Daniel James, formally known under his birth name of Colin Heywood, is a singer, actor and presenter of shows on television and radio. In 1986, he competed in the BBC's ''

A Song For Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' contest under the name Colin Heywood with "No Easy Way to Love", a song co-written by

Tony Hiller Anthony Toby Hiller (30 July 1927 – 26 August 2018) was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including " United We Stand" (1970) and " Save Your Kisses for Me" ( ...

, the producer known for many of the songs by

Brotherhood of Man Brotherhood of Man were a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s with three number one hits in the UK. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with " Save Your Kisses for Me". Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer ...

. ''A Song For Europe'' was a contest was to represent the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the

1986 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcasting Unio ...

, but he came in sixth place, losing out to the band

Ryder Ryder System, Inc. is an American transportation and logistics company, specializing in truck rental and leasing, fleet management, supply chain management, and transportation management. It also offers full-service leasing, rental and maint ...

, with the song " Runner in the Night". Under his birth name, he appeared in the 1987 horror film ''

Bloody New Year ''Bloody New Year'' (also known as ''Time Warp Terror'' and ''Horror Hotel'') is a 1987 British supernatural horror film directed by Norman J. Warren and starring Suzy Aitchison, Nikki Brooks, Colin Heywood, Mark Powley, Catherine Roman and Julian ...

'' and hosted the BBC childrens programme ''But First This'' with

Sue Devaney Sue Devaney (born Susan Barber, 2 July 1967) is an English actress. Her roles include Debbie Webster in ''Coronation Street'', Rita in ''Jonny Briggs'', Liz Harker in ''Casualty'' and Jane in '' Dinnerladies''. Career Devaney has played variou ...

, Siobhan Maher Kennedy and

Andy Crane Howard Andrew Crane (born 24 February 1964) is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting Children's BBC between 1987 and 1990 and for his current work as a presenter on the Greatest Hits Radio network. Career Cran ...

before adopting the alias of "Daniel James", the stage name he continues to use in 2025.

Yell!

After meeting Jeff Chegwin, the brother of

Keith Chegwin Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 – 11 December 2017), also known by the nickname Cheggers, was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including ''Multi-Coloured Swa ...

and

Janice Long Janice Berry (née Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. The first female presenter to have a ...

, he was placed in a pop duo with Paul Varney called

Yell! Yell! were a British pop duo who had a hit single in 1990 with a cover of "Instant Replay". Overview Yell! consisted of singers Daniel James and Paul Varney. In 1989, they both met manager Jeff Chegwin and decided to form the group. They w ...

and signed to Simon Cowell's Fanfare Records.

had a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom with a cover of Dan Hartman's 1978 hit, "

Instant Replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred, both shot and broadcast live TV, live. After being shown live, the video is replayed so viewers can see it again and analyze what just happened. Spo ...

" and would go on to cover the Average White Band's " Let's Go Round Again". James later returned to his music career in the 2020s. In 2020, James released a podcast for the Stock Aitken Waterman Show, where he talked about music and being part of Yell!, his first meeting with Mike Stock and Matt Aitken and releasing ''Safety In Numbers'', as well as being signed by Simon Cowell.

''Bangers and Chat''

As of 2025, James has a radio show on

Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...

's Heritage Chart Radio station called ''Bangers and Chat'', and has appeared on their chart show programme on Talking Pictures TV promoting various singles like "Don’t Want To Lose That Girl", "Set Your Spirit Free" and his Christmas medley "Silent Night O Holy Night".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heywood, Colin 20th-century English singers English male film actors English male singers English television presenters Year of birth missing (living people) Living people