Rita Maria Stroud, known professionally as Cheryl Baker, is an English singer and television presenter. She was a member of pop group Bucks Fizz, which won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and, for legal reasons, now performs under the name the Fizz. The group had 20 singles reach the UK top 60 between 1981 and 1988, including three number one hits with "Making Your Mind Up" (1981), "The Land of Make Believe" (1981) and "My Camera Never Lies" (1982). Baker left the group in 1993. She had previously represented the UK at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the band Co-Co.
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 December 1980 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.
Bucks Fizz is the eponymous debut studio album by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released on 26 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 on 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".
I Hear Talk is the fourth studio album by the pop group Bucks Fizz. It was released in November 1984, the album featured the singles "Talking in Your Sleep", "Golden Days" and "I Hear Talk".
"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.
The Lost Masters is the name given to an album project to release unheard, rare and extended remixes of songs by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. Two albums were originally released: The Lost Masters in 2006, and The Lost Masters 2 - The Final Cut in 2008. A third single-disc volume was released in April 2012 as a double-pack which included a re-release of the group's 1986 album Writing on the Wall. Finally, The Best of The Lost Masters, a 25-track compilation was released in April 2013, which also included a number of previously unreleased mixes.
"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.
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.
"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.
The Fizz are a British pop music group formed in 2004 as a spin-off from the original group, Bucks Fizz. The core of the group consists of Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston, who are all former members of Bucks Fizz and performed as OBF initially with Shelley Preston and then replaced by Jay Aston. The group then performed as Formerly of Bucks Fizz, and Bobby McVay later became a member in 2015, making the group a quartet, and then renaming as The Fizz until he left in 2018. To date, the group have released four albums, three of which have charted in the Official UK Albums Chart. Their 2017 album The F-Z of Pop reached No.25, becoming the highest-charting Bucks Fizz related album in 33 years. In 2018, Christmas with the Fizz was released. In 2020, Smoke & Mirrors was released, reaching number 29 in the Official UK Albums Chart and number 6 on the Official Sales Chart.
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.
Smoke & Mirrors is a 2020 studio album by The Fizz, formerly Bucks Fizz. It is the third album by the group under the name The Fizz and the second as a threesome consisting of original members Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston. Released on 6 March 2020, the album entered the overall Official Albums Chart at No.29, the Official Album Sales Chart at No.6, the Official Vinyl Albums Chart at No.5 and the Official Independent Album Chart at No.3. Its Sales chart position of No.6 is the highest entry of any previous Bucks Fizz/The Fizz albums.
