Byron Stingily‘s iconic falsetto pulled me through many a dark moment as a closeted teen in the nineties. Whether it was his solo material like ‘Get Up Everybody’, his tribute to Sylvester ‘You Make Me Feel’ or as part the OGs of R’n’B House Music, Ten City, his voice brought love, light, optimism and power. What better time can there be than 2021 for Ten City to come back together again, twenty-five years after their last release, and save us from the woes of world.

Loverboy recently had the opportunity to sit down and speak with the legend himself, to hear about House Music uniting people together, partying with Boy George in Ibiza and having a single squashed by none other than Mariah Carey….

Good afternoon, Byron!
Hey, I know you! We’ve met before years ago when I was about to put out ‘Get Up Everybody’ in 1997.

Sadly not me. I wish it had been though. In the nineties, I was an awkward, closeted kid at boarding school, hating life. I remember hearing your voice on the radio at that time and being transported to an imaginary fantasy Clubland where everyone was free to be themselves, free of bullying and just liberated to have fun. Thank you for providing that refuge!
Thank you! That’s what our new song ‘Be Free’ is all about. House music was the start of different types of people mingling and partying together. Someone like Frankie Knuckles broke down so many barriers by being a DJ. Believe it or not there was a lot of homophobia in Chicago. Even when I would go into a warehouse, people would say, ‘Why are you going in there? That’s a gay club!’ I was like, ‘Well, you know, yeah it is primarily, but there’s something for everybody there. Nobody cares about that there.’ House music played a vital role in making a lot of people accept one another in America. People used to have to keep their sexuality hidden!

Yes, totally. 
A hero of mine was one of my cousins from the projects in Chicago, who danced in The Wiz with Luther Vandross on Broadway. Luther was the lion and my cousin was the scarecrow. I was so proud of him. He was a proper classically-trained dancer but as a kid he would get beat up in our neighbourhood.
When I was a kid, I remember one guy who was a drag queen. His name was Phillip but he went by the name of Phyllis. When he would walk down the street, people would grab their kids and pull them inside. They treated him like he had a mental illness. I’m so glad that for the most part people in America have moved away from those beliefs.

Talking about this idea of uniting people, is this the idea behind the return of Ten City?
It was actually the idea of the record company. They felt our message would resonate with people in today’s times. For me, I just felt the time was right. Seeing hate on the rise, racism on the rise too, we really felt it was timely that our music be heard. The first line of ‘Be Free’ says ‘We are all a lot alike…’

How has the creative process changed for you since you started out?
It’s more fun and I’ll tell you why. When we did our first album no one knew what House music was, so the record label gave us some money and said, ‘Go do your little dance album.’ It was fun, we were young, there was no pressure. It just came from the heart.
After our first album, everyone wanted to get involved and they were telling us to be more like Soul II Soul or Black Box or Milli Vanilli! People started putting pressure on us to be someone we were not. Then you put pressure on yourself. I went from living in my mother and grandmother’s basement, to making music because I wanted to keep my new house instead of creating art.
At this stage in my life, money is not the driving force behind me doing music, so I can create music from the heart. I didn’t go into this album thinking it needed to be a hit. I just wanted to do stuff that felt good to us. Then Marshall and I would discuss how to improve things, he’d be like, ‘You call those lyrics?!!’ So I would tell him that his drums still sounded like they were from 1988. Hahaha…

Over the years I have noticed reference points and my vocabulary are ageing me! Have you experienced anything like this, creating new Ten City music so many years later?
I did play one song from the new album to one of my sons. He was like, ‘Um, yeah, Dad, let me play you some new, hip, Dance music….’ He played me the Disclosure track with Sam Smith, which is hot! Sam has a great falsetto. But I was still mock-offended like, ‘You’re going to play me Sam Smith?! I was the original! Sam Smith probably listens to me!’ Ahaha…
I walked away, had another listen and thought, ‘Pah I can do Disclosure in my sleep!’ Haha…credit to them though because they are very unique. But I went and recorded something that used some of their elements and then played it to my son – but didn’t tell him it was me. He said to me, ‘Dad, I don’t know who this is, but this is more like what you should be doing!’ I was like, ‘Oh, ok. Yeah. Thanks.’ Haha…

Haha…love it. Revisiting the 90s for a second, it sounds like a crazy time. What was it like living it?
Well, in the US, club music is, for the most part, still kind of underground. Small, dark places with a couple of hundred people. In the UK, you play Heaven or Brixton Academy and it’s packed. You can even go to somewhere like Butlins and play to 12.5 thousand people. I used to do four shows on a Friday night then four or five shows on a Saturday. I think maybe that is how I lost my voice!
I would stay in London, then fly to France or Germany. George Michael was staying right behind me. In fact one night I was standing outside and just started singing, ‘Some people work for a living, some people work for fun, Girl I just work for you….’ and I turned round and George Michael was standing behind me. He smiled at me and gave me a laugh.
I got to perform on shows when Boy George was DJing too. That was pretty cool. That was the late 90s when he’d be in a club DJing and I’d be there performing. He’s another idol of mine.

What’s your favourite moment with Boy George?
I can’t tell you my favourite. Haha…but I did get to hang out with him in Ibiza, when he was DJing. David Morales was out there DJing too. So I said to George, ‘Hey Morales just pulled up, let’s go say hello!’ He turned around and said to me, ‘I don’t go to anyone, they come to me!’ So I was like, ‘Ok, excuse me!’ Haha…

Amazing. David Morales was really the first person to get me into dance music through his remixes of Mariah. Of course, David Cole too.
Yes, Mariah Carey and C&C Music Factory. Morales is one of my really good friends although we don’t talk as much as we used to. But we always used to tease each other. I remember one time I was working in a studio with a singer and Morales called me. He said, ‘What you working on?’ and I was like, ‘Oh you know, I’m working on this and this.’ Then he’d be like, ‘Yeah that’s cute. Well, I was just taking a quick break, I’m actually in the studio with Mariah, so I’ll let you get back to your little project.’ I was thinking, ‘What a mothertrucker.’ Haha…

I actually went to see him one night at Horsemeat Disco and was so psyched to hear him play these Mariah remixes. But I waited all night and he played only one! I heard he had had a problem with his records on the plane and he didn’t have his music with him…
Well, that was probably me sending him bad karma after he was shady with me! Haha…

You started out as a clubkid, right?
Yep, back then I was in really good shape, I was a former athlete. But I had a blonde mohawke, with this pair of military pants. They were called parachute pants. I had that and a white military vest with no shirt on, dog chains, safety pins through the ear and Doc Martin boots. I remember one time I was in a downtown business area and someone was like, ‘Get a load of this guy right here!’

One person I know was important for you was Sylvester.
Absolutely. I was actually supposed to do a show with Sylvester. I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’m going to be on the same show as this legend, Sylvester.’ I was a little intimidated, he was such an energetic performer. I knew he was going to bring it too, because I felt like he was going to come in with the attitude of showing me, ‘You ain’t me! I’m the original!’ type of thing. Haha…But sadly in the end Sylvester didn’t turn up for the show and it was the first time he had gotten sick towards the end.
Also one time I was doing a show and Martha Wash came running out of the dressing room and said, ‘Oh my God. Who are you? Ten City? I heard you performing and thought it was a new Sylvester record!’ that touched my heart to hear her say that.

Lastly we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001 so we always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
Well, I will tell you my favourite and I will tell you my least favourite. My favourite is ‘Dreamlover’ – the David Morales remix. I loved the backgrounds, I loved the bass. It was one of those club records that could get played in any type of club – in a black club, a straight club, a gay club, a big room, a small room. Plus the way she resang those vocals was amazing to me.
My least favourite Mariah Carey song is ‘Fantasy’ and I will tell you why. Ten City did a song called ‘Fantasy’, and we released our song before hers and it was getting really big in the clubs. So we signed to Columbia records but they didn’t release our record because they said they didn’t release records until the album was finished. So our record was dying down because they weren’t releasing it and then here comes Mariah Carey, Miss Mimi, with her record, ‘Fantasy’, and all of a sudden it squashed our song. But yeah our record came out first so I think maybe(!) we inspired her a little bit. Haha…

The album Judgement drops 18th June via Ultra Music
‘Be Free’ & ‘Devotion’ (Jefferson Marshall Remix) are out now
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