CHESNEY Hawkes is back with a bang today – more than a decade since his last album.
Tracks from his brilliant sixth record Living Arrows, including Get A Hold Of Yourself and Live Forever, are already radio mainstays.
Ed HendersonChesney Hawkes is now settled back in the UK after almost 20 years living in LA and seems happier than ever[/caption]And after three decades in the music industry, Chesney’s star hasn’t faded.
For the album, he has teamed up with super-producer and close pal Jake Gosling, who has worked with artists including Harry Styles and Sam Smith.
Ches jokes he dropped a clanger in their early years together.
He tells me: “I’d do sessions for him and we’d be trying to get a song for someone like Kylie Minogue.
“He told me about this kid, Ed Sheeran, who was sleeping on his couch. Jake said, ‘Come and do a session.’ I said: ‘Ed who? I’m working with A1 now,’ like I was Mr big b*****ks.”
Missed opportunities aside, Jake was Chesney’s go-to for Living Arrows. He says with a laugh: “Jake said, ‘I can fit you in between Harry and Sam Smith next week.’
“We wrote Nobody Like You in 20 minutes in the garden then got the beers out.
“Jake said to me, ‘You’ve got to do an album now. That was so fun.’ It went from there.”
The record, he says, was a “labour of love” but production was held up by the pandemic.
But the delay played in his favour, with Ches crafting 12 deeply personal songs, including my favourite, Do You Think Of Me, which he wrote with wife Krissy.
Loud was a song dedicated to his friend Vic, who died in January from cancer, and The Meaning Of This was written with rising singer-songwriter and close family friend Kiersty Rouge in mind.
Affectionately known as Kiki, she took her own life in 2016.“Kiki would stay with us when we worked together and she became part of our family,” Ches says, as his right-hand man David pulls out his phone to show me a photograph.
“Her death hit us so hard as a family. It took me a long time but I knew I had a song in me for her.
“If you listen to The Meaning Of This, there’s a girl who does a little, wispy vocal. That is Kiki.”
When he popped in to see me, Ches was in the middle of his headline UK tour and had just come off the road in Europe with James Blunt.
“We bonded over what we have in common — people saying we’ve only got one song,” Ches says with a laugh.
“We’re a little bit more self- effacing than a lot of artists.”
The stint on tour with James has, he says, opened doors, and he will be going out around Europe for his own solo tour soon.
“It’s amazing that I play these new songs and they’re already singing them back to me,” Ches says.
Thanks to that 1991 No1 hit, The One And Only, the Windsor-born singer became an overnight heartthrob. He says: “In the early days, fans would camp outside my parents’ house.
“I met two girls after a show last week and they said they’d last seen me when they were 15 years old in Preston. There’s less screaming now though, it’s a more genteel approach.”
On the road, Ches has his brother Jodie on drums and son Indiana on guitar. And it’s clear there’s a new Hawkes talent ready to fly solo.
SuppliedChesney Hawkes with The Sun’s Ellie Henman[/caption]He says: “Indi gets the biggest clap of the night. He teaches me things too, and is a far better guitarist.”
And as well as playing his new tracks, Chesney of course treats fans to The One And Only. But naturally, as Blunty would attest, the tune is a blessing and a curse.
“The beginning with The One And Only was crazy,” Ches recalls.
“I had ten years where I rebelled against it. I wanted to be in Radiohead. I formed bands and slummed it in New York playing in s****y clubs. I loved that time.”
Now settled back in the UK after almost 20 years living in LA, Ches seems happier than ever — and that’s down to being able to get a proper beer and being closer to his beloved West Ham United.
Favourite players
Proudly, he lifts up his sleeve to show me a new Hammers tattoo on his arm, but says: “Season tickets are like gold dust, it’s a four-year waiting list.”
The 2022 World Cup, where Chesney was flown out to sing The One And Only at half time for England versus Wales, brought him closer to his favourite players.
He says: “All 70,000 fans were singing along, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I flew into Qatar to perform, went back to Skegness for a show, then to Qatar again to hang out with Declan Rice.”
But away from football and on to more pressing matters, such as his appearance in Celebrity Big Brother, which starts Monday.
Ches didn’t breathe a word to me about the show during our chat but I guarantee he’ll be the most popular housemate.
The line-up will need big names to make Ches star-struck, though.
He says: “I’ve met Paul McCartney, Princess Diana, Eric Clapton. I’ve met so many amazing people that I’ve never been star struck.”
The bookies fancy his chances too, with Chesney currently at 7/1 to win.
A Chesurrection is on the horizon . . .
CAUGHT LIVE: MUMFORD & SONS
ARON KLEINMumford & Sons played a 12-song set at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, as part of Amazon Music UK’s City Sessions[/caption]THEY may have been out of the spotlight for five years, but for Mumford & Sons fans it’s been worth the wait.
The folk-rock group proved they are still at the top of their game after wowing fans with an intimate gig at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, as part of Amazon Music UK’s City Sessions.
Streamed live on Prime Video and the Amazon Music UK channel on Twitch, the 12-song set featured new tracks from the band’s latest album Rushmere, alongside old favourites.
The record, their first in seven years, is expected to go to No1 today.Frontman Marcus Mumford said: “It was a long time we were away and it’s a f***ing relief we came back. We needed the break. We were waiting for the right time to return.
“We have been having a great time playing our songs again and just feeling real gratitude. We still don’t really know what we are doing and we are still just f***ing around at the end of the day.”
Messing around or not, they killed it.
Dua reddy to wrap things up
InstagramDua Lipa is set to perform the final night of her Radical Optimism tour in New Zealand[/caption]DUA LIPA must be looking forward to a well-earned break from performing.
She wrapped herself in this scarlet furry coat, with a matching dress and fishnet stockings, as she prepared for the final night of her tour in New Zealand tonight.
Dua will no doubt be heading straight back to Blighty to see her fiancé, actor Callum Turner, who joined her on the first leg of her Radical Optimism run in Asia.
She has been with her family for the shows in Australasia.
Luckily Dua and Callum have got a month together now to make up for lost time.
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