Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay has been busy raising two children while on his self-imposed hiatus from music.
Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay on stage at The Roundhouse
The 'Hot Property' singer has just returned with the acid jazz band's eighth album 'Automaton' and they played an incredible sold-out show at The Roundhouse in Camden, London, on Friday night (31.03.17), their first show in the UK for six years.
Jay has now revealed the reason for his absence is that he has fallen in love with a woman he will only name as Maria and they have had two daughters, Carla, two, and five months old Tallulah, and he wanted to be around for the early part of their lives.
Recalling his "Sliding Doors moment" when he spotted Maria whilst driving though central London in a taxi in the spring of 2007 and decided to pull over, he said: "I recognised Maria's face from a little skirmish we'd had abroad years previously. Our meeting again was a real 'Sliding Doors' moment. I've always wanted a family, but I'd reached 45 and wondered if it would ever happen. I'm a touch late, but it's brilliant ... Of course, when Maria told me she was pregnant I asked myself, as any man does, 'Is it a boy?' But my friend Charley Boorman has two girls, and he told me it works out really well in the end. Girls are a bit more mellow."
Jay penned the song 'Carl' as a tribute to his oldest daughter and he admits it's been tough being away from them both to rehearse with his band ahead of their return.
In an interview with The Times newspaper, he shared: "I've been rehearsing for four days and I miss my children like crazy. Last time I went home I got a cuddle that lasted 20 minutes. Do you know how amazing a 20-minute cuddle feels?
"After the last album I was on a treadmill. I can't do it for ever. And I don't want my daughters seeing me on TV when they're growing up. I don't want them seeing the bad side of this game. I want to be there."
Jay's own upbringing has shaped his attitude to parenting as he was raised by his mother, singer Karen Kay, and did not meet his father, Portuguese guitarist Luís Saraiva, until 2001 and he wants to ensure he is always present in his kids' lives.
The 'Cosmic Girl' hitmaker - whose identical twin brother David died a few weeks after they were born - said: "I am totally serious about my missus and kids. My biological dad and my mum were adopted, my identical twin died and my parents split. There's a whole history of insecurity there. And so this is it. I am the dad for my girls. Forever. I don't want them calling any other man 'Daddy'. They've got me for life."
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