Singer Nathan Foley brings home-grown classics to Chatswood with new show, Aussie to the Bone
If Nathan Foley looks familiar, there’s a good reason. In the early 2000s, he was part of Hi-5, a highly popular children’s entertainment group with a regular TV show on Channel Nine.
Nathan still gets recognised by people who grew up watching Hi-5. “The amazing thing is now they’re in their late 20s or 30s, but they come to my shows,” he says. “Some of them are now musicians or singers and they say, ‘you inspired us back in the day.’”
Since leaving Hi-5 in 2008, Nathan has worked in the entertainment industry, a business he’s been in since the age of 10, when he performed as a soloist at the School Spectacular. He’s performed roles in musical theatre, has written and released his own music, and has appeared in shows such as The Voice and I Will Survive. Nathan’s even worked for a traffic reporting service. “I was up in the helicopters, doing the traffic reports,” he says.
Now, with a wife and a five-year-old son and a home on the Central Coast, Nathan says his career fits in around the family – his main motivation for creating his two current shows, Aussie to the Bone and Unforgettable.
The singer has been performing his Aussie to the Bone show for a year and is bringing it to The Concourse in Chatswood on 21 June.
“I just love the music. There are a lot of shows out there that pay tribute to international artists,” says Nathan, citing Elvis and Neil Diamond acts. “But I wanted to pay tribute to some of the Aussie ones, because when I was between 10 and 12 years old, I listened to a lot of classic Aussie pop rock: John Farnham, Noiseworks and Diesel. Rick Price and Southern Sons, all those great balladeers as well,” Nathan says.
“I learned a lot by listening to those guys and I thought, ‘Well, it’s right up my alley.’ I love singing it, even today.”
The show features a five-piece band plus vocalist, Jess King, who sings hits from the Divinyls, Natalie Imbruglia and Olivia Newton-John. Nathan chose his band members carefully and says his bass player – who was a former member of 1980s band, Mental As Anything – sings the Mental’s hit, Live It Up, during the show.
He has also created another show, Unforgettable, a mix of hits from the 1950s and 1960s, which is also touring the state. It includes music genres such as Motown and Rock ‘n’ Roll, with classics by artists like Frank Sinatra and Ritchie Valens. Nathan will be bringing Unforgettable to Belrose’s Glen Street Theatre in September.
“We’ve had people in their mid-20s right up to their 80s coming to the shows,” Nathan says. And while people often think Aussie to the Bone is a ‘heavy rock show,’ the musician says he surprises them with ‘beautiful ballads,’ changing the dynamics of the show.
“I try to take a little bit of a journey because each song really matters,” Nathan explains.
To see Aussie to the Bone, visit theconcourse.com.au for tickets.