| STUART BRETT - Vocals & Rhythm Guitar | RICHARD GREEN - Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals |
| DAVE PARKS - Lead Guitar | DAVE FRAMPTON - Drums |
The begining.....
Looking at the current line-up of FREEFALL, it’s hard to imagine any of us not wanting to play
in a band or perform in front of a large crowd of beer drinking animals.
But, for Stuart at least, singing in a band was the last thing he wanted to do ...
‘Yeah well, I knew I wanted to be famous’ Stuart states in a recent interview for Bella magazine,
‘but doing what I didn’t know. It wasn’t until a friend of mine mentioned that there was a lot
of money to be made from stripping that I decided to give it a go!’
Stuart began stripping in the late 80’s but because of his long girlie hair and female
mannerisms he failed to make much of an impression on the local Hullbridge circuit. Until he had an idea .....
‘Well, I thought, if I look like a girl, then why not dress like one ?’
This early photograph shows Stuart preparing to go onstage with his optional 'fake breasts'
- a big hit with the local builders.
It was just by chance that one warm summer evening - while Stuart was wiping the sweat from his
rubber pants - he was propositioned, and not for the first time I can tell you, by an out of
work game show host with great ideas for a new type of band. Not a band that struggles to hit it
big-time with a Number One song, not a band which can only write a one hit and then vanish off the
face of the earth, but a band which can play hit song
after hit song and not have to write them - a Cover's band !
Picking up Rhythm ....
The scene was an all too familiar one. On either side would be the two hopeful contestants, poised
to answer the next question read out by the host of the show, ‘Uncle Nobby’, only to be met with
a drunken slur of abusive bar-room insults, sometimes followed by a poor effort to ‘moon’ at the
audience. Things were not looking good for Dave Frampton.
Two weeks into the second series of ‘Burp that Tune’ - a subtle twist on that popular game show
‘Name that Tune’, only the tunes were ‘Belched’ by Dave himself after downing pints of larger
during the show - he was sacked.
This award winning photograph was taken at the 1982 ‘Entertainer of the Year’ awards, just
after Dave had been sick in Keith Harris’s shirt pocket & tried to ‘drop kick’ Orville the Duck.
Several children were treated in hospital for shock.
And so he did. The first night he took to the stage in a stunning off the shoulder red sequinned
ball gown and the crowd, mainly of small boys from the local special school, could hardly contain their, er, excitement.
‘To be honest, I can’t remember much about it,’ Dave recently told ‘What Pub’ magazine,
‘I was having some great ideas for new shows and stuff, but no one seemed interested. Hey, that
reminds me of that time I was on holiday and there was a big shark in the sea but no one would
listen to me then either. Or was that a film ? Eh? What was I talking about ?’
It was in the early 90’s when Dave had his vision of a new ‘Super-group’ that would rock the world.
He had already signed a front man, Stuart, after meeting him down the local strip club - all
he needed now were some talented musicians to back him up.
‘I’ve always enjoyed fiddling with things’ Richard stated at a court case earlier this year,
‘I was well known for it. At school I’d constantly have my hands in my pockets - fiddling with
wires and stuff. I can’t help it. By the time I left school I could fiddle my mums electric meter
blind-folded.’
After a short stint playing one of the ‘Tetley Tea’ gang in a promotional film about tea
awareness, Dave decided to imitate one of his idols and try and live off his fame - John Lennon.
