A lot of people may only know singers for their talents with a microphone, but many of them have unexpected interests and hobbies away from their day job. From enjoying casino games, through to filling out surveys and palm reading; singers do have some of the most unique and some times strange pastimes on the planet.
AlexJames
Alex James, 51, shot to fame as the bassist in Blur. During the Britpop era, Blur was very much up there with the best at the time, as the band, fronted by Damon Albarn, regularly did battle with Oasis in the charts and popularity stakes.
Blur, like many other bands, became a thing of the past, but the success James enjoyed with the group saw him purchase an old farmhouse which he went on to renovate, turning it into his cheese farm. Since then, James has produced award-winning cheeses regularly, with his products stocked in supermarkets.
RodStewart
Sir Rod Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists ever to live. The 75-year-old is an iconic figure on a global scale, with number one albums, singles and Billboard Hot 100 entries. Tracks such as Maggie May, Baby Jane and The First Cut is the Deepest, are still regularly aired daily, with Stewart still performing and recording today.
The media have well documented Stewart's life over the years, and so have his passions. He's a car collector, as are many pop singers, but Stewart is also a model railway enthusiast too, unbeknown to many. It was only last year he revealed he'd been working on a 124ft model of a city for twenty-six years, which is in place for his model trains to move around.
SeanCombs
Sean Combs, better known as P Diddy or Puff Daddy, is a huge celebrity. This rapper and business man has a net worth of no less than $800 million and is known for spending time in casinos all over world. Mr Combs has always had an affinity with casino games and extravagant parties, so don't be surprised if anyone finds him playing at PartyCasino! However, it is no secret that he loves a game of blackjack and even went so far as to be at Harrah's Atlantic City for the launch of their poolside blackjack tables.
Flea
Michael Balzary, who is professionally known as Flea, is best known for playing bass in megaband The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Since making the breakthrough in 1983, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have sold over eighty million records worldwide, with thirteen number-one singles under their belt, and they have picked up six Grammy Awards along the wat as well.
Flea, 57, who was born in Australia, isn't a man many will look at and associate with chess, but believe it or not, chess is his game, and he takes it very seriously. It makes sense for musicians to have other interests they can turn to while they're touring for example, or while the music is on hold, and chess, in many ways, is the perfect game. Flea even went as far as challenging the then world champion while on tour in 2011, and while he lost the game, he put in an admirable performance according to reports.
Who would have thought it, pop stars being interested in making cheese, building model train sets and playing chess? It just goes to show that musicians live a different life away from the microphone, and many of them have interests you would never have thought of in a month of Sundays.
