Chesney Hawkes’ new podcast, ‘We Are All A Bit Mental’, has been “therapeutic” for the star, as he spends lockdown holed up with his family in Los Angeles.
The One and Only hitmaker launched the joint venture with DJ Brandon Block last month (Feb), with an A-list line-up of guests including ’80s icon Toyah Wilcox, chef Heston Blumenthal and beatboxer SK Shlomo.
Speaking exclusively to Retro Pop, Chesney admits he’s “proud” to be a part of the show, which reunites him with his old pal.
“I knew [Brandon] in the ‘90s and we partied a lot together – stories I could never tell you,” recalls the star. “He was basically on the route to killing himself… The doctors gave him weeks to live, if he didn’t quit, and he did quit.
“Now, he’s helping people with mental health issues and addiction,” says the singer. “So he came to me as an old friend and said, ‘I’m thinking of doing a podcast about mental health.’”
While the ‘Buddy’s Song’ star “didn’t really know what he was talking about,” he agreed to take part in the show, and has found the experience surprisingly rewarding.
“It was a complete lockdown thing. This would never have existed if it wasn’t for lockdown,” explains Chesney.
“It’s been really fun. It’s actually been quite therapeutic for me, because we get together every week and just talk about these deep issues.
“We talk about deep dark things and have fantastic guests, but we also laugh a lot.”
In addition to chatting, there’s also music, with the I’m a Man Not a Boy singer covering his guests’ Happy and Sad Songs in each episode.
“There’s this very eclectic bunch of songs up there,” laughs the star. “Everything from Bright Side of the Road by Van Morrison to Björk’s human behaviour, just me acoustically.”
‘We Are All A Bit Mental’, also starring Lynn Ferguson and Neil Harrington, debuts new episodes Mondays on Spotify.
