The Original Bucks Fizz

The Original Bucks Fizz

The Original Bucks Fizz are a British pop group formed in 1981, with Cheryl Baker, Shelley Preston, Jay Aston, Mike Nolan and Bobby G among the members associated with the act. The group begins as Bucks Fizz, created in late 1980 for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Making Your Mind Up”. Nichola Martin and Andy Hill bring together Mike Nolan, Cheryl Baker, Jay Aston and Bobby Gee, and the name Bucks Fizz comes from Martin’s favourite drink.

Eurovision and early success

After winning A Song for Europe, the newly formed group goes on to win the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin. Their performance includes the skirt-ripping routine that becomes closely associated with the act. “Making Your Mind Up” reaches number one in the UK and across much of Europe, giving the group immediate international success.

Albums and singles

Andy Hill writes the group’s first album, Bucks Fizz, which is followed by two more hit singles. Further number one singles include “The Land of Makebelieve” and “My Camera Never Lies”. The band then releases Are You Ready, followed by Handcut in 1983, an album that produces the singles “If You Can’t Stand the Heat” and “Run for Your Life”. Later in 1983 they release “When We Were Young”, then compile a greatest hits album by the end of that year.

Line-up changes and later releases

Jay Aston plays a major role in shaping the band’s image and choreographing many of the routines during this period. In 1984 the group releases a version of The Romantics’ “Talking in Your Sleep”, which gives them a top 20 hit, and then “Goldendays”. Their fourth album, I Hear Talk, is followed by a serious coach crash during a December tour after a concert at Newcastle City Hall, leaving Mike Nolan in a coma. Nolan later recovers, and he and Cheryl Baker set up the charity Headfirst, which they continue to support.

Later formation and ongoing activity

Jay Aston leaves in 1985, and Shelley Preston joins after auditions to replace her. With Preston, the group records The Writing on the Wall and issues five more singles, including the top ten “New Beginning”. “Heart of Stone” is the last recording from Bucks Fizz in 1988, although the final single release is “You Love Love”, an album track from Handcut. The group continues in various forms, with Bobby Gee also performing live under the Bucks Fizz name and Jay Aston later returning alongside Mike Nolan and Cheryl Baker. Dean Murphy helps keep the catalogue in circulation by issuing earlier recordings on CD and compiling unreleased material in the Lost Masters series.

Style and wider profile

The group is associated with pop, Europop, bubblegum pop, sunshine pop and teen pop. At different points their work also connects with a more new wave-influenced image and a rockier sound. During their early years they also have a comic-strip feature in Look In.