Big Fun (group)

Big Fun were a British boy band who were active between 1988 and 1994. The band consisted of Phil Creswick, Mark Gillespie and Jason John (a.k.a. Jason Herbert). They were produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.

This article is about the real-life band started in 1988. For the fictional band in the 1988 film Heathers, see Heathers.
Big Fun
OriginLondon, England
GenresPop
Years active1988–1994
LabelsJive
Associated actsSonia
Past membersMark Gillespie
Phil Creswick
Jason John

Career

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 included 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 included "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". Their final single "Stomp!" was issued 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.[2]

All three members of the band are gay and were advised by Pete Waterman to keep their sexuality quiet as it would ruin their career.[3] After disbanding, Creswick became a painter and decorator, and John returned to being a model booker and music manager.

Members

Personnel

Discography

Singles
Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[4]		 AUS
[5]		 BEL
(Fla)
[6]		 FRA
[7]		 GER
[8]		 IRE
[9]		 NED
[10]		 NZ
[11]		 SPN US
Dance
[2]
1989 "Living for Your Love" –––––––––— single only
"I Feel the Earth Move" (withdrawn) –––––––––— A Pocketful of Dreams
"Blame It on the Boogie" 437141715731325—
"Can't Shake the Feeling" 8973847417––6—
1990 "Handful of Promises" 2111042––6––9—
"You've Got a Friend" (with Sonia) 14157–––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.

Albums

Video
  • 1990 – "A Pocketful of Dreams – The Video Hits"

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 57. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. "Billboard > Artists / Big Fun > Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  3. "Stock Aitken Waterman & PWL | The Hit Factory Forum v 2.5 – Phil Creswick (Big Fun) interview". Hitfactoryforum.com. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  4. "Official Charts > Big Fun". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  5. Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
  6. "Ultratop Vlaanderen > Big Fun in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  7. "lescharts.com > Big Fun dans les Charts Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  8. German chart peaks:
  9. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for Big Fun (from irishcharts.ie)". Fireball Media. Retrieved 6 June 2017 – via Imgur.com.
  10. "dutchcharts.nl > Big Fun in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  11. "charts.nz > Big Fun in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
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