| Big Fun | |
| Origin: | London, England |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Years Active: | 1988–1994 |
| Label: | Jive |
| Associated Acts: | Sonia |
| 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. 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. Other original Big Fun members include Keith Davies from Stretford in Manchester, who went on to star in Coronation Street.
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.
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.[3] After disbanding, Creswick became a painter and decorator; he was convicted of drug supply and possession.[4] John returned to being a model booker and music manager; he died in Brazil in 2019.[5] [6]
Personnel
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7] | AUS [8] | BEL (Fla) [9] | FRA [10] | GER [11] | IRE [12] | NED [13] | NZ [14] | SPN | US Dance [15] | ||||
| 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. | |||||||||||||
