Fontana was born in Levenshulme, Manchester, Lancashire, and took his stage name from John Wayne and Elvis Presley's drummer, D. J.

[3] Fontana remained under contract to the label after parting with the Mindbenders and continued alone, using musicians working under the name of the Opposition, notably Frank Renshaw (lead guitar) (born 22 June 1943, Wythenshawe, Manchester), Bernie Burns (drums), Stuart Sirret (bass), and Phil Keen (drums), among others.

Struggling to achieve chart success, Fontana recorded a number of songs by outside writers with B-sides being mostly his own compositions.

It was backed with an original song, "One-Man Woman", that was co-produced with Eric Stewart, an ex-bandmate from the Mindbenders.

[7] For a short period around the early 1980s The Salford Jets backed him, billed as Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders.

[12] On 10 November 2007 he was sentenced to 11 months for setting fire to the car but was released because he had already served the equivalent of the term, having been held under the Mental Health Act 1983.

[13] In March 2011 Fontana was arrested at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, after failing to appear in court in Wakefield, over an unpaid speeding fine.