David Van Day is an English singer, songwriter, and politician, who was formerly a member of the pop vocal duoDollar. He was also a member of the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls, and a latter-day lineup of Bucks Fizz briefly in the 1990s.
Biography
Van Day was born David Paul Day on 28 November 1956 in Brighton, Sussex, England. 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 was sacked from the band along with Bazar in 1977. 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 Michael Armstrong's 1983 horror anthology filmScreamtime, opposite 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 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 showI'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! , finishing in fourth place. 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 Brightonward, but neither he nor the other two Conservative candidates were successful in gaining a seat. In 2018, Van Day stood for a seat on Thurrock council in Aveley and Uplands Ward as a Conservative. The election was won by Cllr Tim Aker MEP. In 2019, Cllr Aker resigned and Van Day won the subsequent by-election.
Personal life
In the 1990s Van Day married a model called Maria and have two children together, Amber Van Day and Olivia Van Day. After this, he started a relationship with beauty editor for The Sun, Sue Moxley where he initially ended his relationship with her on the Channel 5 TV show The Wright Stuff, They reunited soon after and married in Orsett, Essex, on 21 February 2010. They are currently living 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" In late October 2016, Van Day suffered a heart attack. He was taken to a hospital in Essex, England where a stent was fitted.
