| "Piece of the Action" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bucks Fizz | ||||
| from the album Bucks Fizz | ||||
| B-side | "Took It to the Limit" | |||
| Released | May 1981 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3.38 | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Andy Hill | |||
| Producer(s) | Andy Hill | |||
| Bucks Fizz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Piece of the Action" is the second single by pop group Bucks Fizz, the follow-up to the Eurovision-winning song "Making Your Mind Up". It was released in May 1981 and became a UK top 20 hit.
Following the group's success at the Eurovision Song Contest, their record company, who had signed them for an album deal, were keen to release a follow-up single. "Piece of the Action" had already been recorded by the group prior to the contest and was seen as the perfect pop vehicle to move them away from the style of "Making Your Mind Up". Bill Kimber, executive with RCA Records, was keen to see Bucks Fizz continue successfully, as he later recalled;
"One thing that happens with Eurovision groups is that they have one single as a result of the contest and then they quickly throw out another single which isn't good enough and everybody forgets them. With Bucks Fizz we worked very hard to get a song that was strong and had good value radio-wise, commercially and was well-produced."
He and Andy Hill, the producer went through a number of songs, eventually deciding on "Piece of the Action". [1] The recording was completed by 24 April at Mayfair Studios in London and was struck onto master tape along with the B-side "Took It to the Limit" and album track "Getting Kinda Lonely". [1] The single was released on 17 May 1981 and reached number 12 during a nine-week run in the UK charts and was certified silver. [2] As a Eurovision-winning follow-up, this was the highest chart placing ever achieved by an artist in the UK, the contest being notorious for producing one-hit wonders. The single also became a hit around Europe as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
The song's lyrics concern a man who is desperate to gain the attention of a woman to be a part of her exciting life. The promotional video of the song features the group in a variety of outfits and performing the routine in a night club-like setting. Much thought was put into the image for the group at this time, with the group's creator Nichola Martin deciding on khaki, rather than jeans or leather as it was not so obvious and was currently in fashion. They wore this for the night club scenes in the video and also for their soon-to-be-released-album cover. [3] [1]
The song was written and produced by Andy Hill and was the opening track on their first album, Bucks Fizz. [4] A demo version of the song was later uncovered and included on the group's 2008 compilation, The Lost Masters 2 - The Final Cut.
"Piece of the Action" was covered by the Bay City Rollers in 1983 as a Japanese-only single release. [5]
| Country | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK | 12 |
| Ireland | 10 |
| The Netherlands [6] | 26 |
| Belgium [7] | 19 |
| Austria | 11 |
| Germany | 35 |
| Australia [8] | 26 |
| New Zealand [9] | 31 |
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me".
"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz with music composed by John Danter and lyrics written by Andy Hill. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having been formed just two months earlier. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, held in Dublin, winning the contest.
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.
Jay Hilda Aston is a British singer and occasional songwriter. She was a member of the British pop group Bucks Fizz from 1981 to 1985. She was the youngest member of the group's original line-up, aged 19 when they won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. During Aston's membership, the group had 12 of their 13 UK top 40 hit singles, including three number one hits. Since 2009, she has performed alongside fellow original Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker and Mike Nolan. The group used to perform under the name the Original Bucks Fizz but are now known as the Fizz.
Michael Mary Nolan is an Irish singer who is best known as one of the four original members of the British pop group, Bucks Fizz, who now perform as The Fizz. He was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, but brought up in the UK, where he still resides. As a member of Bucks Fizz, he won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and achieved 20 UK top 60 singles between 1981 and 1988, including three number one hits. He was a member of the group until 1996. Since 2004, he has been a member of the group The Fizz, along with other former Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker, Shelley Preston and Jay Aston.
Bobby G, also known as Bobby Gee, is a member of pop group Bucks Fizz, best known for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and for achieving three UK number one hits with "Making Your Mind Up" (1981), "The Land of Make Believe" (1981) and "My Camera Never Lies" (1982).
Bucks Fizz is the eponymous debut studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released in July 1981, it features their Eurovision-winning song "Making Your Mind Up" as well as the two follow-up singles "Piece of the Action" and "One of Those Nights". The album was produced by Andy Hill and released on RCA Records. Bucks Fizz has been re-released twice on CD, first in 2004 with bonus tracks and as a two-disc edition in 2015.
Are You Ready is the second studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released on 26 April 1982 and features the UK No. 1 singles "The Land of Make Believe" and "My Camera Never Lies" as well as the follow-up "Now Those Days Are Gone". It was produced by Andy Hill and released by RCA Records. It was the group's most successful album. It went on to be re-released on compact disc three times between 2000 and 2015.
Hand Cut is the third studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released on 1 March 1983 and features the UK top 20 hits, "If You Can't Stand the Heat" and "Run for Your Life".
"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.
Sweet Dreams was a British vocal trio composed of Carrie Gray, Helen Kray and Bobby McVay. This teen trio represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 with the song "I'm Never Giving Up".
Bardo was a male/female pop music duo formed to represent the United Kingdom in the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "One Step Further".
"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.
Andrew Gerard Hill is an English record producer and songwriter who worked with Bucks Fizz and Celine Dion during the 1980s and 1990s.
"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.
Co-Co was a six-piece British band who represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, staged at the Palais de Congrès in Paris, France, on 22 April 1978, with the song "The Bad Old Days". The song was written by the song writing team Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater. It was finally placed eleventh of the 20 entries, which at the time was the worst showing ever for a UK entry. It would not be until 1987 that any British song fared worse in Eurovision. The group were originally called Mothers Pride.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"Now Those Days Are Gone" is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It became a UK top ten hit in July 1982 and featured on the group's album Are You Ready. The song was nominated for an Ivor Novello award the following year.
