But if there is one term that sums up much of his material, it’s feel-good music.

“I know I set out to feel good in everything I do, but sometimes people don’t like happiness,” Priest said on the eve of his Australian tour.

The man who brought us such international hits as Close To You, the cover of the Cat Stevens song Wild World, and That Girl is back with a new album, Easy to Love, but the same positive approach to life.

Speaking to the Lakes Mail after a gig in Japan,  the English-born Priest said it was no surprise most of his songs speak of love, hope, happiness and social justice.

“First and foremost, I’m from a church background,” he said. “My mother, a missionary, is where I would hear the beautiful sound of gospel, mixed in with reggae music that my older brothers played around the house.”

His sisters, meanwhile, were into The Jackson Five.

“It’s all from my parents, my foundations,” he said.

“There are obviously temptations in this entertainment industry, and a lot of aggravations with people trying to pull you in different directions that are not right, and not positive,” he said.

Despite those temptations, Priest said he’d been able to stay out of trouble.

“Sometimes, when I stay on that line that was set for me by my parents, it kind of keeps me sane. It keeps me grounded,” he said.

Priest believes that when a songwriter picks up a pen and a blank piece of paper, their moral code and the contents of their heart can often be revealed.

“And I think that when my music unfolds for people, it reveals to them who I am,” he said.

Priest’s tour of Australia will arrive at The Showroom, inside Wyong Leagues Club, this Saturday, February 13.

He’s bringing a big band, a major production team, and “the whole shebang”, he said.

“We’re gonna have a ball. That’s what it’s really all about. When you come to a Maxi Priest concert you come to let your hair down.”

Tickets cost $45 pre-sale, or $50 at the door. The support act is Sea Gypsies.

Phone 4392 2799.