Corey ‘Sunglasses at Night’ Hart on Balenciaga, Orwell, and the 1980s

Fashion’s preoccupation with the 1980s took many forms this season. Brights are back, as is the pouf, popularized by Christian Lacroix. Our favorite revival? The amazing remake of Corey Hart’s chart-topping 1983 tune, “Sunglasses at Night,” which composed the soundtrack to Balenciaga’s spring 2021 collection video. The song, and the too-cool-for-school attitude its title suggests, has real staying power. Here, Hart shares the hit’s backstory, rates the Balenciaga video, and talks 1980s nostalgia, from Ray-Bans to Stranger Things.

When did you first discover that music was your preferred means of expression?
I feel like my true discovery with music began when I was around nine years old, living in South Florida, listening to Top 40 radio. In those tender years, I became consumed with all things music, singing along to my favorite songs whenever and wherever I could. I vividly recall driving my bicycle to the local hardware store and buying my first 45 rpm, “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart, then racing back home so I could spin it on my new birthday-gift turntable. I must’ve played the song over 500 times that first weekend, analyzing every note and lyric. I was a shy, introverted kid, so music became a refuge and safe haven for me, especially since my parents were going through the breakup of their marriage, when I witnessed a lot of my mom’s suffering.

How did you construct your public persona, fashionwise?
I didn’t construct an image per se. It’s always just been me being me. Into my late teens and 20s, I usually wore Levi’s 501s with a white or black tee under a denim jacket—not a Vogue trendsetter by any stretch but authentic nonetheless. For my debut album in Canada—released six months before the U.S. version launch—I opted for a Joe Jackson, dressier, new-wave shirt and tie because I thought it would be hipper. But when EMI America saw the Canadian LP cover, they were like, “Wait, no, no, no!” and insisted we immediately reshoot the cover to capitalize on my so-called good looks. When you contrast the two covers, it’s clear the U.S. label was intent on marketing Corey Hart in a specific way. Hey, I get it, although it never affected my sound or how I portrayed myself in music videos or on stage. Although, to be honest, I sure did annoyingly pout a lot !

What is the backstory on “Sunglasses at Night” in terms of lyrics?
The lyrics originally were based on a duplicitous love song called “My Cigarette Is Wet”—which I never properly presented to the record company and, as fate would have it, for good reason. While recording in the spring of ’82 in a small town called Cheadle Hulme outside Manchester in the U.K., it literally rained almost every day for two straight months. Upon arriving in London, I excitedly bought a pair of sunglasses on Carnaby Street and a black jumper that I had once seen Sting wear in a magazine. (I was a huge Police fan.)

But because of all the rain, I never actually had the chance to wear my new shades at all. A few months later, when I was back home in Canada, somehow subconsciously the notion of wearing my sunglasses at night came to me while I was messing around again with that silly song about my cigarette being wet and remembering those endless inclement-weather days in England sans sunglasses. I begged the label to send me back to England to record, and the rest was history.

What brand of sunglasses were you wearing?
Ray-Ban Wayfarers, which I wore in the music video filmed a year later.

Was the video, as had been said, a depiction of a fashion police state—whatever that is?
Ha ha, no, not at all—although my red running shoes may have been guilty of a fashion crime.

What is the plot of the video, in your words? One review I read described it as Orwellian.
George Orwell’s 1984 is one of my all-time favorite novels and became the artistic benchmark for the video concept I created alongside Toronto director Rob Quartly for “Sunglasses at Night.” I have always championed individuality over collective groupthink mentality, so 1984 was the perfect allegorical backdrop for a guy who wanted to disrupt the status quo by portraying a maverick rebel who wears his sunglasses at night and subsequently gets imprisoned for it. Of course, it was just an innocent music video, but I was subtly trying to make a broader point about freedom of choice and thought.

The ending of the video suggests that the narrative had been a dream. The pandemic is, in some ways, a living nightmare. What is the role of fantasy or dream in your work or in life?
True, the ending implies it was all just a dream or, as you perceptively point out, a living nightmare. Indeed, the COVID pandemic has turned everything we know on its head, and we are now living through the looking glass, stumbling into uncharted parallel worlds. The reality is we don’t really know how it’s all going to turn out, do we? Dreams are rarely where my songs come from, but quite often a lyrical passage or melody will simply drop out of the ether into my imagination when I least expect, so I suppose you can call this fantasy.

Do you see a connection between the dystopian world of the video and today?
I do not normally discuss my personal views or thoughts on politics unless I’ve written a specific song that speaks to a particular subject, as was the case on tracks like “Sunglasses at Night,” “Komrade Kiev” [1985], or “Political Cry” [1986]. But I actually do see an alarming similarity between the imaginary dystopian society created in my “Sunglasses At Night” video and the real one slowly bubbling under and rearing its oppressive head in the current world state of affairs. This is not about promoting a progressive or conservative agenda it pertains to our basic fundamental individualism and the inalienable right to think for ourselves. The big tech Twitter and Facebook censoring blackout regarding the recent Hunter / Joe Biden New York Post story is an egregious example of what I’m talking about and goes straight to the heart of my belief that we must all have free and unfettered access to any relevant news story, allowing us the people to decide if it’s real, bogus, or other. When did it become acceptable for folks to proclaim supreme dominion over moral attitudes and enforce ideological conformity through dogmatic coercion? Basically saying, “If you don’t think like me, you get canceled or ostracized.” It’s not 1984 yet, but we are heading precariously close to the edge of no return.

What was the reaction to the song and video?
I’m very grateful and blessed that the song became an international hit and somehow has even ensconced herself into our cultural lexicon. I went from being a complete unknown to an overnight rock star within a few months thanks to the massive video exposure of my debut single, which became a staple of MTV and was played heavily on radio across North America.

How did BFRND come to do a cover of your song?
I’m not exactly sure but would love to know. I think he did a super job making it his own. It’s got a Pet Shop Boys vibe about it—another ’80s classic.

What were your first impressions of Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia’s work?
I’ve got four children, and my eldest daughter, India, is a very talented young shoe designer working at Sam Edelman in New York. She was the first to turn me on to Demna’s work. It must’ve been with Vetements. I’m a fan because he’s a fearless, innovative visionary who isn’t afraid to paint his own distinctive fashion portraits, including everything from IKEA to DHL in the mix.

Did you know the song would be used in the video?
I have always been notoriously protective of my songs in the realm of interpolations and granting usage requests, which endorse by association a product. However, when I found out this ask was for Mr. Gvasalia and Balenciaga, there was no hesitation on my end—I’m genuinely very happy and flattered about it all.

Have you spoken to Demna?
I wrote a personal note to the communications director at Balenciaga in Paris and Demna after seeing the video and received very kind messages from them both in return.

What are your impressions of the Balenciaga video?
I fucking love it! Very cool.

Does it strike you as being very of the moment?
As a songwriter, creating a musical work that inspires, fascinates, challenges, and, most importantly, endures is beyond gratifying. It is what I always aspired toward as a young teenager pounding away at the piano, writing song after song. I also recognize how incredibly lucky I’ve been by having all of the intersecting and interconnecting pieces magically align together under a musician’s sky, allowing my artistic dreams to fly. To be honest, “Sunglasses at Night” has indeed stood the test of time, so thankfully the moment seems to have no hour clock in sight.

Are any future collaborations planned?
Back in the day, I received numerous high-profile sunglasses-endorsement offers for TV or media campaigns, which at the time felt wrong to accept. But now I’m very keen to explore the idea—especially if it were to be with someone as talented as Demna and the Balenciaga team.

Can you share a bit about your 1980s, particularly your personal style and the mood of the time?
When I started out, the press tagged me with a James Dean, brooding, loner-type persona, which was pretty much on the mark. I even wrote a song about him called “Boy in the Box” in 1985. The mood of the time was excess, where anything was possible: new-wave music, new technology, new fashion, new world order with the fall of the Soviet Union/Eastern Bloc. But for me, the ’80s was work, work, work, and living my dream. I recorded five albums between 1983 and 1990 and toured the world.