A Chat with Nathan Moore

We were so lucky back in the 80s. We had so MANY class acts to choose from. I mean if you look at Wikipedia's article about 1988, we can see that among many others, albums were released by the likes of David Crosby, Lou Reed, Simply Red, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Deacon Blue.. we were spoiled for choice!  I often feel sorry for today's kids. It seems it's either Justin or Miley (twerk) 


One of the fabulous talents of the day and one of my pinup heroes (I am so privileged to be able to chat one on one to someone who helped make it amazing to be a teenager in the late 80s), first as a member of Brother Beyond, then in Worlds Apart, is Nathan Moore.  With hits like The Harder I Try and He Ain't No Competition, Nathan was a big part of a soundtrack to a fun and carefree life. Back in 1988 South Africa behind the 'wall of apartheid', it was inconceivable that one day I could be talking to my heroes. (I love the internet!)

 Have you always been interested in music and what got you started?

It was my sister Teeda who first got me interested in music, she was fronting a reggae band called The Palm Tree Club, she was 19 at the time and I was 16 and I would give a lifts to her practise sessions,then one day they asked me to join in. After they just said wow you and Teeda really work well together why don't you join the band, we did the pub circuit in Hertfordshire for 3 years until I got spotted by a chap called David White who said he was putting a pop band together with a writer called Carl Fysh.

What inspires you to do your particular brand of music?

I like all kinds of music, but I think at 19 I just looked like a sort of pop star whatever that is! and that is why I was asked to front Brother Beyond, (Nathan Moore,
David Ben White, Eg White Carl Fysh, Steve Alexander) so really my visual attributes pushed me down that road, I enjoy pop but If you don't look like Lemmy from Motorhead you are not going to be a rocker, and I was in handsome front man category! (PS - err we agree :-) ). No complaints as I'm still performing in France and the UK for Worlds Apart and Brother Beyond and I am sure my looks play their part!

Where does the name Brother Beyond come from?

There were two brothers in the original line up, David White & Egg White, David just blurted it out one day and we said yes that sounds good, so I'm sure having his brother in the band did play its part!

A headline from a magazine from back in those days always stuck in
my head – Music is now a SAW point. I adored all the acts from SAW. You guys
won an EMI contest to work with Stock Aitken and Waterman. What was it like
working with The Hit Factory and specifically with Pete Waterman?

It was a very exciting time to be walking through the Hit Factory doors, they were in their Halcyon days and every song they wrote was a hit, there were no dud tunes, you would always see someone like Rick Astley or Pete Burns or Mandy Smith when recording so the place had a real buzz to it, and yes that auction where EMI bid for their services was our lucky break, had that not happened I am certain we never would have!

Some people felt like although SAW launched their careers, they also put them in a box when it came to music – that they were always producing
songs that sounded the same. How do you feel – did you have any creative say
in your music at the time?

  

SAW crafted a song they felt suited you, I think it was always best to let them do what they were best at, Banarama co wrote with them so they were open to collaboration but I think they were happy with the set up they had,and if Kylie is someone that got stuck in a box then 20 odd top ten hits aint a bad box to get stuck in! 

But people can't write hits forever, times move on and eventually even writers sort of get saddled with / stuck in a certain decade! We only did two tunes with them, both top ten hits, of course I wish we had done more!

Do you still keep in contact with the other guys from Brother Beyond?

Yes on Facebook I see what Carl Fysh and Steve Alexander are doing, Steve was our drummer and he replaced Egg White, Egg went on to write Leave Right Now for Will Young and win an Ivor Novello award for it! Carl is in PR, Steve is top session drummer and David is now a painter.

Musicians, artists, actors and others in the public eye have the ability to tweak the golden thread of humanity which runs through all generations, races, and ages, and can really make a difference in the world. What are your thoughts on that and do you know of any particular instances where your music has made a difference to someone?

Having had huge success in France in the mid nineties I often find myself back there performing our big hits. It's there that I get told so much how I helped fans of ours get through their adolescence, so many of them tell us how our music comforted them and got them through a difficult period, 16 years on and lots of those girls are now mothers and the number 1 most popular name given to baby boys last year was Nathan! So I take that as a bit of a compliment. We are certainly not U2 when it comes to how we affect people but the teenage years for girls are often difficult and they told us that having the band there was the friend / boyfriend that was missing at that time in their lives!

After Brother Beyond you joined a band called Worlds Apart  with hits such as "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" who still perform to this day particularly in France where you’ve been very successful. What was it like to play in another boy band after Brother Beyond?

  

We actually had bigger success than BB, it was weird fronting another boy band at 29 and I cant think of any other singer who has done that in the boy band sphere, we had 5 great years where as BB was more like 18 months of success, whilst in BB I met everyone from Princess Diana to Madonna, and with WA I got to meet French royalty like Alain Delon and Bardot so I am grateful for the interesting career path I was given.

Chat about singing French songs and being successful in France.

  

I love to sing in French, people are always impressed in the UK when you tell them what kind of work you were doing at the weekend, Je TeDonne was our biggest tune and all French people know this as it was written many years before we recorded it by one of their biggest stars Jean Jaque Goldman. Singing is easy, the more challenging thing is to speak in French. I am getting there.

It must be fun to perform with the Hit Factory Acts. In December you performed with Kylie, Jason, Rick Astley,Steps, Bananarama  Brother Beyond, Dead or Alive, Sinitta, Hazel Dean. I’ve seen a Rewind gig myself when they came to South Africa. What’s the vibe like performing with these guys and what is this experience like?

Performing at the 02 with Kylie & Jason was amazing, the venue was incredible and at this stage of my career in the UK I wouldn't be getting many opportunities to perform at the 02 so it was special.  There is no rivalry any more so it's quite enjoyable backstage with all the artists bringing their kids along. Jason Donovan was next door to me and he invited my sister and my niece & nephew in to have pictures taken with him. He is a lovely chap so it's always a pleasure to be on these types of shows here in the UK.

Do you have any upcoming performances you’d like to tell us about?

In the UK this summer I'll be at Let's Rock Leeds, Bristol, Southampton, The Penn Festival & The Lytham Prom. These are all very big retro festivals. All my dates can be found on my website, as for outside the UK, its all France with Worlds Apart so nothing further afield as yet. There are always hints of a SAW tour outside the UK but lets see if that becomes real! (PS - I would die of excitement if there was a SAW tour to South Africa!) 

You’ve also done some film making, acting, TV presenting and music management. You’re a diverse person, are you still involved in any of these? What lies in store for Nathan Moore in the future?

I am acting in a short film at the end of March called Stalemate, its about the Christmas truce of the 1st World War, I am filming it close to my home in Lancashire. (PS - I will ask Nathan to keep us updated about this as it sounds incredible!) I'd love to do more acting but we will see what opportunities come my way!