Cheryl did you
come to Australia (I think in the early 90's) to do a tour. I remember going to your
concert and as it was at Twin Towns on the Gold Coast most of the audience were elderly
pokie players. We were sitting right in front and were the only ones in the room who knew
the words to your songs. I just wanted to tell you it still ranks as one of the best
concerts we have ever been to. ( I have been to quite a lot - 35yrs old) you guys looked
like you enjoyed every minute and even pointed the mike in our direction a few times. We
know that Bucks Fizz will probably never come to Australia again (expense and distance)
but just wanted to say we still think you were one of the best groups of the 80's and I
have even convinced my 14 yr old Eminem loving neice that you guys are pretty good. I hope
that you and your family have a great 2005.
(Submitted by AussieFizzFan 28/01/05)
Hiya, yes we did come to
Oz, a few times, actually. Twice to promote singles in the Jay days, and once to perform
live with Shelley. It was late ‘80’s rather than early ‘90’s as
Shelley left on New Year’s Eve 1989. Twin Towns was a great gig, unlike some of the
RSLs we did. I remember watching one woman in the front row doing her knitting! Glad you
enjoyed the concert, though. It would be great to come back. Don’t rule it out,
there’s a chance we may be over some time!
After
appearing in two Eurovision Song Contests and taking part in numerous 'Songs For Europe'
shows.
Do you honestly think that the UK will ever win again?
What are your feelings about the songs and performers that the UK have put forward over
the the past few years? Do you think there will be a time again. When another unknown act
could kick start their career successfully, like The Fizz by taking part in the contest?
Thanks and Good Luck in everything you choose to do in 2005.
P.S. I think you should be made a Dame by the Queen. "Dame Cheryl of Baker".
Shirley Bassey is and she never whipped her skirt off on stage or made wibbly wobbly jelly
live on TV!!!!!
(Submitted by PaulFizzFan1 06/03/05)
Hmm, will UK ever win the Eurovision again? Dunno. It has always been political, now more
than ever. With so many Eastern European countries in the contest and our song sounding
Eastern European, plus with thingy who’s singing it (her name’s escaped me for a
minute) there’s a chance we could do well this year. I doubt if we’ll win it,
though. All those Baltic states will vote for each other and we’ll be somewhere in
the top 5. I think the days of an artiste/s becoming successful because of Eurovision are
gone. Now it is more likely to be because of Pop Idol, Fame Academy, X Factor etc. etc.
Love Dame Cheryl!
Having just
heard about the plans for you to reunite with Shelley and Mike, I wondered what plans you
have - a tour or the occasional gig, promotion for the upcoming albums, recording new
stuff etc?
(Submitted By David Meades 06/03/05)
I have told Shelley and Mike that I will only do one-off gigs. I can’t consider
another proper Bucks Fizz career. It would mean being away from Kyla and Natalie too much
and I’m not prepared to do that. It does mean, however, that the gigs we do will be
select! I just wish Bob would do them with us. Trouble is, he is so tied up with his Bucks
Fizz that he just doesn’t have the time. We have no intention of recording new stuff,
for two reasons really. One: it costs money, and two: who will buy it? I know you and all
the Fizz fans will, but that wouldn’t cover the cost of the recording. It would be
great to get back in the studio again as Fizz, but in the real world it ain’t gonna
happen.
Fantastic news
about you, Mike and Shelley. All us fans are well excited! You were superb at H&N so I
can't wait to see you perform again. The first question I'd like to ask is exactly how and
when you, Mike and Shelley decided to get together. Secondly, did you ask Bobby if he was
interested in joining you? And thirdly, what is the likelihood of Bobby joining you for a
few one off gigs or permanently in the future? That's not to say I'm not totally chuffed
about the three of you getting together, but of course what all of us Fizz fans would love
to see is the four of you reunited. Many thanks!
(Submitted By Perfecto 08/03/05)
It was Shelley’s idea to do the H & N tour. I saw her at a gig in London about
three years ago and she said how well the tours do and that BF should do one. Shelley
suggested it to the promoter, Tony Denton, who got in touch. Trouble was getting us all to
be free at the same time. It took a couple of attempts to finalise the H & N tour last
December.
It was touch-and-go
as to whether Bobby was going to do it at all. I’m glad he did, but there were two
dates he couldn’t make, Sheffield and Plymouth. Those dates went really well, even
though we didn’t have Bobby’s vocal. That’s when we decided we could go out
as three.
It would be great if
Bobby could work with us but I don’t think it will happen. As I said in an earlier
answer, he is really busy with his Bucks Fizz, plus he has to show them loyalty. I totally
agree with you, though. If the four of us could at least do the odd gig, it would be
perfect.
Thank you
Cheryl (plus Shelley & Mike!) for agreeing to carry on - It made my birthday!
Do you still actively support Mike's charity & if so could you give Ian some details
on how we can help too.
My Brownies have just finished their Disability Awareness badge & I was proud to to be
able to tell them about Mike & his ongoing battle with Epilepsy - they had to find out
about someone famous who has a disability of any type. You showed great guts to do that
parachute jump - more power to you!!
Thanks a million - love to Natalie & Kyla (Did Natalie pass her 11+?)
(Submitted by FizzFanatic (Katharine) 08/03/05)
Funnily enough, Mike’s charity BUSK (Belt Up School Kids) is launching a new campaign
for safety on school buses, which Mike will certainly attend, and possibly Shelley and I
will be there too. There’s talk of BF doing a few songs at the launch at the NEC. I
think it’s in April. The campaign is to put cameras in buses, especially on routes
where there are often troublesome kids. The song they want to use for the launch is My
Camera Never Lies! I believe the launch takes place in April some time, not sure of the
date. BUSK may have a website – look it up.
Thanks for all your good wishes and praise and stuff. No, unfortunately Natty didn’t
pass her 11+. She’s was gutted at first but now she’s OK. Don’t ask what
school they’re going to, though. I’m fighting for a school they’ve been
denied.
Thanks so much
for agreeing to do another Q and A. The last one was great and your answers were always
interesting. And you had me in stitches when you said in your answer to my question about
why Love In A World Gone Mad wasn't a single ".....fancy asking me if I can remember
why it was never released! Me!. The bird who forgets to wake up in the morning!"
Absolutely priceless Anyway, enough groveling! Can I be cheeky and ask 3 questions?!
Firstly, you once said on TV at the time of New Beginning being released that you did over
a thousand backing vocals and harmonies on it. Surely this was an exaggeration as even on
a 36 track master tape you'd be overdubbing and copying for weeks. and even then surely
there wouldn't have been room?!
Secondly (and I'm sorry if the subject of Jay is irritating for you), but how much of the
I Hear Talk album is Jay on? Most fans seem to agree that apart from Thief In The Night
she's really only audible on Golden Days and very slightly on I Hear Talk (track). Is she
on the rest of the album at all or just buried deep in the mixes?
And finally, without wishing to bore one or two other fans too much (waves to Fizzwoz!) ,
are you singing "GIVEN all the love you needed" or "YOU HAD all the love
you needed" on You And Your heart So Blue? It's a long story why I'm asking, suffice
to say some people think I should get out more!!!
And btw, you looked stunning in the black/red (or was it pink?) outfit you wore for Here
and Now
Waldo.
PS Can I ask a forth question? Sorry!
I think a lot of fans would be interested in the recording sessions, so could you tell us
a little about a typical session in the studio? How did you learn the songs; how was it
decided who would sing lead; did you all do the vocals together etc?
(Submitted by Waldo 08/03/05)
Grovel as much as you like!
I was probably
exaggerating when I said 1,000 overdubs, but there were absolutely loads. The engineer and
Andy Hill were bouncing tracks down to one, so releasing tracks for more over-dubs. BF had
to sing, shout, whisper, sing purposely out of tune (easy when it’s natural,
difficult when it’s not!) to make it sound as though there were thousands of voices.
We also had children singing on it and a black choir. New Beginning definitely ranks as
one of my top three BF songs.
I can’t really
remember accurately how much Jay sang on I Hear Talk, but I don’t think it was very
much. We recorded a lot of it in Switzerland where Andy was at the time. I’m pretty
sure she never went there, so all the tracks we recorded there were minus Jay. At that
time there had been a lot of unpleasant stuff going down – you know the stories now
– and there was a lot of ill feeling. The Jay/Andy thing was obviously a problem for
Andy’s wife Nicky, so I would imagine it was thought best all round that we recorded
without her. I don’t think Jay was bothered in the slightest as, by that time, she
had had enough of being in BF and wanted out.
It’s
‘Given’, not ‘you had’ – I think!
Thanks for your
comments on my H & N outfit. It was pink. Expect to see it at every gig we do in the
future, ‘cause it’s the only one I’ve got!
Over the years
your relationship with Jay has been well publicized and discussed by many on this forum.Do
you not think that it would be good to set aside all your feelings and meet up
again.Twenty years have passed and you are both probably very different people from who
you were all those years ago but in a short space of time you achieved so much together.Do
you have any fond memories of your relationship and your time together in the group?? I,
like many others always seem to think that you are the only one that cannot let go of the
past but isn't it time to move on and bury all the negativity.
(Submitted by Astonfan (David) 09/03/05)
I appreciate your feelings. Looking at the situation from the outside it would seem simple
to bury negativity and move on. The truth is, Jay and I never had a single thing in
common. I’m absolutely sure that, if we met now, we still wouldn’t have. Other
than children, that is. I look back at my time when Jay was in the band with massive
fondness, but that isn’t fondness of Jay, it’s of the whole situation, the whole
group. Actually, the only one I really got on well with was Mike. But that’s
OK. You don’t have to like someone to work well with them. I don’t believe I
have negativity over Jay. Just indifference. I wish her well, but I much prefer to work
with Shelley. If you didn’t get on with someone you worked with, would you
particularly want to meet up with them again 20 years on to see if your opinion had
changed? I have moved on, and so has she, no need to go back.
Thank you for
agreeing to do this again. It was a thrill to read your answers to my last questions.
There's a couple of things I'd like to ask. First - "Where do I go now?" is a
really great song. Why didn't you write any more during the BF era? Where can I get hold
of your version of "If you're right"? It's a great song.
Finally, what became of Gay Purle?
Thanks again for doing this. Hope to see you, Mike and Shelley live soon. Here and Now was
an absolute joy!
(Submitted by Magritte (Ben) 09/03/05)
The funny thing is, before I was a professional singer I used to write songs all the time.
Once it became my living, I stopped! It was fun writing ‘Were do I go now?’ but
I don’t expect I’ll be writing any more. I love writing poetry, especially for
children. I’m compiling some stories and poetry for a children’s book - another
project that probably won’t see the light of day!
Don’t ask me
things like ‘where do I get hold of…..’. I have no idea! You know I’m
useless at remembering things and retaining things and keeping things and things!
However…….I do believe Dean Murphy has a copy that he is doctoring at the
moment. I remember recording ‘If You’re Right’ in the studio with Andy. I
had a sore throat so he gave me some port. It certainly helped, trouble was, after the
fifth glass I might just as well have been singing Old Mother Riley Had a Cow and
Didn’t Know How to Milk It! Dean has told me he has two versions, one sensuous and
soulful, the other p****d!
Gay Purle, as far as
I’m aware, now lives in surrey. She is divorced from her 1st husband and
possible her 2nd as well! Her son. Rupert, must be in his thirties by now.
Hello
again,can I say a big thanks for your replies last time. I read once that you were a big
fan of the Monkeys and that you saw Micky Dolenz and you heard him acting like "the
big I am" and that put you off him. By the things you have done over the last 20 odd
years ,and esp. this ,shows that you are a million miles away from him and that you
"care " for us. Anyho to the question(s).
Firstly what is the thing that,professionally, you have done,or achieved that makes you
the proudest ,is it euro vision, three number ones or is it non fizz related.
Second question, which fizz album do you regard as the best or the one that best shows
what you were all about, to me it was are you ready ,and was a tragedy that you didn't
have a solo on it.
Thanks again for this opportunity it means so much. your loyal servant Gary.
PS-what are your thoughts on the song"Always Thinking of You" I personally think
its a lovely song,with your very high pitch(can you still reach the highs) and the lyrics
,were they meant for bobby or mike to sing ?
(Submitted by Foogyfilm (Gary) 10/03/05)
I didn’t see Micky Dolenz, I saw my Monkees hero, Davy Jones. I was singing in a
nightclub called The White Elephant. It was 1977/78 and the club was THE place where all
the celebs used to go. Davy Jones came in and my heart skipped a beat. He was the one that
I absolutely adored when I was young. The first disappointment was that he was
shorter than me. But when he asked for a table and they, very apologetically, told him
there wasn’t one free, he said that horrible line ‘Do you know who I am?’
That was the biggest disappointment. Micky Dolenz, by-the-way, has the same birthday as
me.
Anyway, to answer
your questions:
The professional
thing that I’m most proud of? That’s really hard! I’m struggling with that
one. Of course, Eurovision is up there somewhere. Having my own show (Eggs ‘n’
Baker) was great, too. And presenting ‘My Secret Desire’ back in the late
‘80’s. I think, probably, it is the knowledge that most of the female harmonies
on BF tracks were mine. Yes, that’s it. I was and still am hugely proud of that.
My favourite Fizz
album is still ‘Are You Ready?’ Tracks like 20th Century Hero –
brilliant! Breaking and Entering – fantastic! The only one that doesn’t do much
for me is One Way Love’. The rest are fab.
I would have liked a
solo, just for the sake of having one, but I didn’t care that much.
Always Thinking of
You is a beautiful song. I can still reach the high notes but you ought to hear Kyla! Only
dogs can hear her high notes! I have absolutely no idea if the lyrics were meant for
either of the boys to sing.
We are all
really excited about yourself mike and shelley getting together again, I was wondering,
Will bobby be joining you occasionally? and what sort of gigs are hoping to get? what I
mean is what sort of venues will you be playing.
p.s. how is the autobiography going? any time soon?
(Submitted by Splash (Mark) 10/03/05)
There is a reason why Bobby isn’t doing G-A-Y. I can’t tell you what it is.
Originally, it was going to be all four of us. I would like to think we will work together
again, but as I’ve said already in this Q & A session, he is reeeeally busy so,
if it does happen, it will be once in a blue moon.
So far, Shelley,
Mike and I have taken just a handful of gigs; G-A-Y is the first on 21st May,
then Maidstone (The Hazlett theatre, I think) on 24th June, a gig for BT at
Alton Towers on 9th July and a theatre in Weymouth that same evening (the BT
gig is daytime). Oh, and another one in Peterborough on 23rd July.
How is the
autobiography going? Ha ha! Well, I’m up to page 2!
Sorry we
didn't get to meet at Manchester H&N. The security was really tight and they wouldn't
let me nor Dean Murphy in!! (Wonder why??!!!). Managed to meet Bob, Mike & Shelley
though.....!!
Anyhows, my question. If you could go back and 'rewind' to an earlier time in Bucks Fizz'
history, to change just one thing, what would it be, and what would you think the
consequences would have been?
Really happy to be helping Dean & Ian on the Ultimate Anthology and the unreleased
stuff, its gonna go down a storm!
(Submitted by Fforvessent (Kevin) 10/03/05)
How come you met Bob, Shelley and Mike at Manchester but not me? Weird. Anyway…..
Of course, the one
thing I would change is the coach crash. Without question. The consequences, though, would
have affected my TV career. Because Mike couldn’t work for six months (should have
been at least nine, in retrospect) it meant I was free to pursue television presenting,
which I wouldn’t have had time to do had it not been for the crash. Fate can be very
quirky, can’t it? What was a disaster for Mike worked in my favour. But if I could
rewind the clock and avoid the crash, I would do it without hesitation.
Hi Cheryl,
thanks for agreeing to answer more questions for us, I saw you all at Newcastle and you
were all absolutely fantastic. The reaction you all got was unbelievable, even better than
I thought it would be.
I wondered at the time though how you were feeling about doing this gig after the
accident. I know you said a couple of things about it being good to be back (believe it or
not) which I'm sure were lost on non-Fizz fans, but we all knew what you meant. How were
you feeling, and how do you think Mike felt about doing the gig? I know it might sound
daft, but I was sooo proud for him.
Thanks again, and I'm so chuffed to hear about you, Mike and Shelley performing again.
Can't wait!
(Submitted by Windypops (Karen) 13/03/05)
Hey, I know we had the coach crash in Newcastle but I still have the greatest affection
for it. I think you have the best sense of humor up there and the warmest, friendliest
people. Plus, if it hadn’t been for the surgeons who worked on Mike, I don’t
believe he would be here today.
I reckon Mike felt
the same way too. And like you, I was soooo proud of him. Actually, the proudest I felt
was that first gig of the tour after the accident, when we opened the tour in Newcastle.
That was amazing and so emotional. When he sang ‘Now Those Days..’ I cried my
eyes out.
Cheryl, loved
your recent answer session...particularly your honesty. A couple of questions for you:
1. The worst year for being a Bucks Fizz fan was definitely 1987! There was no new music
and it was such a let down after the New Beginning in 1986. Why was it such a quiet year?
What was going wrong?
2. For many fans the one song which should have been a single was 'I'd like to say I love
you'. Is there any particular song that you think should have been a single? Anything that
you think was a wasted opportunity? I also think Oh Suzanne would have done better than
Rules of the Game.
3. Is there any particular song that you wish you had been given the lead vocal on?
(Submitted by BenWiganUK 12/03/05)
The reason 1987 was such a quiet year was because Bobby wanted time out. In fact he
threatened to leave but decided, after about 9 months, to change his mind.
Many fans think
‘I’d like to say I love you’ should have been a single? Blimey! It’s
not one of my favourites! Still, if we all liked the same things it would be a boring
world, wouldn’t it? And I agree with you, I think Oh Suzanne would have done better
than Rules of the Game. I wasn’t really struck on either of them, mind you. Oh
Suzanne was good to sing live, though.
Could you, or
someone, let me have a complete list of all our tracks? Then I can look though and choose
which ones I wish I had sung, and which ones should have been singles. I just can’t
remember what we’ve recorded!
Thanks for the
answer to my question last time round!!
With regards to the gig at GAY on the 21st May, this is gonna be a little cheeky but...
would you and the guys wish me a belated birthday on the night? I'm gonna travel down from
Ipswich with my best friend to see the show and we are staying overnight and he's bet me
that you wouldn't do it. If you could say sommat like "A belated happy birthday to
Mark from Ipswich who's here with Gary" that would make my birthday this year sommat
special (even tho it is actually on the 6th may)
onto a Fizz related question: If you, Mike and Shelley are doing gigs as a three piece,
what songs are you gonna be performing? At GAY I'd personally love to see you do : New
Beginning; Keep Each Other Warm; Love In A World Gone Mad; Now Those Days Are Gone; Piece
of the Action, Land Of Make Believe and Making Your Mind Up. There are more for sure but
have you got any of the fizz backlog of tracks that you'd like a chance to do live?
Thanks for allowing us to ask more Questions and I'll see you with the rest of the mob at
GAY on the 21st May!!!!
(Submitted by Hannman (Mark) 17/03/05)
Oh blimey, I’ll try to remember to mention your birthday but you know what I’m
like! Ask Jeremy to give us a message on the night, to remind me.
When Shelley, Mike
and I do these few gigs we will only be doing 45 minutes, so it will be the same stuff as
the H & N tour with a couple of extras – don’t know what ones, yet. I doubt
we’ll do Keep Each Other Warm, but the others might be possible. Depends what ones we
can find or re-record.
Hope u had a
good birthday u fellow piscean u. Was just wondering what was ur favourite fizz year &
what do u feel was the most defining moment for you & the group personally
(Submitted by Jockfun25 (Philip) 17/03/05)
I think my favourite Fizz year was probably 1983. We were riding high and I was
ecstatically happy. Our most defining moment? There has to be more than one. Of course,
the first is winning the Eurovision. Others in the list, not in order of preference are,
the coach crash, Jay leaving, Shelley joining. Going to No. 1 for the first time was a
pretty defining moment, too.
Firstly,
thankyou for doing another Q and A,its great that you do these your fab
I went to quite a lot of bucks fizz concert in the early days and now looking forward to
going to more.. Saw BF in Blazers when Shelley had joined the group, you were fantastic.(
met Shelley in the lift she was really great) always will be a fan. I've got 4 hope you
don't mind:
Q. what was the best concert you've done. and why
Q. what do you think was the groups best album, and why
Q. what was your all time favourite Bucks Fizz song and why
Q. do you think the Eurovision has got to political
Hope you had a great birthday, best wishes XXXXXX big hug. Paul (Edinburgh).
P.S. think the ending of the London town video is great .. you all start messing about,
then you turn to face the camera and start laughing, FAB ..
(Submitted by 38bmcjbf (Paul) 17/03/05)
The best concert…..well, the H & N tour will take some beating! The come-back
tour after the coach crash was brilliant, too. Yes, I think that first tour gig in
Newcastle after the coach crash and Wembley Arena last December.
My favourite album
was Are You Ready, but I like them all for different reasons. They all have tracks that I
love, and tracks that I’m not that fond of!
My fave BF song
– New Beginning ‘cause it was a superb song and brilliant to record, Land of
Make Believe ‘cause it was Christmas and magical and stuff, Now Those Days
‘cause it’s my lovely Mike, Making Your Mind Up, not because I like it but
because it gave me my life, I Hear Talk ‘cause it was a great song – I could go
on. It would be easier to tell you the ones I don’t like. The depressing ones like
Rules of the Game, When we were Young and One of those Nights.
The Eurovision has
always been political but it’s now beyond a joke. I think they need to change it
completely and start again. It’s losing its appeal because of the politics.
Thanks for the
birthday wishes. I spent my birthday doing normal stuff and finished the day with a PTA
meeting at my house!
When Bucks
Fizz recorded a song for single release, how long did the record company give you before a
video was shot, or the first TV performance? Was there ever any fear of forgetting the
words? What I mean is, how long were you given to get it right?
Also, could you please tell us who played which parts in the 'Wizard Of Oz' segment, of
the 'My Camera Never Lies' promo video?
(Submitted By Handcut (Terry) 17/03/05)
The video was shot almost immediately, and the TV performances were sometimes put in
before the single was finished. Therefore, there was often a huge fear of forgetting the
words!
We rehearsed and
rehearsed to get routines/lyrics right but there were definitely faux pas’s at times!
As far as I
remember, the Wizard of Oz segment in Camera was me as Dorothy, and stand-ins as the
others. Mike and Bobby weren’t the tin man or the scarecrow – I don’t
think!
What memories
do u have of working on that video with the Eurythmics-Who's that Girl do u have any
anecdotes from the shooting of it
(Submitted by Jockfun25 (Philip) 18/03/05)
You again!
I was thrilled to
work on the Who’s That Girl video for the Eurythmics. They were on RCA the same as
us, so I think it was organised through the record company. It didn’t take very long,
so unfortunately I don’t have any anecdotes. Boring, I know!
Just wanted to
know if you had any plans to do some more telly stuff? I've had a few auditions in the
last few weeks and I reckon we should take over this morning next time Phil and Fern are
on holiday - what a hoot that would be! What do you reckon - shall I give them a call?!
(Submitted by Chrisscott (Chris) 18/03/05)
What a good idea! I really like Phil and Fern and they work well together. But when
they’re off….. Yes, give them a call! I regularly do telly stuff as a guest. I
would certainly present again, if I was asked. Trouble is, I haven’t been asked!
Can I first
grab the opportunity to say thanks for Bucks Fizz and the unique talents you brought to
it. You are the consumate professional, with a stunningly beautiful voice (your harmonies
give me goose bumps!), you're absolutely gorgeous (sex on legs ;-)) ) and what I would
call a true entertainer. I associate BF with many happy memories of my childhood and its
great to still be boogeying on down to your music, albeit in the car on the way to work
now rather than in front of the mirror with a hairbrush!!
Anyway, my question is:
If you could turn back the clock and be in charge of EVERY aspect of BF for 12 months,
which period would you choose and what differences might we have seen?
(Submitted by DavidDavensac (David) 21/03/05)
My daughter Natalie read your message and thought the ‘sex on legs’ comment was
gross! Glad you recall BF with happy memories. Me too.
Blimey, your
question’s a bit in-depth, innit? I think I would go back to mid-1984 up to mid-1985.
That whole era was horrible a lot of the time. Jay was very unhappy, the coach crash, Jay
leaving. If I could change that time of our lives, I would suggest Jay leave sooner than
she did (she wanted to anyway), we replace her with Shelley in the Autumn of 1984 and we
tour early ’85 instead of Christmas ’84. That way, the road works on the A1
would have been finished and the coach crash wouldn’t have happened.
Firstly, I
think it's so great that you are taking time out to answer questions. I think we all
really appreciate it and your honesty. Just thought I would ask you if you had good
memories of Song for Europe as you entered it on a number of occasions and do you still
keep in touch with your former bandmates from Coco/Main Event?
Also, can you tell me if you sang on 'Wake Up' in 1976. Or did you join CoCo later? Had
CoCo dispanded when you performed with Bucks Fizz for Song for Europe or were you just
doing a sideline?
(Submitted by Andrewleeds (Andrew) 23/03/05)
Don’t mention it. If it wasn’t for you lot, where would we be?
I have fab memories
of Song for Europe. My first one was in 1976, when Coco came 2nd to Brotherhood
of Man. The following year I wasn’t in it, but did some backing vocals. The next year
I did it again with Coco and won (failing miserably in the Eurovision but we won’t
talk about that!), then in 1979 I was the voice of the Nolans ‘Harry My Honolulu
Lover’ which was favourite to win. I was sooooo chuffed with that! In fact, going
back to an earlier question about what was I proud of in my career, that would have to be
up there somewhere. All the vocals were mine, every one of them. And, although the Nolans
were going to sing the song on the night, it was my demo version that the judges put as
favourite to win! As it happens, there was an industrial dispute and the contest
wasn’t broadcast, only on the radio. That year the terrible ‘Mary Ann’ won,
with Black Lace. No accounting for taste. And then in 1980 I sang with The Main Event
(Coco renamed!). The song was called ‘Gonna Do My Best’ and I really liked it!
No-one else did though. It came last. Ha Ha! But then, of course, 1981 came along. You
know the rest.
I keep in touch with
Helen, one of the other girls from Coco. The reason I say ‘one of the others’ is
because, while I was with the group, there were three ‘other’ girls, Tracey,
Josie and Kim. Kim sang the first Song for Europe song, ‘Wake Up’. Josie did the
1978 ‘Bad Old Days’. Helen did ‘Gonna do my best’. Tracey was in the
group for a few short months when I first joined. She was a bit of a loony. I think she
may have even ended up in an asylum or something. I remember her saying once ‘I want
to eat the earth!’ so Terry Bradford, the leader of Coco, told her he’d get her
a bucket of top soil. Dunno what any of them are doing now, apart from Helen, who works
for Maidstone council, I think. We send cards and threaten to visit each other, although
it hasn’t happened yet!
You really
need to get cracking with your book so it can be released to coincide with the 25th
anniversary of BF next year.Please include the Coco years too.
Also why do you do so much reality tv stuff...you deserve better!
(Submitted by ajh2ajh (Andrew) 28/03/05)
Oh blimey, getting the book out for our 25th anniversary could be a bridge too
far but I’ll do my best.
The reason I do the
reality stuff is because that’s the way tv is now. If you don’t do it,
you’re not on the tele so people forget you. A lot of it’s naff (let’s not
talk about colonic irrigation, please!) but if that’s all your offered, you either do
it or bow out of the limelight gracefully – and I’ve never been particularly
graceful!
Hi Cheryl its
so great that you are answering your fans questions hope you're well how are your dogs
doing also have you mike an Shelley got any live or TV appearance planned for this year
would be great to hear you all together again unfortunately Scotland didn't have the
pleasure of the here and now concert
(Submitted by Gill 01/04/05)
Sorry we didn’t get to Scotland. We didn’t do Wales or Ireland either. Dunno
why. We should have done at least one concert in Scotland. Anyway, Simba and Bella are
lovely dogs, still a bit boisterous as they’re only 20 months old but they are
beautiful. Mike, Shelley and I are definitely doing gigs, as I’ve mentioned before,
but no TVs as yet – although there is a possibility.
Have fond
memories of coming to see the fizz in gt yarmouth and ipswich. all them there years ago!!!
my question is what 2 Madonna tracks, 1 a ballad and 1 a rock tune would you like to
cover, either as a group or solo.
PS - you called me victor years ago at yarmouth...you asked what my name was but in fact I
asked you for a picture...do you remember??? probably not. oh and a quickie... what's the
story with eastenders then????
(Submitted by Younghearts 03/04/05)
Kev – or is it Victor?
I wasn’t a big
Madonna fan in the early ‘80’s but her later stuff was brilliant. My fave ballad
is Crazy for You and rock tune (if that’s what you can call it!) is Don’t Tell
Me.
And as for
Eastenders, it’s all gone quiet over there!
There you go, you lot !
Talk to you again soon
Love Cheryl
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