rivers2cross

In 2015 I travelled into London to meet Dave Fenton, lead vocalist with The Vapors, a band best remembered for their worldwide smash hit single ‘Turning Japanese’.

I decided to try and track him down for the Lives & Times bowel cancer fundraising book I was writing, after I had spoken with the broadcaster Mike Read about ‘Jimmie Jones’, which was a minor hit for the band. At the time Dave was the in-house lawyer for the Musician’s Union, so I took a chance and sent an email to their press office. Within an hour he’d replied in person, and just 48 hours later we met up outside Westminster tube station.

Dave was extremely helpful, and happy to let me choose the location. There could only be one place for me to take the photo for the book, and that was with Big Ben in the background. The Vapors best single in my opinion was ‘News At Ten’, and the picture sleeve of the single was the classic ITV image of Big Ben striking 10 o’clock for their news programme.

We were able to chat about not just the band, and some of the difficulties they had at the time with record companies, but life after the band finished, and his work at the Musician’s Union and the problems the bands of today face. All in all it was a fascinating experience, and a great chapter to include in the book.

Dave sent me the photo of himself with his copy of the book after it was published at the end of 2015. When we met Dave’s brother was beginning treatment for lung cancer, but sadly by the time I published the book he had passed away. Another example of just how awful cancer is. My mother’s bowel cancer journey also ended in great sadness. She was diagnosed in 2012, and although the operation on her bowel was successful, she had four further operations on her lungs after the cancer spread. She was coping really well, and bounced bounced very quickly each time. Towards he end of 2015 the cancer spread to her brain. In spite of CyberKnife treatment her health declined, and she went into hospital in June 2016 following a massive seizure. She passed away peacefully on August 29th 2016.

When I met Dave, he gave me no indication that The Vapors had any intention of reforming, but in recent years the band has got back on the road. I first got to see the band in Wolverhampton in 2016. It was a fantastic gig, and finally getting to see the band live, and perform the songs of my youth, was amazing. I’ve seen them a few times now including a couple of times in London. I will always have two stand out tracks, ‘News At Ten’ and ‘Letter From Hero’, and they remain not surprisingly the highlights for me, but every song is always top notch.

The good news is that The Vapors have a long awaited third album due for release in May. Together is the band’s first record since Magnets was released back in 1981. The first two singles from the record sound amazing, so the excitement is definitely growing.

The chapter on Dave is included in the Lives & Times charity book, which has raised around £4000 for Bowel Cancer UK (formerly Beating Bowel Cancer), the UK’s leading bowel cancer charity. The book features chapters on some bands and musicians including Stiff Little Fingers, From The Jam, The Stranglers and The Alarm. It also features many famous celebrities as well as some inspirational people affected by cancer. It’s still available to order from my website https://rivers2cross.com/product/lives-times-charity-book/

Bowel cancer claims 16,000 lives in the UK, and is the second biggest cancer killer. However if caught early at stage 1 it is very treatable, and the five year survival rate is over 90%. When detected at the late stage 4 the five year survival rate drops dramatically to 7%. This shows how crucial early diagnosis is to getting a better outcome.