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.
Career
Thereza Bazar and David Van Day met at 17 when they successfully auditioned for the cabaret 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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 Records. 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 Trevor 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, and 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.
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