The Fizz, the British band that once was known as Buck’s Fizz is losing founding member Mike Nolan.
The 69-year-old pop star has announced he’ll be leaving the group at the end of the year, just after he celebrates his 70th birthday.
The other two members of the band Jay Aston and Cheryl Baker will be soldiering on a duo.
Bucks Fizz achieved international fame when they won Eurovision for Britain in 1981 with their tune Making Your Mind Up. Originally the band included four members with Bobby G serving as the fourth member.
Their performance included a memorable gimmick where the two boys ripped off the female singer’s skirts, to reveal shorter skirts.
They went on to have more hits in the 1980s with The Camera Never Lies and the charming Land of Make Believe. Recording four albums of material in just four years.
Jay Aston quit the group in 1985 and the band held an open casting call and found new singer Shelley Preston. The band recorded one last album in 1986.
Aston quit the band in the early 1990s as she had a blossoming career as a television presenter, and Nolan quit five years later.
When Nolan left the original group he was replaced by former Dollar member David Van Day. The union didn’t last long and when Van Day and Bobby G had a falling out he started his own version of Buck’s Fizz with Mike Nolan returning to join the new version.
For five years there were two versions of Buck Fizz, a situation that has also fallen on many other bands including ELO, UB40, The Village People and The Little River Band. When it all went to court Bobby G retained the Buck’s Fizz name.
In 2016 Nolan reteamed with Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston adopting the new moniker The Fizz. Originally British singer Bobby McVay was also a part of the reformed group, but he left in 2018.
They’ve since released four albums of material working with producers Mike Stock and Jimmy Junior
Stock was one third of hit making duo Stock Aitken and Waterman, the songwriters who created hits for Bananarama, Kylie and Jason, Mel and Kim and a swag of other 80s superstars.
