Jay Aston - After Bucks Fizz

After Bucks Fizz

Forced to sell her house, the early 1990s saw Aston living in a small bedsit in Croydon on Housing benefits. Her brother had married Shakespear's Sister star Marcella Detroit who encouraged her to record new songs. In 1993 Aston released a single "Naked Phoenix" and recorded an album of songs. This same year she contributed a song to the controversial Michael Winner film, Dirty Weekend (although Aston walked out of the film's premiere in disgust). By 1995 she was living with her parents but was still writing and recording music. Around this time she met and began dating guitarist Dave Colquhoun, whom she married in 1999. During the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s, Aston toured with her band Aston, performing rock and pop tracks, many of which she wrote herself. In 2002, she was involved in a cover band called Monster Boogie, and she also appeared in an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks as one of the mystery guests in the Identity Parade round. In 2003 Aston released an album, Alive and Well with 13 tracks all of which she co-wrote with her husband.

In 2005 the glory years of Bucks Fizz, mainly focusing on Aston, were portrayed in a drag lip-synch show, Night of a Thousand Jay Astons at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after its début in London. Aston was played by one female and three male performers. The life of Aston was told through an outrageous parody, and was described in review as "hilariously over the top". The show has also been staged at other venues including the Comedy Theatre in Dublin in May 2006 and the Soho Theatre in London in summer 2007.

Another solo album, a 3 disc box-set Lamb or Lizard was released in July 2006 through her website, which featured recordings from before and after her work with Bucks Fizz.

In 2001 she set up a performing arts school in her name, The Jay Aston Theatre Arts School, teaching children aged 2–17. The school still runs today.

In March 2007, she appeared in the Comic Relief video "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" a comic cover version of The Proclaimers song, dancing with the fellow original members of Bucks Fizz. This was the first time that Aston had met the group since 1985. As she said, relations between them had improved, but not the extent that could work together as a group again. "I’m kind of on good terms with all of them individually. But as a band, it just doesn’t work, and it’s a shame, but it doesn’t. There’s always been two camps – Cheryl’s camp and Bobby’s camp, and I was the one in Bobby’s camp, and Mike was always in Cheryl’s camp."

A new Bucks Fizz CD with a bonus DVD, The Very Best of Bucks Fizz was released in May 2007. Aston appeared alone on the National Lottery to promote the album. In August 2008, Aston once again joined up with Bucks Fizz members Mike Nolan and Cheryl Baker when she appeared on a television show celebrating 1980s acts - with one episode devoted to the reuniting of Bucks Fizz. This programme was shown on Living TV in March 2009.