Sending ’em to sleep, the Eighties pop idol
IN the 1980s, the very sight of David Van Day would make teenage girls sigh.
Three decades on, it seems he’s still having an effect on the female population. But now they’re snoozing, not swooning.
As the 58-year-old former Dollar star and wife Sue Moxley, 52, performed to a room of 60 elderly care home residents on Friday, some could be seen dozing off in their wheelchairs.
Van Day, who was reduced to selling burgers in the early 2000s, was paid £150 for the live set at Lucas Court Care Home in Moulton, Northamptonshire. Yesterday, a resident’s relative, who did not want to be named, said: ‘It was a bit embarrassing . Some of them looked interested for a bit but there were a few residents who just nodded off. Resorting to playing to some old dears in their care home must be a career low. It’s a far cry from his Dollar days.’
But Fearn Upton, a manager at the home, said: ‘The residents, staff and all the contractors have really enjoyed themselves. David and Sue made sure everybody joined in.’ In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Van Day had top ten hits – including Mirror Mirror and Give Me Back My Heart – with then lover and Dollar band-mate Thereza Bazar. He replaced Mike Nolan in Bucks Fizz in 1996.
During his heyday, Van Day reportedly blew £100,000 on cocaine and ended up selling fast food in Brighton, earning him the nickname Burger Van Day.
He finished fourth on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! in 2008, but was shunned by fellow contestants who accused him of being lazy, manipulative and rude.