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Antony Hegarty (born 1971) is an English singer/songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.
Born in Sussex, UK in 1971, Antony's family moved to Amsterdam in 1977, before settling in California in 1981.
As a teenager he was enthused by the British synth pop of the time – in particular emotive singers such as Marc Almond, Alison Moyet and Boy George. In 1990 he moved to Manhattan, and founded the performance collective Blacklips with creative partner Johanna Constantine.
British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Antony's music through his Durtro label; the debut album, Antony and the Johnsons, was released in 1998. In 2001, Antony released a short follow-up EP, I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy, which, in addition to the title track, included a cover of a David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti song and a Current 93 song.
Antony and the Johnsons' most recent album I Am a Bird Now won the UK's prestigious Mercury Prize in 2005 and was called Album of the Year by Mojo magazine.
He has notably worked with Lou Reed live as a second vocalist on Animal Serenade. Antony also appears on the song "Lowlands Low" with Bryan Ferry on Hal Willner's Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys album, the song "Old Whore's Diet" on Rufus Wainwright's album Want Two and on the song "Beautiful Boyz" on CocoRosie's album Noah's Ark.
He was featured as a performing artist in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man about Leonard Cohen. Antony covers "If It Be Your Will".
Antony and the Johnsons collaborated with experimental film maker Charles Atlas and presented "TURNING" in Nov 2005 in Rome, London, Paris, Madrid, and Braga. The concert featured live video portraits of some of New York City's most enigmatic women. The Guardian called the piece "fragile, life affirming, and truly wonderful (five stars)" Le Monde in Paris hailed TURNING as "Concert- manifeste transsexuel".
Antony has recently collaborated with Icelandic musician Björk in recording sessions in Jamaica and Iceland. The songs, "The Dull Flame of Desire" and "My Juvenile", feature on her latest album Volta .[1]
Antony also worked with renowned guitarist Bernard Butler (formerly of Suede) on some acoustic sessions for XFM. The recordings can be found online at various places.
Antony's on stage trademark is calling himself a "nationality confused bender", which draws laughter and applause from the audience.
Antony has a troupe of friends and collaborators who have influenced his work including Devendra Banhart, Boy George, Marc Almond, Björk and Rufus Wainwright.
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