Singer Corey Hart will perform later
this month at Toronto Gay Pride 2012.
The 50-year-old Hart, who is best known
for such hit singles as Sunglasses at Night and Never
Surrender, has also released a
pro-gay re-mix of his 1988 single Truth Will Set U Free.
(The single is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
The
new version, Hart told The
Canadian Press, features
lyrics inspired in part by the 1998 murder of gay university student
Matthew Shepard.
“A lot of people
on my first couple of recordings that I worked with closely were
gay,” he said. “I developed very close friendships with these
people, and I saw a lot of pain, and a lot of suffering, and a lot of
hiding.”
“The gay aspect
of this song was an important message that I wanted to send out
there, especially being a straight man – I thought it was important
to say this. It was important for me to be at a gay pride event and
to go out there and sing the song, and spread the message of the song
because it's a message of empowerment.”
Hart's June 30
appearance at Toronto Pride is his first Canadian show in a decade.