Dollar (band)
Encyclopedia
Dollar are a pop vocal
duo
from the UK
, consisting of David Van Day
and Thereza Bazar
. The duo were successful in the late 1970s and 1980s.
act Guys 'n' Dolls. The group enjoyed a number of hit singles in the mid 1970s and during this time Van Day became romantically involved with Bazar. By 1977 the group was in decline and the pair complained about the choice of material and musical direction. Van Day decided to quit the band to embark on a solo career while Bazar would continue with Guys n' Dolls to earn a living for them both. The group's management were unhappy with the situation and sacked Bazar with the reasoning that a six-piece group consisting of three couples would now look odd with five members. With the change in circumstances, the pair decided to begin a career as a duo. They were picked up by French label Carrere Records, going under the name Dollar.
Dollar's first single
, "Shooting Star", was released in late 1978 and, after a slow climb, reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart
. The follow-up, "Who Were You With In The Moonlight?", was released in early 1979 and also reached number 14. After two hit singles featuring Van Day on lead vocals their third, the ballad
"Love's Gotta Hold On Me" was sung by Bazar. It became Dollar's first self-penned hit as it entered the Top Ten and was one of their biggest, climbing to number 4 in the UK chart. Encouraged by this steady run of success, the group released their debut album, Shooting Stars
, which made the top 40. In a change of pace, the band released a cover
of The Beatles
' song "I Want to Hold Your Hand
", which reached number 9. At the same time, Dollar had their first (and only) US hit with "Shooting Star", which made No.74. By February 1980, the group had scored four UK Top 20 hits, but this was not to last.
. Buoyed by the success of "Love's Gotta Hold On Me", the pair decided to write and produce all the songs for their second album. Attempting a move towards a rockier sound, the album, along with its singles, failed to sell well. In a bid to generate sales, Van Day and Bazar announced their engagement, but this was later revealed to be a publicity stunt.
In 1981, Bazar approached record producer, Trevor Horn
, whom she had met during her days in Guys n' Dolls, and asked if he would work with them. He agreed, and produced their 1981 and 1982 material. Horn's production work gave Dollar a more distinctive sound, and their four Horn-produced singles represented the high point in the band's career. It gave them another two Top Ten singles ("Mirror Mirror" and "Give Me Back My Heart") and two more Top Twenty hits ("Videotheque" and "Hand Held in Black and White"). The production on these four hit singles had brought Horn to the attention of other bands, notably ABC
, and it was not long before he was too busy to continue working with the duo.
"Give Me Some Kinda Magic", a Top 40 hit Dollar had written and produced themselves was the lead-in single to their final studio
album
, The Dollar Album
, which was a mixture of Horn's and the duo's own efforts. It became the biggest of their three albums, peaking at No. 18 in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI
.
in February 1983, relations between the duo had become increasingly tempestuous and Van Day quit the band. Their latest single ("Two Hearts") went unreleased in the UK and Dollar split.
Van Day had ambitions to be a solo
artist after he and Bazar split. He released the single "Young Americans Talking", which was written and produced by the people behind Bucks Fizz
. Meanwhile Bazar recorded an album, The Big Kiss, with producer Arif Mardin
. But neither of them enjoyed the same kind of success as solo artists as they had had as Dollar.
By 1986 they had reformed, and released the singles "We Walked In Love" and "Haven't We Said Goodbye Before". Neither of these met with much success and soon the group were looking for another record contract. In late 1987, the group covered the hi-NRG
-style Erasure
song "O L'amour
". In early 1988 the song became one of their biggest hits and peaked at No.7. The group then hit a stumbling block in deciding on a follow-up and past ill-feeling between the pair was rising again. Six months later they finally released another single, "It's Nature's Way", but it was to be their last release as the single flopped and work on a possible album had been long delayed. In late 1988, Dollar disbanded again.
Van Day again attempted to launch a solo career, but to no avail. Bazar decided to finish with the music industry and moved to Australia where she concentrated on raising her family. During the 1990s Van Day teamed up with a succession of female singers for a touring version of Dollar. In the latter half of the decade he joined a rival variation of the group Bucks Fizz
with original member Mike Nolan
. Two versions of Bucks Fizz were touring the UK and another Bucks Fizz original member, Bobby G
brought a case in the High Court against Van Day. In 2001, a judge refused to grant a court injunction against Van Day as he had been operating in Bucks Fizz for five years at the time, while also famously running a burger van in Brighton.
" tour, a series of arena-sized concert
s featuring other singers and bands from the 1980s. They followed this up by appearing on the reality television
show Reborn in the USA
in 2003. This show involved a number of formerly successful chart acts touring together in America with the public voting off a different act each week. They quickly became the centre of attention when they were involved in an argument with pop star Sonia, which was televised and reported in the newspapers. Dollar were the first act to be voted off and they returned to the UK. Dollar made another live appearance in 2004, in a show celebrating the career of Trevor Horn. It took place at Wembley Arena
and Dollar appeared alongside ABC and Pet Shop Boys
, amongst other acts who had worked with Horn over the years.
In July 2008 Dollar reformed again to take part in a UK reality television programme entitled Pop Goes the Band, in which a number of former pop stars were remodelled and restyled to try to recapture their former glory. The programme aired on Living TV on 23 February 2009. In December 2008 Van Day came fourth in "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
" on ITV1. The show saw Van Day co-write a new song, "Biff Baff Boff", with 1980s television presenter and broadcaster Timmy Mallett
. It was released as a download only single in December 2008 but failed to chart. His appearance on this show angered Bazar, who subsequently refused to work with him again.
On 15 February 2010 Cherry Red Records re-issued remastered and expanded editions of The Dollar Album
and The Paris Collection for the first time on CD.
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
duo
Pop duo
Pop duo is a term generally referring to a pop group with only two members.- Male :*The Everly Brothers*Simon & Garfunkel*The Righteous Brothers*Hall & Oates*Pet Shop Boys*Erasure*Red Box*Savage Garden*The Communards*Tears for Fears*Wham!...
from the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, consisting of David Van Day
David Van Day
David Van Day is an English singer and media personality, formerly a member of the pop duo Dollar. He was also a member of the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls , and a latter-day version of Bucks Fizz....
and Thereza Bazar
Thereza Bazar
Thereza Bazar is a British-Canadian singer, best known as one half of the pop duo, Dollar.- Career :Bazar first found fame in her teens as a member of 1970s group Guys 'n' Dolls, who scored a 1975 hit with There's A Whole Lot Of Lovin and went on to have a short hit career, which also included...
. The duo were successful in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Career
Thereza Bazar and David Van Day met at 17 when they successfully auditioned for the cabaretCabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
act Guys 'n' Dolls. The group enjoyed a number of hit singles in the mid 1970s and during this time Van Day became romantically involved with Bazar. By 1977 the group was in decline and the pair complained about the choice of material and musical direction. Van Day decided to quit the band to embark on a solo career while Bazar would continue with Guys n' Dolls to earn a living for them both. The group's management were unhappy with the situation and sacked Bazar with the reasoning that a six-piece group consisting of three couples would now look odd with five members. With the change in circumstances, the pair decided to begin a career as a duo. They were picked up by French label Carrere Records, going under the name Dollar.
Dollar's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Shooting Star", was released in late 1978 and, after a slow climb, reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The follow-up, "Who Were You With In The Moonlight?", was released in early 1979 and also reached number 14. After two hit singles featuring Van Day on lead vocals their third, the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"Love's Gotta Hold On Me" was sung by Bazar. It became Dollar's first self-penned hit as it entered the Top Ten and was one of their biggest, climbing to number 4 in the UK chart. Encouraged by this steady run of success, the group released their debut album, Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars (album)
Shooting Stars is the debut album by the pop duo Dollar.Released in 1979, the album contained the duo's first three singles; "Shooting Star", "Who Were You With in the Moonlight" and "Love's Gotta Hold on Me". The album was released on Carrere Records and reached No.36 in the charts...
, which made the top 40. In a change of pace, the band released a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' song "I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Want to Hold Your Hand
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment....
", which reached number 9. At the same time, Dollar had their first (and only) US hit with "Shooting Star", which made No.74. By February 1980, the group had scored four UK Top 20 hits, but this was not to last.
Early 1980s
In 1980 Dollar moved to WEA RecordsWarner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. Buoyed by the success of "Love's Gotta Hold On Me", the pair decided to write and produce all the songs for their second album. Attempting a move towards a rockier sound, the album, along with its singles, failed to sell well. In a bid to generate sales, Van Day and Bazar announced their engagement, but this was later revealed to be a publicity stunt.
In 1981, Bazar approached record producer, Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
, whom she had met during her days in Guys n' Dolls, and asked if he would work with them. He agreed, and produced their 1981 and 1982 material. Horn's production work gave Dollar a more distinctive sound, and their four Horn-produced singles represented the high point in the band's career. It gave them another two Top Ten singles ("Mirror Mirror" and "Give Me Back My Heart") and two more Top Twenty hits ("Videotheque" and "Hand Held in Black and White"). The production on these four hit singles had brought Horn to the attention of other bands, notably ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
, and it was not long before he was too busy to continue working with the duo.
"Give Me Some Kinda Magic", a Top 40 hit Dollar had written and produced themselves was the lead-in single to their final studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, The Dollar Album
The Dollar Album
The Dollar Album is the third and final studio album released by the pop group Dollar. It was released in October 1982 and featured five top 40 hit singles, including their biggest "Mirror Mirror".- Background :...
, which was a mixture of Horn's and the duo's own efforts. It became the biggest of their three albums, peaking at No. 18 in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
.
Split and reformation
During a promotional trip to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in February 1983, relations between the duo had become increasingly tempestuous and Van Day quit the band. Their latest single ("Two Hearts") went unreleased in the UK and Dollar split.
Van Day had ambitions to be a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist after he and Bazar split. He released the single "Young Americans Talking", which was written and produced by the people behind Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who 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...
. Meanwhile Bazar recorded an album, The Big Kiss, with producer Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
. But neither of them enjoyed the same kind of success as solo artists as they had had as Dollar.
By 1986 they had reformed, and released the singles "We Walked In Love" and "Haven't We Said Goodbye Before". Neither of these met with much success and soon the group were looking for another record contract. In late 1987, the group covered the hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
-style Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
song "O L'amour
Oh L'amour
"Oh L'amour" is a song by English synth pop duo Erasure, released in April 1986 as their third single.It was issued by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the U.S. to herald the June release of Erasure's debut album Wonderland, but became the third consecutive commercial failure for the band...
". In early 1988 the song became one of their biggest hits and peaked at No.7. The group then hit a stumbling block in deciding on a follow-up and past ill-feeling between the pair was rising again. Six months later they finally released another single, "It's Nature's Way", but it was to be their last release as the single flopped and work on a possible album had been long delayed. In late 1988, Dollar disbanded again.
Van Day again attempted to launch a solo career, but to no avail. Bazar decided to finish with the music industry and moved to Australia where she concentrated on raising her family. During the 1990s Van Day teamed up with a succession of female singers for a touring version of Dollar. In the latter half of the decade he joined a rival variation of the group Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz (band)
Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who 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...
with original member Mike Nolan
Mike Nolan (singer)
Mike Nolan is a singer and was one of the four original members of the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. He was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, but raised in the UK, where he still resides.- Early career :...
. Two versions of Bucks Fizz were touring the UK and another Bucks Fizz original member, Bobby G
Bobby G
Bobby G is a member of pop group Bucks Fizz. He was the only remaining original member in the group...
brought a case in the High Court against Van Day. In 2001, a judge refused to grant a court injunction against Van Day as he had been operating in Bucks Fizz for five years at the time, while also famously running a burger van in Brighton.
2000s
In the early 2000s Van Day persuaded Bazar to rejoin him in Dollar for a reunion tour. In 2002 they took part in the "Here And NowHere and Now Tour
The Here and Now Tour is a series of concert tours, which began in 2001, featuring groups and singers famous in the 1980s. The Tour takes in arenas and theatres around the UK and still runs today. The tours are organised by Tony Denton Promotions...
" tour, a series of arena-sized concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s featuring other singers and bands from the 1980s. They followed this up by appearing on the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show Reborn in the USA
Reborn in the USA
Reborn in the USA was a 2003 ITV reality TV show, in which ten former British pop acts were transported to the USA, where they were supposedly not known , in the...
in 2003. This show involved a number of formerly successful chart acts touring together in America with the public voting off a different act each week. They quickly became the centre of attention when they were involved in an argument with pop star Sonia, which was televised and reported in the newspapers. Dollar were the first act to be voted off and they returned to the UK. Dollar made another live appearance in 2004, in a show celebrating the career of Trevor Horn. It took place at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
and Dollar appeared alongside ABC and Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, amongst other acts who had worked with Horn over the years.
In July 2008 Dollar reformed again to take part in a UK reality television programme entitled Pop Goes the Band, in which a number of former pop stars were remodelled and restyled to try to recapture their former glory. The programme aired on Living TV on 23 February 2009. In December 2008 Van Day came fourth in "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (Series 8 UK)
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! returned to ITV for an eighth series from 16 November to 5 December 2008. Ant & Dec returned to present the main show on ITV, whilst Matt Willis, Emma Willis and Mark Durden-Smith returned to host spin-off show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here... Now! on...
" on ITV1. The show saw Van Day co-write a new song, "Biff Baff Boff", with 1980s television presenter and broadcaster Timmy Mallett
Timmy Mallett
Timmy Mallett is a TV presenter and broadcaster in the UK. He achieved cult status on BBC Radio Oxford and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio and later on TV-am...
. It was released as a download only single in December 2008 but failed to chart. His appearance on this show angered Bazar, who subsequently refused to work with him again.
On 15 February 2010 Cherry Red Records re-issued remastered and expanded editions of The Dollar Album
The Dollar Album
The Dollar Album is the third and final studio album released by the pop group Dollar. It was released in October 1982 and featured five top 40 hit singles, including their biggest "Mirror Mirror".- Background :...
and The Paris Collection for the first time on CD.
Singles
| Year | Song | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Ireland Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Shooting Star" | 14 | 20 | Shooting Stars |
| 1979 | "Who Were You With in the Moonlight" | 14 | 17 | |
| "Love's Gotta Hold on Me" | 4 | 12 | ||
| "I Wanna Hold Your Hand I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.... " |
9 | 11 | The Very Best of Dollar | |
| 1980 | "The Girls are Out to Get Ya" | - | - | The Paris Collection |
| "Takin' a Chance on You" | 62 | - | ||
| 1981 | "You Take My Breath Away" | - | - | |
| "Hand Held in Black and White" | 19 | 18 | The Dollar Album | |
| "Mirror Mirror (Mon Amor)" | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1982 | "Give Me Back My Heart" | 4 | 8 | |
| "Videotheque" | 17 | 17 | ||
| "Give Me Some Kinda Magic" | 34 | 12 | ||
| 1986 | "We Walked in Love" | 62 | - | - |
| "Haven't We Said Goodbye Before" | - | - | ||
| 1987 | "O L'amour Oh L'amour "Oh L'amour" is a song by English synth pop duo Erasure, released in April 1986 as their third single.It was issued by Mute Records in the UK and Sire Records in the U.S. to herald the June release of Erasure's debut album Wonderland, but became the third consecutive commercial failure for the band... " |
7 | 4 | |
| 1988 | "It's Nature's Way (No Problem)" | 58 | - | |
Albums
| Date | Album | Label | UK Charts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Shooting Stars Shooting Stars (album) Shooting Stars is the debut album by the pop duo Dollar.Released in 1979, the album contained the duo's first three singles; "Shooting Star", "Who Were You With in the Moonlight" and "Love's Gotta Hold on Me". The album was released on Carrere Records and reached No.36 in the charts... |
Carrere | 36 |
| 1980 | The Paris Collection | Warner Bros. | - |
| 1982 | The Very Best of Dollar (unofficial release) | Carrere | 31 |
| The Dollar Album The Dollar Album The Dollar Album is the third and final studio album released by the pop group Dollar. It was released in October 1982 and featured five top 40 hit singles, including their biggest "Mirror Mirror".- Background :... |
Warner Bros. | 18 |