REVIEW: FORMERLY OF BUCKS FIZZ @ CREWE LYCEUM THEATRE

It  hardly seems possible that it was a full 35 years ago that a “silly little song” (Cheryl Baker’s words, not mine) beat the odds and won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, 1981. Nobody guessed at that time that the performers who were put together specifically for the contest under the name Bucks Fizz, would go on to have several top ten hits during a five year period ruling the charts.  Since that time the fortunes of Bucks Fizz have been up and down, amid in fighting among the band and with several different versions of the  group going out resulting in litigation over the name. Lead singer Bobby G now owns the rights to the group name and his own version of the group is still performing. However, the most recognisable incarnation to the public go out under the somewhat unwieldy moniker of Cheryl, Mike & Jay Formerly Of Bucks Fizz plus Bobby McVay. The aforementioned Bobby McVay being imported from Britain’s 1983 Eurovision entry Sweet Dreams, and looking to all intents and purposes a doppelganger for the original Fizzy Bobby.

Heading to the beautiful Crewe Lyceum Theatre, it is fairly full of a wide age range,  most noticeably peopled though by 50 and 60 somethings. A live band have been ditched in favour of the much cheaper backing tapes.  A sad fact of many tours today and I think adds an undue touch of karaoke about the proceedings, robbing the occasion of a live event status.  But that is just a personal quibble, and had I been in charge of making the tour pay its way is no doubt a decision I might have been forced into myself.   Amid much audience fervour the fab four bound onstage with their last top ten hit from 1983, the infectious tribal drum beat of “New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)”.  We were all encouraged to do the arm movements from the video and everyone was in good spirits, not least it seems our four Fizzers.  And so began two hours of album tracks, solo spots and of course the cream of their 1980s hit factory.  “Piece Of The Action” was the second song on the menu,  the follow up single to the Eurovision hit.  My eye was drawn throughout the song to Jay Aston’s totally underwhelming efforts to reproduce the distinctive choreography of the video. I could almost feel her internally rolling her eyes thinking “Oh no not again” such was her lack of on stage energy for the piece.  However Miss Aston warmed up nicely as the evening progressed,  possessing perhaps the strongest voice of the evening in solo efforts such as “Great Expectations”,  a ballad from a musical about Marilyn Monroe she had been ‘involved with’ and of course the synth power ballad “When We Were Young” which surely has taken on a new meaning for the group who are now all in their 50s or early 60s.  The group though are definitely at their best when delivering four part vocal harmonies and nowhere was this more apparent than their 1986 single “Keep Each Other Warm”. Although it stalled at #45 in the charts of the time,  it remains one of their most powerful singles and is perhaps the follow up Christmas hit they never had.  Some form of winter lurgy was affecting the group which made for a few bum notes during the evening occasionally, but the four did well to give as good a vocal performance as they did under the circumstances. That they could deliver a quality show whilst struggling vocally did them all much credit.

Much of the focus pulling during the show was from the groups ‘cheeky chappy’,  Mike Nolan.  He is both the biggest liability and greatest assest to the current incarnation.  There is no doubt that his camp personality and ‘I’m only here for a laugh’ persona won over the audience from the beginning. But there are times when he reminded me of those sketches in The Generation Game where a member of the public is pitched into a routine dressed in an ill-fitting costume and is pulled about by the pros to get them through to the end.  And frankly he needs to lose his beer belly if he wants to cut it as a pop star these days.  But vocally he is still strong,  he struggled a bit during his greatest moment to shine “Now Those Days Are Gone” thanks to his chest infection but despite moments of amateurism and sometimes ill advised compere gags, he can pull it out of the bag when needed.  I think the word 'discipline' is key here and there isn’t that much. The newest member Bobby McVay is from what little we heard of his solo voice, another vocal force to be reckoned with.  We got his Sweet Dreams number “I’m Never Giving Up” but I feel he could do with another major solo moment to balance the show out a bit.  He did add some nice vocal harmony to Mike’s country number “Rose Of Cimarron” from his new solo album – yes, they have all got solo albums out these days.  Lucky us.

Cheryl Baker’s high profile presenting career in the 1990s make her the most instantly recognisable face of all the members. The Essex girl with the lovely smile has established herself a firm fan favourite.  She possesses a terrific pop voice too,  as was evident on one of my favourites of the Fizz’s rockier singles “Rules Of The Game”, not to mention the album track “Oh Suzanne” to name but two.  Her infectious enthusiasm for the songs helped carry the evening and added much warmth to the show. Jay may be the stylish class of the show and Mike its clown,  but Cheryl is most definitely its beating heart.

As the evening drew to a close,  a crowd pleasing 80s medley played right into the hands of those of us who were around at the time. Transporting us back to a time of Lionel Ritchie,  Dexys Midnight Runners and Bon  Jovi to much relish from the audience, by now on their feet.   But there was only ever going to be one way to bring the show to a close.  And that is by delivering the two songs that have become iconic to the history of Bucks Fizz.   Namely, their biggest selling single ever “The Land Of Make Believe” followed quickly by the Eurovision winner “Making Your Mind Up”.   It was the perfect end to our trip down memory lane. The entire show is a reminder that the Bucks Fizz recorded catalogue – so brilliantly written and produced by Andy Hill  – is woefully overlooked.  It contains the sort of quality pop that a lot of artists would kill for.  There was a feeling that the group yearned for the heady days of 1981 once more,  and in that they were most certainly not alone on a wet Sunday evening in Crewe.  As we all filed out into the night, everyone was certain this land of make believe was a place we’d all be returning to.