The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston.

They also had UK Top 10 hits with "Now Those Days Are Gone" (1982), "If You Can't Stand the Heat" (1982), "When We Were Young" (1983) and "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" (1986).

Unsure of which female vocalist to use, she ultimately decided to use both Baker and Aston as she felt their vocals complemented each other and Martin stepped down from the group in order to team up with Hill for another line-up as they had two songs in the competition.

The routine itself was choreographed by Chrissie Wickham, a former member of dance troupe Hot Gossip, although Martin, Baker and Aston have all since laid claim to the skirt-rip idea, Martin had used a similar idea when 'Rags' had taken part in the earlier 'A Song for Europe' contest in 1977; subsequently performing the same routine on 'Top of the Pops' after failing to win the competition.

[1][3] On 11 March, A Song for Europe took place with the then unknown Bucks Fizz competing against well-known act Liquid Gold, as well as Hill and Martin's own group, Gem.

The song boasted a contemporary pop sound and high production values, in contrast to the rock and roll style of "Making Your Mind Up".

As Baker has stated: "Our follow-up single was nothing at all like 'Making Your Mind Up', it was a good, strong, contemporary pop song"[8] "Piece of the Action" became an immediate hit and quickly rose to No.12 in the UK charts.

[14] In late 1981, Andy Hill, along with former King Crimson member Peter Sinfield, wrote the fourth Bucks Fizz single.

In the UK, chart success continued with the release of the hit singles "If You Can't Stand the Heat" and "Run for Your Life".

[29][30] The group's third studio album, Hand Cut, was released in March 1983, becoming another top-twenty hit and certified silver by the BPI.

[31][32] By this stage, although Bucks Fizz faced harsh criticism in the media for their lightweight pop image, the music press were acknowledging the group's highly polished performances and sturdy productions, gaining favourable mentions in the NME and Record Mirror.

[37][38] Along with these came the group's Greatest Hits album, which, despite reaching the top thirty and remaining on the charts for three months, fell short of expectations.

[39] Early in 1984, the group decided to take time out of the public eye, fearing overexposure for their recent downward trend and instead concentrating on recording in Switzerland.

[41] The follow-up single "Golden Days" was released alongside group's fourth studio album, I Hear Talk.

Again, Bucks Fizz found themselves the subject of newspaper headlines, this time with the revelation that Aston had been having an affair with Andy Hill — the husband of the group's creator, Nichola Martin.

Aston sold her story to the press in an article headlined "The hateful, bitchy world of Bucks Fizz," while member Cheryl Baker was keen to point out that they were never friends.

[51] Aston was sued by management over breach of contract while a replacement member was quickly sought to continue promotion for the current single.

Early the following year, keen to keep the group active, Bobby G (who was by then in effect taking over management of the act) and Nolan recruited two newcomers, Heidi Manton (who would later go on to marry G) and Amanda Swarzc.

Unable to come to an agreement with G, Van Day teamed up with Mike Nolan and two new female recruits (Lianna Lea and Sally Jacks)[53] to form a new version of Bucks Fizz.

Unhappy with the situation, G put an injunction on the name, resulting in the second group to go under the name; "Bucks Fizz starring Mike Nolan and featuring David Van Day".

[54] Under Van Day's guidance, this version released a newly recorded "Making Your Mind Up" single as well as an album of re-recorded Bucks Fizz songs.

With his then girlfriend, future UK Eurovision representative James Fox and West End performer Sarah J Price, Van Day continued to tour under the moniker "Bucks Fizz", despite never having been a member of the hit-making line-up.

By this time, G and co-star (and now wife), Heidi Manton had acquired the legal rights to the name "Bucks Fizz", and brought a case in the High Court against Van Day, at this point Fox and Price hastily left the group[56] Bucks Fizz as a registered UK trade mark was filed in favour of Manton on 25 June 1997 and then registered in 2001 in classes 09 and 41.

[57][58] In 2001, a judge refused to grant a court injunction against Van Day as he had been operating as Bucks Fizz for five years at the time.

[59] The feud and legal battle between Bobby G and David Van Day as to who had the right to perform under the name "Bucks Fizz" was the subject of a BBC television documentary, Trouble at the Top.

[61] In 2004, BMG Records released all of Bucks Fizz's original studio albums on compact disc, which renewed interest in the group.

[68] Original member Bobby G continued up until 2018 as Bucks Fizz with the line-up of Heidi Manton, Tammy Choat and Paul Yates.