Mario Barberio
Matt Goss has been busy. You can find him onstage in Vegas at the Mirage.
Friday, July 27, 2018 | 2 a.m.
In Las Vegas, Matt Goss is known for the sexy swing and sultry jazz of his long-running cabaret-style stage show, a musical party that found a new home at the Mirage’s 1 OAK Nightclub in December. But if you’re a Goss fan from the days before his Vegas residency, you know he’s a true pop hitmaker.
And he’s back at it. Goss released a new single, the catchy “Red Flares,” earlier this month on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music, and its radio-ready sounds recall his early days in UK pop outfit Bros.
“I love jazz and I love swing but I started with commercial hits. I just wanted to bombard my mind with commercial music and I did that for five weeks, listening to the radio and knowing what’s going on, because I wanted to write an album full of radio records,” says Goss. “This track has that really contemporary beat and melody and I just wanted to dig into that world again. I’m definitely not done creating music for radio as well as for myself, and it’s an interesting challenge to write something and put my name behind it while keeping it contemporary. It’s tougher than it seems.”
“Red Flares” is only the beginning. Goss has stockpiled quite a bit of new music in various genres and he’s going to be unleashing more songs and albums in the coming months and years. Keep an eye out for the next two tracks, “Better With You” and “Movies in Your Mind.” The 49-year-old Englishman also has a finished jazz album recorded with the acclaimed John Pizzarelli Quartet at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, expected to be released next year.
“I made a decision, and my management team has helped me along, that I’m just going to keep the music coming out a lot more than it has been,” Goss says. “I just feel it’s my spirit, it’s what I do.”
While bouncing back and forth between his Vegas gig and concerts in the U.K. in recent years, Goss has stayed busy with a variety of other projects. “The Late Late Show” host James Corden is involved with a documentary film about Goss and his Bros bandmate and brother Luke Goss, “When the Screaming Stops,” detailing the brothers’ lives on and off the stage dealing with the trappings of pop-star fame.
Goss is also collaborating with composer Stephen Endelman to create original songs for a new stage musical adaption of the classic British TV drama “Upstairs Downtstairs,” a gig the singer and songwriter calls one of the most thrilling endeavors of his career.
“This is one of the most successful and acclaimed TV series in British history and I feel incredibly privileged,” Goss says. “We’re 50 pages in, lyrics and music, and it’s just an incredibly beautiful project.”
Meanwhile, Goss is back onstage at the Mirage July 27-29 and has plenty more shows scheduled through the end of the year. He says he’s still connecting with the resort next door to his previous Strip home, Caesars Palace, but “within the room I’ve found an incredible sense of family, inside the venue. I’m not on the marquee and that’s a bit frustrating to me considering the work I’ve put into this town and around the world. But I’ve had some really beautiful shows [recently] and being at the Mirage reminds me why I keep doing it, because it’s so intimate and there’s a real connection to the audience.”
Despite the transition, Goss says his show has found its place at 1 OAK, where he’s about to hit the 100-show mark. “The show is finally on its feet and that takes a great deal of determination and faith. We’ve found our way to that moment when you’re standing on the surfboard and you feel the wave behind you.”
