"New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" | ||||
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Single by Bucks Fizz | ||||
from the album Writing on the Wall | ||||
B-side | "In Your Eyes" | |||
Released | May 1986 | |||
Recorded | January - February 1986 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 4.03 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Myers, Tony Gibber | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Myers, Andy Hill | |||
Bucks Fizz singles chronology | ||||
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"New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" (often referred to as simply "New Beginning") is a song by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released as a single in 1986 (their first release on Polydor Records) and was a comeback hit, achieving their highest chart placing for four years.
The song was written by Mike Myers and Tony Gibber and was produced by Myers along with the group's regular producer Andy Hill. According to the group, the recording of the song took an unusually long time due to the vocal tracks. As well as the group recording their vocals repeatedly, there was also a children's choir and gospel choir used on the track. The musicians in the studio also were used on distant back-up vocals. Member Cheryl Baker remembers one version where Hill instructed them to deliberately sing out of tune, which she found difficult. [1] Many of the vocals were recorded at the newly opened Terminal 24 studios in South London due to its distinctive vocal acoustics. [2] The original mix of the song was completed in February 1986. [3]
"New Beginning" (as it is very often more simply referred) was originally recorded a year earlier by Force 8 - who were actually pop group The Dooleys under an assumed name. [4] The theme of the song is one of hope where the narrator talks about building a happier world, with some parts of the song sung in Swahili and Spanish. [5] The video for the single depicts the group performing the song in a Metropolis-type setting backed by dancers and drummers - due to the heavy drum sound on the track. [6]
The song was released in May 1986 and was seen as a comeback single as it was their first release in eight months and featured new member Shelley Preston who had replaced Jay Aston a year earlier. [7] It was also their first release on new record label, Polydor after their five-year contract with RCA had finished. The song was notable for its full and lavish production and multi-layered vocal work and received much praise from critics as well as becoming very popular on radio. Number One magazine said it was another "pop epic by Andy Hill". [8] The song became a big hit in the Summer of 1986. After entering at No.55, the song rose sharply to No.24 becoming instantly their biggest hit for three years. Two weeks later the single entered the top 10 at number eight where it stayed the following week. The song remained on the charts for 10 weeks and became the 93rd biggest-seller of the year. [9] "New Beginning" achieved their highest chart position for four years, but was also their last top 40 hit. [9] The group promoted the song on several television shows including Top of the Pops , which Preston recalls as being embarrassing as her costume went missing. While the rest of the group wore the clothes from the videos shoot she was given a very slight leotard to wear. Ultimately she covered herself up with a long-tailed jacket borrowed from a friend. [10]
"New Beginning" was followed up by a cover of the Stephen Stills song "Love The One You're With" and featured on the group's final studio album, Writing on the Wall, which was released at the end of the year. Several versions of the song have been released. The album version differed slightly from the 7" mix in that member Bobby G features prominently on backing vocals at the end - a version that was used in the video. As well as this, two 12" singles were released: one with an extended version of the song, the other an extended mix by dance producer Ian Levine. On the Writing on the Wall CD re-issue in 2004, a largely instrumental extended version of the song was included as a bonus track. The song remains among the group's most highly regarded work. [11]
Country | Peak position |
---|---|
UK | 8 |
Ireland [13] | 11 |
The Netherlands [14] | 24 |
Belgium [15] | 22 |
Bucks Fizz were an English 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 received attention for the dance routine which accompanied the song, in which the male members of the group ripped the female members' outer skirts off to reveal much shorter mini-skirts beneath. The group went on to have a successful career around the world, but 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 " (1986). Bucks Fizz have sold over 50 million records worldwide.
Writing on the Wall is the fifth and latest studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released on 24 November 1986 and featured the comeback top ten single "New Beginning ". It was their first and only album to feature then new member Shelley Preston and their only album released on Polydor Records. Despite the album being initially unsuccessful in the charts, it was re-released twice — first in 2004 and again in 2012, both times with different track listings. It was the group's final studio album until The Lost Masters series (2006–2013).
The Ultimate Anthology is a compilation album by pop group Bucks Fizz.
"The Land of Make Believe" is a 1981 single by British band Bucks Fizz. It reached No.1 in the UK in early 1982 - the second single by the band to do so. The song was produced by Andy Hill with music by Hill and lyrics by ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Despite the apparent sugar-coated style of the song, Sinfield later claimed it was a subtle attack on Margaret Thatcher and her government's policy at the time. "The Land of Make Believe" became a big hit across Europe in early 1982, topping the charts in Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland as well as the UK. The song was later covered by pop band allSTARS* for a 2002 single release.
Shelley Preston is a singer who is famous for being a former member of the pop group Bucks Fizz, when she replaced Jay Aston in June 1985. Her biggest hit as a member of the band was the 1986 track "New Beginning", which reached the UK top ten. She left the group in 1990. From 2004 to 2009, she was a member of the group The Original Bucks Fizz, along with former Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker and Mike Nolan.
"Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. David Crosby and Graham Nash, Stills' fellow members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, provide background vocals on the song. Also providing the backups are Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Jones, and John Sebastian. They all sing the "Do Dos" that come before the instrumental portion and the Outro. The song was also recorded by the Isley Brothers, The Meters, Bucks Fizz, Luther Vandross, Bob Seger and Richard Clapton, among others.
"My Camera Never Lies" is a 1982 single by pop group Bucks Fizz. It became the group's second consecutive UK number-one in April 1982. The song was written by Andy Hill and Nichola Martin, and was featured on Bucks Fizz's second album Are You Ready.
"When We Were Young" is a 1983 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. The track features lead vocals by band member Jay Aston. The song became their sixth top-ten-hit in the UK and it is one of their biggest hits in Europe.
"One of Those Nights" is a 1981 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. Written by Steve Glen, Mike Burns and Dave Most, it was the group's third single and their third UK top 20 hit.
The Very Best of Bucks Fizz is a compilation album of the hits of pop group Bucks Fizz. The album was released in 2007 and was coupled with a DVD of the group's Promotional Videos. This was the first time the group's videos had been available on DVD. The album reached No.40 in the UK Charts - the first time Bucks Fizz had appeared on the album charts since 1986. Allmusic gave the album a favourable three and a half stars out of five, but commented on the fact that Bucks Fizz were always more successful as a singles band. A review in the Nottingham Post bemoaned the fact that while Bucks Fizz are usually remembered for their Eurovision winner, their later songs were much better, naming "My Camera Never Lies", "I Hear Talk" and "New Beginning" as particularly strong.
Live at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon is a live album released in 1991 by pop group Bucks Fizz. It was their first and only release with Jet Records.
The Story So Far is a compilation album by British pop group Bucks Fizz, released in 1988. The album collects together 18 of the group's biggest hit singles spanning the years 1981 to 1988, including their three number ones.
"If You Can't Stand the Heat" is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released in November 1982 and became the group's fifth top 10 single in the UK. The song was written by Andy Hill and guitarist Ian Bairnson. It was also produced by Hill.
"Run for Your Life" is a 1983 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was written by Andy Hill and Ian Bairnson and became the group's eighth consecutive top 20 hit in the UK. It featured on the group's third album Hand Cut.
"London Town" is a 1983 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It was their first single not to reach the UK top 20, breaking a run of nine consecutive top 20 hits. The song was written and produced by Andy Hill.
"I Hear Talk" is a 1984 single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz, written by Andy Hill and Peter Sinfield, the team responsible for the group's biggest hit in the UK, "The Land of Make Believe". It was also produced by Hill. Released as a single in December 1984, it is the title track from the group's fourth studio album. In 2010, the song was chosen as the first single by the Original Bucks Fizz in a live jazz-style reworking.
"You and Your Heart So Blue" is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. Released in June 1985, the song was written by Andy Hill and Peter Sinfield and was produced by Hill. This single was the last to feature member Jay Aston, who quit the group the same month.
"Magical" is a song written by American musician Meat Loaf and British musician John Parr, and it was released as a 1985 single by Parr as a part of his self-titled debut album. A few months later, an alternative version of the song was released in the U.K. as a single by pop group Bucks Fizz. It entered the charts by both artists in the U.S. and U.K. respectively but was not a big hit for either, although Parr's version managed to rise into the top 40 of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart.
In Car Stereo is the final album by British pop group The Dooleys. It failed to secure a release in the UK and was only issued in Japan.
The F–Z of Pop is a studio album by British pop group The Fizz, released in 2017. It is the second album by the group and the first by the four-member line up of Cheryl Baker, Jay Aston, Mike Nolan and Bobby McVay. Released in September, the album entered the UK albums chart at No.25, the highest chart position achieved by a Bucks Fizz line-up since the "New Beginning " single in 1986, 31 years earlier.