An Interview with Hazel Dean

1 Can you tell us how & when you discovered that you could sing

I was the only girl in a band at school, called The Vandals, playing guitar. There must have been a time when a female lead vocal was needed, and as only girl, it had to be me, age 13. I guess it all started there.

2 What was your first break into the music industry ?

Oh the industry which was to become my career. I have only ever had 2 other jobs, very briefly, and have always earned a living through music.

3 Most people think that heart first was you’re debut LP , but in 1981 you recorded the sound of Bacharach & David which was a promo LP release only, do you think this will ever get a cd release ?

Sadly, I very much doubt it will ever be released. I am sure there are pirate copies doing the rounds,depriving me of Royalties, but I cannot imagine it will ever be officially released, which is a shame as it is a lovely album.

4 In the beginning your style was very much pop, then you started to release songs in a hi-nrg style such as searchin’ & jealous love. whose decision was this to crossover to hi-nrg ?

There was never any calculated cross over, as both songs were written in the Hi NRG genre which was emerging from the gayclubs worldwide, it was a natural progression for me.

5 From the very begining in hi-nrg, you worked with the finest writers, producers & remixers . ian guenther & willi morrison on jealous love & ian anthony stephens & ian levine on searchin’ how did you all get along ?

I had great working rleations ships with all these guys. I see Ian Anthony Stephens occasionally, and it was particulrly nice to be able to sing ‘Searchin” at Bromptons one night when he was D.Jing there, and to introduce him as the writer – although I am sure the crowd already knew that!. I saw Mr Levine a few weeks ago, and am still friends with him of course. We have just worked together on “Trade him in for a newr model” which I believe is scheduled fo release on Dec 3rd. I pretty much get on with most people.

6 Then of course there was the up & coming trio of hot producers s/a/w . how did you meet the guys?

I was at Proto records, and had “Searchin” at no 6 in the charts when I was approached by Pete Waterman, who introduced me to Matt and Mike. I liked what they were doing, and was happy to work with them when they asked.

7 In 1984 you gave s/a/w their very first top 10 hit with whatever i do , there is a rumour that it started life aSeanother track called dance your love away by michael prince but the boys re-wrote the lyrics just for you. is this true ?

Yes, thats true. I didnt feel the chorus was strong enough, and asked the guys to rewrite it – which they did, ultimatly coming up with “Whatever I do, Wherever I go”

8 You were one of the biggest stars in the golden age of hi-nrg/ s/a/w along with artists such as divine , kylie , dead or alive , sinitta , modern talking , sandra etc. can you share any memories about you’re fellow artists ?

Obviously I worked with Divine, Kylie, Dead or Alive and Sinitta – and have great memories of all those times. Divine and I shared the same agent/manager in the States, Bernard Jay. I did visit Divine in his

No, not really. I did write some of the album tracks, but to be honest, they did their thing, I did mine…and it seemed to work just fine that way.

10 s/a/w & ian levine always used to record a song with several artists such as turn it into love was recorded by kylie , a male vocalist (deon estus?) and yourself , is there any demos/tracks you sang on that are locked in the vaults ?

I have no doubt that there are Hazell Dean vocals in some deep dark vault!!!!

11 s/a/w are now back and have just teamed up with the girls from the sheila’s wheels tv ad and brought out a brand new s/a/w production ‘I’m so happy happy you’re mine’. Any chance of a new s/a/w – hazell dean reunion ?

I very much doubt that…….but hey, never say never!

12 You are also a very talented producer & writer having worked with well known artists such as Bad Boys inc , Miquel Brown , Tina Charles , Dollar , Louise Thomas , Jon Otis & France Joli. One of my favorites is you’re co-production with pete ware of bona-riah’s amazing hi-nrg version of house of the rising sun , are you one of the female vocalist singing on this?

Nope, sorry, that wasn’t me…and sadly I cannot for the life of me remeber who it was – but suffice to say, it was not me!

13 Your fans worldwide can’t get enough of your classic songs such as Searchin’, Whatever I do, They say it’s gonna rain, Turn it into love etc. Which tracks hold the best memories for you ?

Obviously “Searchin” is what started the whole ball rolling, its what I will ultimately be remembered for – and thats no bad thing, in fact itSean honour to have recorded such a classic gay anthem.

14 You started in the 70′Seand are still going strong today with you’re amazing preformance at Manchester Pride 2007 but it’s the 80’s that is held as you’re best decade and indeed the 80’s for music in general seems to be the decade that never went away. Any thoughts or stories that you can share with us as to why it is still so popular?

Why am I still so popular? I guess I have just been lucky to have such loyal fans. I think maybe its because I also genuinely enjoy what I do, and I really can sing. I’m a nice girl who does a good job – simple as that!

15 You recently launched you’re offical website ‘The Official Hazel Dean’ where there is ‘a did you know’ section, which is full of amazing facts that most of your fans may not be aware of. Can you tell us a secret or little known fact?

I have no dark secrets im afraid. I am however dyslexic, so suggest you spell check this before you go to print! Seriously though, being dyslexic made things quite hard for me at school, as I struggled academically. Finding a niche within the school music dept and joining a band, gave me the confidence to do something well, which in turn gave me the confidence to suceed in other areas of my life.

16 Are you working on any new songs, either for youself or other artists?

I have phases of writing, but am not working on anything right now.

17 And finally Hazell , any special messages for you’re loyal fans around the world ?

As you mentioned earlier, We have started hazelldean.net, which although still very much under construction, gives fans the chance to find out more about me. As we progress with the site, we will be adding more info and photo’s from my own private collection, which have never been seen before.

Its nice to be able to “put the record straight” as it were, in my own words. Although saying that, I am a VERY private person, so there is a limit to what I will ever divulge.
There is no special message – those who have supported me over the years know my feelings, which remain unchanged, I am extremely lucky to have such loyal fans, and for that I am very gratful!

Love Always -Hazell Dean

Thanks to the wonderfull Kelly Wilde, my friend Zeljko & myself were able to secure an exclusive chat with the legendry Hazell Dean to talk bout her about her i-nrg days & to find out what she’s up to now.

Very special thanks to Hazell for this interview & to Kelly Wilde for arranging it.

[hi nrg Bob]