Smoke & Mirrors | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 March 2020 | |||
Recorded | June 2018 – September 2019 | |||
Studio | MPG, Surrey | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 38:00 | |||
Label | MPG | |||
Producer | Mike Stock, Jimmy Junior | |||
The Fizz chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Fizz | ||||
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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 UK Albums Chart at No. 29, the UK Album Sales Chart at No. 6, the Official Vinyl Albums Chart at No. 5 [1] and the UK Independent Albums Chart at No. 3. Its sales chart position of No. 6 is the highest entry of any previous Bucks Fizz/the Fizz albums.
After the success of the group's comeback album The F-Z of Pop , which saw the group return to the UK charts for the first time in 31 years, talks immediately began for a follow up album with producer Mike Stock. Whilst The F–Z of Pop contained three re-recordings of past Bucks Fizz hits as well as eight new compositions, it was agreed that moving forward the group would now focus solely on new material. The group went back into the studio in summer 2018 to begin recording for the new album. Fairly early on into the recording process Jay Aston was diagnosed with mouth cancer and would require surgery and extensive treatment. During this time it had also been discussed to bring forward plans for a Christmas album. Production quickly began to allow the producers to record all of Aston's vocal parts for the release before she had to undergo surgery which would leave her unable to sing for the foreseeable future. [2] [3] The tracks were then finished with Baker and Nolan providing all the backing vocals for 15 songs which would become Christmas with the Fizz . [2]
In 2019, plans were made for The Fizz to return to the studio to finish recording the album now that Aston had recovered sufficiently to begin singing again. It also gave her the chance to complete her lead vocal on the track "From Here to Eternity", which she had recorded a guide vocal for on the day she received her cancer diagnosis. [4]
Recording of Smoke & Mirrors was completed in September 2019, it was mastered at Metropolis, London and scheduled for release in the new year to avoid the Christmas market. The album went on pre-sale on 10 January 2020 with the instant grat-track "The World We Left Behind" available immediately with pre-orders. The album was available on limited edition blue vinyl as well as standard black vinyl, CD and limited edition cassette tape. [5]
On 30 January 2020, "Winning Ways" was released from the album, debuting with BBC Radio 2 exclusive. The video premiered the next day on the Bucks Fizz VEVO channel. [6] On 28 February the track "T.O.T.P." was released with an accompanying music video which pays comedic homage to the BBC show Top of the Pops . [7]
On 6 March 2020 the album was released and entered the overall Official Albums Chart at No.29, the UK Sales Chart at No.6, the UK Vinyl Chart at No.5 and the Independent Chart at No.3. [8] The album also scored the No.6 position on the Official Scottish Album Charts. [9]
Of the album Classic Pop Magazine said "The Fizz are back firing on all cylinders with Smoke & Mirrors – an album of shiny new pop bangers, the latest fruit of a fertile collaboration with legendary hitmaker Mike Stock". Commenting on the songs, it said that "All We Ever Can Do" and "Boomerang" illustrate the group's "extraordinary resilience", while "The World We Left Behind" sees them "laying to rest a few old ghosts". [10]
All songs written by Mike Stock and Johan Kalel, except where indicated.
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
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Scottish Albums (OCC) [11] | 6 |
UK Albums (OCC) [12] | 29 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [13] | 3 |
Michael Stock is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 Number One's and is recognised as one of the most successful songwriters of all time by the Guinness World Records. As part of Stock Aitken Waterman in the 1980s and 90s, he holds the UK record of 11 number one records with different acts. In the UK Singles Chart he has written 54 top-ten hits including 7 number ones.
"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.
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".
I Hear Talk is the fourth studio album by the pop group Bucks Fizz and their last under contract to RCA Records. Released in November 1984, the album featured the singles "Talking in Your Sleep", "Golden Days" and "I Hear Talk".
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 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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
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. In May 2024, Mike Nolan announced his departure from the group effective later in the year.
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.
Christmas with the Fizz is a 2018 album by British pop group The Fizz. It is a festive-themed album, the group's first and was released in November 2018. The album features the line-up of Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston, fourth member Bobby McVay having parted with the band earlier in the year. Christmas with the Fizz was produced by experienced hit producer Mike Stock.
Everything Under the Sun is a 2022 studio album by The Fizz, formerly Bucks Fizz. It is the fourth album by the group under the name The Fizz and the third as a threesome consisting of original members Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston. It was released on 8 September 2022 on CD, vinyl and digital download via their official website. The album was produced by Mike Stock.