Smoke & Mirrors (The Fizz album)

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Smoke & Mirrors
Smoke & Mirrors (The Fizz album).jpg
Studio album by
Released6 March 2020
RecordedJune 2018 – September 2019
StudioMPG Studios, Surrey
Genre Pop
Label MPG
Producer Mike Stock, Jimmy Junior
The Fizz chronology
Christmas with the Fizz
(2018)
Smoke & Mirrors
(2020)
Singles from The Fizz
  1. "Winning Ways"
    Released: January 2020
  2. "TOTP"
    Released: February 2020
  3. "From Here to Eternity"
    Released: April 2020
  4. "The World We Left Behind"
    Released: July 2020

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 [1] 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.

Contents

Background

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]

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Stock and Johan Kalel, except where indicated.

  1. "Winning Ways" – 2:45
  2. "All We Ever Can Do" – 4:05
  3. "T.O.T.P." – 3:02
  4. "From Here to Eternity" (Stock, Matt Aitken) – 3:20
  5. "More than These Words" – 3:29
  6. "Reservation" – 3:32
  7. "The World We Left Behind" – 3:54
  8. "Nothing's Gonna Last Forever" – 3:25
  9. "Second to None" – 3:39
  10. "Storm" (Kalel, Kyla Stroud) – 3:45
  11. "Boomerang" (Jay Aston) – 3:04

Personnel

Charts

Sales chart performance for Smoke & Mirrors
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Official UK Album Charts [11] 29
Official Scottish Album Charts [9] 6
Official UK Album Sales Chart [8] 6
Official UK Vinyl Album Chart [1] 5
Official UK Independent Album Chart [12] 3

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Making Your Mind Up</span> Song performed and recorded by Bucks Fizz. British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the United Kingdom, and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having been formed just two months earlier. Following its win in the contest, the song reached No. 1 in the UK and several other countries, eventually selling in excess of four million copies. It launched the career of the group, who went on to become one of the biggest selling acts of the 1980s and featured on their debut, self-titled album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bucks Fizz</span> English pop group (1981–2018)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Aston</span> Musical artist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Nolan (singer)</span> Irish singer (born 1954)

Mike Nolan (Michael Nolan) (born 7 December 1954) 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 (from 2004 to 2009) and Jay Aston (since 2009).

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).

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<i>Hand Cut</i> 1983 studio album by Bucks Fizz

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<i>I Hear Talk</i> 1984 studio album by Bucks Fizz

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Land of Make Believe</span> 1981 song

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<i>Christmas with the Fizz</i> 2018 studio album by The Fizz

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.

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