group bio

4Trax

Human Nature

In 1989, Andrew Tierney started singing group the 4Trax with school friends Phil Burton and Toby Allen and brother Michael Tierney.

While at Hurlstone Agricultural High in Sydney, their classmates often harassed them for singing harmonies, rather than getting muddy on the football field, the group of friends held on to their dream. For the next five years, the 4Trax honed their skills by performing to anyone who stood still long enough to listen. They sung mostly covers of 50s and 60s hits in clubs around Sydney, entering many talent contests and receiving three Mo Awards for excellence in live performance.

By the end of 1995, the 4Trax decided that they’d had enough of the club scene and started to write their own songs, Mike suggested a change of name ‘Human Nature’. The guys entered a meeting with Sony Music Chairman and CEO Dennis Handlin, to try and convince him to sign them, trying to get him to believe that they would be a fantastic asset to the Columbia. The four guys gave a brilliant a cappella performance of ‘People Get Ready’ from where they were standing and were signed on the spot!

In March 1996, the quartet, now officially ‘Human Nature’, released their first single, ‘Got It Goin’ On’. This gave their first taste of what was to come. The group performed in front of packed Entertainment Centre crowds as the support act for Celine Dion’s Australian Tour. ‘Got It Goin’ On’ reached No. 18 on the national chart.

Human Nature travelled to Japan to promote the single ‘Got It Goin’ On’ in June of 1996 and found thousands of screaming fans waiting outside their hotel. The single was added to radio stations and music television programs throughout the country and went to No.1 in Hiroshima.

They returned home, and put on live shows, releasing their second single ‘Telling Everybody’ in July of that year. This single reached No. 22.

Human Nature opened Michael Jackson’s Australian shows. They also released their third single, the Christmas hit and ballad ‘Wishes’ in October, this became the most played song on radio at the time, racing up the chart to No.6.

Weeks before Christmas 1996, the guys debut album ‘Telling Everybody’ hit the record stores, crashing into the chart at No. 10. It achieved platinum status in less than three weeks!

At the start of 1997, the quartet flew to Germany to promote the single ‘Tellin’ Everybody’ where the song broke into the top 40. On their return home the guys found their album had gone double platinum and their fourth single ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’ released in February had reached No. 8 on the national chart.

In March, they flew to Britain to tour with Eternal and discovered that they had been chosen to accompany Celine Dion on her European Summer Tour.

On return from the Eternal Tour, Human Nature performed ‘People Get Ready’ at the Logie Awards which boosted record sales in the next few weeks. This threw the album back into the national top ten, almost six months after it’s release.

King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had personally hand picked the guys again later that year to open his summer HIStory tour of Europe. 18 countries later, in July, while still in Europe, the fifth single ‘Whisper Your Name’ from the debut album was released, with Human Nature announcing dates for their own Australian tour in October which was sold out.

The last single to be released from the ‘Telling Everybody’ album was People Get Ready. They released it in December 1997. This was the last single to be released for a period of almost ten months while the guys were writing and recording their follow-up album.

They were nominated for four ARIA award in August for their now triple platinum album (a massive effort for an Australian debut album) and returned to the recording studio to record a duet with John Farnham for his greatest hits album. They stunned audiences when performing the song live at the ARIAs, boosting sales of the single. The Aussie quartet returned to the studio in January 1998 to record their long awaited follow-up album, Counting Down. They travelled to London and New York where many of the songs for the new album were to be written

Cruel was the first single released from ‘Counting Down’ and offered a new sound that was uniquely Human Nature. It was recorded in the Australian winter of 1998 and was one of the last tracks to be recorded for the new album and hit number #14 on the Australian charts.

Last To Know was the next single to be released of the new, unreleased album. It too reached No#14 on the national charts in March, showing that the guy’s talent was not solely composed of ballads.

In May 1999, the much anticipated ‘Counting Down” was finally released. It featured a much more adult, sophisticated side of Human Nature with lots of great ballads. However it also contained some moments of pure funk. It hit the charts at number 1!

The guys followed this album up with the release of the single ‘Don’t Cry’, which raced up the charts to number 27.

Human Nature then took up the offer of performing in the hit musical ‘Happy Days...The Arena Mega Musical’. ‘Happy Days’ allowed them to do something different for a while as they performed as the fictional 60s music group 'The Naturals'. It was in this musical that they performed an arrangement of the first song they had performed as just the four of them – ‘Earth Angel’.

It was while on the ‘Happy Days’ tour in October 1999 that Human Nature released a cover of ‘The Bangles’ huge 1989 hit, ‘Eternal Flame’. Human Nature’s version was originally only going to be released in Asia. However, their manager loved it so much that he chose to let the Aussies hear it too.

The single was re-released later that month with a b-side of ‘Shake You Outta My Head’ a song from the ‘Happy Days’ musical.

The group stayed quiet for a while until the end of March 2000 when they began their second headlined national tour. The tour continued into late April where they were supported by acts Tina Cousins and Kaylan.

In March, to correspond with the 2000 tour they released the soft melody ‘Be There With You’. This was the final single to be released off the ‘Counting Down’ album and reached number 8 on the Australian Charts.

In November of that year, Human Nature released the aggressive ‘He Don’t Love You’ their highest rating single from their up-coming third album. ‘He Don’t Love You’ smashed into the charts and reached number four on the Australian national charts. An outstanding achievement from an Australian group.

One month later, the third album was finally released. Titled Human Nature, with a much more laid-back and exciting feel than the previous album, it too flew up the charts.

Almost three months later, in March 2001, Human Nature released the catchy and uplifting ‘When We Were Young’ a song that essentially captures the feelings of the four towards their friendship and career together it reached #21 on the Australian charts.

It wasn’t until July of 2001 that they released what was to be the final single from their self-titled album, ‘Don’t Come Back’ yet another aggressive single, however it only reached #46 on the charts.

In mid-November 2001, the guys released the new disco-style single ‘Always Be With You’, nothing like the similarly name ballad ‘Be There With You’, ‘Always Be With You’ showed an ever-evolving Human Nature with a whole new look. ‘Always Be With You’ was noticeably the first Human Nature single to be released that did not feature the band on the cover of the single.

‘Always Be With You’ was one of three new songs to be released on the 'best of’ album ‘Here and Now…the Best of Human Nature”. It marks the end of an era for Human Nature, as they begin to head in a new direction with their songs.

This album was the focus of a third national tour, Here and Now, which travelled Australia in March 2002. Human Nature then followed this tour up with a set of regional tours around the QLD, NSW and VIC.

Toby then began rehearsing for the musical Cabaret and the other three have gone into 'hiding' while writing a fifth album.

It has been rumoured that the four will release their next single in time for Christmas. It has also been said that this single will be a duet with another famous Australian Artist.