Shelley Preston
Encyclopedia
Shelley Preston is a singer who is most famous for being the new girl when she joined pop group Bucks Fizz
in June 1985.
choir from 4 years of age. While she was still at school, she sang with the Bournemouth
Operatic Society. She worked as a singer at a hotel nightclub in Sri Lanka
for six months before being selected at a London audition to be the new member of Bucks Fizz.
Shelley was introduced as the new member of Bucks Fizz to millions of viewers on the BBC
TV prime-time chat show Wogan
, hosted by Terry Wogan
. She performed with the band from 1985 to 1990.
By the time Preston had joined the group, Bucks Fizz's last few singles had not charted so well. However due to the huge amount of publicity and media frenzy surrounding the 'new girl' Bucks Fizz were back in the charts and selling out tours. "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
" reached number 8 in the UK Charts in the Summer of 1986. The single preceded the album Writing On The Wall
, released later that year. This included an early version of "Love in a World Gone Mad", which was later re-recorded featuring Preston's solo vocals. Its intended single release in 1987 was cancelled however. This version finally appeared on the re-issued Writing on the Wall
album in 2004.
After leaving Bucks Fizz in 1990, Preston made a career as a backing vocalist, touring and appearing with Jason Donovan
, INXS
, Brian May
, Michael Bolton
, Go West
, Beverley Craven
, Alexander O’Neal, Luther Vandross
, Donny Osmond
, Blue, Westlife
, Alison Moyet
, Tom Jones
, David Hasselhoff
, Errol Brown
and Belinda Carlisle
(she still occasionally performs with Carlisle). During the 1990s she worked as a model, appearing in a number of commercials. Preston was also the voice of Radio One
as featured vocalist on their idents for two years.
During her tenure in Brian May
's touring band, she and fellow vocalist Catherine Porter
complimented May's heartthrob status perfectly by wearing modestly sexy outfits (white bustiers and black jeans) and parodying the moves of music video sexpots - a stark contrast to the vocalists May had during his 5 day South American tour.
In 2003 she was invited to join the "chillout lounge" band Cloudfish, which includes her longtime boyfriend and Spandau Ballet
saxophonist, Steve Norman
. Together they write and produce their own material and released a mini album in July 2006. They performed a sold-out gig at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
in Soho, London, and have played at Pacha
in Ibiza
. Cloudfish still continue today and are currently writing new material and actively touring.
In 2004, Preston reunited with Bucks Fizz bandmates Cheryl Baker
, Mike Nolan
and Bobby G
for the Christmas Here & Now
arena tour. Following this, Baker, Nolan and Preston decided to continue as The Original Bucks Fizz. As a three-piece they performed at various festivals and nightclubs. In June 2008, they performed at the last G-A-Y
night alongside McFly
and The Feeling
. In August 2008, Preston with Baker, Nolan and Aston took part in a makeover show for Living TV, which was aired in March 2009 and performed with Björn Again
at the Hammersmith Apollo
on 18 December 2008.
In April 2009, Preston announced that she was leaving The Original Bucks Fizz, due to other commitments. Preston also continues to write for the Cloudfish music project.
, Greater London
), Shelley now lives with her son in South West London. In May 2011, she married her long-time partner Steve Norman
.
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and...
in June 1985.
Career
She started singing in her local Sunday schoolSunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
choir from 4 years of age. While she was still at school, she sang with the Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
Operatic Society. She worked as a singer at a hotel nightclub in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
for six months before being selected at a London audition to be the new member of Bucks Fizz.
Shelley was introduced as the new member of Bucks Fizz to millions of viewers on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV prime-time chat show Wogan
Wogan
Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. It followed the format of a series broadcast in 1980 entitled What's On Wogan?, which failed to gather viewers. The Wogan show was initially broadcast on Tuesday evenings on BBC1 in 1981 and from 1982 to 1984, it moved into the...
, hosted by Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
. She performed with the band from 1985 to 1990.
By the time Preston had joined the group, Bucks Fizz's last few singles had not charted so well. However due to the huge amount of publicity and media frenzy surrounding the 'new girl' Bucks Fizz were back in the charts and selling out tours. "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)
"New Beginning " is a 1986 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was a comeback hit, achieving their highest chart placing for four years...
" reached number 8 in the UK Charts in the Summer of 1986. The single preceded the album Writing On The Wall
Writing on the Wall
Writing on the Wall is an album by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released in 1986 and featured the comeback single "New Beginning ". It was the first album to feature member Shelley Preston and their only album released on Polydor Records...
, released later that year. This included an early version of "Love in a World Gone Mad", which was later re-recorded featuring Preston's solo vocals. Its intended single release in 1987 was cancelled however. This version finally appeared on the re-issued Writing on the Wall
Writing on the Wall
Writing on the Wall is an album by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released in 1986 and featured the comeback single "New Beginning ". It was the first album to feature member Shelley Preston and their only album released on Polydor Records...
album in 2004.
After leaving Bucks Fizz in 1990, Preston made a career as a backing vocalist, touring and appearing with Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
, INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
, Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
, Go West
Go West (band)
Go West is an English pop duo, formed in 1982 by lead vocalist and drummer Peter Cox ; and guitarist and vocalist Richard Drummie...
, Beverley Craven
Beverley Craven
Beverley Craven is a British singer-songwriter best known for her 1991 UK Top 5 hit single "Promise Me". Her most recent album, Close To Home, was released in 2009...
, Alexander O’Neal, Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
, Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
, Blue, Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
, Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
, Errol Brown
Errol Brown
Errol Brown MBE is a singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Hot Chocolate. He has British citizenship by marriage to Ginette and they live in The Bahamas...
and Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
(she still occasionally performs with Carlisle). During the 1990s she worked as a model, appearing in a number of commercials. Preston was also the voice of Radio One
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
as featured vocalist on their idents for two years.
During her tenure in Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
's touring band, she and fellow vocalist Catherine Porter
Catherine Porter
Catherine Porter is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a former member of The Brian May Band and has appeared in several musicals and films...
complimented May's heartthrob status perfectly by wearing modestly sexy outfits (white bustiers and black jeans) and parodying the moves of music video sexpots - a stark contrast to the vocalists May had during his 5 day South American tour.
In 2003 she was invited to join the "chillout lounge" band Cloudfish, which includes her longtime boyfriend and Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
saxophonist, Steve Norman
Steve Norman
Steve Norman is an English musician who plays saxophone, guitar, percussion, and other instruments, for Spandau Ballet.-Early career:Steve Norman was initially a guitarist in the group with Gary Kemp...
. Together they write and produce their own material and released a mini album in July 2006. They performed a sold-out gig at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club which has operated in London since 1959.The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and Pete King. In 1965 it moved to a larger venue nearby at 47 Frith Street...
in Soho, London, and have played at Pacha
Pacha
Pacha is a nightclub franchise with headquarters in Ibiza, Spain. The first Pacha club was opened in Sitges outside Barcelona in 1967. The Ibiza club, located in Ibiza Town, is the best known venue today. During 2009 Pacha acquired El Divino, near the marina of Ibiza la Nueva, which will be...
in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
. Cloudfish still continue today and are currently writing new material and actively touring.
In 2004, Preston reunited with Bucks Fizz bandmates Cheryl Baker
Cheryl Baker
Cheryl Baker is an English television presenter and singer. She is most famous for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, and has performed for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, winning it the second time.-Early career:After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs, Cheryl...
, Mike Nolan
Mike Nolan (singer)
Mike Nolan is a singer and was one of the four original members of the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. He was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, but raised in the UK, where he still resides.- Early career :...
and Bobby G
Bobby G
Bobby G is a member of pop group Bucks Fizz. He was the only remaining original member in the group...
for the Christmas Here & Now
Here and Now Tour
The Here and Now Tour is a series of concert tours, which began in 2001, featuring groups and singers famous in the 1980s. The Tour takes in arenas and theatres around the UK and still runs today. The tours are organised by Tony Denton Promotions...
arena tour. Following this, Baker, Nolan and Preston decided to continue as The Original Bucks Fizz. As a three-piece they performed at various festivals and nightclubs. In June 2008, they performed at the last G-A-Y
G-A-Y
G-A-Y is a gay nightclub in London. It operated from the London Astoria music venue for 15 years until July 2008. The Boston Globe described it as "London's largest gay-themed club night", NME reported that it "attracts 6,000 clubbers each week", and The Independent described it as "the one London...
night alongside McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
and The Feeling
The Feeling
The Feeling are a BRIT award-nominated English pop band from West Sussex and London. The band categorise their music as "pop".Following a limited release of their first single "Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release "Sewn" in...
. In August 2008, Preston with Baker, Nolan and Aston took part in a makeover show for Living TV, which was aired in March 2009 and performed with Björn Again
Björn Again
Björn Again is a tribute show to the Swedish pop group ABBA founded in 1988 in Australia, but now involving multiple touring troupes performing under the Björn Again name...
at the Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
on 18 December 2008.
In April 2009, Preston announced that she was leaving The Original Bucks Fizz, due to other commitments. Preston also continues to write for the Cloudfish music project.
Personal life
Shelley Preston has a son, Benjamin William Beers (born 1998, HounslowLondon Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
), Shelley now lives with her son in South West London. In May 2011, she married her long-time partner Steve Norman
Steve Norman
Steve Norman is an English musician who plays saxophone, guitar, percussion, and other instruments, for Spandau Ballet.-Early career:Steve Norman was initially a guitarist in the group with Gary Kemp...
.
Singles
- September 1985 MagicalMagical (Bucks Fizz single)"Magical" is a 1985 single released by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was originally recorded and released as a single by John Parr.- Background :...
- June 1986 New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)"New Beginning " is a 1986 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was a comeback hit, achieving their highest chart placing for four years...
- August 1986 Love the One You're WithLove the One You're With"Love the One You're With" is a 1970 single by folk rocker Stephen Stills. The first release off his first solo album Stephen Stills, it rose to the top twenty of the pop singles chart, peaking at No. 14....
- November 1986 Keep Each Other WarmKeep Each Other Warm"Keep Each Other Warm" is a 1986 single by Bucks Fizz.The song peaked at No.45 in the UK in December 1986. It was the fifth and final single from their Writing on the Wall album, which was released at the same time...
- October 1988 Heart of StoneHeart of Stone (Bucks Fizz song)"Heart of Stone" is a song written by Andy Hill and Pete Sinfield for the band Bucks Fizz in 1988, and recorded by the band at Abbey Road Studios in London. It was to be later recorded and popularized by Cher in 1990.-Bucks Fizz version :...
- May 1989 You Love Love
Albums
- November 1986 Writing On The WallWriting on the WallWriting on the Wall is an album by British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released in 1986 and featured the comeback single "New Beginning ". It was the first album to feature member Shelley Preston and their only album released on Polydor Records...
- November 1988 The Story So FarThe Story So Far (Bucks Fizz album)The Story So Far is a compilation album released by pop group, Bucks Fizz. It collected together 18 of the group's biggest hits spanning the years 1981 to 1988, including their three number ones.- Background :...
- July 2005 The Ultimate AnthologyThe Ultimate AnthologyThe Ultimate Anthology is a compilation album by pop group Bucks Fizz.Released in 2005, this album was significant in that it was the first release that contained all of Bucks Fizz's 20 hit singles together on one disc...
- August 2006 The Lost Masters
- May 2008 The Lost Masters 2: The Final Cut