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90s music legend Chesney Hawkes has opened up about his relationship with the hit that gave him instant fame and still gets played today.
In 1991, the singer released his debut single The One and Only, which came out alongside the film Buddy’s Song and starred Chesney as the titular character, with Roger Daltrey as his father.
While the movie did moderately well, the song took on a whole life of its own – it spent five weeks on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 10 in the USA.
The song continues to feature in popular culture to this day, including on Derry Girls, Gladiators, and during England football matches.
The catchy tune was inescapable for Chesney, which meant he had complicated feelings towards it.
While appearing on Lorraine, Chesney and stand-in host Christine Lampard discussed the mega-hit.
‘It seems like five hundred thousand years ago and five minutes ago all at the same time,’ he stated.
Christine, 45, recalled how the earworm took him all over the world and still has a presence in 2024.
‘It’s passed down like a mantelpiece and I get young kids loving it now. I’m in festival season at the moment and of course, people bring their families,’ he explained.
Chesney joked that if he didn’t play the song he wouldn’t be allowed to leave the field.
However, the 52-year-old didn’t always speak so joyfully about the iconic song.
Chesney confirmed that there was a ten-year period where he didn’t want to perform it, adding: ‘I rebelled a little bit against it but it didn’t last.
‘I now embrace it completely. It’s now my friend. We’re mates now.’
It was a very beneficial friendship, to say the least, as the track helped him to earn a whopping £8,200,000.
The star appeared on the podcast My Dirty Laundry earlier this year, where he admitted as soon as he ‘made it’ he was ‘blowing everything,’ from buying a state-of-the-art studio to treating his whole family to lavish gifts.
Following The One and Only, Chesney subsequently released singles I’m a Man Not a Boy, What’s Wrong with This Picture? and Stay Away Baby Jane. His most recent album Real Life Love came out in 2012.
Chesney is believed to be worth around £8 million again after pivoting his career to songwriting for other artists, the Mail Online reports. He has also sold the rights to the song that made him famous.
The star has been settled for decades, having been married to model Krissy for 29 years, who he shares grown-up children with.
His guitar-playing son Casey has recently been joining him on stage, which Chesney described as ‘an honour’. In recent months, the pair have performed on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and at Flackstock – a festival set up in honour of the late TV presenter Caroline Flack.
Chesney previously lived in Los Angeles but has just decided to move back to the UK.
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Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV and ITVX.
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