The original Bucks Fizz are lucky to be alive after their tour bus collided with a lorry and left one of the group in a coma for weeks.
One of the original members of Eurovision band Bucks Fizz, which now performs under the name The Fizz, has announced they are leaving for good after 43 years performing with the group. Mike Nolan, 69, recently told listeners to Michael Ball's BBC Radio 2 show he was quitting for "personal reasons".
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the group, which also consists of Cheryl Baker, 70 and Jay Aston, 63, issued an 'important notice.' The statement read: "We can confirm, following the Michael Ball show, that Mike will be leaving the group at the end of the year. Cheryl & Jay will be continuing as 'The Fizz' & a statement from Mike, will follow in the coming days. Thank you for your understanding."
The trio has since appeared on Good Morning Britain, where Mike elaborated on his reasons for stepping away from the band. "It's actually personal reasons why I'm leaving but also as well I was getting fed up with the amount of travelling you've got to do," he said.
The remaining two are planning to replace Mike after he leaves at the end of the year but joked that he's been threatening to go for years, saying "Just go, for goodness' sake!"
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Cheryl, Jay and Mike appeared on GMB to discuss his departure (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)It's not the first time the pop group, which shot to fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 with their catchy tune Making Your Mind Up and an infamous performance that featured the men ripping the girls' skirts off, have faced a lineup change or upheaval and drama.
Back in 1984, the band, which then also included original vocalist Bobby G, were travelling in their tour bus after a gig in Newcastle when it collided with an articulated lorry. The roof of the bus was ripped off and all four members were injured.
The boys would rip the girls' skirts off during the performanceCheryl and Mike were both thrown out through the windscreen, along with their driver and one of the guitarists. Jay was taken to hospital for back injuries, bruising on the brain and broken ribs, and Bobby G was treated for whiplash. Cheryl broke three vertebrae in her spine.
But it was Mike who came off worse and ended up being put into a coma for weeks. He recalled: "I remember seeing Cheryl lying in hospital with all this oil and glass in her hair, and having the worst headache imaginable. Then I slipped into a coma for six weeks. I don't remember anything about it, but I died and they revived me. It means I'm not scared of dying now, I've seen there is nothing to fear."
Making Your Mind Up by Bucks FizzHe was reported to have died on the operating table and was on life support for three days. He still suffers from impaired vision, epilepsy and short-term memory loss.
Jay has previously revealed: "We were all lucky to walk away with our lives that night and Cheryl has spoken about the huge impact it had on them." "The coach crash caused so much pain and devastation for us all, it was dreadful," she said.
As Mike recovered from his injuries, tensions were high in the group and Jay decided to leave. It emerged at the time she had been having an affair with Andy Hill, the husband of the woman who set the band up, Nichola Martin. Jay sold her story to newspapers which was titled, 'The hateful, b***hy world of Bucks Fizz' and was sued by management for breach of contract. Jay was replaced by Shelley Preston until she left in 1989 and the band continued as a trio.
However Cheryl's career as a children's TV presenter was taking off and she left to host the BBC's Record Breakers. New members Amanda Swarzc and Heidi Manton joined and the latter went on to marry Bobby G. Mike quit in 1996 and David Van Day from 80s band Dollar joined for around a year.
Bobby G continued to perform with wife Heidi until 2018 with a number of bandmates, under the name Bucks Fizz. When Cheryl, Mike and Jay buried the hatchet, they reunited but found themselves in a bitter legal conflict with Bobby G over the use of the band's name. They eventually decided on The Fizz.
Mike is quitting after 43 years in the band (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The group have had various lineups and flare ups (Getty Images)Cheryl has previously talked about not being able to use the name even though they are the ones still performing most: "We don't own the trademark, the woman who married Bobby G – he isn't with us – his wife registered the name Bucks Fizz and so we're not allowed to use it which is just ridiculous but there you go. You've got to laugh," she told the . "And she's still reminding everyone that she can call herself Bucks Fizz but we can't," she added. "But also, I think it's jealousy as well, but there you go."
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After reuniting, the group still had their explosive fights, with Mike admitting in 2021: "When we fall out, we really fall out. Cheryl and I do have some really bad rows. I row with Jay and she can take it – but she can really scream sometimes too. It's a miracle we're still together, but we are."
But he also revealed that his dispute with David Van Day was far worse than any he'd had with other band members. After David's brief stint in Bobby G's Bucks Fizz, he joined Mike in 1997, but it didn't end well: "I've worked with a few difficult people but he was the worst by a country mile," he recalled. Calling it his "lowest point", he told how the pair fell out and he took Van Day to court in a dispute over earnings.
Mike said: "I won the case – three days later he went bankrupt. I was left to pay the court fees of £40k. It left me broke and I had to sell my beautiful penthouse in Maida Vale. I could never forgive that ****hole for what he did to me."
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