Antony Hegarty
1
Antony Hegarty Antony Hegarty
Antony in 2010 Born
1971 (age 39–40)Chichester, England
Nationality
British
Alma mater
University of California Santa Cruz
Occupation
Singer-songwriter
Known for
Antony and the Johnsons Hercules and Love Affair
Influenced by Nina Simone Website Antony and the Johnsons
[1]
Antony Hegarty (born 1971) (often referred to mononymously as Antony) is an English-born singer-songwriter, composer, playwright, director and visual artist, best known as the lead singer of the dark cabaret band Antony and the Johnsons.
Biography Antony Hegarty was born in Chichester[2] West Sussex, UK in 1971. In 1977, his family moved to Amsterdam for a year,[3] and then in 1981 they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area of California where he grew up. As a teenager, he was influenced by British synth pop – in particular singers such as Marc Almond, Alison Moyet and Boy George, and was also strongly influenced by underground stars Diamanda Galas, Rozz Williams, Divine and Klaus Nomi and American singers including Nina Simone, Otis Redding, and Donny Hathaway. In 1990, Antony moved to Manhattan to attend the Experimental Theatre Wing of New York University, and founded the performance collective Blacklips with creative partner Johanna Constantine. He spent the next several years singing in afterhours bars and clubs using pre-recorded cassettes as self-accompaniment as well as writing and directing late night theatre productions.