KAVANA
ATTITUDE CATCHES UP WITH PREVIOUS COVER STAR KAVANA WHERE HE COMES CLEAN ABOUT HIS DRUG-FUELLED PAST, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FAMILY, THE STRUGGLES WITH HIS SEXUALITY AND FINDING LOVE AT LONG LAST
Words: Christian Guiltenane
THE COME BACK KID
Photography: Joseph Sinclair / Styling: Nick Byam
When he was a kid growing up on a council estate in Manchester, Anthony Kavanagh dreamt about becoming a popstar. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he knew that one day he would be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Madonna, Take That and Boyzone, along with gracing the cover of pop bible Smash Hits, the iconic magazine he spent hours devouring. And all credit to him, his strong determination to succeed worked out. Following a chance meeting with pop mogul Nigel Martin Smith – who was king of the charts with Take That at the time – in a Manchester nightclub, he made his dream come true and transformed into squeaky-clean soulster, Kavana. But like all much sought after fantasies, the dream soon turned sour when interest in him began to fade, due in part to the ascendance of a buffer hunk in the form of Adam Rickett. Coupled with coming to terms with his sexuality, the death of his father and a drink and drug habit that left him broke, Kavana fell apart But now, almost 20 years later, he has cleaned up his act, ditched his vices, improved his fitness and released a new single, Déjà Vu. He has also got engaged to film director Neil Ely. Here, Kavana, takes us on a journey back in time and how life now is better than ever...