Chesney Hawkes “needed to get away'” from his signature hit,
The 53-year-old singer enjoyed massive success with the track ‘The One and Only’ when it was released in 1991, but there came a point where he wanted to escape it so he flew to the Seychelles, only for the song to be played in a bar as soon as he arrived.
He told The Daily Star newspaper: “Maybe six months into the crazy, promotional stuff, I was like, ‘I need to get away! I took a friend of mine, and we went to the Seychelles, backpacking. I wanted to go somewhere, where no one would know who I am, or any of that. The very first place we got to was this amazing bar on the beach. “I ordered a beer and, literally, as we got our beers, ‘The One And Only’ came on. I was like, ‘I can’t get away, mate, 33 bloody years of this!”
Chesney’s new album ‘Living Arrows’ – which features the singles ‘Loud’, ‘Get A Hold of Yourself’ and ‘Live Forever’ – has just been released, and he admitted that the record may not be what fans “expect” from him but there are still some “pop bangers” on there.
He said: “So, direction of the album, there are quite a few kick-the-doors-down pop bangers that you would imagine.
But there are certainly other themes on the album… it’s not exactly what you would expect!”
The pop star previously admitted that he doesn’t understand the “hysteria” that often comes with fame, and everything was “turned upside down” when he was at the absolute height of it all.
He told The Observer: “I never really understood the hysteria of fame. I’d come face to face with a fan and they’d just scream in my face. Things are different now.”
“When I performed on ‘Top of the Pops’ my life became crazy. Suddenly, everywhere I went there was a gaggle of girls and paparazzi. ‘The One and Only’ got to number one all over Europe and into the Top 10 in the States. Things turned upside down.
“I understand when I see young artists have their exhaustion moment – I once went to seven countries in one day. Very instantly your life is not your own. You have success in different territories all at the same time and you have to go and visit them. My brother and I were away from home for two years.”