Alex Burke's secret agony over her dad's paedo past

Alex Burke's secret agony over her dad's paedo past

He got schoolgirl and wife pregnant at the same time


No1 BABE: Alex on X Factor last week

'HE IS A CHANGED MAN': Burke last week

REUNITED: David and pop star daughter

STAR'S HALF-BROTHER: Jamie, 21, with his mother Stacey


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X FACTOR: Alexandra Burke
By Jennifer Wiley, 18/10/2009

SINGING sensation Alexandra Burke's dad got a SCHOOLGIRL and his WIFE pregnant in the same MONTH, we can reveal.

While the mums-to-be were expecting, shamed David Burke, who has TWELVE kids with SEVEN women, was languishing in JAIL for having sex with a minor.

X Factor winner Alex, 21, and her half-brother Jamie Alce were born within three weeks of each other but have never met.

Watch tonight's results show with us in Britain's best X Factor chatroom
David was absent for much of their childhoods but was recently reunited with Alex, whose new single Bad Boys is expected to storm into the charts at No1 this evening.

However Jamie fears Burke is only interested because she is a star, as he has not bothered to see Jamie since he was ELEVEN years old.

Car painter Jamie told the News of the World: "David's never done anything for me, and by the sound of it he hasn't done much for Alex - until she started to get famous."

His mum Stacey - who was groomed for sex by Burke when she was just FOURTEEN - added: "I hope she is careful, because I think her dad is an absolute w***er."

Today we can reveal how Burke, 51:

SNARED Stacey when he worked in an ice cream factory across the road from her school.

KNEW she was underage but took her to dingy stairwells and garages to have sex.

BOASTED about having "another stallion" when he discovered their baby was a boy.

FAILED to pay any maintenance - apart from one pack of nappies.

Burke is still legally wed to Alex's mum - Soul II Soul singer Melissa Bell - but they are estranged and he lives with a new partner and their son.

Begging

Last weekend he was in the X Factor studio audience when Alex performed her new single. Melissa, 44, was not invited after the singer accused her of cashing in on her fame.

But Stacey, 37, reckons when it comes to Bad Boys, they don't get much worse than Alex's dad.

He started an affair with Stacey when he was 28 and she was a pupil at a North London secondary school. She recalled: "Me and my friends would go over and talk to him and some of the other workers from the factory.

"I told him straight away how old I was. It was all good fun at first. But then David started grooming me slowly with the usual kissing and touching.

"It was all very new to me - and because I had grown up in a home where no one really loved me, it felt great.

"For me he had the allure of what I thought of as an 'older boy'. Plus, he had a car. He'd take me for lunch at places like McDonald's."

But it wasn't long before Burke was asking her for sex. "Within a few weeks he was begging me for it even though I was just 14," she said. "He loved the idea of being with a blonde girl.

"I liked him, and I wanted to please him. He wasn't forceful, he left the choice up to me.

"We finally did it at the flat I later found out he shared with Melissa, which he said was his cousin's. He told me he was single. I had no idea he had a wife. There was kids' stuff around but he just said it belonged to his cousin's kids.

"I knew very little about his family. Looking back now, I can see how sick it was. We first had sex in what must have been his marital bed."

Burke then started meeting Stacey in her lunchbreaks. She recalled: "I'd run out to his car and we'd drive to a secluded area or one of his mate's garages. We'd go to nearby blocks of flats where we'd have sex in the stairwells standing up.

"Or I'd bunk off school so we could take longer breaks and go to his flat. It wasn't at all romantic. It was always a case of wham, bam, thank-you ma'am - and I'd be on my way back to school.

"For a long time that's all I thought sex was - a man getting his jollies. Not exactly the stuff romantic novels are made of."

They hardly ever used contraception and never discussed the risks. Stacey sighed: "It's no surprise I got pregnant. I was too young and inexperienced to know better. He was my first and only boyfriend back then."

For a year, Stacey would sneak away to meet him, telling her parents she was seeing friends. But then Burke's wife Melissa cottoned on to what was happening and, after a bit of detective work, confronted Stacey. David ended up being charged with the sex offence in January 1988 - when Stacey and Melissa were pregnant with his children.

He was jailed for six months with another six months suspended. His defence argued Jamaican-born David didn't know it was wrong to bed a 14-year-old.

Judge Gerald Butler told him: "She was a child and you were a good deal older than this unexperienced girl and that is something I cannot overlook."

Stacey recalled: "I only got the pregnancy confirmed a few days after he was jailed. He found out somehow while he was in prison.

"I had to go through with the whole thing on my own. I was so terrified of how my parents would react that I put myself into care for the first few months.

"What I remember clearly is the day I introduced David to Jamie. He'd been out of prison for a few months and we met up in his car outside the back of my flat and went to a park.

"At first he refused to believe Jamie was his. He said his skin was too light. And when he finally admitted it, he said, 'Another stallion!'

"I had little contact with David after that. He was a terrible father to Jamie. He never paid child support. The most he ever did was buy a pack of nappies.

"Sometimes I would call him out of utter desperation and say we needed help, we needed money. But altogether he has only seen Jamie about four times.

"The last time Jamie was 11. David gave him £20 and took him for an ice cream or something." Stacey went on to get married to another man. They have two daughters and are now divorced.

She gradually forgot about David, Melissa and her unborn baby until we tracked down Stacey and Jamie and told them who his half-sister was.

Stacey said: "I feel sorry for Alex if David treated her the same way as Jamie. I read that he didn't see her or her brothers and sister for 14 years. That doesn't surprise me one bit. David cares about one person - himself.

"I just hope he cares about Alex more than her fame. Although I do find it odd that suddenly he is always around her now she has become a star.

Changed

"David will love that he has a famous daughter. He loves to feel important. He also loves money, but never seemed to have much of his own."

Burke left Alex, her older sister, two younger brothers and their mum Melissa, to live with another woman in 1994.

But the four siblings made up with their dad at the end of 2007. He now works as an ambulance driver and has not been in trouble with the law again.

A year ago Alex said: "He's back in our lives now and he is a changed man. I have a lot more respect for him now."

Her mum Melissa revealed to the News of the World that Alex had a secret half-brother but did not give any details.

Yesterday a family friend said the star and her siblings were told about David's paedo past when she was 13.

The source said: "They didn't quite understand the implications. Alex was saying something like, 'Oh gross, how could a girl my age do that stuff?' She didn't get it.

"Over the years it sunk in more, and she began to understand what her dad had done. But she has never expressed an interest in meeting her brother."

Last night Alex's spokeswoman said: "She has only recently rebuilt relations with her father. She has got a lot to celebrate this week and this isn't something she will be commenting on."

Jamie, of Hayes, Middlesex, told us: "If Alex wants to be close to our dad, great - that's good for her.

"He's my dad by my birth certificate alone. And technically Alex is my sister, but it's not like we even know each other.

"I read somewhere that she doesn't care if she ever meets me. What my dad did to her family had nothing to do with me. It was like she was putting me down.

"Now I feel the same about her, so I guess we'll never meet. I am happy, there's nothing I want from her. I wish her every success.

"It's certainly the shock of a lifetime to find out you're related to a star."


Your comments
This article has 35 comments
They always materialise when there is money to be made don't they, even if they risk causing a scandal! More importantly, why is Melissa Bell still struggling to pay her bills, living in a squalid house, when her daughter played the "sympathy card" to get votes on the Xfactor, banging on about how much it would mean to her to change her mum's life! Perhaps Alex could explain why she seems to have turned her back on her seriously ill mother.
By Lucie. Posted October 21 2009 at 5:11 PM.
When Alex was in the Xfactor, she was constantly filmed saying that she wanted to win so that she could pay for her mother to have the treatment she needs to save her life, and also to get her out of the poverty trap. As far as I can see, her mum is still desperately ill, and still living on benefits. To spurn your own mother when she is so ill seems pretty harsh to me, whatever the circumstances!
By Barry. Posted October 21 2009 at 4:42 PM.
may GOD open yur eyes and see further forgive yur mum and have a longer life in this world
By cynthia. Posted October 20 2009 at 3:28 PM.
I don't know the full story about Alexander and her father and mother. I wanted to know what she was doing as far as her singing career. Reading the comments I would like to say this. Mr. Burke deserves a chance if he is a changed man. Has he had sex with minors since his release from prison? How long has he been out of prison? from what I gathered he has a family and is living a productive life. I thought prison was there to punish people for crimes commited and for rehabilitation, correct me if Iam wrong. Family is very important. Alex has the right to make up with her father also her mother. experiences are there for us to learn from, to test our character and to make us stronge. To Mr. Burke He need to apoligize to the mothers of his children. He should try to have a relationship with all his children, if they do not want to then concentrate on the ones who will. Life is short, live it like it is your last, enjoy it, love and care for the people who want to be loved and cared for; the rest don't worry about them they are happy being resentful, hateful, unforgiving and miserable. to Alexander and family keep it moving.
I just love and enjoy your singing. Much sucess to you, always remmember to always be grateful and appreciative of your fans.
By OLIVETTE. Posted October 19 2009 at 7:02 PM.
Goes to show that even unperfect people despite their sins can still create wonderful Miracles like Alex is........that's life!
By Dan. Posted October 19 2009 at 4:11 PM.
This guy works for a private ambulance company conveying out-patients. He will not turn up if you dial 999. To work for an NHS ambulance service you need a CRB check. This is the problem with private ambulance companies, they are well known for employing criminals and if the tories get their way they will privatise the ambulance service and then maybe this guy will turn up when you diall 999.
By Andy. Posted October 19 2009 at 12:05 AM.
No one knows why Alex's relationship with her mother broke down or what it was like for her yet so many people here seem to feel they have the right to tell her that she is ungrateful and must be the one to mend it.

Arrogant sods the lot of ya!
By Quickblood. Posted October 18 2009 at 10:04 PM.
If I dial 999 for a young relative please God don't let it be him who turns up. Hopefully Alex will also keep this slimeball at arm's length.
By Neville. Posted October 18 2009 at 6:11 PM.
He had sex with one under age girl - that does not make him a paedophile. The image we all have of a paedophile is a guy in a dirty raincoat trawling the internet or the streets looking for kids to abuse. He`s not that is he..? So to the person who said it`s scary that he`s an ambulance man now - GROW UP !
Alex needs to remember that her mother was the one there for her all those years and down the line she is going to regret treating her mother like this - probably when her mother dies. You can`t take back time you know alex - you only get one life.
By lana. Posted October 18 2009 at 4:45 PM.
My mother always told me. Always remeber where you are coming from. Alex only took ten month and she already forgot. That why leon will always be the best X Factor for all time.

Talking about ungreatful together toward her mother. Hope when she hit rock button she still singing the same tune toward her mother.


By Tash. Posted October 18 2009 at 3:39 PM.
In my personal opinion Alex babe you should make it up with your mum, she's the one who brought you up and stood by you through the tough times. I would keep daddy dearest at arms length though,as it seems he's the one trying to cash in on your fame. And all the people saying Alex is no Leona,please shut up. Alex is a great singer in her own right, and in my opinion actually more versatile than Leona. Leona is a ballad queen and that's it.
By Sam. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:43 PM.
Mensa: Disrespecting your parents is a no-no for all races, colours and creeds. Not just black families!

Amazing how all the family leeches come out of their rocks when there is money involved. Her father wouldn't want to know if she wasn't famous.

The 98 year old lady next door but one to me died. We didn't even know she HAD any relatives until there were shedloads of them cleaning her house of her belongings and furniture and putting the house on the rental market. Shameful!

I know it's got nothing to do with Alexandra, but it just makes my blood boil. Leeches. Sheryl and Bianca Gascoigne - there's another two!
By Amanda. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:33 PM.
If he has truely changed his ways why not have contact with all his kids??? Its obvious to any fool what he is doing and i also have an absent father and if I were to become very successful I would pay him what i think he has payed me in the whole of my life and tell him not to come anywhere near me. It is like she is shunning her half brother which i dont agree with none of this is his fault and his quotes sound like he is quiet upset by this. if your stupid enough to let a leech back in your life Alex you deserve it if you get taken for a ride. I know its harsh but its also true.
By stacey. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:24 PM.
how can that man, with conviction against underage child be an ambulance driver?
Scary
By emma. Posted October 18 2009 at 12:45 PM.
Well they have all come out of the wood work havent they just,its not your mothers fault or brothers or even his mothers faqult your dad is a dirty paedo.
And like others on the x-factor you will become a nobody in time your hardly leona lewis who is real talent and a smash wonder over the pond in the usa untill you smash america your nothing.
Your mother was brilliant in soul 2 soul now even i grew up listening the soul 2 soul a massive group.
By mark edge. Posted October 18 2009 at 12:42 PM.
that is just mad i feel sorry for alexandra i would be soo ashamed of my dad. i would never take my dad back if he did that that is just HORRIBLE!!!
By shernice. Posted October 18 2009 at 12:10 PM.
Alexandra deserted by her mum?
rubbish
alexandra disrespected her mum and in black families thats a no no.
her mum has never deserted her that is a fact.
however I cant say the same for alex
her mum lives on benefits is chronically ill and has to have life saving dialysis every other day, yet alexandra does not visit, does not help out financially and her mum can be seen regularly in the 99p store in the holloway area. i think thats shameful.
also why didnt alex come forward and spill the beans on her dads past..instead she slammed her mum in the press for being jealous. a vicious wicked attack on her own mother

i dont care but i could never do my mother like that dont know how alexandra sleeps at night

dont get me wrong alex is not to blame for her dad but she should have told the world about her dad instead of fabricating a jealousy vendetta against her mum. i would have respected her more if she had done that

thumbs up melissa for doing what you do. nest time i see you in holloway i will stop and say hi
By mensa. Posted October 18 2009 at 11:59 AM.
BAD GIRL!!! if i remember right wasn't alex saying that she needed to win x factor so she could look after her family because her mother had a serious illness and she needed to help her,it's okay to use her for the sympathy vote for the show but her mum can't give interviews.why ?? the interviewer's obviously contacted her mother and as said above never once mentioned the horrible actions of her father,but just spoke of her happiness on her daughter's rise to fame,also they probably wanted her opinion as she was herself once in the music industry.I liked alex before but my opinion has changed about her won't be buying her records or giving her my money!!
By nicole r. Posted October 18 2009 at 11:02 AM.
i'm sorry but if i recall Alexandra's loving mum threw her out when she was 15. we only know what we've read obviously there is always another side to each story.
i know how it feels to be desserted by your mum and it's something you don't forget and if we are honest forgive either.
Good luck Alexandra
By Leonie. Posted October 18 2009 at 10:57 AM.
By joy. Posted October 18 2009 at 3:58 AM.

'All of this is not Alex's fault.Did the brother tried to contact her before she got famous?Well they sold their story so they are cashing on her fame,they are not punishing her dad instead they are trying to ruin her.So much for brotherly love!'

Joy if you read the article it says that he didn't even know that he is related to Alex until the newspaper tracked him down and told him. He actually wishes her every success so why you think they are trying to 'ruin her' is beyond me.

Be careful Alex, if that's true about you not allowing your mum at your X Factor performance it's disgraceful. Why would you want anything to do with a convicted paedofile (dad or not)?!
By Karen. Posted October 18 2009 at 10:21 AM.
From one black man to another; 'you're scum, pal'!!
By Frank. Posted October 18 2009 at 10:00 AM.
Alexandra
you ought to get on your knees and beg your mother forgiveness...if you dont, karma might see to it for you.

I have to agree with a couple other bloggers...your mother went through this and kept a dignified silence about it and believe me, she has had ample opportunity to air this with the mamny articles she has done since you won the x faCTOR.
By susanna. Posted October 18 2009 at 9:55 AM.
alex you should be ashamed
not because of what your dad did..thats not your fault but you should apologise to your mother for implying those awful allegations of jealousy when behind the scenes, your dad has a paedo past which it seems everyone was trying to avoid the world from knowing.

why didnt you father bash instead of motherbashing poor mum melissa who brought you upn to the point where you are now on the verge of being a global superstar

you come accross as ungrateful, selective in your memory and vindictive
not a nice image

your pr team chose to allow your marie claire story to be published but they should have advised you to talk about your dads past BEFORE someone else did

now you look like a fool

By NEISHA MURRAY. Posted October 18 2009 at 9:39 AM.
Melissa Bell should be AWARDED A MEDAL
In all her interveiws she has never once spoke about this.
THIS IS TERRIBLE FOR ANY WOMAN TO GO THRU
Alexandra and her siblings were brought singlehandedly by melissa and her dad and now we know the reason why.

the father is the biggest excuse for a man i have ever seen.
im surprised alex has let him in her life but is thrashing her mother with stories of jealousy towards her glittering career and NOT TO INVITE HER MOTHER TO THE X FACTOR LAST WEEK IS TOTALLY UNFORGIVABLE
alex get your priorities straight dont let fame cloud your judgement
By angela Alisshay. Posted October 18 2009 at 8:30 AM.
Be careful Alex this man is no good. Where has he been? My dad disappeared for over 20 years and did not keep in touch. Now that my siblings and i are doing well for ourselves my'dad' has come back onto the scene. I personally have no time for him.
I hope Alex`does not end up in the Priory ,as she seems to be making some really strange decisions regarding her family.
By joy. Posted October 18 2009 at 3:58 AM.
All of this is not Alex's fault.Did the brother tried to contact her before she got famous?Well they sold their story so they are cashing on her fame,they are not punishing her dad instead they are trying to ruin her.So much for brotherly love!
By chrisse. Posted October 18 2009 at 4:04 AM.
Despicable! Though, Stacey doesn't seem the stuff of role model either as a young girl or as an adult. As bad-mouths David, her own life is being X-rayed.

As for Alex, she ought to know that modern day stardom has obsolency attached to it. If she is still remembered in 5 yrs, that's great. Let her not start feeling that she is too good for her half-brother whom, in my view is better off without any of them. His confidence in himself is quite striking.
By Emeka. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:53 AM.
Bless! Chuck in 15 minutes of fame and all dysfunctional families can play this game.
By Tearful Chunt. Posted October 18 2009 at 2:08 AM.
I see someone is trying to make a few pounds ?

We LOVE you Alexandra - NO1 girlyyy xx
By nikki. Posted October 18 2009 at 1:50 AM.
We love you alexandra, you are one strong girl x
By klara. Posted October 18 2009 at 1:55 AM.
Firstly he was convicted of sex with a minor, making him a paedophile so how on Earth has he a job as an ambulance driver. Seeing people in various states of undress everyday.

Secondly what is wrong with these people, searching for parents they never knew and who never gave a damn about them when they needed them, when they were little. Never sent them a Birthday card nor Christmas card but now, they are famous they come leeching around acting like the concerned parent. 14 years too late I think.

Your parents (not necessarily biological) are the ones who brought you up, wiped away your tears, wiped your snotty nose, up with you during the teething years and who fed and dressed you. Not some cretin who got his jollies in creating you, then ran as fast as possible for the next conquest.

Get rid I say Alex, will only bring you heartache.
By R Collins. Posted October 18 2009 at 1:21 AM.
I feel sorry for melissa and alexandra too
what an ordeal...this guy is a loser.

this doesnt reflect on alexandra
WE STILL LOVE HER
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP ALEX
By shayla james-lerner. Posted October 18 2009 at 1:24 AM.
He works as an ambulance driver, I thought you would need a criminal records check for that job.
Surely having been in prison for sex with a minor would disqualify someone from such a job.
By sarah. Posted October 18 2009 at 12:30 AM.
This has nothing to do with Alexandra. This all happened before she was born! At least she shot straight to number one today so she'll be too busy celebrating to worry about rubbish like this.
By Darren. Posted October 17 2009 at 11:29 PM.
Everyone coming out of the wood work. This is nothing to do with Alexandra. Alexandra is not responsible for her father's actions. No family is perfect, however it might be an idea for Alex, to keep her distance. If her father was not there for her when she growing up, what does he want now?
By Fern. Posted October 17 2009 at 10:47 PM.