Fairground Attraction

Fairground Attraction had one of the biggest hits of the 1980s with Perfect, an irresistible Number 1 in the UK and various other parts of the world, which triggered the runaway success of their debut album The First Of A Million Kisses. Focal point was Eddi Reader, who fought her way out of the slums of Glasgow to busk on the streets of London before joining Gang Of Four, touring with Eurythmics and becoming a regular session singer. A meeting with songwriter Mark E. Nevin resulted in the formation of Fairground Attraction (originally calling themselves The Academy Of Fine Popular Music) and they struck it big with their first single Perfect, an easy, good-time song rooted in skiffle music. They followed it with another Top 10 single Find My Love but, despite the subsequent success of The First Of A Million Kisses album, Reader hated the trappings of her new-found stardom and the band split when they became embroiled in arguments while recording their second album. One more album Ay Fond Kiss was eventually released in 1990, including the single Walkin' After Midnight - a cover of an old Patsy Cline hit - while Nevin went on to work with Brian Kennedy under the name Sweetmouth. Reader subsequently launched a celebrated solo career and was awarded an MBE.

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