May 4, 2025 • 46 mins
How do you reconnect creatively with family?
Jermaine flies back through time with Andrew and Michael Tierney—best known from Human Nature—as they open up about music, family, and their rebirth as The Tierney Brothers. From singing Earth Angel at a high school concert inspired by Back to the Future, to sharing global stages with Michael and Janet Jackson, the brothers reflect on their decades-long career in the spotlight.
They dive into the early challenges of being labelled a “boy band” in Australia, the life-changing lessons learned on tour, and how their new project marks a return to their roots. Jermaine also gets personal, sharing how their creative partnership resonates with his own journey alongside his twin. Full of Motown memories, pop nostalgia, and brotherly wisdom, this episode is a soulful celebration of artistry, resilience, and enduring sibling bonds.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Flying back in time.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is the Germaine Plane thing Earthanger.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Now this is your performance wow at good News Week
two thousands. Wow playing earth Angel.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
We sound good though, don't we?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
We sound great? Don't we just start just by playing
this for a bit, just a bit of reflection, because
if I'm correct, this is your first song you guys
performed together.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yes, yeah, we did it back in well, well not
this actual performance, but we did it in high school.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We sang this for as like a school concert that
was coming up, and yeah, we went and performed this one.
I don't know where you Andrew kind of worked it out.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, in a movie. I think I saw Back to
the Future, right, Marty McFly movie, and he sings earth Angel.
I think he sings Angel band the band and the
Sea Ball. It's a pivotal song in a v Yes,
and I always wanted to be in a rock band,
but I didn't play in instruments that well. I played piano,
but it wasn't rock band instruments. So I had Mike,
(01:07):
my brother, and the two mates at school who were
in the choir, and thought it was still like a
vocal group, like an old duop group. And that's what
we say, that's what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So bad to the future was the inspiration behind Yeah,
was it a mood? Year two enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Oh yeah, I love that movie. Yeah, yeah, I don't know,
I think, yeah, it was just one of those movies
that I kind of was a whole. You know, it
was so big at the time when it came out,
and then yeah, I just remember loving it so much,
went to cinemas to see it, and yeah, it was
such a cool moment in time that movie.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, great, did something click in that moment when you
guys performed it for the first time in nineteen eighty nine, Not.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Really, I mean, we just people told us we were
good and we were not as good as this, and
we were a little bit bad, and Mike was still
a boy soprano, but it was it was something that
we people told us we were good at singing, and
you know, Mike and I had always been musical with
our family. You know, family is very musical. But yeah,
when we did Earth Angel as the kids, you know,
(02:02):
everyone said, oh, you guys were great, and then from
there on Mike and I started writing songs together and
that then developed us into human nature after that, so
it's been been quite the journey from Earth Angel.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
To from really are today. I mean, this clip is
twenty five years old. What do you hear your voices?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Then that sounds good?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Actually just hear we're very much in tune, which is good.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I actually remember this performance because when we first came
out as Human Nature, we got a lot of shit. Okay,
because we're like a really pop squit clean you know,
we didn't think we're a boy band, but we clearly were.
And so the kind of media and say there's good
news Week was kind of a cool show, like a
cred show. And I remember going on there singing this song.
It was like, and I think the hard nose kind
(02:44):
of you know, media thought, oh shit, these guys are
really actually quite good, even though that we hate them,
They're actually really good.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Oh well, I love it. I love it. I thought
it'd be a nice way just to start our chat today.
I'm joined by Andrew and Michael Tierney, two brothers who
spent over three decades making music together as part of
the legendary iconic ossie group. Human Nature sold millions of records,
toured the world, had your in Vegas residency, and it
become one of Australia's most loved vocal groups and now
(03:13):
stepping into a new chapter as the Team brothers making
music just a two of them. It's full of heart,
harmony and history. I'm so excited to have you guys
in the Germaine plane. Welcome having so you're here for
your last date of the Motown twenty tour where your
duo is opening the show. Like this is such a
wild concept to me because it's almost like you're giving
(03:35):
them kind of two versions of yourself, right.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, it was kind of an interesting idea, you know,
because we're celebrating the twenty years since we released that
Motown record for Human Nature, and it came up someone
came up with the idea of saying I think it
was actually you're saying that, but Richard Wilkins actually suggested
we were doing an interview like back when we released
our first single for the Teeny Brothers. He said, you
guys should open for yourselves and that could be kind
of fun. That could have got it interesting, and so
(04:00):
it actually has been working great. When we come out
and do you know just a few songs from this
new record that Andrew and I have made and it's
all new original pop music and then sort of changing
over to then because the Human Nature show is more
kind of reflecting back on the motown music and our
kind of back catalog of songs as well. But so
just to have the new and the old is kind
of and it's been working really well. Yeah, kind of
(04:20):
a fun thing to.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Do, absolutely, And how does it feel returning home? But
this time as brothers? I know you've guys have done
some smaller shows. Would you say this is your biggest
show in Sydney as the.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Oh yeah, yeah for sure. Yeah, I mean it kind
of feels like why did we wait so long? But
then again, you know, as the Teeny Brothers, would we
have been ever as big in the beginning as Human Nature? Are?
You know? That kind of success we've had a Human
Nature is unique, and so you know, if we had
to just start it as the Tenny Brothers, I don't
think we could have then gone on to be Human Nature,
you know what I mean? So yeah, but we've always
been who we are now and so this platform that
(04:52):
we have as Human Nature is an amazing gift to
us to be now. Okay, do something different as the
Teenny Brothers and hope for the audience that love humanis
we'll come along with us and we'll have some people
discovering our original music again. But yeah, I think it's
great to be back. And the show at Sydney was
just huge, like thousands of people, and to sing new
songs to them is this awesome.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. We're
going to get into your journey as brothers, as human nature,
everything like that. But the reason every guest that I
have on my show, I have them on because there's
something I can relate or resonate with them. And when
it came to you guys, you know a duo a brother,
I really related because I grew up having a creative
twin brother Wow, and he and I used to professionally
(05:35):
dance together. We used to produce movies, and we did
a lot of professional entertainment together. And creating with him
was one of the biggest joys of my life. But obviously,
as life kind of gets in its way, we've gone
into two different directions now and I have to say
I miss creating with him. So when I saw that
you guys were doing your teeny Brothers project together, I
(05:57):
had to get you on because I find it so
so inspiring. So I want to kind of delve deep
into your brotherhood and to kind of, you know, just
to understand where all of this came from. So let's
go back to Western Sydney. When you guys grew up.
What were your earliest memories of each other.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
We shared a bunk bedroom. Okay, that's something we remember
quite vividly, like with one of those weird shaped ones,
Like it wasn't an L shape, it was kind of
packed on top of each other.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
So and I was on the top bunk with this
little staircase on top. And then I remember we had
like a wooden from probably Freedom Furniture or Fabulous and
Pine or something, one of those eighties kind of furniture places.
And we had a desk, and I remember, you know, musically,
we kind of play around with this little sequencer and
stuff and we just have fun, you know, playing together.
(06:42):
We kind of play in the backyard, or we'd make
music together. It was just our childhood was pretty fun. Yeah,
I guess suburbs.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Yeah right, And what memories of music or playing around,
goofing around as brothers.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I mean a big memory for me. He was always
you know, I guess as a family it was quite
a musical household because our mum is a piano tea,
so there would always be kind of that music kind
of going through the house and then you know, she
would teach us piano as well. But then also I
think probably a big time for music for us was
around Christmas time. We'd all get together and everyone, you
know that family extended family, and we do this Carol's
(07:16):
Night where everyone would sing and kind of and that
was just kind of you know, at the time, probably
didn't think that's not something all other families do, but
it was, you know, it was something that we did
and it was just a cool kind.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Of family musical moment.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
And then, yeah, so singing was just a big part
of you know, we would sing with our sister at
our local church as well. You know, we I think
we sang as a trio, one of the three of
us right a few times as young kids, and so
that was just yeah, and because I sang as a
boy soprano, I was kind of saying quite a lot.
And so it's just always been a big part of
our lives. From as early as I can remember.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Was there a moment in your childhood where you guys decided,
hang on, we should take this on professionally before you
met up with Phill and Toby.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
No, no, it was actually it was with them because
we started as human nature when Mike was twelve.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, right, We complete didn't even have.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Any time to think, you know, what's there. So when
that seed, you know, as kids, you know, might be
fifteen or sixteen, as I'm not sure what your age
was when you started doing this stuff with your brother,
but when we started creating together, we were already human nature.
So the kind of the DNA of what is the
tiny brothers kind of became human nature straight away, and
(08:28):
so all the songs we wrote and all our creative passion,
Toby and feel were part of that, which was pretty cool,
even to the point when we left high school. We
went to a boarding high school, and so our mum
and dad let Toby live at our house because his
parents lived in His mum was in Canberra and his
dad was in Windsor, so he basically he was either
going to leave or leave Sydney and leave the group
(08:50):
or mom and dad said why didn't you stay here?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So he did a sacrifice, I know, right, amazing. I
love that. And what was the I guess, just going
back to you guys growing up together, what was the
music that was playing in the household? So when you
guys were singing in church and doing all these things,
what was the music.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Then? Mum was a classical piano teacher, so there's a
lot of classical a lot of music theater, you know.
I remember seeing that. It's crazy. I was walking through
Sydney and they've got the fortieth anniversary of Cats Musical. Yes,
and I was there for the first show. Wow, that's
that's pretty scary to think that. But no, I think yeah,
for us, the church music was more Catholic hymn so
(09:31):
they kind of weren't spiritual songs like as far as
like gospel songs, so there was kind of that harmony structure.
But pop music wise, I guess we were bringing pop
music into our family because Mum was more into folk
and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, it was like George Michael was We're big fans
of George Michael Jackson.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
His Bad record.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
That was one of my first kind of pop records.
I loved so much. And trying to think a prince,
I was a big prince fan, and I was a
big Grigastly fan.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Okay, I left a little bit like him.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
At the time I thought I did. Anyway, So a
talent quest, I'd pull out a bit of a Castley
and put on that voice.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Oh my gosh, I was actually going to hold onto
the Gary Barley chap. I might bring that on now
because I've had Gary on my show a few months ago,
and I know you guys have worked with him, right,
and Gary, he did mention that Rick Astley was a
huge kind of inspiration for the earlier part to take
that as well. So Rick Astley, how interesting is that?
What is your relationship with Gary?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
By the way, Well, we actually and now was it
a third record? Yeah, we got to go and write
with him. We went to his house in Manchester or
somewhere wherever he lives in this kind of sprawling mansion
and yeah, so we stayed not far from there and
we spent three days working with Gary. And one of
the songs, that's going to be a long night we
wrote for a third record. And we're actually talking about this, Yes,
(10:49):
that there's a song we wrote with him that we
never got a demo off.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
It's like ballad.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Yeah, I spoke to one of your biggest fans about this.
Her name's d l Yes, Yeah, I said. I was like,
I know you're a huge fan of any questions that
you want me to ask the guys, and the one
thing that was like, we need to get the demo.
So Gary has the demo?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Yeah, I guess he would somewhere. I mean because we
worked in the studio he had in his house and yeah,
and we wrote it was to ended up being two songs,
so one made the record, the other one for whatever reason,
just didn't make the record. But we were trying to
have him out of fire.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
I never remember the lyric, yeah, or the melody. I
mean it would be good because Gary such a great rite. Yeah,
even his worst songs are going to be good.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So yeah, I'm just fascinated. I would love to actually
be asked deal because she's a huge take that fan
as well.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yes too, And she held.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Up a sign at one of the take that shows
said Gary the Human Nature guys wanted their song.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Oh gosh, Well, you know, I'll be honest with you, Gary.
For some reason, Gary listens to me more than any
other person in Australia. Really leave with me. Okay, next
time he does another promo thing for Australia, I'll ask
him about that demo. We've got to find it.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Yeah, and that was fascinating because they had a success
on a level that we've never had. You know, we
take that and we're back for good. Particularly and you know,
he was just fun to hang with him. We were
super young, younger than them, and yep, we're on this.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
He was really accommodating and we had lunch at the
house with all this family around their face and he
picked us up from the train session in his like
just wow, so humble and just kind of would take
that had broken up at that pointint so he was
just more into his writing and production and he hadn't
had the renascence, if you will, from Patients and on.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
But yeah, we played tennis with him, We ate egg
and Soldiers with him. You know, wow, it was really
kind of great. I'm sure didn't Jason Orange come.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Around one of the other guys, Howard.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Came around for dinner that night?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Really? I mean, I'm sure the banter was just NonStop
with Gary because.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Well, yeah, the one story I remember he'd worked on
the Victoria Beckham album and he said it was He
made this comment because I don't I'm sure she's not
even going to tell you she's a great singer. But
he said he had to get, you know, with editing
on computers. He said he got so literally on his
face from staring at the screen for three days solid
trying to get a great vocal out of Victoria.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Wow, he worked with Tory Beckham.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Well, she did a solid things.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Well, of course, yeah, that's what I do.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, Wow, it wasn't real success.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, I remember seeing how in World Idol doing a performance. Actually,
now that I think back, and I think that was
the only time I saw any saltly stuff. And was
that the last time you speake to Gary and that time?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Yeah, yeah, we haven't seen him since, but it was
just a really memorable and fun time. I remember he
was just so nice and so down to earth.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
And it was really cool.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Wow. Wow, I'll go back on track with what I
was supposed to ask you, So we've gone into you
met up with Phil with Toby. You guys did your
performance in nineteen eighty nine with bank in Bankstown. It
was named four Tracks, correct, that was the first name
why that name.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
I think we were actually working on a four track
like a four track recorder, I think podcast school somewhere,
and so that was like he was there was like, oh,
that could be cool four tracks, but we'll do with
that X on the end and instead of see. I mean,
it's a pretty pretty daggy name. And we were inspired.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
I guess a lot of those groups kind of back
in the like the do Wop groups were kind of
those names, you know, the four somethings or the you know,
they kind of had pretty cheesy.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Names like Boys, two Men and Recon.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
It was pretty cool, but we're more going back to.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
The throw races, the four seasons.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
The gotcha Yeah, I understood. Okay, right, that's kind of.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
As we were called in high school or by the
guys I hated us, the four Skins. The four Skins
really good.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It's actually pretty clever.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Tip your hat to that.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Tell me more about that. So how was do wop
and all that stuff perceived in high school for you guys.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Well, the thing is, I guess because when we came out,
the whole boy band thing was not really happening in
the world.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
I guess there'd been new kids on the block. They're
probably the biggest thing probably back in the late eighties,
you know, and then there wasn't really another boy and
then Boys to Men. I guess we're probably a big
inspiration for us because they were more class as a
vocal group, I think, you know, So that was kind
of what we were modeling ourselves on. And also going
back to those sort of Temptations or you know, and
the Four Tops and those kind of groups. That was
(15:11):
kind of our inspiration for getting together and doing you know,
things like Earth Angel and so.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
That was things.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
And then it was kind of after that that we
got into the you know, the idea of okay, maybe
we should find a pop voice for this group, you know,
and we need to write songs, and we need to
have you know, our own material, and we can't just
do covers and that kind of stuff. So yeah, because
we were just doing you know, we would go and
put a show together to do it a like local clubs.
You know, we do kind of songs from the past,
(15:39):
and you know, that's kind of where we cut our
teeth doing live performance as a group.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
So then Andrew and I moved into kind of writing
original music. And that's kind of when we started to
you know, because people were suggesting you guys should try
and get a record deal, and it was but you
need to have your own songs. So we kind of felt, well, okay,
we better kind of go down this path and z
if we can write some songs and find some people
to collaborate with and yeah, and that's sort of how
(16:04):
that all came about.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Were there any inspirations behind the sound that you guys
wanted when you were writing original music because it's such
a departure from do what you know, going from Earth
Angel then to telling everybody a bit of a change there, right,
So was that inspiration what made that bridge between the two?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
I really think it was Boys to Men. Yeah, it
really was. When they came up with that album Motown Philly,
it was like even I was like, oh, that's do
what you know, and but it's cool and it's got
some kind of R and B influence and so we
then thought, well, we could be the white boysed men,
you know, because there wasn't one at that point and
so yeah, and we didn't take that we're just breaking So,
(16:42):
I mean their music was a bit more dancy than
we were trying, so that kind of make sense. So
it was really boys to men with a kind of
blueprint and George Michael, I suppose as well, like Telling
Everybody has a little bit of faith. I mean the
Faith came on the radio the other day and I thought, oh,
they're playing Tell Everybody, and it was but yes, to
your point, we've done all this do wop stuff. And
(17:02):
I remember playing Telling Everybody, which is one of the
first songs Mike and I had written for our mum,
and she goes, that's okay if you like that kind
of thing. It sounds like Silverchair, oh, because it's got
guitars in this, you know. And it was like, that's
sounds like silver Chair. You really like that? Do you
guys like that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Wow, I'll have to listen back. When I play this
on the radio show, I'll just I'll make it a little
I'll play the full song so we can kind of
hear the silver Chair kind of vibes. Silverchair meets George Michael.
That's definitely I've never heard of that matchup.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
No one's doing that.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
No one's doing that. So obviously that album just catapulted
you guys into Ozzie success. So much to the point
where you guys started working with these huge artists. Right now,
I am the biggest, biggest, biggest Michael Jackson fan of
all time. I'm the biggest Janet Jackson fan of all
the time. So I need to ask you about your
experience working on the History Tour Michael, because you guys
(18:00):
Australia and Europe.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Is that that was our well, one of our first
kind of big breaks was doing that support for Michael
Jackson on was around Australia to begin with, so that
was the first one. And then he was continuing his
tour throughout Europe and the UK, and because you know,
our record company was his as well, you know, so
they suggested, oh, maybe these guys could come and support
him through through Europe, and supposedly it went all the
(18:24):
way up the chain to Michael and he said, yeah,
that's cool with me. Soh my god, we came and
did the tour. We actually did. We met him once,
so we meet him.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
I want to know about that and tell me that experience.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Well, it was really weird because it was we'd been
asking the whole too. I mean, we did how many
shows altogether?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I think it's thirty thirty six shows all.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Around Europe, and so we'd asked and he kept asking,
how can we get a chance to meet Michael, And
he was very elusive, you know, he'd see him everyone
and again, but he would turn up kind of very
quickly before he went on, and he'd leave kind of before,
so he was not there that much apart from when
he was on stage. So yeah, and then it came
to the chance that we would meet him.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
It was just very.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Quickly before his show because he was already It was
side of stage, kind of in his little quick change area,
and but he was in there and we spoke to
him and said, oh, yeah, listen to your show. He
loved the songs we were doing because we did an
old Brothers Johnson's song called Stomp, which was you know,
Quincy Jones had produced, and he loved that song. And
he loved people get Ready, which is another song we did.
So he loved the songs that we chosen in our
(19:26):
set and heard. So we got a photo, which is
another thing we've never seen photo.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
We never got the photo.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
There was an official photographer there and he took a
photo of us with Michael and because it was in
the days when no one had phones or anything. There
was no selfies, yes, so it had to come from
an official photographer, and then I guess he approved whatever
photos went out, and if he wasn't happy with how
he looked or whatever in the photo, then it didn't
go out.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
See, Okay, so this is the thing, right. My twin
brother and I we met Michael on that tour as well. Wow,
so we were three years old when that happened to him,
and he was like at the hotel lobby with all
these fans and Michael came out of the elevator and
he saw us, but we got stampeded by all these fans,
so he got security then to part the crowd, and
we spent like maybe about My mom says about ten
(20:13):
fifteen minutes, but I know she could be over exaggerating.
But the same thing. Michael's entourage was there filming and
taking photos and we don't have it. We didn't have
any of us. So when I find the footage, I'll
ask you about you guys as well, So you guys
get that footing as well.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Somewhere.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Yeah, the estate has it. I'm sure the estate has
it all. I mean all the photos, all the footage.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
He was kind of crazy because his official photographer was
some world renowned national geographic photographer that he just brought
on the tour. Yes, this famous guy and so he
just brought him on salary and just brought him around
the world too.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Wild, just the world of Michael Jackson.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, it was different, no wonder he was unusual unique.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Did you get to experience a bit of Michael Jackson's
world while supporting him.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Only through hearsay? Just like talking, you know, the the
band would talk about him and the way people would
just kind of accept his you know, unusual behavior as
far as like how reclusive he was. Yeah, and he
drank some The tour manager had to prepare some weird
green juice that Michael would drink before the charm that
(21:17):
was his meal, right, And just certain things like he
would only get ready to side a stage, so he'd
be in this dark kind of we'd got a quick
change because it's not your official dressing room, but he
was literally just off the side of stage and that's
where he got ready. And yeah, it just this massive
world and I cannot imagine like Taylor Swift, you know,
touring now there's just it's almost like a city goes
(21:38):
with her everywhere. It was like that with Michael.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
What about the essence of his audience because I can imagine,
you know, growing up in western Sydney, you know, starting
in churches, and then fast forward, what like maybe a
decade later, you guys are now on the biggest world
stage of all time with probably the most excited crowds
of all time. I mean, what was the feeling of that,
even after your performance and knowing that they're amped up
(22:02):
for Michael? Like, what was that energy? Like?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
It was amazing? I mean, I think probably reflecting on it,
it was more amazing, you know that at the time.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I guess at the time, we were doing a lot
of other things.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
We were kind of focused on our own career and
what we were doing, you know, and how we were
kind of how things were going for us. But yeah,
sort of, I guess reflecting on it, you know, in
years past, it was kind of and since he passed
away and we realized that was actually really the last
tour he never did, so kind of to be part
of that and to kind of see that all up
(22:33):
so close was pretty pretty amazing, you know how you
know and just little things that we would get to
watch the show side of stage, you know, and just
see him kind of up close, see what he would
do and kind of the way he you know, his
craft of showmanship, you know, and how he would hold
an audience and how he would stop and not move
until the screaming stopped. You know, he had these things
(22:53):
that he would do. He knew how to capture an
audience and how to keep them there and how to
you know, kind of get that next little bit of
you know, get that next bit of excitement. And I
was watching a thing. I was talking about his performance
at the super Bowl, and the guy who was kind
of producing the whole thing said, Michael called him and said,
don't start rolling until I take my glasses off. And
(23:14):
he stood there for like five minutes, and they're all
going nuts because we can't do anything. He's not going
to start. They didn't roll the track or the song
until and so he just stood there and he did
that in his show. You do things like that, just
kind of stand and wait and take those moments.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
If you called that letting it simmer, it's just letting
the thing kind of just I mean, gosh, what a
dynamite performer and like he's just one of the best.
It would have been such an honor to support him.
Let's talk about Janet then. What was the difference between
Michael and Janet? Because you did the Velvet Rope tour
I've believed in ninety eight. What was that experience like
(23:50):
working for a completely different.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Well, until you mentioned it, I'd forgotten we did it,
But so that's probably said something. I guess it wasn't
as a big an event for us. I mean we
were more of a significant support act for Janet. I
guess because we had a big stage and we had
a band and everything. But for some reason, I don't know,
I just have you thought about it.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
No, I wasn't as kind of memorable experience we did.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Do we even meet Ja? Yeah, we didn't.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
It was pretty unmemorable. We said hello and she said
thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
It was a weird interaction. It was a very weird interaction.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
I reckon the contrast, I mean, it would have probably
made more sense to tour for Janet first and then Michael,
But going from Michael to Janet maybe just a little.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
It certainly wasn't.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
It was guessing that the promoters in Australia because we'd
done the Jack Michael tour and it was so publicly
known that we'd done that and it was such a
big story. Maybe the promoters thought, well, it's Janet, let's
get human nature and kind of even at that, not
that she needed elevation, but I think at that stage
was a more significant bill that we were on. There
at the Michael Jackson it was like everyone was there
(24:54):
for Michael and they just discovered human nature, which was amazing.
But with the Janet one, we'd already had a name.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
So wow, I love that. Well, thank you so much
for sharing that with me, because that was something that
I really really wanted to know about when it comes
to Michael. Now, so by this point, right you're doing Janet, you're,
like you said, you've kind of developed quite a I
would say, like a status for yourself. How do you
guys stay grounded? Like at that point in time, at
the peak, how did you you know two boys from
(25:22):
Western Sydney. What did you do to stay grounded? Or
were you grounded at that time?
Speaker 3 (25:25):
I think we've always been grounded. I don't know, it's
never really the success or things that have happened. Have
just never really been gone to our heads. I mean, yeah,
I can't remember a time when we've kind of behaved
in a way that you know, it was kind of
because of horrible.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
It's like, it's a.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Huge opportunity to be on that type of stage, right
and a lot of people would go, I'm the shit, like,
you know, I'm touring with Michael Jackson, Celene Dion, I'm
doing all this big stuff. You know, a lot of
people in boy bands or you know, especially in the nineties,
would let themselves go. We'll completely just go to their head.
What made you guys stay so grounded?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I also think that the touring with Michael and that
launch we got it actually didn't turn into the success
we dreamed of in the States or outside of Australia.
Like we thought, Okay, the success we're having in Australia,
now we're on this Jackson tour, it's going to happen everywhere,
and it didn't. You know it kind of we got
some recognition in the UK, and I think that was
kind of maybe a lot like, oh, we've still got it,
(26:23):
and that was a dream of ours to have success
outside Australia. So I think when it didn't happen on
that first record and the second record, maybe the fact
that it was still pushing for that kept us grounded,
you know, because oh, yes, Australia is super successful, but
we really want this. And then the Backstreet Boys came out,
and then you know, there were so many other competing
groups that were having huge international success and we weren't
(26:45):
at that point. I think that probably just made us think, Okay, well,
we got to focus on our craft and every performance
has got to be the best, and every song's got
to be the greatest. And it wasn't just like, look
at us, aren't we amazing?
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
So I think, you know, in hindsight, maybe that lack
of success kept us grounded rather than just having the
whole world at our feet and just thinking, you know,
we were a shit.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah good. I love that you use that experience to
sharpen your craft and to you know, create amazing work.
I love that so much. I'm going to just share
with you my favorite song that you guys have done,
and it's one that a lot of Aussies holds so
close to their heart. It's your song with John Farnham.
Every time you cry. I mean number three on the
Arias stayed in the top fifty for seventeen weeks Platinum.
(27:27):
Tell me more about the collaboration, and not necessarily just
with John, but with you guys together. I mean, when
I listened to that song, I look back on the video,
I just see two forces of musical legacy in Australia. Right.
So did that collaboration give you guys a sense of
hang on, we're doing something really solid here in Australian music.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Working with John it was amazing.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I think also thinking you know John at that time,
we were still pretty young, I guess when we got
that opportunity and for him to, you know, want to
do something with us, it was a very cool thing.
And you know, it just I'd always been a big
fan of John's, you know, growing up. It was just
he was probably one of my musical or singing idols
for sure. So to get that chance to do I mean, yeah,
(28:13):
I was so excited that we've got that chance, and
we actually didn't. We recorded it in two separate parts,
So he recorded his part to the song in Melbourne.
We were over i think, touring in the UK, so
we recorded in London our parts to it. So we
didn't actually come together and meet until we did the
video with him, which was a lot of fun and
it was just a great experience. And it's so cool
(28:34):
that song has just lived. It still lives today.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
It still doesn't really sound that dated. You know, it's not.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Like an eighties song. It's not like a nineties song.
It was had a timeless kind of soul production to it. Absolutely,
and it's become John's song, has become our song. We
call it the People's song.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Song. I might still hear it to this day. Yeah,
you know in this building we have smooth plays on
smooth of the time, I mean Woolli's or you know,
Eman was playing a macas the other day and I
was like, it's just a timeless Aussie class here. It
really is. You guys performed Did you perform that song
with John?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
We did it at the ARIA Award actually just and
that was kind of our I think it was our
first or second Area Award performance and they turned the
screen black and white. I remember for it. That's really
cool thing. And I just remember the head of our
company came at you guys just resurrected John Farnham's career
and you know, that was a big call. But it
was a really pop moment for John, like he was.
(29:31):
It was, you know, like if we did a collab
with the kid LAROI. You know, it was that kind
of some legacy artist taking this really young, kind of
big act and doing something together and it just blew up.
It was so big that they actually deleted the single
because it was stopped selling John's Anthology album because it
was a really it was the lead single off his
Greatest Hits, and his manager at the time, Glenn Whetley,
(29:53):
to said, everyone's warning this song, We've got to delete
that so they buy his album.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
That's why I only got to three. Yeah, because they
they actually stopped pressing Wow. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Because it would have been nice to say it was
a number one, but it was clearly going to be.
But they literally they BMG, stopped printing the single.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
That one was that good. Yeah. Wow, I'm so impressed.
I'm so impressed. Now I want to take you to
the moment where I first discovered human nature as I
was like, oh, you know, because I was born in ninety.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Three, three years old album.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, so when it came to me discovering and buying
an album was your self titled album Human Nature, and
he Don't Love You was was that song for me?
You know, the time when Bakstreet Boys and Sync. That
sound was really kind of you know, the iconic early
two thousand PowerUP. What gave you guys the creative direction
(30:44):
to go down that route that album.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
We'd kind of really railed against being called a boy band,
you know, and on our second album we kind of
was much more kind of you know, it was a
bit more of a chill record, more soul inspired, and
we kind of, you know, on purpose, smoothed away from
being wanting to be too pop like that. And then
on that third record with the well if you can't
beat them, join them, right, okay, and so we yeah,
(31:10):
we had the opportunity we went out to Sweden and
did something you know with all those you know, the
classic over there and wrote some music and that was
the record we wrote with Gary Barlow at four. And
then this song came to us, This he Don't Love
You song came to us written by Steve Mack, who's
a massive UK producer, songwriter. W yeah, okay, right, it
(31:32):
was just you know, and I think they'd been pitching
this song out and yeah, so we got the chance
to have that song. We went to the UK and
recorded it and then you know, you could hear it
just sounded right for the time, you know, it was
just one of the songs that just sounded It was
a cool moment in time. And then the video and
everything that went along with that whole album was very pop.
You know, pop at its most pop. I suppose, yes,
(31:55):
so yeah, and that you know, I think it's still
that's still lived well too. But yeah, certainly we came
back around and thought, okay, let's just be a boy band,
go all the way.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Well, going into that, I know you guys really were
at the time really trying to fight the boy band
title and everything like, So what was the core behind that?
Was it matship that you guys were wanting to really
show because I'm assuming you're trying to fight the manufactured.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, and I guess, like going back to that Earth
Angel clip on Good News Week, we got a lot
of flak for being a boy band, like coming out
of Australia and you know this heritage of rock bands
and in excess and midnight Oil, and that's realizing music.
You know, it's like sweaty and kind of hairy, and
you know, all this kind of business and kind of real,
you know, and it was like real men aren't boy bands.
(32:42):
And the UK kind of celebrate they're almost so proud
of their boy bands and you see Roni keating and
you see all these icons of that time. They're proud
of their boy band history, like five just got back together,
and it's kind of they're celebrated all around the country.
And there was a time there where to be a
boy band in Australia was like just a nasty light.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
I think, why do you think that? Why do you
think there was such a rebellion against.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Well, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
I think it's just because of that. Maybe it's that
rock history of Australia, you know that that's kind of
where the heart of Australian music kind of was, you know,
I think, I mean it moved more into the pop world,
I guess in the two thousands, and you know, there
was a lot more sort of pop acts.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
That came out.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
But yeah, and I guess that's why. And I think,
as you said, we so many of those were manufactured,
put together, and you know, and so we kind of
every interview we would have to kind of cut, you know.
So we got together in high school and you know,
this was a natural thing for us. We were wasn't
someone just putting us together and getting us from all
war And I mean because that was very manufactured, and
(33:43):
it mean that those groups didn't last.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
You know.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Yeah, so I think that's why we have lasted too.
I guess it is because of I mean, it just
was started out of friendship for us, and it started
out of a love for music and doing and because
we had something good together as a group. So but yeah,
I think in the beginning we just thought, oh, we
don't want to be put in that same basket as
all those you know, kind of you know, kind of
disposable pop act I.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Suppose was that an easy conversation with with Sony when
they wanted to sign you was their dream to that.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
I think they were behind the fact that the organic
you know. I think Dennis Handle at the time loved
the fact that we were family guys and we've been
we grew up together and we're friends. And it was
more of the marketing angle, I suppose, and just kind
of how do we amplify this and kind of get
it out of the world. And I think the UK
when we first released there, they didn't want us to
be called human Nature. They said, couldn't you be called
like the fourteen or Riot or guys down Under or
(34:38):
some kind of kisch and well, like, can we give
you another name when you release over here? Not the
four gadays or something. They wanted something really right Jesus
and like so that was kind of that's where the push.
And we'd go through Germany and all we do photos
and we'd want to be serious kind of like you know,
not kind of throwing gang signs at the lens, but
(35:00):
the photographers have got you, guys. We need more energy
from you, and we need like can you make action?
Make action at the camera and kind of oh my god,
because the Batstree boys have probably been in there the
other day. And you know, I think b Rocks giving
b Rock signs and.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
I think our Zinc. Their origin was in Germany as well.
You saw the way their image was produced back then,
and then when they broke in America like years afterwards,
it was like a bit more of a refined image.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
And I guess if your image wise it with Hit,
I love you. I mean n siks success was probably
something we were really inspired by with that, and I
suppose Justin's influence on that and how incredible he is
as an artist to kind of thought, well, maybe you
don't have to shy away from being a boy band
if you've got talent, you know, you still actually have
talent and kind of celebrate how pop you are. And
(35:45):
so maybe that helped us change our perspective on it
for a minute.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Yeah, I love that. I love that. Let's go to Vegas. Okay,
so sorry, just really just going forward a bit. When
did that idea come about? When did the Whispers of Vegas?
Speaker 3 (36:01):
That came out of our Because we had released the
record of Motown Music, which was a big success for
us here and then we created a tour for that,
you know, and we were kind of inspired by the
old sort of motown reviews that used to go around.
We'd see footage of and where all the different acts
would come on, and so we went we wanted to
really be inspired by that in the way that we dressed.
(36:22):
We were all in you know, the tuxes and the
whole bed, and we had a really big, you know,
kind of band with the horn section and everything. And
then a gentleman on the Gold Coast who had taken
Thunder from down Under to Vegas. He actually came and
saw the Motown show that we did for that too,
and he said he thought it would work great in
Las Vegas, that kind of show, and so but it
(36:43):
took about two years, two three years for them looking
at a room, and we were kind of interested in
the idea and thought, oh, that could be, could be
kind of cool, and then yeah, so it took a
long time for it actually to become a room to
become available for us to get the chance to go
and do it. But yeah, it all came from that
sort of that first Motown record.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
And when did Motown become part of the consciousness of
the new direction of where you know?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
I mean, it was always there, like even from Earth
Angel and we flirted with One of the first songs
we sang as in that kind of four tracks era
was another song called Midnight Trained Georgia, which is an
old tune Glad It's not in the pit. So there
was always that kind of soul dna and every time
we cry was like you know, smoke. John Farnon was smoky,
and we were the miracles, you know, there was that
(37:29):
kind of thing. So yeah, so there was always there.
And then just remember maybe the tour just before the
Motown record, we put My Girl in the show just
to see. We had this idea of you know, our
career was kind of on a decline, a little bit
from the heady heights of Michael Jackson, and so we're thinking,
you know, this might be our last ever album and
or so maybe we could do a Motown record and
(37:51):
let's see what the crowd think of these songs and
it'll be a fun tour. So we put My Girl
in a show and said, hey, you guys, we're thinking
of doing this, and let's just see what do you
think of this song we did Mike. People loved it,
no doubt, like just that song, and so we thought, okay,
this could work for a show. Yeah, so we just
thought about the album in context of a show, and
that's where the Motown seed was planted.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Wow. Well, and now twenty years since your first Maritown album,
about to do the last date of your tour, I mean,
performing those shows, does it bring like on this tour
now doing the opening as the Teeny Brothers and then
now celebrating twenty years of Maritown. Has this brought you
guys closer as brothers in any way?
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Oh definitely, yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so they do it and
making the record, and I mean we've always been close anyway.
You know, our families are close.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
And so your wives are sisters?
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Correct? Is that correct?
Speaker 1 (38:45):
How did that come about?
Speaker 4 (38:46):
Like?
Speaker 1 (38:46):
Who met who first?
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Well?
Speaker 3 (38:48):
I met my wife in we start dating in high
school okay, very young, and yeah, so we're and then
I think my wife brought in it was something brought
in a phototo of Heather oldest what she was doing.
She brought a photo to school of her sister. It
was like the nineties version of Tinder or something.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
I don't know, my old school. Yeah, a real one.
And rather than swiping, he looks cute, call we meet.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
Wow. It's all happened in high school.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Yeah, yow school. And then the girls were following us
well as the Four Tracks and then through Human Nature.
But they've been there for everything.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Wow, amazing.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
So they're super supportive of they're actually the ones that
encourage us to do Tinney Brothers as a record because
we flirted with it in No. Five, like and the
songs didn't feel right. But then when I remember mentioned
to Hell that we've written these bunch of new songs,
maybe Mike and I should do with that record, and
she was like, yeah, of course he should. And then
Andrewa said the same, and then our girls, our little
girls love the fact that uncle and Dadda do the
(39:45):
song do albums together, so it's kind of cute.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Wow, I love that. And the soundtrack of My Life
is a new album. I love it, thanks so much.
This story Isn't Over is one of my favorite songs.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Tell me about that process, So now I know what
was the inspiration behind that, But what was it like?
Is creating music just you two together?
Speaker 2 (40:04):
It's been really fun, Like it's been so low fi,
like it's been like voice notes and just kind of
coming over to my house and well because I got
a little demos set up there. It's so different to
human nature, like there's no one hundred thousand dollars spent
on studios and stuff, and it's big time riders. It
was just really Mike and I just doing something and
(40:24):
it just sounded really good and we could tinker away
at it. We could, you know, songs like lemonade or
I remember it's changed so much from the demo to
what it is now. And the Stories and Over was
a song that I'd played to Mike that he really loved.
We just sang it once and he goes, I really
love that song, and I thought, maybe, you know, maybe
there's kind of some kind of fortuitiveness in the title
of that song that means the stories over for us
(40:47):
as creatives, and so that became a big part of
the record and we've just been having fun doing it,
and even on stage, we kind of come up with
fun stuff on stage to live and it's just a
different energy.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Yeah, right, it feels that it's I don't know, it feels
kind of like a looser thing that than Human Nature too.
I think we got with human nature because there's four
of us on stage, but it always has to be
a bit more structured, you know, with the choreography and
the kind of who you know, even when four people
try and talk, you can't talk at the same time,
you know, it's not as much of a and just
the two of us, it could feels a bit more
(41:19):
like we're just kind of easy to have a conversation,
you know, just the two of us and an audience,
you know, so it kind of feels fun doing it
that way, performing live that way.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
I love it. I love that. Thank you for sharing
that pleasure. Now I'm going to be a bit selfish
here and just ask you, as someone who misses creating
with my twin, and I'm sure there's a lot of
siblings out there who had a childhood of you know,
creating some wonderful stuff with their siblings, do you have
any advice on how to reconnect creatively with family.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
I think it was actually because I'd done a lot,
so I'd kept writing a lot even when Mike and
I stopped, and it was I went on to my
own tangent a little bit, and it was just it
was a bit of adjustment for you to come back
and say, oh ye, Mike was a good creative partner
for me as well, whereas I kind of thought, like
I just gone off. Maybe you do too, you've gone
on off your own direction. But it was just more
just inviting him back into that and knowing that Mike
(42:11):
was hadn't lost that, you know what. It was just
weird disconnected as creatives, I suppose on that songwriting front.
And then it just kind of remembering how good it was.
I think maybe that's something you could do if what
you had was really good. It's kind of both try
and remember that it was good, and it's not because
it was shit that you broke a heart, just because
life has taken you in different directions. So I think
(42:33):
that was the thing with me. I just thought, well,
I don't just have to write by myself. Mike and
I had a great chemistry and a unique chemistry, so
it was like opening myself up to that again.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Do you feel that it's in a way of coming home. Yeah,
when you work, when you guys work together.
Speaker 3 (42:49):
Yeah, and there's a real natural flow to it, I
guess too, which is cool. You know, we kind of
you know, you get a sense of when something's working
and when something's not, you know, because I think sometimes
you try and it's something and it just don't know,
it doesn't feel like it's going anywhere, there's no kind
of fire to it. But then other times you really
get a sense of when something is kind of moving
in a good direction. So I think, and over the years,
(43:10):
I think we've got a good sense of I mean,
whatever you're doing with music, when whatever you're doing right
now is always the best thing you've ever done. It
seems always be the way. But it's also didn't feel
any pressure to so I think often with doing things
with human nature, there was a real pressure something had
to be a hit to you know, they've got to
find the next hit. And this was more about kind
of just making a body of work that kind of
(43:32):
felt something that we were proud of and that felt
really good about. So I think that was kind of
the in the back of our minds. That was what
we wanted to create, you know, more than anything else.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
Brilliant. I love that as siblings, do you guys? I
mean I share this with my twin and I know
a lot of siblings do the same thing, where telepathically,
you guys kind of have an understanding of what works creatively.
Have you guys had that experience as like when writing
together or performing together or are you guys opposing sometimes
when it comes to creative ideas, what is that.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
One the thing I like? If I like it and
Mike likes it, I think that's when I know it's
a good idea. If I just like it, I think,
and Mike's going I'm not sure, you know, that's when
I think, Okay, well maybe I need to check my
thought on it. And I love that and songwriting together
that if we both think it's good, then it's good.
So not a teleopathic but it can always tell when
we're on the same page, gotcha. So that's kind of
(44:21):
fun rather than trying to convince each other no, it's
really good, you just get don't see it, Yeah, you
don't see it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
So there's that energy, which is fun.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
It's a wonderful partnership. I love it. Before you guys
go and do the last date of your motown and
twenty two and opening as a Teerny Brothers, there's a
question I ask every single guest on the Germaine Plane,
because we fly across different decades, different genres, different cities,
different countries through your journey, what would you like the
world to know about the Tierney Brothers.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
That where Oh wow, that's an interesting question.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
We love creating music together where we're big family people.
Where yeah, we're just I don't know, yeah that they.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
We love pop music. There were good people, you know.
I think that's at the heart of it. There were
good people, and we take our craft very seriously. But
you know, we're very grateful for the opportunities we've had,
and this tour has actually made me even more grateful for,
you know, the career I've had so far. I just
(45:28):
think the fact that we can have arenas full of
people still buying a ticket to come and see us
sing and dance. You know, It's like, not everyone gets
that opportunity, even if you want it. There's far better
singers and songwriters and than me out there. But I've
been given this opportunity and I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
I love it. Mike Andrew, thank you so much for
sharing your story, your journey and brotherhood, human nature, the
Tinny Brothers. It's very inspiring, especially for those whose siblings
are far away the check. Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Thank you flying back in time. This is the Germain plane.
Flying back in time.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is the Germaine Plane thing Earthanger.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Now this is your performance wow at good News Week
two thousands. Wow playing earth Angel.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
We sound good though, don't we?
Speaker 1 (00:21):
We sound great? Don't we just start just by playing
this for a bit, just a bit of reflection, because
if I'm correct, this is your first song you guys
performed together.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yes, yeah, we did it back in well, well not
this actual performance, but we did it in high school.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We sang this for as like a school concert that
was coming up, and yeah, we went and performed this one.
I don't know where you Andrew kind of worked it out.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, in a movie. I think I saw Back to
the Future, right, Marty McFly movie, and he sings earth Angel.
I think he sings Angel band the band and the
Sea Ball. It's a pivotal song in a v Yes,
and I always wanted to be in a rock band,
but I didn't play in instruments that well. I played piano,
but it wasn't rock band instruments. So I had Mike,
(01:07):
my brother, and the two mates at school who were
in the choir, and thought it was still like a
vocal group, like an old duop group. And that's what
we say, that's what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
So bad to the future was the inspiration behind Yeah,
was it a mood? Year two enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Oh yeah, I love that movie. Yeah, yeah, I don't know,
I think, yeah, it was just one of those movies
that I kind of was a whole. You know, it
was so big at the time when it came out,
and then yeah, I just remember loving it so much,
went to cinemas to see it, and yeah, it was
such a cool moment in time that movie.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah, great, did something click in that moment when you
guys performed it for the first time in nineteen eighty nine, Not.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Really, I mean, we just people told us we were
good and we were not as good as this, and
we were a little bit bad, and Mike was still
a boy soprano, but it was it was something that
we people told us we were good at singing, and
you know, Mike and I had always been musical with
our family. You know, family is very musical. But yeah,
when we did Earth Angel as the kids, you know,
(02:02):
everyone said, oh, you guys were great, and then from
there on Mike and I started writing songs together and
that then developed us into human nature after that, so
it's been been quite the journey from Earth Angel.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
To from really are today. I mean, this clip is
twenty five years old. What do you hear your voices?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Then that sounds good?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Actually just hear we're very much in tune, which is good.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I actually remember this performance because when we first came
out as Human Nature, we got a lot of shit. Okay,
because we're like a really pop squit clean you know,
we didn't think we're a boy band, but we clearly were.
And so the kind of media and say there's good
news Week was kind of a cool show, like a
cred show. And I remember going on there singing this song.
It was like, and I think the hard nose kind
(02:44):
of you know, media thought, oh shit, these guys are
really actually quite good, even though that we hate them,
They're actually really good.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Oh well, I love it. I love it. I thought
it'd be a nice way just to start our chat today.
I'm joined by Andrew and Michael Tierney, two brothers who
spent over three decades making music together as part of
the legendary iconic ossie group. Human Nature sold millions of records,
toured the world, had your in Vegas residency, and it
become one of Australia's most loved vocal groups and now
(03:13):
stepping into a new chapter as the Team brothers making
music just a two of them. It's full of heart,
harmony and history. I'm so excited to have you guys
in the Germaine plane. Welcome having so you're here for
your last date of the Motown twenty tour where your
duo is opening the show. Like this is such a
wild concept to me because it's almost like you're giving
(03:35):
them kind of two versions of yourself, right.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, it was kind of an interesting idea, you know,
because we're celebrating the twenty years since we released that
Motown record for Human Nature, and it came up someone
came up with the idea of saying I think it
was actually you're saying that, but Richard Wilkins actually suggested
we were doing an interview like back when we released
our first single for the Teeny Brothers. He said, you
guys should open for yourselves and that could be kind
of fun. That could have got it interesting, and so
(04:00):
it actually has been working great. When we come out
and do you know just a few songs from this
new record that Andrew and I have made and it's
all new original pop music and then sort of changing
over to then because the Human Nature show is more
kind of reflecting back on the motown music and our
kind of back catalog of songs as well. But so
just to have the new and the old is kind
of and it's been working really well. Yeah, kind of
(04:20):
a fun thing to.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Do, absolutely, And how does it feel returning home? But
this time as brothers? I know you've guys have done
some smaller shows. Would you say this is your biggest
show in Sydney as the.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Oh yeah, yeah for sure. Yeah, I mean it kind
of feels like why did we wait so long? But
then again, you know, as the Teeny Brothers, would we
have been ever as big in the beginning as Human Nature? Are?
You know? That kind of success we've had a Human
Nature is unique, and so you know, if we had
to just start it as the Tenny Brothers, I don't
think we could have then gone on to be Human Nature,
you know what I mean? So yeah, but we've always
been who we are now and so this platform that
(04:52):
we have as Human Nature is an amazing gift to
us to be now. Okay, do something different as the
Teenny Brothers and hope for the audience that love humanis
we'll come along with us and we'll have some people
discovering our original music again. But yeah, I think it's
great to be back. And the show at Sydney was
just huge, like thousands of people, and to sing new
songs to them is this awesome.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. We're
going to get into your journey as brothers, as human nature,
everything like that. But the reason every guest that I
have on my show, I have them on because there's
something I can relate or resonate with them. And when
it came to you guys, you know a duo a brother,
I really related because I grew up having a creative
twin brother Wow, and he and I used to professionally
(05:35):
dance together. We used to produce movies, and we did
a lot of professional entertainment together. And creating with him
was one of the biggest joys of my life. But obviously,
as life kind of gets in its way, we've gone
into two different directions now and I have to say
I miss creating with him. So when I saw that
you guys were doing your teeny Brothers project together, I
(05:57):
had to get you on because I find it so
so inspiring. So I want to kind of delve deep
into your brotherhood and to kind of, you know, just
to understand where all of this came from. So let's
go back to Western Sydney. When you guys grew up.
What were your earliest memories of each other.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
We shared a bunk bedroom. Okay, that's something we remember
quite vividly, like with one of those weird shaped ones,
Like it wasn't an L shape, it was kind of
packed on top of each other.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
So and I was on the top bunk with this
little staircase on top. And then I remember we had
like a wooden from probably Freedom Furniture or Fabulous and
Pine or something, one of those eighties kind of furniture places.
And we had a desk, and I remember, you know, musically,
we kind of play around with this little sequencer and
stuff and we just have fun, you know, playing together.
(06:42):
We kind of play in the backyard, or we'd make
music together. It was just our childhood was pretty fun. Yeah,
I guess suburbs.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Yeah right, And what memories of music or playing around,
goofing around as brothers.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I mean a big memory for me. He was always
you know, I guess as a family it was quite
a musical household because our mum is a piano tea,
so there would always be kind of that music kind
of going through the house and then you know, she
would teach us piano as well. But then also I
think probably a big time for music for us was
around Christmas time. We'd all get together and everyone, you
know that family extended family, and we do this Carol's
(07:16):
Night where everyone would sing and kind of and that
was just kind of you know, at the time, probably
didn't think that's not something all other families do, but
it was, you know, it was something that we did
and it was just a cool kind.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Of family musical moment.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
And then, yeah, so singing was just a big part
of you know, we would sing with our sister at
our local church as well. You know, we I think
we sang as a trio, one of the three of
us right a few times as young kids, and so
that was just yeah, and because I sang as a
boy soprano, I was kind of saying quite a lot.
And so it's just always been a big part of
our lives. From as early as I can remember.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Was there a moment in your childhood where you guys decided,
hang on, we should take this on professionally before you
met up with Phill and Toby.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
No, no, it was actually it was with them because
we started as human nature when Mike was twelve.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, right, We complete didn't even have.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Any time to think, you know, what's there. So when
that seed, you know, as kids, you know, might be
fifteen or sixteen, as I'm not sure what your age
was when you started doing this stuff with your brother,
but when we started creating together, we were already human nature.
So the kind of the DNA of what is the
tiny brothers kind of became human nature straight away, and
(08:28):
so all the songs we wrote and all our creative passion,
Toby and feel were part of that, which was pretty cool,
even to the point when we left high school. We
went to a boarding high school, and so our mum
and dad let Toby live at our house because his
parents lived in His mum was in Canberra and his
dad was in Windsor, so he basically he was either
going to leave or leave Sydney and leave the group
(08:50):
or mom and dad said why didn't you stay here?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So he did a sacrifice, I know, right, amazing. I
love that. And what was the I guess, just going
back to you guys growing up together, what was the
music that was playing in the household? So when you
guys were singing in church and doing all these things,
what was the music.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Then? Mum was a classical piano teacher, so there's a
lot of classical a lot of music theater, you know.
I remember seeing that. It's crazy. I was walking through
Sydney and they've got the fortieth anniversary of Cats Musical. Yes,
and I was there for the first show. Wow, that's
that's pretty scary to think that. But no, I think yeah,
for us, the church music was more Catholic hymn so
(09:31):
they kind of weren't spiritual songs like as far as
like gospel songs, so there was kind of that harmony structure.
But pop music wise, I guess we were bringing pop
music into our family because Mum was more into folk
and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Yeah, it was like George Michael was We're big fans
of George Michael Jackson.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
His Bad record.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
That was one of my first kind of pop records.
I loved so much. And trying to think a prince,
I was a big prince fan, and I was a
big Grigastly fan.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Okay, I left a little bit like him.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
At the time I thought I did. Anyway, So a
talent quest, I'd pull out a bit of a Castley
and put on that voice.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Oh my gosh, I was actually going to hold onto
the Gary Barley chap. I might bring that on now
because I've had Gary on my show a few months ago,
and I know you guys have worked with him, right,
and Gary, he did mention that Rick Astley was a
huge kind of inspiration for the earlier part to take
that as well. So Rick Astley, how interesting is that?
What is your relationship with Gary?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
By the way, Well, we actually and now was it
a third record? Yeah, we got to go and write
with him. We went to his house in Manchester or
somewhere wherever he lives in this kind of sprawling mansion
and yeah, so we stayed not far from there and
we spent three days working with Gary. And one of
the songs, that's going to be a long night we
wrote for a third record. And we're actually talking about this, Yes,
(10:49):
that there's a song we wrote with him that we
never got a demo off.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
It's like ballad.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Yeah, I spoke to one of your biggest fans about this.
Her name's d l Yes, Yeah, I said. I was like,
I know you're a huge fan of any questions that
you want me to ask the guys, and the one
thing that was like, we need to get the demo.
So Gary has the demo?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Yeah, I guess he would somewhere. I mean because we
worked in the studio he had in his house and yeah,
and we wrote it was to ended up being two songs,
so one made the record, the other one for whatever reason,
just didn't make the record. But we were trying to
have him out of fire.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
I never remember the lyric, yeah, or the melody. I
mean it would be good because Gary such a great rite. Yeah,
even his worst songs are going to be good.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
So yeah, I'm just fascinated. I would love to actually
be asked deal because she's a huge take that fan
as well.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Yes too, And she held.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Up a sign at one of the take that shows
said Gary the Human Nature guys wanted their song.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Oh gosh, Well, you know, I'll be honest with you, Gary.
For some reason, Gary listens to me more than any
other person in Australia. Really leave with me. Okay, next
time he does another promo thing for Australia, I'll ask
him about that demo. We've got to find it.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Yeah, and that was fascinating because they had a success
on a level that we've never had. You know, we
take that and we're back for good. Particularly and you know,
he was just fun to hang with him. We were
super young, younger than them, and yep, we're on this.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
He was really accommodating and we had lunch at the
house with all this family around their face and he
picked us up from the train session in his like
just wow, so humble and just kind of would take
that had broken up at that pointint so he was
just more into his writing and production and he hadn't
had the renascence, if you will, from Patients and on.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
But yeah, we played tennis with him, We ate egg
and Soldiers with him. You know, wow, it was really
kind of great. I'm sure didn't Jason Orange come.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Around one of the other guys, Howard.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Came around for dinner that night?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Really? I mean, I'm sure the banter was just NonStop
with Gary because.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Well, yeah, the one story I remember he'd worked on
the Victoria Beckham album and he said it was He
made this comment because I don't I'm sure she's not
even going to tell you she's a great singer. But
he said he had to get, you know, with editing
on computers. He said he got so literally on his
face from staring at the screen for three days solid
trying to get a great vocal out of Victoria.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Wow, he worked with Tory Beckham.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Well, she did a solid things.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Well, of course, yeah, that's what I do.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, Wow, it wasn't real success.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, I remember seeing how in World Idol doing a performance. Actually,
now that I think back, and I think that was
the only time I saw any saltly stuff. And was
that the last time you speake to Gary and that time?
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Yeah, yeah, we haven't seen him since, but it was
just a really memorable and fun time. I remember he
was just so nice and so down to earth.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
And it was really cool.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Wow. Wow, I'll go back on track with what I
was supposed to ask you, So we've gone into you
met up with Phil with Toby. You guys did your
performance in nineteen eighty nine with bank in Bankstown. It
was named four Tracks, correct, that was the first name
why that name.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
I think we were actually working on a four track
like a four track recorder, I think podcast school somewhere,
and so that was like he was there was like, oh,
that could be cool four tracks, but we'll do with
that X on the end and instead of see. I mean,
it's a pretty pretty daggy name. And we were inspired.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
I guess a lot of those groups kind of back
in the like the do Wop groups were kind of
those names, you know, the four somethings or the you know,
they kind of had pretty cheesy.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Names like Boys, two Men and Recon.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
It was pretty cool, but we're more going back to.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
The throw races, the four seasons.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
The gotcha Yeah, I understood. Okay, right, that's kind of.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
As we were called in high school or by the
guys I hated us, the four Skins. The four Skins
really good.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It's actually pretty clever.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Tip your hat to that.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Tell me more about that. So how was do wop
and all that stuff perceived in high school for you guys.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Well, the thing is, I guess because when we came out,
the whole boy band thing was not really happening in
the world.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
I guess there'd been new kids on the block. They're
probably the biggest thing probably back in the late eighties,
you know, and then there wasn't really another boy and
then Boys to Men. I guess we're probably a big
inspiration for us because they were more class as a
vocal group, I think, you know, So that was kind
of what we were modeling ourselves on. And also going
back to those sort of Temptations or you know, and
the Four Tops and those kind of groups. That was
(15:11):
kind of our inspiration for getting together and doing you know,
things like Earth Angel and so.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
That was things.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
And then it was kind of after that that we
got into the you know, the idea of okay, maybe
we should find a pop voice for this group, you know,
and we need to write songs, and we need to
have you know, our own material, and we can't just
do covers and that kind of stuff. So yeah, because
we were just doing you know, we would go and
put a show together to do it a like local clubs.
You know, we do kind of songs from the past,
(15:39):
and you know, that's kind of where we cut our
teeth doing live performance as a group.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
So then Andrew and I moved into kind of writing
original music. And that's kind of when we started to
you know, because people were suggesting you guys should try
and get a record deal, and it was but you
need to have your own songs. So we kind of felt, well, okay,
we better kind of go down this path and z
if we can write some songs and find some people
to collaborate with and yeah, and that's sort of how
(16:04):
that all came about.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Were there any inspirations behind the sound that you guys
wanted when you were writing original music because it's such
a departure from do what you know, going from Earth
Angel then to telling everybody a bit of a change there, right,
So was that inspiration what made that bridge between the two?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
I really think it was Boys to Men. Yeah, it
really was. When they came up with that album Motown Philly,
it was like even I was like, oh, that's do
what you know, and but it's cool and it's got
some kind of R and B influence and so we
then thought, well, we could be the white boysed men,
you know, because there wasn't one at that point and
so yeah, and we didn't take that we're just breaking So,
(16:42):
I mean their music was a bit more dancy than
we were trying, so that kind of make sense. So
it was really boys to men with a kind of
blueprint and George Michael, I suppose as well, like Telling
Everybody has a little bit of faith. I mean the
Faith came on the radio the other day and I thought, oh,
they're playing Tell Everybody, and it was but yes, to
your point, we've done all this do wop stuff. And
(17:02):
I remember playing Telling Everybody, which is one of the
first songs Mike and I had written for our mum,
and she goes, that's okay if you like that kind
of thing. It sounds like Silverchair, oh, because it's got
guitars in this, you know. And it was like, that's
sounds like silver Chair. You really like that? Do you
guys like that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Wow, I'll have to listen back. When I play this
on the radio show, I'll just I'll make it a little
I'll play the full song so we can kind of
hear the silver Chair kind of vibes. Silverchair meets George Michael.
That's definitely I've never heard of that matchup.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
No one's doing that.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
No one's doing that. So obviously that album just catapulted
you guys into Ozzie success. So much to the point
where you guys started working with these huge artists. Right now,
I am the biggest, biggest, biggest Michael Jackson fan of
all time. I'm the biggest Janet Jackson fan of all
the time. So I need to ask you about your
experience working on the History Tour Michael, because you guys
(18:00):
Australia and Europe.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Is that that was our well, one of our first
kind of big breaks was doing that support for Michael
Jackson on was around Australia to begin with, so that
was the first one. And then he was continuing his
tour throughout Europe and the UK, and because you know,
our record company was his as well, you know, so
they suggested, oh, maybe these guys could come and support
him through through Europe, and supposedly it went all the
(18:24):
way up the chain to Michael and he said, yeah,
that's cool with me. Soh my god, we came and
did the tour. We actually did. We met him once,
so we meet him.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
I want to know about that and tell me that experience.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Well, it was really weird because it was we'd been
asking the whole too. I mean, we did how many
shows altogether?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I think it's thirty thirty six shows all.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Around Europe, and so we'd asked and he kept asking,
how can we get a chance to meet Michael, And
he was very elusive, you know, he'd see him everyone
and again, but he would turn up kind of very
quickly before he went on, and he'd leave kind of before,
so he was not there that much apart from when
he was on stage. So yeah, and then it came
to the chance that we would meet him.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
It was just very.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Quickly before his show because he was already It was
side of stage, kind of in his little quick change area,
and but he was in there and we spoke to
him and said, oh, yeah, listen to your show. He
loved the songs we were doing because we did an
old Brothers Johnson's song called Stomp, which was you know,
Quincy Jones had produced, and he loved that song. And
he loved people get Ready, which is another song we did.
So he loved the songs that we chosen in our
(19:26):
set and heard. So we got a photo, which is
another thing we've never seen photo.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
We never got the photo.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
There was an official photographer there and he took a
photo of us with Michael and because it was in
the days when no one had phones or anything. There
was no selfies, yes, so it had to come from
an official photographer, and then I guess he approved whatever
photos went out, and if he wasn't happy with how
he looked or whatever in the photo, then it didn't
go out.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
See, Okay, so this is the thing, right. My twin
brother and I we met Michael on that tour as well. Wow,
so we were three years old when that happened to him,
and he was like at the hotel lobby with all
these fans and Michael came out of the elevator and
he saw us, but we got stampeded by all these fans,
so he got security then to part the crowd, and
we spent like maybe about My mom says about ten
(20:13):
fifteen minutes, but I know she could be over exaggerating.
But the same thing. Michael's entourage was there filming and
taking photos and we don't have it. We didn't have
any of us. So when I find the footage, I'll
ask you about you guys as well, So you guys
get that footing as well.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Somewhere.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Yeah, the estate has it. I'm sure the estate has
it all. I mean all the photos, all the footage.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
He was kind of crazy because his official photographer was
some world renowned national geographic photographer that he just brought
on the tour. Yes, this famous guy and so he
just brought him on salary and just brought him around
the world too.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Wild, just the world of Michael Jackson.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, it was different, no wonder he was unusual unique.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Did you get to experience a bit of Michael Jackson's
world while supporting him.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Only through hearsay? Just like talking, you know, the the
band would talk about him and the way people would
just kind of accept his you know, unusual behavior as
far as like how reclusive he was. Yeah, and he
drank some The tour manager had to prepare some weird
green juice that Michael would drink before the charm that
(21:17):
was his meal, right, And just certain things like he
would only get ready to side a stage, so he'd
be in this dark kind of we'd got a quick
change because it's not your official dressing room, but he
was literally just off the side of stage and that's
where he got ready. And yeah, it just this massive
world and I cannot imagine like Taylor Swift, you know,
touring now there's just it's almost like a city goes
(21:38):
with her everywhere. It was like that with Michael.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
What about the essence of his audience because I can imagine,
you know, growing up in western Sydney, you know, starting
in churches, and then fast forward, what like maybe a
decade later, you guys are now on the biggest world
stage of all time with probably the most excited crowds
of all time. I mean, what was the feeling of that,
even after your performance and knowing that they're amped up
(22:02):
for Michael? Like, what was that energy? Like?
Speaker 3 (22:05):
It was amazing? I mean, I think probably reflecting on it,
it was more amazing, you know that at the time.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I guess at the time, we were doing a lot
of other things.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
We were kind of focused on our own career and
what we were doing, you know, and how we were
kind of how things were going for us. But yeah,
sort of, I guess reflecting on it, you know, in
years past, it was kind of and since he passed
away and we realized that was actually really the last
tour he never did, so kind of to be part
of that and to kind of see that all up
(22:33):
so close was pretty pretty amazing, you know how you
know and just little things that we would get to
watch the show side of stage, you know, and just
see him kind of up close, see what he would
do and kind of the way he you know, his
craft of showmanship, you know, and how he would hold
an audience and how he would stop and not move
until the screaming stopped. You know, he had these things
(22:53):
that he would do. He knew how to capture an
audience and how to keep them there and how to
you know, kind of get that next little bit of
you know, get that next bit of excitement. And I
was watching a thing. I was talking about his performance
at the super Bowl, and the guy who was kind
of producing the whole thing said, Michael called him and said,
don't start rolling until I take my glasses off. And
(23:14):
he stood there for like five minutes, and they're all
going nuts because we can't do anything. He's not going
to start. They didn't roll the track or the song
until and so he just stood there and he did
that in his show. You do things like that, just
kind of stand and wait and take those moments.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
If you called that letting it simmer, it's just letting
the thing kind of just I mean, gosh, what a
dynamite performer and like he's just one of the best.
It would have been such an honor to support him.
Let's talk about Janet then. What was the difference between
Michael and Janet? Because you did the Velvet Rope tour
I've believed in ninety eight. What was that experience like
(23:50):
working for a completely different.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Well, until you mentioned it, I'd forgotten we did it,
But so that's probably said something. I guess it wasn't
as a big an event for us. I mean we
were more of a significant support act for Janet. I
guess because we had a big stage and we had
a band and everything. But for some reason, I don't know,
I just have you thought about it.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
No, I wasn't as kind of memorable experience we did.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Do we even meet Ja? Yeah, we didn't.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
It was pretty unmemorable. We said hello and she said
thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
It was a weird interaction. It was a very weird interaction.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
I reckon the contrast, I mean, it would have probably
made more sense to tour for Janet first and then Michael,
But going from Michael to Janet maybe just a little.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
It certainly wasn't.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
It was guessing that the promoters in Australia because we'd
done the Jack Michael tour and it was so publicly
known that we'd done that and it was such a
big story. Maybe the promoters thought, well, it's Janet, let's
get human nature and kind of even at that, not
that she needed elevation, but I think at that stage
was a more significant bill that we were on. There
at the Michael Jackson it was like everyone was there
(24:54):
for Michael and they just discovered human nature, which was amazing.
But with the Janet one, we'd already had a name.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
So wow, I love that. Well, thank you so much
for sharing that with me, because that was something that
I really really wanted to know about when it comes
to Michael. Now, so by this point, right you're doing Janet, you're,
like you said, you've kind of developed quite a I
would say, like a status for yourself. How do you
guys stay grounded? Like at that point in time, at
the peak, how did you you know two boys from
(25:22):
Western Sydney. What did you do to stay grounded? Or
were you grounded at that time?
Speaker 3 (25:25):
I think we've always been grounded. I don't know, it's
never really the success or things that have happened. Have
just never really been gone to our heads. I mean, yeah,
I can't remember a time when we've kind of behaved
in a way that you know, it was kind of
because of horrible.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
It's like, it's a.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Huge opportunity to be on that type of stage, right
and a lot of people would go, I'm the shit, like,
you know, I'm touring with Michael Jackson, Celene Dion, I'm
doing all this big stuff. You know, a lot of
people in boy bands or you know, especially in the nineties,
would let themselves go. We'll completely just go to their head.
What made you guys stay so grounded?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I also think that the touring with Michael and that
launch we got it actually didn't turn into the success
we dreamed of in the States or outside of Australia.
Like we thought, Okay, the success we're having in Australia,
now we're on this Jackson tour, it's going to happen everywhere,
and it didn't. You know it kind of we got
some recognition in the UK, and I think that was
kind of maybe a lot like, oh, we've still got it,
(26:23):
and that was a dream of ours to have success
outside Australia. So I think when it didn't happen on
that first record and the second record, maybe the fact
that it was still pushing for that kept us grounded,
you know, because oh, yes, Australia is super successful, but
we really want this. And then the Backstreet Boys came out,
and then you know, there were so many other competing
groups that were having huge international success and we weren't
(26:45):
at that point. I think that probably just made us think, Okay, well,
we got to focus on our craft and every performance
has got to be the best, and every song's got
to be the greatest. And it wasn't just like, look
at us, aren't we amazing?
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
So I think, you know, in hindsight, maybe that lack
of success kept us grounded rather than just having the
whole world at our feet and just thinking, you know,
we were a shit.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Yeah good. I love that you use that experience to
sharpen your craft and to you know, create amazing work.
I love that so much. I'm going to just share
with you my favorite song that you guys have done,
and it's one that a lot of Aussies holds so
close to their heart. It's your song with John Farnham.
Every time you cry. I mean number three on the
Arias stayed in the top fifty for seventeen weeks Platinum.
(27:27):
Tell me more about the collaboration, and not necessarily just
with John, but with you guys together. I mean, when
I listened to that song, I look back on the video,
I just see two forces of musical legacy in Australia. Right.
So did that collaboration give you guys a sense of
hang on, we're doing something really solid here in Australian music.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Working with John it was amazing.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I think also thinking you know John at that time,
we were still pretty young, I guess when we got
that opportunity and for him to, you know, want to
do something with us, it was a very cool thing.
And you know, it just I'd always been a big
fan of John's, you know, growing up. It was just
he was probably one of my musical or singing idols
for sure. So to get that chance to do I mean, yeah,
(28:13):
I was so excited that we've got that chance, and
we actually didn't. We recorded it in two separate parts,
So he recorded his part to the song in Melbourne.
We were over i think, touring in the UK, so
we recorded in London our parts to it. So we
didn't actually come together and meet until we did the
video with him, which was a lot of fun and
it was just a great experience. And it's so cool
(28:34):
that song has just lived. It still lives today.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
It still doesn't really sound that dated. You know, it's not.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Like an eighties song. It's not like a nineties song.
It was had a timeless kind of soul production to it. Absolutely,
and it's become John's song, has become our song. We
call it the People's song.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Song. I might still hear it to this day. Yeah,
you know in this building we have smooth plays on
smooth of the time, I mean Woolli's or you know,
Eman was playing a macas the other day and I
was like, it's just a timeless Aussie class here. It
really is. You guys performed Did you perform that song
with John?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
We did it at the ARIA Award actually just and
that was kind of our I think it was our
first or second Area Award performance and they turned the
screen black and white. I remember for it. That's really
cool thing. And I just remember the head of our
company came at you guys just resurrected John Farnham's career
and you know, that was a big call. But it
was a really pop moment for John, like he was.
(29:31):
It was, you know, like if we did a collab
with the kid LAROI. You know, it was that kind
of some legacy artist taking this really young, kind of
big act and doing something together and it just blew up.
It was so big that they actually deleted the single
because it was stopped selling John's Anthology album because it
was a really it was the lead single off his
Greatest Hits, and his manager at the time, Glenn Whetley,
(29:53):
to said, everyone's warning this song, We've got to delete
that so they buy his album.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Oh my god.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
That's why I only got to three. Yeah, because they
they actually stopped pressing Wow. Yeah. Wow.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Because it would have been nice to say it was
a number one, but it was clearly going to be.
But they literally they BMG, stopped printing the single.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
That one was that good. Yeah. Wow, I'm so impressed.
I'm so impressed. Now I want to take you to
the moment where I first discovered human nature as I
was like, oh, you know, because I was born in ninety.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Three, three years old album.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, so when it came to me discovering and buying
an album was your self titled album Human Nature, and
he Don't Love You was was that song for me?
You know, the time when Bakstreet Boys and Sync. That
sound was really kind of you know, the iconic early
two thousand PowerUP. What gave you guys the creative direction
(30:44):
to go down that route that album.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
We'd kind of really railed against being called a boy band,
you know, and on our second album we kind of
was much more kind of you know, it was a
bit more of a chill record, more soul inspired, and
we kind of, you know, on purpose, smoothed away from
being wanting to be too pop like that. And then
on that third record with the well if you can't
beat them, join them, right, okay, and so we yeah,
(31:10):
we had the opportunity we went out to Sweden and
did something you know with all those you know, the
classic over there and wrote some music and that was
the record we wrote with Gary Barlow at four. And
then this song came to us, This he Don't Love
You song came to us written by Steve Mack, who's
a massive UK producer, songwriter. W yeah, okay, right, it
(31:32):
was just you know, and I think they'd been pitching
this song out and yeah, so we got the chance
to have that song. We went to the UK and
recorded it and then you know, you could hear it
just sounded right for the time, you know, it was
just one of the songs that just sounded It was
a cool moment in time. And then the video and
everything that went along with that whole album was very pop.
You know, pop at its most pop. I suppose, yes,
(31:55):
so yeah, and that you know, I think it's still
that's still lived well too. But yeah, certainly we came
back around and thought, okay, let's just be a boy band,
go all the way.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Well, going into that, I know you guys really were
at the time really trying to fight the boy band
title and everything like, So what was the core behind that?
Was it matship that you guys were wanting to really
show because I'm assuming you're trying to fight the manufactured.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, and I guess, like going back to that Earth
Angel clip on Good News Week, we got a lot
of flak for being a boy band, like coming out
of Australia and you know this heritage of rock bands
and in excess and midnight Oil, and that's realizing music.
You know, it's like sweaty and kind of hairy, and
you know, all this kind of business and kind of real,
you know, and it was like real men aren't boy bands.
(32:42):
And the UK kind of celebrate they're almost so proud
of their boy bands and you see Roni keating and
you see all these icons of that time. They're proud
of their boy band history, like five just got back together,
and it's kind of they're celebrated all around the country.
And there was a time there where to be a
boy band in Australia was like just a nasty light.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
I think, why do you think that? Why do you
think there was such a rebellion against.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Well, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
I think it's just because of that. Maybe it's that
rock history of Australia, you know that that's kind of
where the heart of Australian music kind of was, you know,
I think, I mean it moved more into the pop world,
I guess in the two thousands, and you know, there
was a lot more sort of pop acts.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
That came out.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
But yeah, and I guess that's why. And I think,
as you said, we so many of those were manufactured,
put together, and you know, and so we kind of
every interview we would have to kind of cut, you know.
So we got together in high school and you know,
this was a natural thing for us. We were wasn't
someone just putting us together and getting us from all
war And I mean because that was very manufactured, and
(33:43):
it mean that those groups didn't last.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
You know.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Yeah, so I think that's why we have lasted too.
I guess it is because of I mean, it just
was started out of friendship for us, and it started
out of a love for music and doing and because
we had something good together as a group. So but yeah,
I think in the beginning we just thought, oh, we
don't want to be put in that same basket as
all those you know, kind of you know, kind of
disposable pop act I.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Suppose was that an easy conversation with with Sony when
they wanted to sign you was their dream to that.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
I think they were behind the fact that the organic
you know. I think Dennis Handle at the time loved
the fact that we were family guys and we've been
we grew up together and we're friends. And it was
more of the marketing angle, I suppose, and just kind
of how do we amplify this and kind of get
it out of the world. And I think the UK
when we first released there, they didn't want us to
be called human Nature. They said, couldn't you be called
like the fourteen or Riot or guys down Under or
(34:38):
some kind of kisch and well, like, can we give
you another name when you release over here? Not the
four gadays or something. They wanted something really right Jesus
and like so that was kind of that's where the push.
And we'd go through Germany and all we do photos
and we'd want to be serious kind of like you know,
not kind of throwing gang signs at the lens, but
(35:00):
the photographers have got you, guys. We need more energy
from you, and we need like can you make action?
Make action at the camera and kind of oh my god,
because the Batstree boys have probably been in there the
other day. And you know, I think b Rocks giving
b Rock signs and.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
I think our Zinc. Their origin was in Germany as well.
You saw the way their image was produced back then,
and then when they broke in America like years afterwards,
it was like a bit more of a refined image.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
And I guess if your image wise it with Hit,
I love you. I mean n siks success was probably
something we were really inspired by with that, and I
suppose Justin's influence on that and how incredible he is
as an artist to kind of thought, well, maybe you
don't have to shy away from being a boy band
if you've got talent, you know, you still actually have
talent and kind of celebrate how pop you are. And
(35:45):
so maybe that helped us change our perspective on it
for a minute.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Yeah, I love that. I love that. Let's go to Vegas. Okay,
so sorry, just really just going forward a bit. When
did that idea come about? When did the Whispers of Vegas?
Speaker 3 (36:01):
That came out of our Because we had released the
record of Motown Music, which was a big success for
us here and then we created a tour for that,
you know, and we were kind of inspired by the
old sort of motown reviews that used to go around.
We'd see footage of and where all the different acts
would come on, and so we went we wanted to
really be inspired by that in the way that we dressed.
(36:22):
We were all in you know, the tuxes and the
whole bed, and we had a really big, you know,
kind of band with the horn section and everything. And
then a gentleman on the Gold Coast who had taken
Thunder from down Under to Vegas. He actually came and
saw the Motown show that we did for that too,
and he said he thought it would work great in
Las Vegas, that kind of show, and so but it
(36:43):
took about two years, two three years for them looking
at a room, and we were kind of interested in
the idea and thought, oh, that could be, could be
kind of cool, and then yeah, so it took a
long time for it actually to become a room to
become available for us to get the chance to go
and do it. But yeah, it all came from that
sort of that first Motown record.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
And when did Motown become part of the consciousness of
the new direction of where you know?
Speaker 2 (37:07):
I mean, it was always there, like even from Earth
Angel and we flirted with One of the first songs
we sang as in that kind of four tracks era
was another song called Midnight Trained Georgia, which is an
old tune Glad It's not in the pit. So there
was always that kind of soul dna and every time
we cry was like you know, smoke. John Farnon was smoky,
and we were the miracles, you know, there was that
(37:29):
kind of thing. So yeah, so there was always there.
And then just remember maybe the tour just before the
Motown record, we put My Girl in the show just
to see. We had this idea of you know, our
career was kind of on a decline, a little bit
from the heady heights of Michael Jackson, and so we're thinking,
you know, this might be our last ever album and
or so maybe we could do a Motown record and
(37:51):
let's see what the crowd think of these songs and
it'll be a fun tour. So we put My Girl
in a show and said, hey, you guys, we're thinking
of doing this, and let's just see what do you
think of this song we did Mike. People loved it,
no doubt, like just that song, and so we thought, okay,
this could work for a show. Yeah, so we just
thought about the album in context of a show, and
that's where the Motown seed was planted.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Wow. Well, and now twenty years since your first Maritown album,
about to do the last date of your tour, I mean,
performing those shows, does it bring like on this tour
now doing the opening as the Teeny Brothers and then
now celebrating twenty years of Maritown. Has this brought you
guys closer as brothers in any way?
Speaker 2 (38:33):
Oh definitely, yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so they do it and
making the record, and I mean we've always been close anyway.
You know, our families are close.
Speaker 1 (38:41):
And so your wives are sisters?
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Correct? Is that correct?
Speaker 1 (38:45):
How did that come about?
Speaker 4 (38:46):
Like?
Speaker 1 (38:46):
Who met who first?
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Well?
Speaker 3 (38:48):
I met my wife in we start dating in high
school okay, very young, and yeah, so we're and then
I think my wife brought in it was something brought
in a phototo of Heather oldest what she was doing.
She brought a photo to school of her sister. It
was like the nineties version of Tinder or something.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
I don't know, my old school. Yeah, a real one.
And rather than swiping, he looks cute, call we meet.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
Wow. It's all happened in high school.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Yeah, yow school. And then the girls were following us
well as the Four Tracks and then through Human Nature.
But they've been there for everything.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Wow, amazing.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
So they're super supportive of they're actually the ones that
encourage us to do Tinney Brothers as a record because
we flirted with it in No. Five, like and the
songs didn't feel right. But then when I remember mentioned
to Hell that we've written these bunch of new songs,
maybe Mike and I should do with that record, and
she was like, yeah, of course he should. And then
Andrewa said the same, and then our girls, our little
girls love the fact that uncle and Dadda do the
(39:45):
song do albums together, so it's kind of cute.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Wow, I love that. And the soundtrack of My Life
is a new album. I love it, thanks so much.
This story Isn't Over is one of my favorite songs.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Tell me about that process, So now I know what
was the inspiration behind that, But what was it like?
Is creating music just you two together?
Speaker 2 (40:04):
It's been really fun, Like it's been so low fi,
like it's been like voice notes and just kind of
coming over to my house and well because I got
a little demos set up there. It's so different to
human nature, like there's no one hundred thousand dollars spent
on studios and stuff, and it's big time riders. It
was just really Mike and I just doing something and
(40:24):
it just sounded really good and we could tinker away
at it. We could, you know, songs like lemonade or
I remember it's changed so much from the demo to
what it is now. And the Stories and Over was
a song that I'd played to Mike that he really loved.
We just sang it once and he goes, I really
love that song, and I thought, maybe, you know, maybe
there's kind of some kind of fortuitiveness in the title
of that song that means the stories over for us
(40:47):
as creatives, and so that became a big part of
the record and we've just been having fun doing it,
and even on stage, we kind of come up with
fun stuff on stage to live and it's just a
different energy.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
Yeah, right, it feels that it's I don't know, it feels
kind of like a looser thing that than Human Nature too.
I think we got with human nature because there's four
of us on stage, but it always has to be
a bit more structured, you know, with the choreography and
the kind of who you know, even when four people
try and talk, you can't talk at the same time,
you know, it's not as much of a and just
the two of us, it could feels a bit more
(41:19):
like we're just kind of easy to have a conversation,
you know, just the two of us and an audience,
you know, so it kind of feels fun doing it
that way, performing live that way.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
I love it. I love that. Thank you for sharing
that pleasure. Now I'm going to be a bit selfish
here and just ask you, as someone who misses creating
with my twin, and I'm sure there's a lot of
siblings out there who had a childhood of you know,
creating some wonderful stuff with their siblings, do you have
any advice on how to reconnect creatively with family.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
I think it was actually because I'd done a lot,
so I'd kept writing a lot even when Mike and
I stopped, and it was I went on to my
own tangent a little bit, and it was just it
was a bit of adjustment for you to come back
and say, oh ye, Mike was a good creative partner
for me as well, whereas I kind of thought, like
I just gone off. Maybe you do too, you've gone
on off your own direction. But it was just more
just inviting him back into that and knowing that Mike
(42:11):
was hadn't lost that, you know what. It was just
weird disconnected as creatives, I suppose on that songwriting front.
And then it just kind of remembering how good it was.
I think maybe that's something you could do if what
you had was really good. It's kind of both try
and remember that it was good, and it's not because
it was shit that you broke a heart, just because
life has taken you in different directions. So I think
(42:33):
that was the thing with me. I just thought, well,
I don't just have to write by myself. Mike and
I had a great chemistry and a unique chemistry, so
it was like opening myself up to that again.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Do you feel that it's in a way of coming home. Yeah,
when you work, when you guys work together.
Speaker 3 (42:49):
Yeah, and there's a real natural flow to it, I
guess too, which is cool. You know, we kind of
you know, you get a sense of when something's working
and when something's not, you know, because I think sometimes
you try and it's something and it just don't know,
it doesn't feel like it's going anywhere, there's no kind
of fire to it. But then other times you really
get a sense of when something is kind of moving
in a good direction. So I think, and over the years,
(43:10):
I think we've got a good sense of I mean,
whatever you're doing with music, when whatever you're doing right
now is always the best thing you've ever done. It
seems always be the way. But it's also didn't feel
any pressure to so I think often with doing things
with human nature, there was a real pressure something had
to be a hit to you know, they've got to
find the next hit. And this was more about kind
of just making a body of work that kind of
(43:32):
felt something that we were proud of and that felt
really good about. So I think that was kind of
the in the back of our minds. That was what
we wanted to create, you know, more than anything else.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
Brilliant. I love that as siblings, do you guys? I
mean I share this with my twin and I know
a lot of siblings do the same thing, where telepathically,
you guys kind of have an understanding of what works creatively.
Have you guys had that experience as like when writing
together or performing together or are you guys opposing sometimes
when it comes to creative ideas, what is that.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
One the thing I like? If I like it and
Mike likes it, I think that's when I know it's
a good idea. If I just like it, I think,
and Mike's going I'm not sure, you know, that's when
I think, Okay, well maybe I need to check my
thought on it. And I love that and songwriting together
that if we both think it's good, then it's good.
So not a teleopathic but it can always tell when
we're on the same page, gotcha. So that's kind of
(44:21):
fun rather than trying to convince each other no, it's
really good, you just get don't see it, Yeah, you
don't see it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
So there's that energy, which is fun.
Speaker 1 (44:28):
It's a wonderful partnership. I love it. Before you guys
go and do the last date of your motown and
twenty two and opening as a Teerny Brothers, there's a
question I ask every single guest on the Germaine Plane,
because we fly across different decades, different genres, different cities,
different countries through your journey, what would you like the
world to know about the Tierney Brothers.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
That where Oh wow, that's an interesting question.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (44:57):
We love creating music together where we're big family people.
Where yeah, we're just I don't know, yeah that they.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
We love pop music. There were good people, you know.
I think that's at the heart of it. There were
good people, and we take our craft very seriously. But
you know, we're very grateful for the opportunities we've had,
and this tour has actually made me even more grateful for,
you know, the career I've had so far. I just
(45:28):
think the fact that we can have arenas full of
people still buying a ticket to come and see us
sing and dance. You know, It's like, not everyone gets
that opportunity, even if you want it. There's far better
singers and songwriters and than me out there. But I've
been given this opportunity and I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
I love it. Mike Andrew, thank you so much for
sharing your story, your journey and brotherhood, human nature, the
Tinny Brothers. It's very inspiring, especially for those whose siblings
are far away the check. Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Thank you flying back in time. This is the Germain plane.
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