Guitarist Chris Hayes was an integral member of the band, co-writing several of the group's hit songs with Huey Lewis.
Hayes left the group in 2001 to spend more time with his family.
At the height of Huey Lewis’ success, the group toured Australia for the first time in 1989.
“We were only there for two weeks,” Hayes told Musical Musings last week.
“I wish we were able to spend more time there.
“At the end of the tour, I went and played golf in Port Douglas, too.
“I remember driving by the beaches, and noticing that nobody was in the water.
“I was thinking, ‘how come nobody's swimming at the beaches?’
“And then the guy that was driving us says, ‘well, there's so many jellyfish out there, you can't swim out there.
“You’d get destroyed if you go and swim!”
Since Hayes’ departure from the band, he’s enjoyed his time away and still picks up his guitar on a regular basis.
“I got out of it for quite a while because I was busy raising kids, going to soccer games, fishing and playing golf,” he says.
“But recently I’ve fallen in love with music again and do play a lot of guitar.
“I'm playing stuff now that I never thought I would be able to play, which is really cool because I was kind of a jazz guy for a long time.
“Then I sort of got into the pop music thing, and it took me away from the reason why I started playing music in the first place.”
While Huey Lewis and the News are still an ongoing concern (with a new guitarist in Hayes’ place), the future remains uncertain due to Lewis’ suffering from Meniere's disease.
“Huey had a cochlear implant,” Hayes says.
“He's still got another ear that doesn't have an implant in it, but he's a little reticent, because if his implants don't work, he'll be totally deaf.
“So that's kind of a difficult place to be in.
“But if he called me tomorrow and said, ‘hey, Chris, I'm feeling pretty good and I think I can do something’.
“I'd probably say yes, because he's a good friend and we've had a good life together.”
Looking back Hayes is grateful for the life and career he’s had and when asked to recall any high points of his time with the band, he affirms it was when, in 1987, the band performed sold-out shows at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden.
“That was pretty big and was the pinnacle of our successes in a lot of ways,” he says.
“I don't think we made any money on that show because it was so expensive to play there.
“But it was just such a cool thing to be at Madison Square Garden and play two sold out nights.”
Music news
Kings of Leon have let slip during a recent interview that they have a Christmas song ready to go, but are hesitant in releasing it because it sounds, ‘too Christmassy’.
Though KISS wrapped up their (supposedly) farewell tour back in 2023, the group returned to the stage last week for a couple of live shows in Las Vegas.
So, does this signal that KISS will again embark on another farewell tour?
Will legendary rockers Deep Purple call it quits next year once their European summer tour comes to an end in July 2026?
The group’s 80-year-old frontman Ian Gillan recently revealed he’s losing his eyesight and that retirement is “not far off”.
American alt-metal group Deftones have announced an Australian headlining tour for May 2026. The group last played headlining shows in Australia in 2016.
Book review
The Uncool, a memoir by Cameron Crowe (Harper Collins)
Not many spend their teenage years hanging out with some of the biggest music artists of the day, and writing about them.
But for film director and writer Cameron Crowe, that’s how he spent his teenage years which this memoir primarily focuses on.
Crowe went quickly from writing for an underground newspaper to writing for Rolling Stone magazine during the 70s.
Crowe recalls his heady days with the Allman Brothers, and going on tour with Led Zeppelin, while they're promoting their 1975 album Physical Graffiti, being front and centre for 18 months with David Bowie during his drug-addled and paranoia driven Station To Station period, as well as mixing with The Rolling Stones, The Eagles and a then-up-and-coming star Bruce Springsteen.
What's apparent in the memoir is Crowe's immense passion for music, which shines throughout, and his desire to truthfully tell the artist's story.
A fine example is managing to secure an interview with guitarist Jimmy Page, who at that point refused to talk to journalists, especially anyone from Rolling Stone after the magazine panned Led Zeppelin’s first album.
But Crowe’s honesty and integrity wins Page’s heart and Page finally grants Crowe that illusive interview: an interview that not only became a Rolling Stone cover story, but a game-changer for Crowe's career.
Crowe is a great storyteller, making the reader feel they are there with him, backstage and along for the ride.
Particularly noteworthy is Crowe’s admission that by having penned an embarrassing and humorous personal story for Rolling Stone, it was there and then where he finally found his writing voice.
A personal tone that informs the bulk of this memoir.
Global music charts
This week’s global music singles chart is dominated by American pop princess Taylor Swift with her new single The Fate of Ophelia at the number one spot in Australia, USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.
Fun fact
American country superstar Dolly Parton holds the record for being the first artist in history to score top 20 hits on the US Hot Country Songs Chart in every decade since the 1960s.
