My Fame U.K. Reunion 2019Journey
"Fame" had literally saved my life as a teenager and unlike other teens who move on from their favourite bands or TV shows, this particular show had always stayed with me. I'd kept my collection of memorabilia and spent years tracking down all the episodes.
I met Valerie Landsburg in 2001 and then in 2009 decided to start my blog Kids From Fame Media. My desire was to share the episodes, songs, Magazines and memorabilia from my collection. Initially, I thought it would be done in a few month but all these years later it's still growing strong and developed into this huge archive of Fame material.
In 2015 I attended my first Fame Reunion in Italy and my Dreams of meeting the cast and being with other wonderful fans all expressing our love and gratitude, came true. However, when it was over I felt a little lost and uncertain.
It had been such an amazing time that it made me feel that this kind of experience needed to be shared with other. This couldn’t be the end, it simply couldn’t.
Actually, it felt like a beginning, although at that time, there was uncertainty of what the future held and what I personally would be able to achieve.
After that first Reunion I wrote the following in my Diary:
“My new dream is a U.K. concert and Fame convention in London. I have no experience of this kind of thing and no contacts in the entertainment business but somehow I want to make this happen.”
Flash forward to 2017 and my second Fame Reunion in Italy. Everything was bigger and better and I talked with Sue Hinds, who also Dared to Dream of a Fame U.K. Reunion. In fact, she had already spent the previous 6 months putting things into place. She had the cast on board and was starting to look at venues. I made it clear that I wanted to be involved.
In early 2018 the plans started to come together and I joined the small team planning for a U.K. Reunion in 2019. As well as helping with the initial planning for the concerts and publicity, I pitched the idea of a Convention, which I was asked to take responsibility for.
One of the major things that struck me at my first Reunion was how the fans wanted to spend time together and get to know each other and I wanted to create a space for that to happen. So, it all began a 15 month Rollercoaster ride of a lifetime, with so many highs but at the same time so many lows.
15 months of never ending sheer hard work. With limited resources and funding we had to do everything ourselves. None of us was being paid so that every penny of the money raised could go to the Claire House Children’s Hospice charity. This was all on top of our normal everyday lives and responsibilities.
It was a very intense journey and the stakes were high. Despite what else was going around us the chores always needed doing or the event wouldn't succeed. No matter how tired I was there was always something to do like those 500 emails that had to be sent to the press in one morning, cast biographies for the concert programme or the daily Facebook posts.
Sometimes my own self doubts got the better of me but I didn’t want to let the cast or the fans down. However, at times things just got too much. I can admit that the stress and the pressure certainly affected my health at times and Looking back it was the best of times but also the worst of times.
The Reunion took me out of my comfort zone and had me doing things that I never thought I would do, like being filmed for TV to be on the One Show. I was only on screen briefly but I spent the whole day with the filming crew in Liverpool in July 2018. It was fun but also very nerve wracking.
I found myself messaging the cast to check information or ask for them to record a video to promote the event or corresponding with other cast members and dancers to ask if they wanted to participate in some way.
In June 2018, I started to post some teaser videos that I'd made to let people know something was happening. suddenly the flood gates opened from the fans asking questions but of course so much of what was going on was top secret so it was difficult trying to balance answering people and not give too much away.
We launched the Social media campaign with a statement that I wrote:
""HELLO ENGLAND! The cast yelled at the screaming U.K. audiences back in 1982 and 1983. Since then we have waited and waited, dreaming of the day that they would return to U.K. shores.
Well here at #fameukreunion we are working very hard to make that dream a reality.
Our team has been daring to dream about this for months (some for years); working to put all the pieces of this magical jigsaw together.
We still have some way to go until the picture is complete but we couldn't keep this to ourselves any longer!
We can't tell you all the specifics just yet, but you will get all the information very soon.
We are hoping there will be a very big announcement after the summer, when the important exciting details will be unveiled.
We can tell you that whatever we put together will take place over the Bank Holiday weekend (3rd - 6th May 2019) so if you need leave from work, get it booked now and save the date so you will be free to take part in the ride of a lifetime.
Oh and start saving too! This will be a charity event so we are looking to raise as much money as possible for a wonderful U.K. Children's charity.
We are launching our Facebook and Twitter pages today. Also we have an email sign up page on our website.
All you need to do at this stage is like the Facebook page, Follow the Twitter Page and go to the website to join our mailing list, so that you don't miss out on any of the exciting announcements that we will be making. You can only access the sign up page at the moment but there will be more to come in the future.
Everyone who signs up with their email address will be able to take part in an exclusive Presale Event, before Tickets go on sale to the general public.
Oh yes and share the pages too. Share to friends, family, anyone who might be interested so they can get involved too.
Come and join us as we "light up the sky like a flame"!
"There's a train a coming your way honey, just be ready to get on board". "FAME!""
Excitement was high but now began the long task of maintaining that excitement and spreading the word. Each week we launched a cast member in our Newsletter and I came up with the Co-ordinates challenge, giving people cryptic clues to the Reunion's location. It was a lot of fun but so time consuming.
Then 5th September 2018 came, our official launch day, with Valerie and Sue on the One Show. My phone virtually exploded that evening with all the messages, as the presale went live.
Tickets started to sell and we'd already been publicizing the event for 3 months but there were still another 8 months ahead of us.
Plans were made that didn’t work out. Promises of help were made and promises broken. Hopes were raised and hopes dashed. However, being financially responsible for the Fame Family Experience Convention, I just had to weather the storms and keep on going.
It took me 15 months n total to arrive at our final destination of Liverpool, in May 2019. This was my third time visiting Liverpool, previously I made 2 trips to the City, one to see the Holiday Inn which was to become the venue for the Fame Family Experience Convention and one to film the One Show feature. Neither trip afforded me too much time to sightsee but the parts I saw I really liked. The City seemed relatively compact but being by the Water made it feel spacious. Seeing it for the first time with Sue I thought she'd made the perfect choice to hold the Reunion there.
Arriving for the third time things were different. The planning was over and the nerves had kicked in. There was no turning back because it was finally Showtime!
It was exciting to see the posters on display outside the venue and to know the cast were already deep in rehearsals at the LMA. In a few days time the activities would begin and the fans would start to arrive. Just time for a cheeky cocktail on the roof terrace at the hotel where the cast were staying.
Michael and I arrived on Monday 29th April and after checking into the flat we were renting we made our way to the LMA. Seeing all the cast there was wonderful. After 15 months of dreaming it suddenly started to feel very real.
We watched a little as the cast rehearsed and worked out the harmonies on “Satellite”. Then later I felt quite overcome as I watched Nia take on Erica’s part in “Life is a Celebration”.
That evening we joined the cast, crew and the band for dinner at Fylde Fish and Chip restaurant. It felt quite a surreal experience. Having met the cast a few times and communicated with them on Facebook and email, it still felt strange sharing a meal with them. Still it was a lovely start to our Reunion experience.
On Thursday May 2nd we travelled from Liverpool to London to be part of the audience for the One Show. Back in September 2018 when Fame U.K. Reunion launched I’d missed out on being part of the audience. I’d contacted the BBC weeks beforehand to see how to get tickets for the audience only to be told they don’t normally have audiences. Then the day before transmission they contacted me asking to help them find Fame fans for the audience!
I live in Cornwall and despite what felt like hours trying to make the journey work for myself it wasn’t meant to be. Besides as we were launching someone needed to be on hand to deal with all the enquiries and messages to the Facebook page, of which there were many. So, I contacted other fans that lived near London and arranged for them to attend. However, this time I was determined to be there.
Originally Loretta Chandler was just going to be part of the audience with us so I decided as we’d be travelling together we’d go First class. However, after Erica Gimpel sadly dropped out of the Reunion and Loretta stepped in to be part of the Concerts she came to the U.K. early and was then joined the rest of the cast appearing on the show.
We spent about 5 hours travelling there and back just to record a 30 minute show but it was great to be part of the cast return to U.K. TV.
It may have been pouring with rain outside but inside the fans were meeting for the first time. It’s a really small studio and there were probably about 30 of us there. After being briefed by an assistant to basically make as much noise as possible we were taken to the studio. The presenters Matt Baker and Angelica Bell were practicing their entrance which was fun as they were wearing leg warmers and headbands. There was a lot of excited energy as the presenters and then the cast made their way through the crowd. Michael and I hid at the back as we had no desire to actually be seen. A video featurette, which did show me from the original film we made, was followed by the cast and Sue Hinds being interviewed. It was wonderful to be part of. The audience had been asked to submit questions but time was short and only Dennis Haddock got to ask a question. Really the Fame cast could have taken over the whole show.
When the show ended it was a mad rush to get back to Euston Train Station to catch our train and we didn’t stay for the audience photo however our train was delayed slightly so we could have stayed after all. The cast were travelling back on the same train although they were in a different first class carriage. It felt bizarre standing at Euston Station surround by the cast of Fame as we waited for our train to be announced. I couldn’t help thinking why they weren’t being mobbed! In the end only one fan who had been at the One Show came and asked for photos.
As we’d travelled with Loretta’s sister Cloretta, Loretta travelled back in our carriage and we had a fun couple of hours. We were in high spirits and Loretta told us stories of her days on the fame set. We laughed so much and I kept seeing the faces of some of the other passengers. I thought that any minute we’d be thrown out of the carriage but happily we weren’t. We arrived back in Liverpool tired but happy.
Finally, the Reunion Weekend was up on us. Excited fans, who never thought a U.K. Reunion would be possible, were starting to arrive in Liverpool and all the planning and hard work started to come together.
From the cast meal, to the dancing in the Streets, through the Fame Family Experience Convention to the Concerts, We danced, we sang, we laughed, we cried. We made new friends and remembered old friends no longer with us. We shared a magical time together. A time none of us will ever forget.
