357 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
357 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
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º SAMANTHA FOX - THE LIFE STORY º
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ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
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At 16, she was the darling of the shop floor. Pictures of the
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teenager with the fantastic figure, torn from the tabloid
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press, adorned the walls of almost every factory in the
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country. Today, just four years later, that same girl has
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fulfilled a fantasy most of us only dream of. Not only is she
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the country's top model, but also a chart-busting rock
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singer, a television personality and an actress. She has her
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own designer label, a restaurant, and a race horse, and she's
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still the girl everybody wants to see. She is simply a
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sensation. She's Samantha Fox . . .
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SAM - THE STORY SO FAR . . .
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Samantha Fox was born on the 15th April, 1966, in the East
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End of London. Small and rather delicate as a child, Pat and
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Carole, her parents, never imagined that she might one day
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follow her mother footsteps into the modelling world. They
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couldn't have dreamed that she would employ them both to help
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run the business of keeping Sam Fox on the road. As a
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youngster, she was no great beauty. In fact from the age of
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five, the young Samantha had to wear a caliper on her leg to
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help cure a bad hip. She wore it for three years, by which
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time, the Fox family had moved to Crouch End in North London,
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where their home remains to this day . . .
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Sam's first ambition was to get her own wheels. Not the
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sprauncy sports car that she now finds herself riding around
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in, but a humble push bike.
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She had to wait until she was 13 before her parents could
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afford to buy her one, and trusted her on the busy Islington
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streets. Mum and Dad were protective towards Samantha from
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the start, and even now Mum chaperones her on many of her
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tours, and Dad is strict about how she handles her career.
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`They're the best Mum and Dad in the world,' Sam says .
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. . `Nobody's got parents as kind as mine, and if that sounds
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naff, then hard luck.'
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All the same, when that bike finally arrived, young
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Sammy cried her eyes out . . .
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SAM, THE NAUGHTY SCHOOLGIRL
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Samantha describes her days at St. Thomas More School as
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great, though she admits to being nothing special
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academically (`I was no thickie either,' she adds). It was
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the first chance that Sam's bubbly personality had to shine
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through, and she made the most of it. she became the class
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clown, cheekily putting drawing pins on the teacher's seat,
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and sticking notices like `I'm a prat.' on the backs of the
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other schoolgirls' blazers. Hard though it is to imagine, Sam
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was considered to be something of a tomboy, and surprised all
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the teaching staff by insisting on studying motor engineering
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at CSE, despite being the only girl in the class. But that
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didn't bother her. in fact, she revelled in the attention. At
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16, she left school with `O' levels in English, art and
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music, an `A' level in art, and that CSE in motor engineering
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. . .
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YOUNG FOX AT PLAY
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As a teenager, another factor entered her life - boys. Her
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first crush was on Richard Chamberlain as Dr. Kildare.
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`I thought he looked so dishy in that outfit,' she says,
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and admits that she still has a secret hankering to meet him.
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With that interest came her first concern about her
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appearance. She decided to dye her hair. Unfortunately the
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only thing at hand was food colouring, and so she set to work
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with that.
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`I thought it looked really great,' she laughs. `But
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nobody else seemed to agree. Sam also meet with some
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resistance when, at the age of 15, she told her careers
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officer that she wanted to be a Page Three girl. The lady had
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never even heard of The Sun's most famous feature, and
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instead palmed her off with a leaflet on fashion modelling.
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It was useless. For a start it insisted that all models had
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to be 5 foot 7 at least, not much help when you're only 5
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foot 1. Sam's next idea wasn't much better. She decided that
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she would become a policewoman, but again her ambitions were
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too high. WPC Fox was not the uniform height. Graphic design
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was more realistic. With her art qualifications, she had some
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hope of achieving a living. But this was not enough for
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ambitious Sam. She wanted to be famous, and wasn't going to
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spend another three years at college trying to achieve it.
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She was going to be a model - and the best . . .
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TOPLESS TO THE TOP
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Many teenagers dream of a career in front of the cameras, but
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few have as many advantages as Samantha did. At 16, she was
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blessed with a stunning 34D-22-31 figure (later to fill out
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to 36D!), and parents who not only approved, but encouraged
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her to enter the cut and thrust of professional modelling.
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However, it was not her famous assets that first launched her
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career. Her mother entered her for the `Face Shape of 83'
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contest in the Sunday People. She didn't win, but she was
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second, and enough photographers noticed another shape that
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would be a winner. Within a few months she was appearing
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topless on Page Three. The public loved her, and soon after
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was making more topless appearances than any other model. At
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17, she won the coveted title of Page Three Girl of the Year
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for the first time, and became the darling of millions of
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readers of The Sun, Star and Daily Mirror. In case of
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accident, Sam even had her boobs insured for œ250,000. Her
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ambitions had been achieved but that wasn't enough any more.
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There were a lot more people who were going to hear about
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Samantha Fox . . .
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FOX ON THE BOX
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By the time Sammy won the Page Three Girl of the Year
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contest a second time, sceptical media men were beginning to
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realize that she was not going to be a flash in the pan.
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Television started to take an interest in the curvy cockney.
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She was invited to appear on chat shows, often with her Page
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Three colleagues, and always with great success. Her chirpy
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personality shone through, and TV producers began to see that
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she was more than just a pretty chest. True, in her early TV
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days, she was hired mainly for her buxom beauty (feeding Jim
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Davidson with one-liners, for example, or demonstrating a
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glowing bra from the 1950's on Noel Edmonds' Time of your
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Life), but at least she was being given dialogue - more than
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most Page Three girls or Benny Hill's angels ever seem to
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attain. Soon after, she was appearing in chat shows in her
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own right. Des O'Conner and Terry Wogan both helped Sam show
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that she had the makings of a television personality. It
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wouldn't be long before someone offered Sam that chance to
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show just how good she could be on the small screen . . .
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That opportunity came in 1985, when the 19-year-old was
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signed up for a reputed œ30,000 as a reporter, presenter and
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interviewer on London Weekend Television's Six O'Clock Show.
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A light hearted look at the weeks's news, it was an excellent
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vehicle for Sam's cheeky manner. She conducted interviews in
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the street with men about `visible pantie line', talked to
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guests from the world of show biz, and lent an individual
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style to reporting some of the sillier events in London. At
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first her lack of TV experience showed, but a public keen to
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see new talent and a lively approach lapped her up. All-too-
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soon her six month contract was up . . .
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It would have been easy for Sam to carry on in a similar
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vein, but again she saw a much larger market for her talents.
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By now, practically the whole country had heard of Samantha
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Fox. She advertised The Sun on television, turned up in
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comedy programmes, appeared at charity functions, and became
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as much a part of comic folklore as the mother-in-law. No
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event seemed complete without inviting Sam Fox to be there.
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And she was still the biggest thing on Page Three. It was
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rumoured that she earned more than the Prime Minister, and
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she was certainly more popular. She was the British sex
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symbol of the Eighties, the Marilyn Monroe of her day. Who
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could ask for more? Sam could . . .
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SAM'S A SINGER
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Many Page Three girls have decided to release records.
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They have, on the whole been abysmal offerings intended for
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the novelty market, selling in small numbers on their name
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alone. When Samantha came to release her first single, both
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she and the record company, Jive, were determined it wouldn't
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be like that. For a start Sam wasn't picked because of her
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modelling fame. She was auditioned along with hundreds of
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other hopefuls by producer Jon Astrop. He chose her, he says,
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because she was the most natural performer, honest, outgoing
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and above all enthusiastic. He also reckoned that she had the
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idea voice for the pop market. Nobody could have been more
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pleased than Sam. This was the new avenue that she had been
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looking for. A song was chosen. Touch Me was co-written and
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produced by Astrop. It took two ten-hour days to record,
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which Sam somehow fitted into her already crowded schedule.
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Astrop praised Sam's hard work saying that she never gave
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less than 150 per cent, and adding that she was surprising
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confident for a first timer. Everyone was very happy, but how
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would the single fare in the hard world of rock? . . .
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It was a smash! Touch Me roared to the Number Three slot
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in Britain, and reached Number One in nine other countries.
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Her second single Do Ya, Do Ya, followed it in the top ten,
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and the album Touch Me went silver within a fortnight of
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being released. Naturally, the music press were a little
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narked at this invasion by a `mere model' and many complained
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that the songs only sold through her Page Three notoriety.
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But this was not true. Sam's records were even bigger in
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Europe where nobody had heard of Page Three, than they were
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here. What had won over the record buying public was the
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combination of good production, great singing, Sam's
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personality and her performance on video. Much as the serious
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music press might not like to admit it, Sam has everything a
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pop star needs.
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Her third single, Hold on Tight, followed immediately
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and again rushed into the charts. Its sound was reminiscent
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of the Chapman and Chinn creations for stars like Suzi Quatro
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in the seventies, and was perfect disco music. However, it
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was time for the anti-Sam brigade to show their claws. The
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stern bosses of BBC Radio One banned the song from their
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playlists, pompously claiming that it was of `poor standard'
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and that they `had a duty not to inflict it on their millions
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of listeners.' The millions of listeners however felt
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differently. It was another Top Twenty hit, (amazingly
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without Radio One play) and firmly established Sam as one of
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our top female singers . . .
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THE SUN'S OUT, SAYS SAM
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Such was the success of her singing and TV career that
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Sam was quoted as saying that she was given up topless
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modelling this year. This rash statement prompted a Christmas
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style postal rush as thousands of letters, some addressed
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simply `Sam Fox, England' poured into newspaper offices and
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Samantha's north London home. They were all pleas for her to
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continue, many in the sort of language lovers use when they
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are about to be given the elbow. She responded at once, and
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appeared centre page of The Sun baring her boobs again.
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`Don't worry, you'll see me on Page Three again,' she
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said. `Whether I become a nun or a serious actress that's
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what I'll be remembered for. I'll only give up if my body is
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no longer good enough.'
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By the way of thanks, the readers of The Sun voted her
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Page Three Girl of the Year for the third time this year.
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However, it is nonetheless true that Samantha is cutting
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down on her Page Three work, and more of her modelling is
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clothed. Recently, for example, she appeared in practically
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every high street in the country on giant posters advertising
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Mecca Social Clubs, wearing a sequined but neck-high evening
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dress. And she is also a part of the Daily Mail advertising
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campaign where she is seen on billboards demurely clad, and
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mockingly claiming that she is now after a paper with `better
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coverage' . . .
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SAMMY'S SIDELINES
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As if being a top rock star, TV personality and a model
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wasn't enough to fill her time, Sam has a few other interests
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to keep her busy. Last year she launched her own designer
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label producing clothes with a foxy feel. It features
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everything from elegant evening gowns to a skin-tight plastic
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catsuit. In fact, Sam has become quite a fashion leader
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through her TV appearances and pop videos. She introduced the
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idea of tight, torn jeans at the launch of Touch Me, and her
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leather outfits have also been much in demand. She's also
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going to have to start watching the horse racing on
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television with great interest. She recently bought her own
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race horse, also called Touch Me. It's a filly that she
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picked on a trip to Ireland, and she hopes to race her next
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season. And should she get hungry, Samantha can also pop into
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her own restaurant, Sam's, in the heart of London . . .
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FOX HUNTERS - SAM'S FANATICAL FOLLOWERS
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But Samantha would be the first to admit that she could
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never do it without you, the fans. Sam appeals to practically
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every age and social group from the humble Sun reader to the
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rock fan and media junkie. Few girls have that broad an
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appeal. How many posters of Madonna will you find in
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Britain's factories, eh? And what a devoted lot you are!
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When The Sun recently held a competition to find
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Britain's biggest Sam Fox fan, they were amazed at the
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response. Men from all over the country pin her to their
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walls, with or without their wives or girlfriends'
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permission. The bedroom seems to be the most popular place of
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worship . . .
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A FOXY FUTURE?
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Where does Samantha go from here? She has very firm
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views. Her ambition, from childhood, has been to be famous,
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and that still holds good. She recently told the Daily Mirror
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she wants to top the charts, `to be in the big league if it
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means competing with Madonna and Springsteen. I would love a
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Number One in Britain.'
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But some have warnings for her. Radio One D.J. Steve
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Wright said in his column that she would be wrong to think of
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singing full-time. He called her a beautiful girl and a
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natural TV performer, but his advice was to stay in modelling
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for another year and develop her TV skills. Singing, he
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reckoned, should remain a lucrative hobby.
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However Steve was commenting before Sam made her first
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promotional trip to America - a trip which has been another
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great success for the fabulous Fox. It co-incided with the
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release to Touch Me in the States, which leapt into the US
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charts immediately. Whilst she was there, Sam was invited
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onto no less than seven radio talk shows in two days, she
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hosted her own show on MTV, and was deluged with enquires
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about her singing career from interested members of the
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public... One MTV executive producer praised her down-to-
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earth attitude and giggly charm, and Jonathon King said that
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the reaction to her rivalled Beatlemania. However, the Yanks
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are going to miss out on one aspect of Samantha's talent. She
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will not be doing any topless modelling there. Her record
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company say that could damage her popularity in the Bible
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belt. However, cheeky cockney's like Sam have always done
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well in the US (think of Twiggy, not to mention all the
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repeats of Upstairs, Downstairs), so this could be a whole
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new ballgame for Britain's bombshell . . .
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THE FOX IN HER LAIR
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Despite fame and constant claims that she is now a
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millionairess, Sam is still very much a homely girl. She
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still lives with her parents, her 17-year-old sister Vanessa
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and the two dogs Bianca and Lucy in the family's Victorian
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semi-detached in Islington. Her parents are now a part of her
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business. Mum occasionally accompanies her on jobs, and her
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father works as her manager, helping to answer the thousands
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of fan letters that arrive daily. These days, Sam travels
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more and more but wherever she goes in the world, she always
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says she's glad to get back to her Mum's cooking. Her
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favourite meal is something plain and simple like steak and
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kidney pudding. Her hobbies are simple too; swimming,
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watching football and resting when she gets the opportunity.
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She does have a taste for the night life, however. She
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can often be spotted at Stringfellows, dancing with other
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celebrities. She also enjoys eating out with her friends (old
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school mate rather than other models who, she complains, only
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tend to talk about work). One of her current fads is for
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Malaysian restaurant which she is keeping to herself. When
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she's not at home, Sam eats out a lot, she doesn't enjoy
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cooking, she finds it boring . . .
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Sam likes to keep her private life quiet, but the press
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soon latched onto her fondness for millionaire Peter Foster.
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Sam and Peter recently went away together on what the papers
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dubbed `a secret African love safari'. It was no secret for
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long, however. Despite travelling 5,000 miles to Kenya, then
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taking a private plane to a jungle hideaway, photographers
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still found them. Sam told them that the main reason for the
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holiday was to relax after the pressure of work commitments.
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Whether she was able to relax with all the press attention,
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we may never know, but one thing is for certainly did jolt
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her. On her return she was involved in a four-car pile-up
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when the brakes failed on her father's car. She was shaken
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but unhurt.
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Of course, Sam may well have known that it would happen
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all along. She is a keen follower of astrology, and says that
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she never leaves the house without first reading her stars.
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Her sign is Aries, which makes her an honest, plain-speaker
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who can get away with murder, and also very passionate!
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But it doesn't take an astrologer to see that Samantha
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Fox is going to be around for some time. A happy combination
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of good looks, talent and careful management will assure Sam
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of a long career with fans all over the world. At only 23,
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Sam still has big things in front of her . . .
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Samantha Fox - The Life Story
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Compiled and edited by:
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Raistlin Majere, Archmage of the Black Robes
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(Samantha Fox's greatest fan! and therefore this is dedicated
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as a tribute to her).
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"The best is yet to come..."
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(C) 18/09/1990 Warlock Enterprises Ltd. |