Pop singer and one-time teenage heartthrob Chesney Hawkes has revealed he was sexually abused as a child, in a powerful new interview with The Independent.
Currently appearing on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother, the 53-year-old singer discussed the trauma on Good Vibrations, this publication’s music podcast.
The revelation comes as he releases a new album, Living Arrows, which features a moving track titled “13” written in collaboration with Nick Kershaw, the songwriter behind his breakout hit “The One and Only”.
“When I was young – I was 13 years old – I was molested,” Hawkes said. “It lasted longer than it should have done, put it that way, and I kind of carried that with me my whole life and didn’t really realise how much it affected me until a little bit later on.”
The singer, who did not name his abuser but clarified it was someone outside his family, said it was a moment of vulnerability with his wife of 27 years, Kristina, that led to the song’s creation.
“It was very much in my mind at this one particular moment where I was going up to do a session with Nick, because I just had this kind of crying, breakthrough moment with my wife about it,” he said.
“I thought, that's it. I've dealt with that now and we can move on. So I went up to Nick’s house and we had a glass of wine and we started talking and he was like, ‘Are you alright?’ And I just spilled it out to him. He's known me since I was a kid.”
Kershaw encouraged him to write about the experience. “It was so easy,” Hawkes said. “It was like I had to write it… it was like vomiting.”
The musician said he “had to be brave” and that he felt as though it was “something that people need to hear”, explaining that writing the song helped him continue to be vulnerable through the rest of the album.
“I was definitely in a state of wanting to get s*** out,” he said. “So there are a couple of other songs on the album that tackle some deeper, more difficult topics as well.”
Hawkes shot to fame as a teenager in 1991 upon the release of “The One and Only”, which topped the UK charts for five weeks and also reached the top 10 in the United States. He also starred opposite The Who’s Roger Daltrey in the film Buddy’s Song, which featured “The One and Only” as its main theme.
The pop-rock anthem turned him into an international sensation, a “heartthrob” who was the subject of intense media scrutiny and attention from fans, and who was later dismissed as a “one-hit wonder” and brutally dropped by his record label.
Elsewhere in the emotional and candid interview, Hawkes spoke about the impact that fame had on him, as he splashed out on luxury cars and dabbled briefly with substance abuse.
“Being young was definitely [behind some] difficult mental health issues as a kid,” he said. “But also there [were] other things like where you're part of the machine – I was part of the machine – so there were people in charge of my career.”
When he first signed his record deal, Hawkes’s heroes were artists such as The Beatles, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie, having been raised in a rock’n’roll household by his father Len “Chip” Hawkes – the singer and bassist for the beat group The Tremoloes – and mother Carol Dilworth, a former actor and gameshow host.
“I always thought that if I was gonna make it, that was gonna be the route that I would take. That would be my thing, you know?” Hawkes said.
“So obviously the heartthrob route was kind of, not manufactured, but it was because I was that pretty boy – I get it. I understand why they went that route – but it wasn't particularly my choice. But I didn't speak up, you know, and say, ‘No, this is not me.’”
He also addressed how he was “eviscerated” by the press after the fame he had achieved with “The One and Only” began to dwindle.
“I kind of shoved it down inside myself and put the lid on and didn't pay attention to the fact that it actually was affecting me,” he said. “But that's what you do when you are young. You don't know how to deal with those things.
“I did get into drugs and alcohol… but quickly realised that that's not the way to go – I concentrated on music, and I've always been quite a tenacious person.”
Despite the early experience of being dropped by his label, Hawkes continued to tour and release music over the years; he recently supported fellow singer-songwriter James Blunt on his European tour, and will perform a series of headline shows later this year.
He is currently starring in this year's series of Celebrity Big Brother on ITV, alongside fellow guests including controversial actor Mickey Rourke, EastEnders actor Patsy Palmer, former child star and pop singer JoJo Siwa, and former Conservative MP Sir Michael Fabricant.
His new album, Living Arrows, is out now. The full episode of Good Vibrations is available on all major streaming platforms.
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call Childline free of charge on 0800 1111.
You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331
Celebrity Big Brother LIVE: Mickey Rourke up for eviction as nominations announced
JoJo Siwa’s partner Kath Ebbs calls out Mickey Rourke’s comments on Big Brother
Mickey Rourke’s appalling homophobia is ITV’s shame to bear
Who is Jillian Lauren? Weezer bassist’s wife once part of Prince of Brunei’s harem
Soulja Boy ordered to pay $4 million to former assistant after sexual assault trial
Weezer bassist’s wife Jillian Lauren underwent cancer treatment weeks before arrest
