Jeremy Healy's Mother's Advice : Why not be a Pop Star-

Jeremy Healy chatted to Mezz's Angie Ng last week as he passed through Kuala Lumpur on his latest worldwide DJing tour. Ultra-friendly, amenable and (another) total charmer, the former Haysi Fantazsi New Romantic star revealed the astonishing influence his mother had when he first thought about a career in music. "I remember when I was 18 saying, 'Mum, I want to be a pop star'. She said, "Just be happy- we don't care what you do as long as you're happy".

Mezz : What was your impression of your set here in Kuala Lumpur last night-
Jeremy Healy : Er…a pretty good set. I go to different clubs in different countries almost weekly and that used to be a pretty nerve wrecking experience. But you get used to it, you go in, you look around and you check out very quickly, the music that's going on and you angle it a little bit. But you play your own set, the one that you think is the most exciting. It's as simple as that, really. But, I knew they (KL crowd) were a bit more into techno & tech-house, that's the latest division of house, isn't it- So, I edged it a bit towards incorporating some of those sounds."

Mezz : You said last year with respect to your Bleachin' project, "We're going to go to Japan, do live gigs, we're a rock 'n' roll band now"; how much has Bleachin' panned out as you hoped-
Jeremy Healy : Oh yeah we were going to go and do the Fuji Festival, we were asked to do it but it's actually taken so long for the cycle of it. We just got the American release and we were going to go and tour there first. The record has done really well in Japan, we've had about 50,000 sales or thereabouts and we're pretty pleased with that. So we're going there to get some ground support and build on that. It is happening but a lot slower than we would've liked."

Mezz : The album was based around people 'losing it'…
Jeremy Healy : Not 'people' losing it, us(laughing)

Mezz : Did you hear about Dazed and Confused moving away from hedonism towards covering social issues ; is there any sense that 'the party is over'-
Jeremy Healy : What!- Are they going to be called 'Crazed and Diffused'- (chuckling) I think the actual message of the album is that it's not all good and it's not all bad - it's realistic. For so many years people were told if you take acid, you'll jump off a building; If you take ecstasy you'll be dead tomorrow. That was unrealistic. I'm not saying that anybody should take acid and go and stand on top of a tall building. You should know that if you get really excited and happy today, then tomorrow you're not going to be excited and happy, you're going to be depressed. You've just got to realise that is part of it as well."

Mezz : Between DJing and Bleachin', what are your priorities-
Jeremy Healy : Sleeping! Yes, sleeping, travelling, seeing my Mum very occasionally and having a life."

Mezz : You're very close to your Mum aren't you-
Jeremy Healy : "Yeah, I've taken her on a couple of tours and it's been fantastic. I took my Mum to Australia last year and it was really funny because she's like 74 and they wrote about it in the papers, things like 'Jeremy Healy brings his Mum, 74' and she said , ' I don't like them writing about me like that'. (mimicking his mother's voice & laughing heartily) And then I turn around at 5 in the morning and I'm playing Leftfield's banging Phat Planet and my Mum, she's gone mad. I asked her 'do you like this one Mum'- And she goes 'Yeah, it's got a really a good beat, excellent."

Mezz : What's the best piece of advice she's ever given you -
Jeremy Healy : I remember when I was 18 and I said 'Mum, I want to be a pop star'. I wouldn't call it advice but she's always said 'be happy- we don't care what you do as long as you're happy'. That was a major turning point in my life, though I didn't realise it at that time. To actually decide that, OK I'm not going to get a job, I'm not going to do the normal things. Tags

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