed out, did everything you can do while making a record - but ended up loving it."

Sandy, however, felt neglected, hence the marriage proposal. Two guests who weren't present the last time round will be their daughters, Taylor, three, and August, 18 months. Garth once expressed a wish for a whole houseful of children. Will there be any more? "That's up to Sandy," says this New Man in a cowboy hat. "It's the woman who has to go though the physical and emotional changes."

Despite all this the star was in a surprisingly downbeat mood about his career. "World's biggest superstar? I don't believe that. I'm probably the heaviest though," shrugs Garth, glancing at his waistline again.

"The thing is, when you're talking about breaking records, you're not just in competition with the past. You've got to look to the future as well. You don't want some smartass kid coming along 20 years in the future and blowing away everything you've done."

He heaves his heaviest sigh yet. "While the light's shining on you, dude, you gotta keep running . . ."

Copyright 1996 MGN LTD
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