Bucks Fizz singer Jay Aston claims former bandmates threatened to ruin her career after she quit the pop group following a 1984 crash.
Speaking on the Best: Suddenly Single podcast, the 65-year-old singer opened up about the bitter rift with her former bandmates following her decision to leave the group in 1985.
Aston explained that her friendships with her bandmates were left in ruins after she chose to depart. She revealed that her colleagues warned her that she would never find work in the music industry again.
"When I left the band, without going into too much detail, they made it very clear that they would ruin me," Aston told the podcast. "You'll never work again and we can do it. [We] made you and we can break you."
She added that "it was a really, really grim time," explaining that as a result, "no one would sort of touch me. They thought I was trouble."
"Everything that could have been said was said," Aston said. "And I was ill, I was trying to recover from a coach crash and I had all the litigation."
Legal Disputes and Financial Ruin
The management company representing Bucks Fizz took Aston to court under the terms of her contract. Although management dropped the case in the middle of the trial, an injunction was placed on her against commencing a solo career.
The legal battles took two years to settle and left Aston in financial ruin. She was forced to sell her "beautiful" home in west Kensington to pay her £400,000 legal costs, leaving her "on the dole and living in a bedsit."
In the United Kingdom, being on the dole refers to receiving state unemployment benefits, while a bedsit is a single rented room serving as both bedroom and living room. West Kensington is an affluent residential district in West London.
Aston recalled that despite the group's public success, their financial situation was dire. "We had a record deal that was so bad, you know," she said. "Everyone thought we were millionaires and we weren't at all."
The star admitted she previously "hit rock bottom" as a result of the ordeal, saying: "I became depressed and abandoned showbusiness."
Eurovision Success and Newcastle Crash
Bucks Fizz formed in 1981 as a four-member British pop group featuring Aston alongside Bobby G, Cheryl Baker and Mike Nolan. Aged 19 at the time of their Eurovision success, Aston was the youngest member of the group.
The group became one of the UK's most successful exports to the Eurovision Song Contest, taking the top spot in 1981 with their famous skirt-whipping routine. Eurovision is an annual international song competition held among public broadcasting members.
The group was riding high on their success when tragedy struck in 1984 after a terrifying bus crash in Newcastle. The accident left Baker with a broken spine and placed Nolan in a three-day coma.
Aston declared she was leaving the band in 1985, explaining that she did not see a future as a group after the awful crash. Her departure also came after her affair with producer Andy Hill, the husband of the group's creator, Nichola Martin.
Teaching Career and Later Reunions
Following her exit from the group and departure from showbusiness, Aston focused her attention elsewhere. In 2001, the singer set up a performing arts school in her name, spending several years focused on teaching.
In 2009, Aston reunited with two of her bandmates, Baker and Nolan, marking the first time she had been a part of Bucks Fizz since 1985. The trio toured the UK extensively and renamed the group as The Fizz in 2016.
Nolan retired from the group in November 2024. The Fizz currently consists of Aston, Baker, and two new male singers, Matthew Pateman and Nikk Mager.
