‘Boy’ band still living the dream

Nearly three decades in and Aussie ‘boy’ band Human Nature show no sign of slowing down. In fact, the guys — Phil Burton, Toby Allen and Andrew and Michael Tierney — say they’ll be belting out tunes for some time to come.

Nearly three decades in and Aussie ‘boy’ band Human Nature show no sign of slowing down.

In fact, the guys — Phil Burton, Toby Allen and Andrew and Michael Tierney — say they’ll be belting out tunes for some time to come.

“It isn’t something that you plan to stop at any point,” Burton tells Insider. “You keep going while the fun is there and while the reason to do it is there so whether that finishes in two years, five years or 50 years, you can’t really say.”

“I can’t do anything else,” Andrew Tierney says. “It is one of those things, you wonder how long your career can keep going. It has been a dream career to be a singer and an artist.”

Human Nature last week released their 13th studio album, Romance Of The Jukebox, and announced a national tour for next year to mark the group’s 30th anniversary.

The four formed the band in 1989 after meeting through school.

Human Nature: Phil Burton, Andrew Tierney, Michael Tierney and Toby Allen ahead of their return to Las Vegas. Picture: Richard Dobson

“We did a show the other night and John Farnham was actually on before us, so our support act so to speak, he is nearly 70 now and his voice is incredible,” Michael Tierney says. “When he is on stage, he is still looking like he is loving it so it is great when you see artists that are at that point and still enjoying it. Sometimes you see artists who look like they don’t want to be there anymore but I think when you still like the thrill of getting on stage, we will
be doing it until the thrill is gone.”

Now based in the United States, the band have been home in Australia for the past week playing select shows across the country to coincide with the new album release.

They return in April for a full national tour, playing ICC Sydney on May 10.

“Yeah, there are some serious moments but the show, the whole end result is to entertain people,” Andrew says.

While 2019 marks 30 years in the business, it will also represent a milestone of 10 years on the Las Vegas strip, where they play day after day at the famed Venetian.

“It is crazy to think of that time in Vegas in terms of our time together,” Allen says. “A third of our time together as a group has been over there. We’ve never performed so much as we have in Vegas but it serves us so well because we are so match fit.

“Even coming home, it is like a gruelling schedule but we are able to handle it way better now than we ever have. The crowd changes all the time so it is fun. As long as there is a room there to play in, we are loving it.”

Musically, it has been important for the group to consistently release new material that sits alongside their chart topping cover albums such as Reach Out, Jukebox and Vegas.

As well as huge hits like Bridge Over Troubled Water, Can’t Buy Me Love and I Say A Little Prayer, the new album features two originals in Crazy Love and Little More Love.

“There have been original songs on all of these records,” Andrew says. “It is nice to still be doing original songs as a group, even though we took this diversion to reinterpreting classics.

“You never know, a lot of our fans want more of that from us but we also want to do something that keeps us in business as well being able to perform every night. If we did a whole original show in Vegas, I think it would probably end pretty quickly but it is fun to be able to mix it up.

“We are trying to find that balance and it is evolving as we keep doing it, bringing our original artistry into reinterpreting the covers as well so we will see how it goes.”

Asked what the story would be if a movie was made about the group, Andrew replies: “It would be a pretty positive story really. We had a dream to make music together and here we are 30 years later and the fact we are still friends and still together is a pretty positive thing. There have been ups and downs along the way but it feels great we are still out there enjoying what we do.”

ROMANCE OF THE JUKEBOX OUT NOW. FULL TOUR DATES TICKETEK.COM.AU

Originally published as ‘Boy’ band still living the dream