Smokey Robinson throws support behind Australia’s Human Nature

Yes, it's tricky to be a reformed Australian boy band, basically starting over from scratch in the United States because no one has heard of you.

But you have a couple of things on our your side. For starters, "We're sort of finding people are charmed by the Australian accent," says Toby Allen, one-fourth of Human Nature.

It also helps to have Smokey Robinson at your side -- literally -- talking to reporters at a press event to promote Human Nature's shot at Las Vegas stardom, which launches Saturday at the Imperial Palace.

The ever-gracious Robinson speaks as though the pleasure is all his.

All involved agreed that "to have someone who is known in the United States present and endorse (the group) would be really strong for them. And I am so happy they chose me," Robinson says of the show which will carry his name above the title as, "Smokey Robinson presents."

"When I see them and hear them, it's a manner of pride for me," he says. "I want everyone to see and hear them."

Robinson has a concert of his own on Saturday, at the Star of the Desert Arena at Buffalo Bill's in Primm. And he still is planning to have two albums, one of standards and one of original material, out by the end of the year. But the part-year Las Vegas resident also plans occasional walk-ons with Human Nature. His presence, whether it's in person or on the advertising, gives an instant dose of credibility to a group that needs strong word of mouth to vouch for its impeccable harmonies.

It's a sound forged 20 years ago, when brothers Andrew and Michael Tierney first sang with Allen and Phil Burton in their high school choir.

"We just kind of struck something right at the start that we knew was something special," Burton says. "I think that was the spark that kept us going and kept us working on that blend."

The group hit its peak in 1997 and 1998, not coincidentally the era when 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys ruled the pop world. Human Nature rode the wave and opened international tour dates for Michael Jackson and Celine Dion.

"At that stage, we got labeled as a boy band, but we always kept our vocal and soul roots," Andrew Tierney says. The group took its own cues from Boyz II Men. "They were our idols. That's where we always saw ourselves. But I guess being white guys and also young and dancing as well, the vocal-group side of things kind of morphed into the boy band."

But when the boy band craze fizzled Down Under and in the rest of the world, Human Nature bounced back with the 2005 disc "Reach Out," paying tribute to the Motown classics that were always part of their shows.

"It kind of opened a whole new door and gave us a new lease on life as a group," Andrew Tierney says.

The Motown album came to Robinson's attention, and he invited the group to visit one of his recording sessions. "It was just instant gratification, an instant joy for me to see and hear them," he says. "You don't hear that all the time."

Robinson recorded remakes of "Get Ready" and "Tears of a Clown" with the group for its third collection of Motown covers, "Get Ready," released last year. A U.S. compilation of the three albums is due this summer, just in time to promote the Imperial Palace venture.

"American labels have got so many artists of their own, it's often hard to take artists from other countries and put the time into promoting them," Andrew Tierney says. "Just to get that break, that one champion. ... Through our strength as live performers we caught the attention of a legend."

And the legend has faith in his proteges. Manufactured pop acts put together by record labels "never last, if you've noticed that," Robinson says. "But the groups that start out with guys as friends -- 'Let's sing some songs in the bathroom because it sounds good' -- those are the groups that normally last.

"These guys entertain you," he adds. "They're the total package. A lot of people can sing, but they can't entertain you."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.