The real story behind Human Nature, one of Australia’s most-loved bands
Start reading Only Human, the new memoir from Human Nature.
On 27 January 2018, Andrew and Mike Tierney, Phil Burton and Toby Allen landed in LA for the annual G’Day USA Los Angeles Gala, held at the Wilshire Grand Ballroom at the InterContinental Hotel Downtown. Margot Robbie, film producer Bruna Papandrea, the late Heath Ledger and music producer and songwriter John Farrar—Olivia Newton-John’s long-time collaborator—were being honoured.
Human Nature was set to perform alongside Delta Goodrem, paying homage to Olivia, who’d been a huge supporter of our career, and John. It was also the 40-year anniversary of the hit movie Grease. Ahead of the show, the group, our manager Jen Fontaine and a Las Vegas business associate Ken Denison gathered for a planning meeting in a room at the InterContinental.
‘I just want you to know when it comes to future plans, I’m going home at the end of 2019.’
The words tumbled out of Phil Burton’s mouth like dice onto the cold floor. No one really had a chance to absorb what he’d just said. Sorry, Phil . . . you’re what?
‘I’ve decided to go home.’
The rest of us sat around the table in stunned silence, our minds racing, unable to take in what we’d just heard.
It was a bombshell. No one had seen it coming at all.
‘Is this the end?’ Toby wondered at the time.
‘We couldn’t believe it,’ Andrew reflects.
To Phil’s regret, he had nervously blurted out his intention to leave Las Vegas without giving the full context around his decision.
But the show, as they say, had to go on.
At Jen’s urging, we somehow, in our confused state, managed to make it downstairs to join Olivia on the red carpet, answering reporters’ questions while the big question in our heads remained: what do we do now?
Human Nature had risked everything when we shifted our lives to Las Vegas to chase a dream. But after 30 years together, rising from a high school vocal harmony group to one of Australia’s most famous pop groups of all time, was it really all over?
We had faced professional and personal challenges in the past, but this was the toughest one of all. Our whole existence as a group was blowing up in our faces. We’d conquered Vegas, but this . . . this could destroy us.
In the coming days and months, we would have a chance to digest Phil’s news and his reasons for heading back to Australia and what it meant for the future of Human Nature.
Throughout our career, we’d always rolled with the punches, picked ourselves up and started again.
As you’ll read, our story is one defined by tenacity and perseverance. But was Phil’s news the knockout blow?
Extracted from Only Human by Human Nature, out November 3.
Only Human
by Human Nature
For the first time, Human Nature's incredible story is told in their own words, offering an intimate portrait of four friends who navigated fame, personal hardship and the pressures of an unforgiving industry, yet chose to stay together when walking away would have been easier.
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