Ben Ofoedu | |
---|---|
Birth name | Benedict Spencer Ofoedu |
Born | British Hong Kong |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 1989–present |
Formerly of |
Benedict Spencer Ofoedu ( /oʊfeɪduː/) is a British singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the former fiancé of Vanessa Feltz and for his media appearances thereby, though he had some success as a vocalist, having sung on ten UK Singles Chart entries as part of Benz, Phats & Small, and Intenso Project; a solo single, "Your Love", charted at No. 76 on the same chart.
Benedict Spencer Ofoedu [1] ( /oʊfeɪduː/) [2] was born in Hong Kong and moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was two years old. His parents were Igbo; his father was a merchant seaman. [3]
In 1989, Ofoedu featured on the tracks "Don't Stop" and "The Deep", from Humanoid's Global. [4] He then formed Big Ben & The Fox. [5] In 1993, Ofoedu joined the band Benz under the name B.I.G. Ben, along with Tim Shade (Benjamin Balogun), and Darkboy (Anthony Benedict Thompson); [1] The group had five singles enter the UK Singles Chart; "Boom Rock Soul" (No. 62), "Urban City Girl" (No. 31), "Miss Parker" (No. 35), "If I Remember" (No. 59), and "On A Sun-Day" (No. 73). [6]
In 1999 he became the singer of Phats & Small [7] after they found they needed a frontman for their hit single Turn Around, [8] which peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. [9] Ofoedu would later sing on their singles "Feel Good" and "Tonite", [10] which charted at No. 7 and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. [9] In 2000, he released a solo single "Your Love" [7] under the name "Ben", which charted at No. 76 on that chart. [11]
In 2001, he joined REDhill, whose other members were Mark Brightman, Rodney Williams, and Shane Lynch; they were never signed, and disbanded in 2002. Ofoedu, Brightman, Williams, and Tony Thompson would later form Four Story in late 2003, [12] who with "Hand on My Heart" appeared on Making Your Mind Up with the intention of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest; they came fifth. [7]
In 2002, he joined Intenso Project, [7] which peaked at No. 22, No. 32, and No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart with "Luv Da Sunshine", "Your Music" featuring Laura Jaye, and " Get It On" featuring Lisa Scott-Lee. [13] In 2008, he wrote Chanelle Hayes' " I Want It". [14] On 11 March 2017, he appeared as one fifth of Boys Allowed, a parody of Girls Aloud, on Let's Sing and Dance. [15] On 13 April 2018, he featured on the Power of Muzik's "Bruised", [16] a charity single which raised money for Barnardo's [17] and which also featured All Together Now winner Michael Rice, [18] Asher Knight, Angels N Bandits, and Luena Martinez, [16] who would later win The X Factor: The Band as part of RLY. [19] In 2019, he co-founded the boy band pop supergroup Boyz on Block. [7]
Ofoedu has appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks four times; as a panellist he appeared on 14 October 1999 [20] and 4 October 2004, [21] and as one of the Identity Parade he appeared on 17 November 2014 [22] and 12 October 2021. [23] On 22 September 2006, Ofoedu performed magic tricks on The All Star Talent Show, where he came fifth. [24] On 29 March 2015, Ofoedu appeared on the BBC's The Big Questions, where the big question in question was "Do you need to be born again to be a Christian?". [25] On 29 November 2015, he appeared on Fern Britton Meets..., [26] and in September 2022, Ofoedu appeared on Pointless Celebrities. [27]
In April 2007, he and his then-fiancée Vanessa Feltz turned up on an episode of Channel 4's Celebrity Wife Swap, in which she spent a week with Paul Daniels, and Ofoedu spent a week with Debbie McGee. [28] On 22 September 2007, Feltz and Ofoedu won £150,000 on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. [29] Between 10 January [30] and 24 June 2011, Ofoedu and Feltz co-hosted Channel 5's The Vanessa Show. [31] In July 2011, the pair appeared on Pointless Celebrities, reaching the final, but failing to win the jackpot for their charity; [32] they appeared again in February 2019, winning £2,500. [33] They also appeared on All Star Mr & Mrs in July 2014, [34] and on Celebrity Big Brother's "Bit On the Side" as panel members on 1 September 2014. [35]
Ofoedu is a born-again Christian; [36] his nickname in Benz, B.I.G. Ben, was short for Believe In God Ben. [37] He was engaged to television and radio presenter Vanessa Feltz between 2006 [38] and 2023; [39] the pair did not marry due to Feltz's previous bad experiences with marriage (her previous husband had cheated on her), [40] and they split up due to Ofoedu also cheating on her. [39]
Ben Ofoedu | |
---|---|
Birth name | Benedict Spencer Ofoedu |
Born | British Hong Kong |
Occupation(s) |
|
Years active | 1989–present |
Formerly of |
Benedict Spencer Ofoedu ( /oʊfeɪduː/) is a British singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the former fiancé of Vanessa Feltz and for his media appearances thereby, though he had some success as a vocalist, having sung on ten UK Singles Chart entries as part of Benz, Phats & Small, and Intenso Project; a solo single, "Your Love", charted at No. 76 on the same chart.
Benedict Spencer Ofoedu [1] ( /oʊfeɪduː/) [2] was born in Hong Kong and moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was two years old. His parents were Igbo; his father was a merchant seaman. [3]
In 1989, Ofoedu featured on the tracks "Don't Stop" and "The Deep", from Humanoid's Global. [4] He then formed Big Ben & The Fox. [5] In 1993, Ofoedu joined the band Benz under the name B.I.G. Ben, along with Tim Shade (Benjamin Balogun), and Darkboy (Anthony Benedict Thompson); [1] The group had five singles enter the UK Singles Chart; "Boom Rock Soul" (No. 62), "Urban City Girl" (No. 31), "Miss Parker" (No. 35), "If I Remember" (No. 59), and "On A Sun-Day" (No. 73). [6]
In 1999 he became the singer of Phats & Small [7] after they found they needed a frontman for their hit single Turn Around, [8] which peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. [9] Ofoedu would later sing on their singles "Feel Good" and "Tonite", [10] which charted at No. 7 and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. [9] In 2000, he released a solo single "Your Love" [7] under the name "Ben", which charted at No. 76 on that chart. [11]
In 2001, he joined REDhill, whose other members were Mark Brightman, Rodney Williams, and Shane Lynch; they were never signed, and disbanded in 2002. Ofoedu, Brightman, Williams, and Tony Thompson would later form Four Story in late 2003, [12] who with "Hand on My Heart" appeared on Making Your Mind Up with the intention of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest; they came fifth. [7]
In 2002, he joined Intenso Project, [7] which peaked at No. 22, No. 32, and No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart with "Luv Da Sunshine", "Your Music" featuring Laura Jaye, and " Get It On" featuring Lisa Scott-Lee. [13] In 2008, he wrote Chanelle Hayes' " I Want It". [14] On 11 March 2017, he appeared as one fifth of Boys Allowed, a parody of Girls Aloud, on Let's Sing and Dance. [15] On 13 April 2018, he featured on the Power of Muzik's "Bruised", [16] a charity single which raised money for Barnardo's [17] and which also featured All Together Now winner Michael Rice, [18] Asher Knight, Angels N Bandits, and Luena Martinez, [16] who would later win The X Factor: The Band as part of RLY. [19] In 2019, he co-founded the boy band pop supergroup Boyz on Block. [7]
Ofoedu has appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks four times; as a panellist he appeared on 14 October 1999 [20] and 4 October 2004, [21] and as one of the Identity Parade he appeared on 17 November 2014 [22] and 12 October 2021. [23] On 22 September 2006, Ofoedu performed magic tricks on The All Star Talent Show, where he came fifth. [24] On 29 March 2015, Ofoedu appeared on the BBC's The Big Questions, where the big question in question was "Do you need to be born again to be a Christian?". [25] On 29 November 2015, he appeared on Fern Britton Meets..., [26] and in September 2022, Ofoedu appeared on Pointless Celebrities. [27]
In April 2007, he and his then-fiancée Vanessa Feltz turned up on an episode of Channel 4's Celebrity Wife Swap, in which she spent a week with Paul Daniels, and Ofoedu spent a week with Debbie McGee. [28] On 22 September 2007, Feltz and Ofoedu won £150,000 on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. [29] Between 10 January [30] and 24 June 2011, Ofoedu and Feltz co-hosted Channel 5's The Vanessa Show. [31] In July 2011, the pair appeared on Pointless Celebrities, reaching the final, but failing to win the jackpot for their charity; [32] they appeared again in February 2019, winning £2,500. [33] They also appeared on All Star Mr & Mrs in July 2014, [34] and on Celebrity Big Brother's "Bit On the Side" as panel members on 1 September 2014. [35]
Ofoedu is a born-again Christian; [36] his nickname in Benz, B.I.G. Ben, was short for Believe In God Ben. [37] He was engaged to television and radio presenter Vanessa Feltz between 2006 [38] and 2023; [39] the pair did not marry due to Feltz's previous bad experiences with marriage (her previous husband had cheated on her), [40] and they split up due to Ofoedu also cheating on her. [39]