| Bucks Fizz |
On stage in 1983
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| Background information |
| Origin |
United Kingdom |
| Genres |
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| Years active |
1981–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Members |
See chronology
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Bucks Fizz are a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston. They achieved instant attention with the dance routine which accompanied the song, involving a skirt-rip. The group went on to have a successful career around the world (albeit ignored in the United States), while the UK remained their biggest market, where they had three No.1 singles with "Making Your Mind Up" (1981), "The Land of Make Believe" (1981) and "My Camera Never Lies" (1982) and became one of the top-selling groups of the 1980s. They also had UK Top 10 hits with "Now Those Days Are Gone" (1982), "If You Can't Stand the Heat" (1982), "When We Were Young" (1983) and "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" (1986). Their worldwide record sales have exceeded 15 million.
The line-up of the group has changed a number of times over the years, most famously when Jay Aston quit the group in 1985 and was replaced by Shelley Preston. Today, two versions of the group exist: the official version, which includes original member Bobby G, and a version comprising the other three original members who tour under the name Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston, formerly of Bucks Fizz with Bobby McVay.
In late 1980, Nichola Martin and Andy Hill sought to create a new group to enter their song "Making Your Mind Up" in the Eurovision Song Contest. The first member to be recruited was Mike Nolan, who was known to Martin. Together, they recorded a demo of the song and entered it for inclusion in A Song for Europe – the preliminary heats for the contest. Realising that a name was needed for the performing artists, Martin quickly decided on Buck's Fizz, as it was his favourite drink. In January, Martin contacted Cheryl Baker to join them, as he remembered her from the 1978 Eurovision group, Co-Co. Concurrent to this, Martin was holding auditions for another male vocalist and female vocalist, should Baker turn down the position (which she didn't). At the end of these auditions, Martin had found a male singer, Stephen Fischer and female, Jay Aston. Unsure of which female vocalist to use, she ultimately decided to use both Baker and Aston as she felt their vocals complemented each other and Martin stepped down from the group in order to team up with Hill for another line-up as they had two songs in the competition. Fischer then became unavailable as he was starring in a musical at the time and Martin hired another auditionee, Bobby G for the group. The four members met for the first time on 11 January 1981. An associate of Martin's, Jill Shirley agreed to manage the group.
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