1983. Music. Hazell Dean: Searchin’
Hazzell Dean was one of the many artists who was well known on the gay club circuit before coming to prominence in the mainstream music industry.
Searchin’ is a classic illustration of this. Released originally in June 1983, it became popular on the ‘Hi-Nrg’ playlists in gay and lesbian clubs but failed to make any real impact on the wider music scene, reaching only 64 in the UK charts.
However, it was re-released in April 1984 and this time sailed up to the Number 6 position. A follow-up single, Whatever I Do, written by the golden boys of pop Stock, Aitken and Waterman, had even greater success and reached Number 4.
Dean has also repaid the loyalty shown to her by the gay and lesbian community over the years, regularly appearing at Pride events in the UK and abroad. In 2010 she came out as gay.
Hazell was one of the first artists to give Stock, Aitken & Waterman big chart success. Hazell got crowned “The Queen of hinrg/,eurobeat”. She scored big Internationsl success, but still stayed very loyal to the gay clubs who had always supported her from the start of her career. Met her a couple of times at Rockies, in Manchester, and Flamingo, in Blackpool. A lovely person.