He attended St Columb's College and read economics at Queen's University Belfast for two years before dropping out.
[1] Hegarty started his musical career in 1982 as a drummer in the Derry band Tie The Boy with fellow musician Peter Cunnah.
[1] Hegarty went on to co-write the hit single "Shoot Me with Your Love" from the album World for D Ream,[3] which made into the UK top 100 for seven weeks, peaking at No.7 in July 1995.
[5] In 2014, Hegarty has formed the band Derry, named after his hometown,[6] and the group has released an introductory RP, Couldn't I Be the One.
[7] Hegarty had a 20% stake in the Northern Irish property tycoon business W G Mitchell and after suffering difficulties during the Financial crisis of 2007–08, the company was forced into administration by The Royal Bank of Scotland.