Chesney Hawkes releases ‘Living Arrows’: “Live out loud, grab life by the horns”
Introduction
Ahead of his highly rumoured entry into the Celebrity Big Brother House, this coming Monday night, Chesney Hawkes is back today with his comeback album, ‘Living Arrows’, which is set to be his biggest hit since his 1991 debut ‘Buddy’s Song’.
An album which is vulnerable, full of grief and heartache, but an overwhelming sense of hope, joy and gratitude for his life and career so far. The album is dedicated to two very close and influential figures in his life, Vic and Kiki, and is an incredibly touching tribute to those lost on the way. ‘Living Arrows also features a range of collaborators, such as Nik Kershaw, Jake Gosling and Soren Anderson, who have further brought the album’s themes and messages to life. It also serves as an almost roadmap to life for his children,  with tracks like, ‘Surprise Yourself’, dedicated to his son Casey. ‘Living Arrows’, may just be Chesney’s greatest work to date, it’s relatable for fans, and features deep songwriting, that may overtake his previous big hits, in terms of authenticity and vulnerability.
The album is available on a range of different physical formats, with signed bundles still available on Chesney’s store (while stocks last). Our interview with Chesney was emotional and full of difficult themes, but just like in the album, he was authentic and it serves as one of our most exciting interviews yet!
The Interview
TTM: The amount of effort that has gone into getting the album out there, getting it to the audience, getting it to the fans, and really bringing the fans of such a high quality after what feels like a long time. That must be like the best thing in the world to do, right?
CHESNEY HAWKES: Ross, totally. You hit it on the head. Completely. 100% it’s a lot of hard work, and it’s all paying off now.
TTM: How long have you been writing the album?
CHESNEY HAWKES: Well to be honest with you, it was in a very different state, we were looking at releasing just before COVID hit. Yeah, that’s how long. So this album has been in the making for a long time. It’s a different album now, because different songs have come on and different mixes and all that kind of stuff, but yeah, it’s been in the works for a while.
TTM: How excited are you to finally have this out and finally present it to the audience? This must be the best musical moment of your life!
CHESNEY HAWKES: I would say it is, yeah, very well put it’s because it’s taken so long, and because it’s such an important record for me, and there’s so many songs on there that I really want people to hear, and I think people are going to relate to the songs. Yeah, it’s a massive moment.
TTM: There’s some really important themes in there, like grief and loss. Was it difficult working and facing your way through these themes?
CHESNEY HAWKES: I mean, it’s been a cathartic, therapeutic journey. It really has. And you know, you mentioned ‘LOUD’. I mean, that one came along at the time when… I’d already written the song, actually, before, but my best friend literally just passed away. So I’m now out there. It’s the latest single, and I’m out there promoting this record about loss, while I’m thinking about Vic and going around talking about it. And it’s raw, it’s right there at the surface, but it’s really seems to have resonated with people.
I’ve had so many messages from people saying, “Oh, thank you for that song, it reminds me of my mom or my brother who passed”. It’s going to be our song now. Those kind of things, it’s so overwhelmingly beautiful, messages from people that I’m just humbled by, I really am. It’s so special. And I guess that’s what music can do, right?
TTM: Creating this album must have been a great way to process the grief, to be able to create and write in their honour, turning those emotions into something special that will go on.
CHESNEY HAWKES: It has been. He fell in love with the record and he loved that particular song, and he even said, “You know, when I’m gone, that’s how we’ll communicate”. And so, it has been quite a journey for me in that respect, but the whole album now for me, I’m doing it for him, like I had an hour before he died, and literally the day before he died, with him, where he basically just said, “Mate, just smash it to pieces. Just go out there, live out loud, grab life by the horns, because you know, it’s the short life we lead”. I’m doing it for him.
TTM: How has it been, taking this album, out on the road, meeting fans, meeting the audience, and connecting with them through the album?
CHESNEY HAWKES: That’s been special. And actually, I’ll give you an example. These two ladies came to me in the signing, I was in Newcastle, and yeah, they were middle aged ladies, and they basically were saying how they’re best friends, and have been since they were kids. And last time they saw me was in 1991 at Newcastle City Hall, when they came to see me, as their first gig, and now they’re back, 34 years later, seeing me live again. And I’ve had lots of moments like that over this tour, and they’re all bringing their kids along. So I’ve got, like, different generations of people in these crowds, and it’s been really special.
TTM: The album feels very much like a journey for your kids too. A lot of the messages that are going in there, it kind of fits their age group as well, right?
CHESNEY HAWKES: Well, that’s what I had in mind all the way through. I mean, it’s something that was an unconscious theme that ran through the whole album. It’s like a little road map to to life for the kids, I was very open, very honest in this album, and some of the things we’ve been through together, I’ve addressed them all, and so, yes, it’s a special one for me. And my son is my guitar player now, he’s out on the road with me, my youngest. So that’s, beautiful as well. And I’ve still got my brother on the drums, so it’s a family affair Ross!
TTM: It must be like the most magical feeling, though, being able to create this art and create this album, create this music, and just have everything fall into place. To be doing it with your family too, and having the audience there. And I suppose that they must feel like your family as well, you’ve been on this journey together for 34 years!
CHESNEY HAWKES: It’s something that I say, we’ve been selling the shows out and I always say to them, “Where’s my 90s kids? *Chesney cheers* and I always say, thank you so much for being here. We’ve grown up together, haven’t we, because I was a teenager too, when that record came out. So it’s like we literally have come through this whole journey of life together and these people have been with me since the beginning. So yeah, it’s wonderful.
TTM: You’ve also done so much work on a mental health side, tell us a bit about that.
CHESNEY HAWKES: Yeah, well, CALM came along for me, there’s a song on the album that I wrote for a young friend of mine that took her own life, she was a young artist that I was working with that was very much part of our family, and we loved her so much. She was only 24 and so there’s a song called ‘The Meaning Of This’ on the record, which is very powerful and difficult, another difficult one to sing. I keep writing these songs that are hard to sing emotionally. I’ve also been affected by suicide in my family, my uncle did the same thing, took his life. And so, it’s a massive issue in this country as well. It’s the biggest killer of young people. I mean isn’t that insane. It’s just such a ridiculous statistic, and so we need to talk about it. So CALM came along to me, and they’re such an important organisation, such beautiful people, doing incredible work and making it less taboo to talk about so I’m absolutely honoured to be a part of that organisation.
TTM: You’re able to support the audience authentically and be relatable through music. And I feel like it’s stories like that although they’re really tragic and really sad, it is like you say somebody’s reality.
CHESNEY HAWKES: Totally. We all go through these things. We all know the one thing in this human condition that is always going to be there is we are going to go through loss and grief, in whatever form. And we all have to talk about it. We all have to be in this together. I really think it’s important to bring up these issues and these topics, because we have to stick together in these things. We have to.
TTM: What keeps you motivated Chesney? What has really pushed you to the finish line for this album?
CHESNEY HAWKES: My family. That’s number one, the most important thing for me. But music itself, I love, I love how music can affect people and connect with people. Those two things together are the most important things in my life.
TTM: You also co-wrote a song with your wife on this album?
CHESNEY HAWKES: There’s two songs actually I wrote with my wife! One of them is called, ‘Do You Ever Think Of Me?’ We were talking about our exes and just now being very healthy in our own relationship, just talking about, what they meant to us and what it was like in those days, with that person. And I wonder what they’re doing now. And I wonder if they ever think of me, so that was what the song was about.
TTM: What would you say is your proudest moment so far Chesney?
CHESNEY HAWKES: I nearly said West Ham winning the Conference!! It has to be my kids. It has to be. They’re what I’m most proud of, and they’re such amazing humans now. I mean, they’re late 20s, sorry, late teens and early 20s now, and you know, they’re all doing so well. So yeah, I’ve got to say my kids.
