Jay Aston

Jay Aston
Jay Aston in 2009
Background information
Born	4 May 1961 (1961-05-04) (age 48) Purley, England
Genres	pop music
Occupations	Singer, Dancer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1981–present
Labels	RCA, Angel Air
Website	www.jay-aston.co.uk/

Jay Aston (born 4 May 1961, Purley, London) is a singer who was formerly with the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up.^[1]

Background

Aston came from a theatrical family. Her father was a comedian, her mother a former dancer before she became her husband's straight man. They also performed as acrobats. Her brother, Lance, had performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980 with the band Prima Donna.^[1]

Aston herself trained as a dancer, singer and actress at the Italia Conti School of Speech and Drama and performed on stage many times in her teens mainly as a dancer. ^[2]

Bucks Fizz

Aston was one of the four original members of Bucks Fizz when they were formed in 1981 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest that year. They won with "Making Your Mind Up" and the song went to No.1 in many countries, including the United Kingdom.

The group went on to become one of the top selling groups of the 1980s and scored many hit single and albums over the next few years, including two more British No.1s; "The Land Of Make Believe" and "My Camera Never Lies". Aston's interest in fashion and design came into good use while with the group as she designed many of the group's stage outfits and created many memorable images. ^[3][4][5] In 1983 she performed the lead vocal to the song "When We Were Young", which went on to become one of the group's biggest hits.^[6]

Aston became known for her love of physical exercise and released a keep-fit album in early 1984 called Shape Up and Dance .^[7] This activity however also led to her becoming the victim of an attack while out jogging. She fought off the attacker and recovered well from the incident, which became the subject of newspaper coverage.^[8]

In 1984, while on tour, Bucks Fizz were involved in a road accident in which Aston, along with the other members of the group were injured.^[9] By this time, tensions within the group had risen to the point that Aston was eager to leave, but was still under contract. However, the following year, she left the group in acrimonious circumstances.^[9] Aston became the subject of many newspaper headlines on her sudden departure where it emerged that she had been having an affair with the group's producer, Andy Hill, who was also the husband of Bucks Fizz creator, Nichola Martin. The group's management company took Aston to court and successfully sued her under the terms of her contract. The case took two years to settle and left Aston on the brink of financial ruin and unable to pursue a solo career.

After Bucks Fizz

Close to bankruptcy, Aston rebuilt her life living in a small bedsit in Streatham. Her brother had married Shakespear's Sister star Marcella Detroit who encouraged her to begin a solo career. In 1993 Aston released a single "Naked Phoenix" and recorded an album of songs. Not long after this, she met and began dating guitarist Dave Colquhoun, whom she married in 1999 in Greenwich, London. They have a daughter, Josie Alexandra (born 2003, Bromley, Greater London).^[10] In 2001 she set up a performing arts school in her name, "The Jay Aston Theatre Arts School", teaching children aged 2- 17.^[11] The school still runs today.

During the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s, Aston toured with her band Aston, performing rock and pop tracks, many of which she wrote herself. In 2002 she was involved in a cover band called Monster Boogie,^[1] and she also appeared in an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks as one of the mystery guests in the Identity Parade round in the show.^[1] In 2003 Aston released an album, Alive And Well with thirteen tracks all of which she co-wrote with her husband.^[12]

During 2005, the glory years of Bucks Fizz, mainly focussing on Aston, were portrayed in a drag lip-synch show, Night Of A Thousand Jay Astons at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after its debut in London. Aston was played by one female and three male performers.^[13] The life of Aston was told through an outrageous parody, and was described in review as "hilariously over the top".^[14][9] The show has also been staged at other venues including the Comedy Theatre in Dublin in May 2006^[15] and the Soho Theatre in London in summer 2007.^[16][17]

Another solo album, Lamb or Lizard was released in July 2006 through her website, which featured recordings from before and after her work with Bucks Fizz.^[18]

In March 2007, she appeared in the Comic Relief video "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" a comic cover version of The Proclaimers song, dancing with the fellow original members of Bucks Fizz.^[19] This was the first time Aston had met with the group since 1985. As Aston said, relations between them had improved, but not the extent that could work together as a group again. "I’m kind of on good terms with all of them individually. But as a band, it just doesn’t work, and it’s a shame, but it doesn’t. There’s always been two camps – Cheryl’s camp and Bobby’s camp, and I was the one in Bobby’s camp, and Mike was always in Cheryl’s camp." ^[20]

A new Bucks Fizz CD with a bonus DVD, The Very Best of Bucks Fizz was released in May 2007. Aston appeared alone on the National Lottery to promote the album.

In August 2008, Aston once again joined up with Bucks Fizz members Mike Nolan and Cheryl Baker when she appeared on a television show celebrating 1980s acts - with one episode devoted to the re-uniting of Bucks Fizz. This show was shown on Living TV in March 2009.

The Original Bucks Fizz

In 2004, Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Shelley Preston reunited to form The Original Bucks Fizz and performed in concert throughout the UK. In April 2009, Preston announced that she was leaving the group due to other commitments. Soon after, it was announced that Aston would be joining Baker and Nolan in the group for live shows - the first time she has been a part of Bucks Fizz since 1985.^[21]

Acting

Before Bucks Fizz, Aston had ambitions to become an actress, but her career in this field encompassed only minor roles in To the Manor Born and Citizen Smith. In 2008 Aston was cast as Claudia Brite in the film The Last Days of Edgar Harding which was filmed in August 2008 and is due to be screened in 2009.^[22]

References

External links

• Jay Aston official website
• The Last Days of Edgar Harding film website