Big Fun (group)
{{short description|British band}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{about|the real-life band started in 1988|the fictional band in the 1988 film Heathers|Heathers}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2009}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Big Fun
| image =
| caption =
| alias =
| origin = London, England
| genre = Pop
| years_active = 1988–1994
| label = Jive
| associated_acts = Sonia
| website =
| past_members = Mark Gillespie
Phil Creswick
Jason John
}}
Big Fun were a British boy band that was active between 1988 and 1994. The band consisted of Phil Creswick, Mark Gillespie and Jason John (a.k.a. Jason Herbert). Their album was produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, though many tracks on the album were produced by other PWL members.
Career
Before they were Big Fun, Creswick and John were in another regroup of Ian Levine's boy band Seventh Avenue with Mark Long.{{cn|date=June 2017}} The other member of the group at that time was Steve Crawley who provided lead vocals for the group, and sang live at nightclub appearances across the UK.{{cn|date=June 2017}} Other original Big Fun members include Keith Davies from Stretford in Manchester.{{cn|date=June 2017}}
Their only album, A Pocketful of Dreams, was released in 1990, and reached the top 10 in the UK Albums Chart.{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= British Hit Singles & Albums| edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited| location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5| page= 57}} Singles released from the album include "Blame It on the Boogie", a cover version of The Jacksons' 1978 hit, "Can't Shake the Feeling", and "Handful of Promises". "I Feel the Earth Move" was intended to be their first single (and promo copies were circulated), but its release was cancelled in favour of "Blame It on the Boogie".
The band were dumped by Jive Records in 1990, despite achieving a top 10 album and two top 10 singles over the prior 12 months.{{Cite web |title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 61: Hey There Lonely Girl to Rhythm Of The Rain on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ep-61-hey-there-lonely-girl-to-rhythm-of-the-rain/id1565879477?i=1000628973438 |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-AU}} Creswick said the band never made any significant money from their hit records, claiming the band were "screwed" by the music industry, with only their record label and producers benefiting financially from their success.
Their final single, "Stomp!", was issued on a small label in 1994, under the name 'Big Fun II', as Jason John had left the band. Although this failed to obtain the commercial success of their earlier work, it reached the dance chart in the United States.
All three members of the band were gay and had been advised by Pete Waterman to keep their sexuality quiet, as he believed it would ruin their careers.{{cite web|url=http://www.hitfactoryforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1292465101 |title=Stock Aitken Waterman & PWL | The Hit Factory Forum v 2.5 – Phil Creswick (Big Fun) interview |publisher=Hitfactoryforum.com |access-date=3 May 2012}}
After disbanding, Creswick became a painter and decorator; he was convicted of drug supply and possession.{{Cite web |last=Saunders |first=Emmeline |date=2018-09-06 |title=Big Fun singer Phil Creswick avoids jail for selling chemsex drugs |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/big-fun-singer-phil-creswick-13202930 |access-date=2022-09-26 |website=mirror |language=en}} John returned to being a model booker and music manager; he died in Brazil in 2019.[https://twitter.com/livestageevents/status/1113120983735504898 Live Stage Events Ltd. on Twitter: "We are sad to have to report Jason from Big Fun, has passed away in Brazil. We have no further information available at this time... This information is from within Big Fun .. Such a talent taken to soon R.I.P."][https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp#Results GRO Index: HERBERT, JOHN JOSEPH b. 1967 Reference: DOR Q2/2019 in WESTMINSTER (258-1A) Entry Number 518870346]
Members
Personnel
- Phil Creswick (born 12 October 1965) - backing vocals
- Mark Gillespie (born 16 November 1966) - lead vocalist
- Jason John (born 18 March 1967; died January 2019) - backing vocals
- Keith Davies
Discography
=Albums=
- 1990 – A Pocketful of Dreams – UK No. 7, GER No. 39
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:28em;"| Single ! colspan="10"| Peak positions ! rowspan="2"| Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| UK ! width="35"| AUS
! width="35"| BEL ! width="35"| FRA ! width="35"| GER
! width="35"| IRE ! width="35"| NED ! width="35"| NZ ! width="35"| SPN ! width="35"| US | |||||||||
| rowspan="3"|1989
! scope="row"| "Living for Your Love" | 120 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
| align="left" rowspan="1"| single only |
| scope="row"| "Blame It on the Boogie"
| 4 || 37 || 14 || 17 || 15 || 7 || 31 || 32 || 5 || — | align="left" rowspan="3"| A Pocketful of Dreams | |||||||||
| scope="row"| "Can't Shake the Feeling"
| 8 || 97 || 38 || 47 || 41 || 7 || – || – || 6 || — | |||||||||
| rowspan="3"|1990
! scope="row"| "Handful of Promises" | 21 | 110 | 42 | – | – | 6 | – | – | 9 | — |
| scope="row"| "You've Got a Friend" (with Sonia)
| 14 || 157 || – || – || – || 12 || — || — || — || — | align="left" rowspan="1"| single only | |||||||||
| scope="row"| "Hey There Lonely Girl"
| 62 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | align="left" rowspan="1"| A Pocketful of Dreams | |||||||||
| rowspan="1"|1994
! scope="row"| "Stomp!" (as 'Big Fun II') | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12
| align="left" rowspan="1"| single only |
| align="center" colspan="13" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. |
= Video =
- 1990 – A Pocketful of Dreams – The Video Hits
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Big Fun}}
{{Stock Aitken Waterman}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Fun (band)}}
Category:1988 establishments in England
Category:1994 disestablishments in England
Category:English dance music groups
Category:English pop music groups
Category:English LGBTQ musicians
Category:Musical groups established in 1988
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1994