After 20 years, Workshy returns

BRITISH BAND Workshy, best known for the song “Never the Same,” and covering Carole King’s “It’s Too Late,” comes back to Manila after more than 20 years to promote the group’s newest album, Wayward, on Aug. 10 at the Theatre at Solaire Resort and Casino.

“We came to Manila in 1995. It’s hard to know what to expect really but we have fans our age and maybe we picked up a few younger fans,” Chrysta Jones, the band’s lead vocal, told BusinessWorld during a phone interview on June 27.

Workshy came into the industry with its unique blend of soul, funk and jazz in the 1980s and Ms. Jones considers Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach as some of their musical influences.

“We’ve been trying to create our own genre... [and] replicate [our influences] in our own kind of way,” she explained.

In 1989, the band released its debut album, The Golden Mile, which includes hits such as “In This Neighborhood,” which became a hit in Japan.

The band also found success in other parts of the region including the Philippines.

“People do like us particularly in those territories and I really don’t know why, but in the beginning, I think because of our European essence, it was slightly exotic,” Ms. Jones said.

Workshy started as a trio — Ms. Jones, Michael McDermott, and Kevin Kehoe. Mr. Kehoe left the band to pursue other interests in 1992.

Since starting out, Workshy produced 15 more albums including its latest, Wayward.

(For a YouTube video preview of the album, go to https://youtu. be/8eQY7rzUNBs.)

Ms. Jones said that she particularly liked the song “Where or Why” in the newest album because “it’s sort of what we’ve been like [all along].”

Three decades into the business, Workshy managed to maintain much of its signature sound, though Ms. Jones said they played a bit more electronic and unplugged in recent years, but all in all, it’s the same kind of instrumentation and the same kind of music the band is known for.

“We just continuously write better songs, better lyrics with better message,” she explained before adding the songs are uplifting and are supposed to touch one’s feelings.

The band is set to release another album — this time of covers — within the year, and, “hopefully,” said Ms. Jones, another original album next year.

Workshy Live in Manila is scheduled on Aug. 10, 8 p.m., at The Theatre at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City. Tickets, which range in price from P2,090 to P7,315, are available at TicketWorld (891-9999, www.ticketworld. com.ph). —