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 became 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.
Their only album, A Pocketful of Dreams, was released in 1990, and reached the top 10 on the UK Albums Chart. 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 dropped by Jive Records in 1990, despite achieving a top 10 album and two top 10 singles over the prior 12 months. 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.
After disbanding, Creswick became a painter and decorator; he was convicted of drug supply and possession. John returned to being a model booker and music manager; he died in Brazil in 2019.
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,
! width="35"| <small>AUS</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>BEL<br>(Fla)</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>FRA</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>GER</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>IRE</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>NED</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>NZ</small><br>
! width="35"| <small>SPN</small>
! width="35"| <small>US<br>Dance</small><br>
|-
| 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" <small>(with Sonia)</small>
| 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!" <small>(as 'Big Fun II')</small>
| – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || – || 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