It is perhaps ironic
that whilst the legal spats between Bobby G and Cheryl, Mike and Jay (‘Formerly
Of Bucks Fizz’) over the trademark name of Bucks
Fizz were in full flow, the back catalogue of the group went under a remarkable
makeover thanks to the efforts of super-fans Dean Murphy and Stephen Fox to
name but two. A series of rarities and remix CDs going under the title of Lost Masters have unearthed some amazing
recordings that might otherwise have never seen the light of day. Similarly the
excellent The Bucks Fizz Story
documentary DVD gave us the definitive account of those heady years of chart
success and subsequent fall outs. Now the latest in this line of archive
plundering arrives in the shape of Bucks
Fizz Live 1984, the full concert
of the tour which would end abruptly when their tour bus crashed leaving Mike
in a life threatening condition.
I have to confess I
never saw Bucks Fizz in their heyday so this DVD comes as a chance to see what
I missed. It is surprising in that it is very much theatrical rock. The set
sums up a dystopian future, an image of George Orwell’s bleak novel with our four Fizz-ers cast as fugitives from an oppressive regime. The legend goes
that one of the tour crew recorded this on his video camera and it has lain
unseen for over thirty years. The downside is that the visuals are of VHS
standard, as the tape drop outs clearly betray, but given the source this is
unavoidable. However the audio seems to be excellent allowing us to hear
Cheryl, Bobby, Jay and Mike at their performing peak as a unit.
As you would expect you
get all the hits up to that point, stand out moments include Jay’s When We Were Young, Mike’s Now Those Days Are Gone and a rock
medley when all four get a chance to shine. For hardcore Fizz fans there are
some excellent album tracks performed. Cheryl’s Oh Suzanne displays her often overlooked solo vocals, Bobby and
Mike give an excellent Don’t Pay The
Ferry Man and a rockin’ Twentieth
Century Hero from the 1982 album Are
You Ready? pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the concert. Naturally
for Eurovision disciples Making Your Mind
Up and the biggest selling Fizz single of them all The Land Of Make Believe are there too. Personally I was sorry that
one of my favourite Fizz singles of them all Rules Of The Game was consigned to a brief moment in a medley. But
you can’t have it all, and this is a wonderful record of an ambitious tour both
visually, vocally and physically for the four members. Added into the mix are
some talented musicians who keep the driving rock beat going throughout this
pop extravaganza.
In addition to the
concert, there is the bonus of having 21 promotional videos for the single
releases including a couple of new ones for singles that never had official
videos released at the time. Rules Of The
Game in full. Bliss!!!
It has always surprised
me that Bucks Fizz are largely
ignored, save for the usual clamour to get them on TV whenever Eurovision comes
around, because their back catalogue is very strong and one of the best pop collections
of the 1980s. Thankfully a resurgence is slowly happening and this DVD is
surely evidence that they were – and are – a force to be reckoned with. I’ve made my mind up, buy it!
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