ON STAGE
What: Corey Hart with Glass Tiger
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, 1925 Blanshard St.
When: Monday, June 24, 7 p.m. (doors at 6)
Tickets: $52.50, $72.50, and $102.50 from , by phone at 250-220-7777, or in person at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre box office
Before his official comeback tour of Canada got underway this spring in St. John鈥檚, N.L., singer Corey Hart had played five shows of his own since 1999.
One of those was a 2014 concert at the Bell Centre in his native Montreal, staged so that his four children could finally see what their dad did for a living for the better part of the 1980s. Hart figured that his first show since 2002 would be the coda to his career, and planned to retire for good following the performance.
His youngest son, who was 10 at the time, urged Hart to return to the stage on a regular basis, but Hart was resolute.
鈥淗e was saying: 鈥楧addy you should be doing this more 鈥� we love it.鈥� But I was shaped by the fact I grew up not having a dad to raise me, so I didn鈥檛 want that to happen for my kids.鈥�
Fast forward to 2019, and 57-year-old Hart is midway through a summer tour 鈥� with July dates in Japan to follow 鈥� that may or may not mark the official end to his retirement.
He has a few 91原创 dates left, including his first show in Victoria since 1984, next week. When the run has come to a close, he鈥檒l reassess his priorities.
Hart didn鈥檛 give any hints about his decision, however, other than to say the reason he left in the first place is the same one that will send him back to his dad duties in September.
鈥淢ost people get to come home and have dinner and sleep in their own bed. My job, you鈥檙e away from home. For me, the two worlds don鈥檛 reconcile.
鈥淭he leaving was definitely by design in 1999. We had three little girls and I couldn鈥檛 be tethered to my career. But the way everything has unfolded in 2019 is quite magical.鈥�
Hart was back in Montreal last week during a break from the tour, which began on May 31. He hasn鈥檛 been based there since 1996. Hart now lives in the Bahamas with his wife, former Quebec pop star Julie Masse, and children 鈥� but being back in Montreal had his memory in overdrive.
In 1983, Hart鈥檚 debut album, First Offense, made him one of the biggest stars in Canada, and a surging talent in the U.S.
The album鈥檚 unassailable hit, Sunglasses at Night, earned him a Grammy nomination for best new artist and became a touchstone for the video generation, catapulting Hart onto a trajectory only matched in Canada at the time by Bryan Adams.
Most days, Hart couldn鈥檛 leave his house, and he began to have a love-hate relationship with Montreal.
His second album, Boy in the Box, released in 1985 when Hart was just 23, was an even bigger success. The album hit the million-sold mark faster than any album in 91原创 history and produced four hits, including Never Surrender.
To date, Hart has sold more than 16 million records worldwide and has three Juno Awards from 22 career nominations. This year, he was inducted into the 91原创 Music Hall of Fame.
The current tour has prompted the softly spoken, but driven, performer to revisit his glory days with fondness. He doesn鈥檛 regret the decisions he made, but is happy that his current tour is focused more on his music than the mania of his rock-star years, as it has allowed him to connect with fans on a new level.
鈥淭hings have certainly changed since I did my run in the 鈥�80s. I was a young man barely out of my teens, and there was this whole phenomena going on. I don鈥檛 want to say Beatlemania, but it was Coreymania.
鈥淭his time, I鈥檓 trying to do things I wish I was able to accomplish back then, but was too young to understand. My demographic of fan was different then, so it wouldn鈥檛 have been possible to do what I鈥檓 doing now.鈥�
The noted perfectionist was heavily involved in every aspect of planning his comeback tour, which, Hart said, favours the intimate.
He has new music to promote, and has enjoyed the audience response to the range of material in his set, which includes a Coldplay cover.
Better still, while fans have come to see the hits, they certainly aren鈥檛 hitting the exits when he plays songs from Dreaming Time Again, his first set of new music in more than 20 years.
The 17-date tour comes to a close in 91原创 on Tuesday, and Hart admitted that it took until the halfway point for him to feel like he was at his best on this tour.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a young man鈥檚 sport,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淚鈥檓 not complaining about it, but thinking about the Rolling Stones, and people like that. I don鈥檛 know how they do it. I go all out, and put 150 per cent into everything I do, whether it鈥檚 making an omelette or raising my kids or making an album. I鈥檓 really intense. I work really hard to try and do things right, and that takes a lot out of me.鈥�
Hart received regular offers to perform during his respite from the stage, some of them lucrative. It was ultimately Bob Ezrin who played a key role in his return, as the Pink Floyd producer (and Toronto native) was the one who coaxed him back into the studio after an extended break.
Hart has collaborated with singers such as C茅line Dion in recent years, but the 2014 release Ten Thousand Horses, which featured a few new songs in addition to remixes of his old hits, was the only new music fans had heard from Hart since his 1998 album Jade.
Ezrin wanted to correct that. The pair recorded six new songs for Dreaming Time Again, including collaborations with Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo and Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea.
鈥淚 said if I ever went back on the road again, I wanted to have new music so my fans could hear how I evolved as a writer and musician. Bob was the one who said: 鈥業鈥檇 love to work with you if you鈥檙e up for it.鈥� 鈥�
Hart said he is better equipped to handle the spotlight these days, having gone through the rise and fall of pop stardom decades ago.
He鈥檚 still a popular attraction, especially in Canada, and the ability to return on his own terms, with thousands of fans at the ready, is something he does not take for granted.
鈥淚 called my second album Boy in a Box because I did feel isolated. It was so crazy. I couldn鈥檛 go anywhere without people mobbing me.
鈥淭hat was the type of fanbase I had. Duran Duran had the same thing, so it鈥檚 not unique to me. But it happened so fast, and I wasn鈥檛 expecting that. I didn鈥檛 understand it. I鈥檝e always been about my songs and about my music.
鈥淭he ones who liked me because of the way that I looked, those fans are not there anymore. The fans that are coming now are the ones that understood the music and resonated with the music.鈥�
