Date: 6 June 2003
Originally published in: Daily Mail (UK)
Written by: Bill Mouland, Tony Bonnici
There was a time when some of these egos would not have been seen dead on stage with each other.
‘If all English pop has to offer is Howard Jones and NIck Heyward, then I don’t want to be part of it’, sniffed ABC’s Martin Fry back in the 1980s. But how times change, especially when a revival tour can thrust you and your receding hairline back into the limelight.
And that is why Jones, 48, Heyward, 42, and Fry, 45, came to be found together yesterday beaming for the cameras along with a host of other former Eighties stars.
Their pre-Christmas tour will take in Sheffield, Brighton, Cardiff, Newcastle, Manchester, London and Birmingham. ‘There’s no competition any more’, explained Jones. ‘No one’s fighting over the charts. Everyone has grown up.’
It soon became clear that some had grown up more than others. The pop princesses have matured into glamorous mothers. But some of the men, once heartthrobs, now have faces that are not only feeling groovy but looking it too.
Howard Jones was a regular on Top of the Pops, with hits such as What is Love (1983, No. 2) and Things Can Only Get Better (1985, No. 6). But his fall from grace was abrupt in 1987, he played in Switzerland before just six people.
‘I thought to myself, just two years ago I could sell out Madison Square Gardens, so what could you do? I just introduced myself to everyone.’ Now 48, he has been married 25 years and has three children. He lives in Berkshire and works as a music producer.
As the fresh-faced lead singer of Haircut 100, Nick Heyward rode high on the New Wave, pumping out a string of hits including Love Plus One (1982, No. 3) before going solo. A divorced father of two, he lives in Oxfordshire and is on the provincial theatre circuit.
It may be nearly 20 years since China Crisis had their biggest hit, Wishful Thinking (1984, No. 9), but Eddie Lundon, 40, and Gary Daly, 41, are still touring with the band. Both are married and live in Liverpool. Lundon has three children and Daly two teenagers with his childhood sweetheart, Jean, whom he is to marry this summer.
Heaven 17 made the charts twice with Temptation, hitting No. 2 in 1983 and No. 4 in 1992. Martyn Ware, 47, is a married father of two, while Glenn Gregory, 45, is also married with a three-month-old son. They both live in Primrose Hill, North London. Ware produced Let’s Stay Together for Tina Turner. Gregory writes songs, one of which is in Germany’s Top 10.
Carol Decker had two No. 1 hits in 1987 with Heart And Soul and China In Your Hand with T’Pau. Now 45, she is married with two children. She took up acting three years ago and has just finished a four month run in Mum’s The Word in London’s West End.
Kim Wilde shot to fame in 1981 with Kids in America (No. 2) and was a fixture in the charts throughout the Eighties with hits including You Keep Me Hanging On (1986) and You Came (1988). She deftly switched careers to become a TV gardener and is married with two children.
In his time, Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot had his pick of dates and graced all the teen-pop magazines as the lead singer of Curiosity Killed The Cat. The band’s hits included Down To Earth (1986, No. 3) and Name and Number (1989). Now he is single and makes ends meet as a DJ. He once bought a £180,000 flat near Hyde Park, but couldn’t meet the repayments.
And finally, Martin Fry whose hits with ABC included Look of Love (1982, No. 4) and When Smokey Sings. He is married with 12-year-old twins and lives in Hampstead North London. He still tours. “When I go on stage, I still feel I’m playing with fire. You see your fans mouthing along and you are taking them back to the days of pre-marriage, pre-kids, pre-divorce.”
