Chesney Hawkes, 53, is an English singer and actor. He appeared as the lead in the 1991 British comedy drama film Buddy’s Song with Roger Daltrey and Michael Elphick. It featured his best-known single “The One and Only”, and went on to spend five weeks at number one. He has since appeared on Celebrity MasterChef and came fifth in 2025’s Celebrity Big Brother. His fifth solo album, Living Arrows, was released in April 2025. He has three children with his American wife Kristina, and moved back this year from LA to Surrey.
Here, he looks back on the moments that have shaped him, from making it as a teenager to playing live with his son, and still wanting to be the Peter Pan of pop when he’s 70.
I was still living with my parents when I was 19 and first made it. We had a fence around the house because there was always 50 to 100 girls outside. We came back one day and this girl handed me an envelope full of photos and said: “Would you sign these?” As I was signing them, I was like: “That’s a picture of my mum and dad’s bedroom. That’s a picture of our lounge. And that’s a picture of my bedroom. Where did you get these?” She said: “I came in through the dog flap while you were out. That’s all right, isn’t it?” I said: “No, it’s not okay at all. That’s called breaking and entering.”
I’ve always felt like the Peter Pan of pop. Although when I meet people I used to go to school with, I think: “My God, I’m an old man.” It’s all in the mindset. I’m still silly with my kids, who are now doing the kind of stuff I was doing at that age, so it reminds me of my youth. Part of me feels like those early days were five minutes ago. But looking at old photos or old footage makes me feel like it was 100 years ago.
My kids are fiercely protective of me. They aren’t kids anymore. My son, Casey, is 24 and an actor. My daughter, Jesse, has just turned 22 and graduated in Animal Behaviour from St Andrew’s. My youngest, Indy, is 19 and a phenomenal musician. We had a funny moment the other day. We were in Costco and this gaggle of women all clocked me, so my kids swarmed around me to protect me. My daughter said it was like a wildebeest getting hunted by a pride of lions.
My family feels like a musical dynasty. My son, Indy, is an incredible musician and, when he’s not starring in the West End, is my lead guitar player. We’ve played stadiums, arenas and festivals together. Being on stage with him reminds me of when I was a kid. I’d go on stage with my dad [Chip Hawkes, member of The Tremeloes]. Standing on stage, looking over at my boy with his foot on the monitor, throwing guitar shapes and misbehaving like he’s a rock star, just like his grandad, fills me with happiness. My audience is mainly middle-aged women and they just love him. They say: “Oooh, isn’t he a lovely boy? He looks just like Chesney in 1991.”
I’m happy and in love. I’m a family man and that’s the most important thing for me. I’ve been with my wife, Krissy, for 30 years. We met when I was 24. She said she was done with men, met me, and moved in within two months. She was an American model, shooting in Paris, New York and London. We met at a pub on the 4th of July. I don’t know why she chose this crappy little pub in West London to celebrate. I was there with my flatmate to see my friend, Miles, playing guitar. Me and my mate Ash were sitting at the bar, she just walked in with a couple of friends. I said: “Can I buy you a drink?” She said: “I’ll have a pint of lager,” and I thought: “Will you marry me?”
Read Next: I left London for rural France – here’s how to find happiness outside Britain
My wife has this amazing natural ability to get to the heart of the issue. The secret to a happy marriage is communication. We won’t argue over an open cupboard door or if the toilet seat is up, because she knows it’s something deeper. I know it’s coming because I see her digging. Often you don’t want to go there as a man, but she’s so bloody good at it, we always get to the point where we can say: I think we’ve figured what’s going on, let’s try to move past it.
I had quite a liberal upbringing. It’s not that my parents didn’t care. They were just like: they’ll be fine. My dad was a rock star. All of his mates were rock stars. My mother [Carol Dilworth] was an actress and game show hostess.
I was very precocious as a kid. I was never that kid who wanted to be a train driver or an astronaut. I always wanted to be a singer. I started playing piano when I was seven or eight. There were guitars propped up in every corner of the house. My first professional work was playing piano in pubs when I was 12. My brother has been my drummer since day one. My sister is one of the hottest session singers in LA and runs a music school. We were never going to become accountants.
We live in quite a healthy house. My wife is very into health and wellness and runs a podcast called Rejuvenate. I’ve got a WhatsApp group with both of my sons called Push-up Count Accountability. Every day we have to try and do at least 50 push-ups, whether it’s all at once or in increments. My oldest son keeps putting in big numbers like 100, so he’s winning, but it’s nice to know that we’re all doing it together.
If you’d asked me back then what I would be doing at 53 years old, I’d have said: “Still making music, of course, duh.” Now I realise how incredibly lucky I am to still be able to do this because I realise how difficult it is to have any longevity in this business. It’s tough. I’ve never had a back-up plan. If I wasn’t a singer, I would’ve been a musician. If I wasn’t a musician, I would’ve been a producer or scoring films. It would have to be something musical. I think I’ll still be doing this when I’m 70, 80. My dad did it until he couldn’t. He’s 80 this year. So I think I’ll still be doing this into my latter years.
Chesney Hawkes is performing at Reminisce Festival on 6 September in Sherdley Park, Liverpool. See reminiscefestival.com for tickets
