Dollar

Under the aegis of producer Trevor Horn, this UK singing duo were designed to appeal to much the same market as Guys ‘n’ Dolls (their old group) before, and Bucks Fizz after them.

Attired in stylish-but-not-too-way-out costumes for UK television’s Top Of The Pops, Thereza Bazar and David Van Day made a promising start with November 1978’s Shooting Star (#14 in the UK).

For the next four years, it was unusual for the latest Dollar single to miss the Top 20.

With vocals floating effortlessly above layers of treated sounds, the team’s biggest work included Love’s Got A Hold On Me, a revival of The Beatles‘ I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Mirror Mirror (Mon Amour), Give Me Back My Heart and the futuristic Videotheque.

Although the duo broke up as a couple in 1981 they continued to record and perform together, but by 1982, sales had become erratic, and – coupled with failure to crack the US charts, as well as Bazar and Van Day’s growing antagonism towards each other – Dollar signed off with a “best of” compilation harrying the album lists.

While Van Day managed a small hit with Young Americans Talking in 1983, overall lack of record success as individuals prompted a reunion in 1986, but their cover of the Erasure song O L’Amour (1987) made little impact.