Sad new interview reveals division within Human Nature

They’ve been together for over 30 years – but the members of Human Nature now have a “surface-level” friendship, one member has confessed.

Two members of one of Australia’s most successful musical groups have given a new interview that may make for sad listening for some fans.

Human Nature members Andrew and Mike Tierney confessed in the latest episode of LiSTNR’s The Jess Rowe Big Talk Show that they have merely a “surface-level” friendship with their two bandmates, and avoid talking with them about their personal lives, their children or partners.

Brothers Andrew and Mike have been singing with bandmates Toby Allen and Phil Burton since the late 80s, when they formed the pre-Human Nature band 4Trax while they were all still high school students.

Their breakthrough came with the multi-platinum debut album Telling Everybody in 1996, and since then they’ve released an additional 12 albums, toured the world, and launched a successful years-long stint on the famed Vegas strip.

Human Nature members Andrew (left) and Michael Tierney (right) confess they aren’t that close to bandmates Phil Burton and Toby Allen.

Despite this shared history, the brothers indicated to Jess Rowe that they were less close to their two bandmates than ever.

Speaking about the inter-band dynamics, Andrew noted that he was able to disagree with Mike more easily than his other bandmates, because as brothers they’re able to move past it quickly.

“But with Toby and Phil, if they’re kind of moody, it kind of gets a bit more personal and it’s a weird dynamic,” said Andrew.

“You know, we started as friends and now the friendship I think is very just surface level. I’ll notice that Toby or Phil never asked me how my day is or how my kids are or how my wife is, you know? They just don’t. And I don’t do the same for them.”

Host Jess Rowe asked if that lack of a personal connection made them feel sad – but Andrew insisted it didn’t, and suggested it might in fact be a key to the band’s longevity.

L-R: Michael, Andrew, Toby and Phil shot to fame in the mid-90s.

“ I think that’s why we’re still together – because we don’t deal with the dirt,” he said.

“[You] just get to work and you get to sing. We all sing great together. We work well together, we don’t deal with the mess or don’t want to deal with the mess in each other’s lives,” he insisted.

Andrew said Human Nature’s move to Las Vegas more than 15 years ago was a big turning point for the group, making them more businesslike with each other as they adjusted to the grind of being a successful live act on the Vegas strip.

To this day, three members of Human Nature remain based in Las Vegas, performing their Motown classics show dozens of times each year.

Burton, meanwhile, quit their Las Vegas show in 2020 and returned home to Sydney with his family. He remains with the band for their Australian touring commitments – like the Sydney concert they’re performing at the ICC Theatre tonight.

Burton explained his decision to bow out of the group’s Las Vegas residency in a 2020 interview with Stellar.

Human Nature are headed out on an Australian tour – but Phil (second right) bowed out of their Vegas commitments a few years back. Picture Thomas Lisson

“Las Vegas was a fantastic experience, but it was time to come home,” he said at the time.

“I hope the guys do really well with a new show. As far as Australia goes, when there are opportunities to play, they’ll fly here and I’ll jump back on board, and it will be the four of us as always.”

Elsewhere in the brothers’ chat with Jess Rowe, Andrew opened up about a past drinking problem that he struggled to keep a secret from his bandmates, and revealed the day he was found out.

He recalled his brother one day discovering a bottle of alcohol he’d hidden in his bag, confronting him and thereby starting his journey to deal with the issue.

“I hadn’t hidden it well enough and Mike confronted me about it, which was brave. I could see he didn’t want to have to do that, but he did. And it was like, okay, this is, this is a problem for me,” he said.