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Big Fun | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1988–1994 |
| Labels | Jive |
| 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.
Before they were Big Fun, Creswick and John were in another regroup of Ian Levine's boy band Seventh Avenue with Mark Long.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ] Other original Big Fun members include Keith Davies from Stretford in Manchester.[ citation needed ]
Their only album, A Pocketful of Dreams , was released in 1990, and reached the top 10 in the UK Albums Chart. [1] 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. [2] 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. [2]
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. [3]
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. [4] After disbanding, Creswick became a painter and decorator; he was convicted of drug supply and possession. [5] John returned to being a model booker and music manager; he died in Brazil in 2019. [6] [7]
Personnel
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [8] | AUS [10] | BEL (Fla) [11] | FRA [12] | GER [9] | IRE [13] | NED [14] | NZ [15] | SPN | US Dance [3] | |||
| 1989 | "Living for Your Love" | – | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only |
| "Blame It on the Boogie" | 4 | 37 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 31 | 32 | 5 | — | A Pocketful of Dreams | |
| "Can't Shake the Feeling" | 8 | 97 | 38 | 47 | 41 | 7 | – | – | 6 | — | ||
| 1990 | "Handful of Promises" | 21 | 110 | 42 | – | – | 6 | – | – | 9 | — | |
| "You've Got a Friend" (with Sonia) | 14 | 157 | – | – | – | 12 | — | — | — | — | single only | |
| "Hey There Lonely Girl" | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Pocketful of Dreams | |
| 1994 | "Stomp!" (as 'Big Fun II') | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | single only |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||
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"Can't Shake the Feeling" is a pop-dance song written by Stock Aitken Waterman for British boy band Big Fun. It was the second single from their 1990 debut studio album A Pocketful of Dreams on which it is the third track. Released in November 1989 with two different covers, it enjoyed decent chart trajectories in European countries, although it was unable to meet the same success than Big Fun's previous hit "Blame It on the Boogie". It became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Finland, and a top 50 hit in Belgium, France and Germany.
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"You've Got a Friend" is a song written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and performed by Sonia and Big Fun, and featuring Gary Barnacle on sax. The song, a midtempo pop ballad, was released as a charity single for the Childline foundation on June 11, 1990. Initially the artists recorded the well-known Carole King song of the same name, but for reasons unknown it was ultimately not used and SAW wrote an original song with the same name instead. The cover version was finally released in the 2010 re-issue of Big Fun's album, A Pocketful of Dreams. The single peaked at number 14 in the UK and number 12 in Ireland. It was later included on Big Fun's Japanese edition of their debut album A Pocketful of Dreams.
A Pocketful of Dreams is the debut album by English boy band Big Fun. It was released in 1990 and reached the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 7.
Pete Waterman Presents The Hit Factory is a compilation album released in July 2012 collecting 39 hits produced by Pete Waterman. Included are a vast number of tracks that were written and produced by Waterman along with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken during their most successful period working as Stock Aitken Waterman, becoming among the most successful music producers of all-time.
"Handful of Promises" is a pop-dance song written by Stock Aitken Waterman for British boy band Big Fun. It was the third single from their 1990 debut studio album A Pocketful of Dreams on which it is the first track. The B-side of the various formats is a new song, "Catch a Broken Heart", which was not included on the parent album. Released on 5 March 1990 with two different covers, it failed to reach the top 20 in United Kingdom where it stalled at number 21. However, it was a top ten hit in Ireland and Spain.
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