Matt Fretton - Dance It Up (7" Single, 1983)For a poignant tale, today we turn our attention to Matt Fretton. Until I started collecting rare 80's singles, I had never heard of him. He is probably best known for near-hit "It's So High", he is certainly not well known and I have never seen this single, for example, posted on blogs anywhere else. [UPDATE: The brilliant Simon AKA Torchomatic has posted all his singles, mixes and B-Sides here, here and here.]
I discovered a little more when I found this article from an old NO1 magazine from 1983, in which a bright eyed boy lays out his dreams of stardom. I particularly liked the bit where he mentioned he was signed to produce 8 albums in 4 years, but really expected just to make one a year. Obviously, dreams can come true, but not on this occasion.
A closing thought: I'm not sure which is more startling - the rather desperate for success cover shot for this single (especially compared to the buttoned-down image in the article) or the knowledge that in 1983 this was relatively subdued.
Can anyone else shed more light on what ever happened to our young friend?
I discovered a little more when I found this article from an old NO1 magazine from 1983, in which a bright eyed boy lays out his dreams of stardom. I particularly liked the bit where he mentioned he was signed to produce 8 albums in 4 years, but really expected just to make one a year. Obviously, dreams can come true, but not on this occasion.
A closing thought: I'm not sure which is more startling - the rather desperate for success cover shot for this single (especially compared to the buttoned-down image in the article) or the knowledge that in 1983 this was relatively subdued.
Can anyone else shed more light on what ever happened to our young friend?
5 comments:
A myspace page for him fills in some of the gaps.
Not a fan of 'dance it up' but 'it's so high' on the myspace page is a catchy enough song.
Hi, pls drop me a line and I can update you on Matt.
Cheers
Mark
mark.210@btinternet.com
I LOVED It's So High. Janice Long and David 'Kid' Jensen on Radio 1 were big supporters and Smash Hits put him on their cover before the record was even released. I think everyone was disappointed it didn't do so well. Dance It Up is good too though...
This article will fill in the gaps!
http://www.depeche-mode.com/2007/01/19/exclusive-interview-matt-fretton/
He's an agent for classical musicians now!
Really liked your nice article. I loved his music, did an interview with him once, and check from time to time to see if he might be up to doing music again some time.... Unfortunately, just came across very sad news. He definitely won't be forgotten!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2569665/Pop-singer-80s-Smash-Hits-cover-star-took-life-devastated-death-partner.html
http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2013/11/the-classical-agent-who-used-to-be-a-pop-star.html
http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/matt-fretton-1964-2013
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