I NEVER SAW MYSELF AS A CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINER
The former Hi-5 star is strutting back into the music scene – and this time he’s going solo
Saying goodbye to music has never been an option for Nathan Foley, despite walking away from his career as a children’s entertainer.
“It’s pretty cool to just have my music finally out there in the world,” he says of his new album Hurricane.
As we sit down with Nathan at his home on the NSW Central Coast, the musician, 43, is in the middle of celebrating the release alongside his two biggest fans – wife Nicolette and their two-year-old son Jackson.
“When I go and do a show, he says, ‘Daddy go sing?’” he laughs.
“We listened to [the album] before the launch, and he pretty much knows all the words – he sings at the top of his lungs.”
With catchy songs such as Strut and She Devil, the album has critics raving about his mature and eclectic new sound.
“It’s something you can rock out to but something you can also dance to... I’m super proud of it,” says Nathan.
“I wanted to write for all different age groups – it’s got a mixture of INXS, Stevie Wonder, Prince – a whole variety of songs that I grew up with.
“I also wanted to touch on mental health – there are songs to try and help people get out of bed in the morning, to make them feel good [and] worthy.”
The album was originally recorded in 2019 but was largely scrapped after COVID-19 lockdowns left Nathan feeling uninspired with the collection. He later finished the recording of his
album at Crowded House frontman Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland.
“I became really bored with the songs because I’d been sitting on them for so long, so I ended up scrapping a lot of them and rewriting about 80 per cent of the album,” he says.
“I’m really glad I did because I came up with a totally different feel than I originally went for.”
After starting to sing professionally at the age of 10 in Sydney clubs, Nathan has been writing his own material from a young age.
But his role as an original cast member in the late ’90s children’s group Hi-5 cemented his place on the world music stage.
Jackson is now at the prime age for those catchy kids’ TV songs that Nathan plied his trade on.
“He’s seen a little bit of Hi-5 – he watches [Hi-5 character] Super Nathan, and he loves that,” he says.
Nathan left the group In November 2008, after announcing he wanted to focus on his own music career. Fourteen years on, the chance of a reunion seems unlikely.
‘There are songs to make people feel worthy’
“I’ll never say never, but at the same time I never saw myself as a children’s entertainer, I saw myself as an entertainer to all ages,” he says.
A quiet family life now appears to be Nathan’s main focus as he gears up for a 2023 tour around Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. “I want to be an amazing dad and husband and make sure their best interests are at heart,” he says.
Hurricane is streaming now on all platforms. Nathan’s album and merchandise are available to purchase at nathanfoley.com