Where are they now?
These TV stars oozed sex appeal in their hey day, but what are they up to now?
NATHAN HARVEY
He became a household name in the ’90s but now the former model and TV host is busking on the streets for a living. And for the past eight years heartthrob Nathan has been pushing jets around for take-off at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport!
Now, Nathan has taken 12 months off from his dispatcher job with Virgin to pursue his dream of being a singer.
With an itinerary that’s taking him around the country, Nathan, 47, says he’ll be singing for his “dinner and petrol money”.
What’s more, Nathan has witnessed first-hand how tough outback Australians are doing it and hoping to bring some joy to drought-affected farmers with free impromptu concerts on their properties.
“I went to Packsaddle Roadhouse, out near Broken Hill, to sing for some farmers there. Some hadn’t left their properties in three years,” says the former Channel V host, who only strummed his first guitar four years ago. “To see the tears in their eyes when we played for them really affected me.”
That touching experience inspired Nathan. With his infectious take-a-chance optimism, he has kitted out his truck – complete with a pop-up tent on the roof, a portable shower and toilet, three huge water tanks, his amplifiers, two surfboards and three guitars – and hit the road on his first leg to the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
“I was busking in Peel Street and on the first day I didn’t make a cent,” he says. “That got me down a bit. The next day I made $50 and an Aboriginal woman called Zora painted my guitar. The next day I made $80, so Zora bought me some luck!”
Nathan is making a trip back to Broken Hill at the end of March and asking the people of the bush to visit his website, mrharveymusic.com.au, to see where his travels take him next.
“I’d love people to get in contact with me and give me some inspiration of where I should be headed and where I can play. I’ll go everywhere and anywhere,” says Nathan, who is putting together an album of his original songs and some country-style remakes while he’s on the road from
Tassie to the Top End.
“I’ve calculated I will cover about 25,000km by the time I get back to Sydney. The good thing about having this year off is I get the chance to learn my craft and explore new experiences and make heaps of new friends.
“You gotta give it a go while you can, don’t you?”