He IS the only and only, Mr. Chesney Hawkes!
…and you can’t take that away from him! Yes, Chesney Hawkes, mister one hit wonder himself. Back in 1991 he topped the UK singles chart for five weeks and broke the top ten in the US, and was tipped as the next big thing! So what happened? And where did he go?
Chesney was born in Berkshire, England in 1971. His father is Len ‘Chip’ Hawkes who joined the band The Tremeloes in 1966 and played on their biggest and best known hits including “Silence Is Golden” and “Here Comes My Baby”. His mother Carol was briefly an actress, appearing in an episode of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) and the film ‘The Haunted House Of Horror’ (1969). Chesney made his name straight away playing the lead role of Buddy Clark in the film ‘Buddy’s Song’. filmed during 1990 and released in March 1991. The film co-starred Roger Daltry of The Who and proved a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
From it came the main theme “The Only And Only”, written by 80’s heart-throb Nik Kershaw. The song stormed to the top of the UK singles chart and spent a total of five weeks there, becoming the seventh biggest seller of the year. It also made the top ten around the world including America, where it was so successful it was later used in the films ‘Doc Hollywood’ (1991) and ‘Moon’ (2009). Two further tracks were lifted from the soundtrack and released as singles “I’m A Man Not A Boy” and “Secrets Of The Heart”, neither made the impact of “The One And Only”, with only “I’m A Man” making the top 40 in the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Sweden.
After a well earned break, Chesney returned in 1993 with his debut album proper, “Get The Picture”, which included the single “What’s Wrong With This Picture?”. Neither performed very well at all, with the single peaking at No.63 in the UK and the album sinking without trace. Chesney pretty much disappeared out of sight soon after, only making a brief appearance in the 1997 film ‘Prince Valiant’.
He released the single “Stay Away Baby Jane” with Adam Schlesinger of the Fountains of Wayne in 2002 but, again, it sank without trace. In 2005 he turned up on the third series of the short-lived British TV show The Games (2003-06), based on a small scale olympic style sports event. Chesney would go on to win the Bronze medal in his series. Later that year he appeared on the TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time and released a new single “Another Fine Mess” which made No.48 in the UK, his highest chart position since “I’m A Man Not A Boy” fourteen years earlier.
Since then he has released two further albums, “Me, My Mouse And I” (2009) and “Real Life Love” (2012). He is married to Kristina and the couple have three children. Chesney makes occasional appearances at 90s festivals across the UK performing his best known hit. In 2022 a new, alternative version of the song was released to coincide with the release of a best of album.
Stay in touch with Chesney through his WEBSITE and his FACEBOOK page
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