After 20 years away from touring, Corey Hart returns to the place it all began
CBC News | Posted: May 8, 2019 5:01 PM | Last Updated: May 8, 2019
On the verge of a comeback, Hart talks fatherhood, fandom and Newfoundland
In July of 1985, with his international pop fame on the rise, Corey Hart kicked off his first headlining tour in St. John's.
There's been plenty of peaks and valleys since then — top-charting singles, failed albums, four kids and a long hiatus from the touring life.
"It was some fun, crazy times back then," Hart told the St. John's Morning Show on Wednesday.
"I haven't been doing this for 20 years. I'm a father of four. I've been taking care of my kids for 20 years."
After conversations with his family, Hart decided it was time to get back on the road again — to sing new songs to old fans and, of course, deliver the hits like it's still 1985.
That song was my first single in my career and ostensibly changed my life. - Corey Hart on Sunglasses at Night
It made sense for him to start that journey where it all started 34 years earlier, in Canada's most easterly city.
"Having my first headline show in St. John's was just marked in my brain and etched in my memory forever," Hart said of the show at the old Memorial Stadium.
It's a show still remembered by fans and staff who worked the venue.
Musician Barry Canning tweeted on Wednesday that he worked front-of-house security for the show.
"My job was to bring the girls who fainted to the paramedics," he said. "People would pass them over the security wall. Steady stream. True story."
The first show of the tour, on May 31, will be special for a few reasons — it marks Hart's return to touring and a city he cherishes, and it's also his 57th birthday.
Reminiscing on good times
During the conversation with the St. John's Morning Show, Hart was asked his thoughts on his smash single, Sunglasses at Night, and if he gets tired of hearing it.
"That song was my first single in my career and ostensibly changed my life. I definitely love hearing it," he said.
The song was slow to take off, until a music video launched it into prominence in Canada and the United States. Hart began touring North America as an opening act for performers like April Wine, Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield.
He soon outgrew the opening slot and began headlining shows worldwide. At the height of his fame, Hart was getting 15,000 pieces of fan mail every week.
New release has a Newfoundland touch
Hart's love of the Ron Hynes classic Sonny's Dream has been documented in the past, after he played the song in Grand Falls-Windsor in 2017.
But playing it at a one-off show wasn't enough for the Montreal native. He recently partnered with Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle to record a cover version and release it as a single.
"I love this song so much. I truly love this song. I heard this song way back when I was a kid growing up," he said.
The song is about a mother who wants to keep her son in his sheltered life to avoid the pain of seeing him leave.
"It's only as I grew up and had kids of my own that I understood what he was trying to say with the lyrics," Hart said.
"I'm a really protective father and love my kids so much, and I know they have to fly off and do their own thing. And that's why the lyrics really resonate with me."
Tickets for Hart's performance at Mile One Centre in St. John's are still on sale. The show kicks off 7 p.m. with Glass Tiger opening.