Chesney Hawkes is already thinking about his next album.
The 52-year-old star – who shot to fame at the age of 19 when he appeared in the 1991 film ‘Buddy’s Song’, which featured his biggest hit ‘The One and Only’ – released his first new single in 12 years, ‘Get A Hold Of Yourself’, along with a bold music video of himself in the buff, last September.
The track is taken from his upcoming album ‘Living Arrows’, which is released on February 28, and Chesney teased that he is planning to follow it up as he has the “bug” for making music again.
He told Classic Pop magazine: “I’ve already started thinking about the next album. This particular gap was a little bit different because of where I was in life with the kids and moving to L.A. and concentrating on writing and producing for other people, and stuff like that. But now I definitely have the bug again.”
Chesney admitted he struggled to hold back the tears when ‘The One and Only’ got its first airplay on BBC Radio 2.
He added: “Hearing the single being played on Radio 2 was really emotional for me. I’m ashamed to say I shed a tear.
“Hearing Scott Mills saying, “New music from Chesney Hawkes!”, it just took me back to 1991 and hearing The One And Only on the radio for the first time.”
The musician worked with Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran’s producer Jake Gosling on the album, who he credits with giving it a more commercial sound.
He said: “My songwriting background is still The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and David Bowie, But [on Living Arrows] I collaborated with a guy called Jake Gosling, who’s worked with Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga and One Direction, so I feel like he took my traditional songwriting ways and brought a fresh commercial feel to it, production-wise.”
Chesney also reunited with regular collaborator Nik Kershaw, who co-wrote ‘The One and Only’, on a handful of tracks, and describes him as a “mentor”.