David Van Day

Biography

Van Day was born David Paul Day. Having been a member of song and dance troupe The Young Generation, in 1974, he successfully auditioned for the then-new vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls. The group had some successful hits, and Van Day began a romantic relationship with bandmate Thereza Bazar. Keen to embark on a solo career, Van Day decided to quit the group in 1977. Bazar was sacked from the group shortly afterward, to preserve gender balance.

Van Day and Bazar then decided to perform together, and formed a new duo, Dollar. The band recorded and toured from 1978 to 1983, then again from 1986 to 1988. They had several top ten hits in the UK, including "Love's Gotta Hold on Me" and "Give Me Back My Heart". He also had a brief solo career as a movie actor, appearing as a devious handyman in the 1983 horror anthology film Screamtime with Dora Bryan and Jean Anderson. After a final top ten hit "O L'amour" in 1988, Dollar split for a second time, bringing their recording career to an end. Bazar left the music industry and moved to Australia.

In the early-mid 1990s, Van Day toured as Dollar with a succession of female singers. In the late 1990s he joined one incarnation of the pop group Bucks Fizz, with original Bucks Fizz member Mike Nolan. With both of these acts he recorded and released some budget-priced CDs of re-recorded hits. Neither sold well and the Bucks Fizz tracks received widespread criticism from fans.

In 2003 Van Day (with Bazar) competed in the ITV1 reality show Reborn in the USA; he was the first act voted off. He caused controversy during the show, accusing producers of biased editing, and arguing with singer and fellow contestant Sonia, accusing her of "being crafty and cunning to try to save her own skin".

In 2008, Van Day was a semi-finalist on the eighth series of British reality television show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (Series 8 UK), finishing in fourth place. During his time in the jungle he clashed with glamour model Nicola McLean. Before going into I'm a Celebrity Van Day underwent plastic surgery in a Living TV documentary called Pop Goes the Band, in which he featured with Thereza Bazar.

Van Day hosted the eleven-part reality series Brides on a Bus on Wedding TV. He also briefly appeared in the series Celebrity Coach Trip on Channel 4, and was interviewed with wife Sue Moxley on The Jeremy Kyle Show.

Politics

In May 2007, Van Day stood as a Conservative candidate for Brighton & Hove City Council in the East Brighton ward, but neither he nor the other two Conservative candidates were successful in gaining a seat, after he had allegedly made some homophobic remarks which were much criticised in the town which has a large homosexual population.

Personal life

Van Day was involved in a relationship with Dollar co-star Thereza Bazar for several years in the 1970s. The relationship ended in the early 1980s, and Van Day later married a model called Maria. The couple divorced but have two daughters, Olivia and Amber. Having initially ended his relationship with her on the Channel 5 TV show The Wright Stuff, Van Day later married the beauty editor for The Sun, Sue Moxley, in Orsett, Essex, on 21 February 2010. They currently live together in South Ockendon, Essex.

During the early 2000s Van Day operated a burger van with his best friend Les Cole in Brighton earning him the nickname "Burger Van Day"

On 31 October, 2016 it was reported in the Sun newspaper that Van Day had suffered a heart attack. He was taken to Queen's Hospital in Romford, East London where a stent was fitted and he was kept in under observation.

Solo discography