Wonderland Burlesque: Wonderland Burlesque's Down The Rabbit Hole: Dollar

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Wonderland Burlesque's Down The Rabbit Hole: Dollar

Wonderland Burlesque's

Down The Rabbit Hole

Dollar

It seems my current fascination is with British/Canadian pops stars from the 1980's. Some are groundbreakers, and some are merely silly children who were fortunate enough and pretty enough to grab themselves fifteen minutes of fame. The ones who embrace it, see it for what it is and leave it behind? Well, they are the smart and lucky ones. The ones who hang on and hope for that big comeback or cling to fame as if it is oxygen?

Oh, dear. They become fodder for reality television and the tabloids, now don't they?

The UK's David Van Day and Canada's Thereza Bazar came together to create the popular 1980's pop duo, Dollar. The met when they were both seventeen, at an audition for a manufactured pop group known as Guys 'n Dolls. They both made the cut and became part of the group, which would go on have a number of successful singles during the mid-seventies. The chemistry between the pair proved quite real, and they began a romantic relationship during their time with Guys 'n Dolls.

By 1977, tastes were changing and Guys n' Dolls fortunes began to reverse. Sensing a sinking ship, Van Day and Bazar both complained about the quality of the material they were being given by management - and were promptly sacked! The official word was that the duo left the group in order to concentrate on songwriting.

Shooting Star - Dollar

Initially, Van Day had aspirations of going solo, however, it seemed having someone as lovely looking as Bazar to compliment his own golden boy good looks was the better bet. The duo, christened Dollar, were put under contract by a French label, Carrere Records.

Their first single for the label, Shooting Star, was released in late 1978. It managed to reach #14 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, Who Were You With In The Moonlight? also managed to hit the #14 spot. Both hits featured Van Day on lead vocals.

Who Were You With In The Moonlight? - Dollar

For their third single, the record label decided to change things up. Bazar took the lead on a song the duo had written. Love's Gotta A Hold On Me became the pairs first song to break into the UK Top Ten, climbing all the way to #4. A full album quickly followed. It featured a cover of the Beatles' I Want To Hold Your Hand, retitled I Wanna Hold Your Hand which rose to #9 on the charts.

Meanwhile, in the US, the duo made their first and only appearance on Billboard's Hot 100, when their first UK hit, Shooting Star, climbed all the way to #74.

In early 1980, with four Top 20 UK hits under their belt, Dollar left Carrere Records for what they hoped were the greener pastures at WEA Records. The previous success of Love's Gotta A Hold On Me in mind, the group decided to write all their own material for their WEA debut. But their confidence proved unfounded. Featuring an edgier, more rock-oriented sound, the album failed to catch on.

Sensing they were losing their momentum, the pair cooked up a scheme to garner a bit of media attention. They announced their engagement, but, upon discovery, the stunt, which had no basis in truth, backfired.

Stymied, Bazar asked producer Trevor Horn, whom she had met when she was part of Guys n' Dolls, to bring a bit of his magic and help reverse the group's fortunes. The combination clicked and Dollar experienced a renaissance. Their four Horn-produced hits, from 1981-1982, mark the zenith of the duo's careers. Both Mirror, Mirror and Give Me Back My Heart landed in the UK's Top Ten, while Videotheque and Hand held In Black And White managed to make the Top 20.

Mirror, Mirror - Dollar

A third album, 1982's The Dollar Album was set to be recorded, however, by that time, Horn had become an in-demand producer, working with other established acts such as ABC, The Art Of Noise, and Yes; he no longer had time to devote to the duo. They soldiered on without him, writing and producing the rest of the material themselves. A fifth single from the album, written and produced by Bazar and Van Day, was released. Give Me Some Kinda Magic did manage to become a Top 40 hit while, thanks to the inclusion of the previous four Horn-produced hits, the album rose to a respectable #18.

Give Me Back My Heart - Dollar

By 1983, things between Bazar and Van Day were not good. In fact, the whole thing unraveled during a promotional tour in Japan, with Van Day quitting the band. Without a duo to support it, a planned single, Two Hearts, was shelved; Dollar's days were over.

The two wasted no time going their separate ways.

Van Day revived his desire to be a solo artist. Working with the creative team behind Bucks Fizz, he released a solo single, Young Americans Talking.

Bazar was even more ambitious, recording a solo album, The Big Kiss, with famed-producer Arif Mardin, plus the theme song for the film Gotcha!, written by Bill Conti.

Even so, neither experienced the kind of success as solo artists, that they had as a duo.

Gotcha! - Thereza Bazar

By 1986, the two mended fences, reforming and releasing two singles, We Walked In Love and Haven't We Said Goodbye Before. Both failed in the market, and soon enough, the pair was looking for new label. Their next stab at fame proved much more successful.

Borrowing a song from Erasure, O L'amour, the couple managed a bit of a coup. In early 1988, the song became a huge hit, peaking at #7 in the UK.

O L'amour - Dollar

Unfortunately, they couldn't agree on a follow-up single; old tempers and dormant issues flared. Six months later, they managed to release It's Nature's Way. People in the know describe the atmosphere in the recording studio as intense and strained. In any case, the momentum generated thanks to O L'amour had evaporated and the new single, which proved to be their last, failed to catch fire.

By late 1988, Dollar was no more.

You Give Me Some Kinda Magic - Dollar

Van Day pursued a solo career, which went nowhere, while Bazar, fed up with the music business, move to Australia and raised a family.

Then Van Day began touring as a member of one of two versions of Bucks Fizz, while supplementing his income selling burgers in a food truck in Brighton. The tabloids, upon discovering his side gig had a field day... and Van Day, hungry for fame, was only to happy to play along, confiding to one such paper that he had blown over 100K snorting cocaine. 'It was like stuffing it down a manhole,' he said.

He also became somewhat addicted to plastic surgery, bragging to another tabloid that at one point he and his wife had blown $300,000 during one round of procedures in their quest to remain eternally youthful.

Since the year 2000, Bazar and Van Day have reunited for a single reunion tour and a few one-off gigs, with both appearing, separately or together, on various reality television programs.

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