The duo enjoyed considerable chart success in the late 1980s, achieving four UK top ten hits, including the number one "Respectable" (1987), while their debut album, F.L.M.

[2] In 1985, prior to the duo's recording career, Mel was treated for malignant paraganglioma, a form of cancer, on her liver.

During a promotional visit to Japan in June 1987, Mel's back pain worsened, rendering her unable to perform, and she returned to the UK in a wheelchair.

A recurrence of the cancer was detected in Mel's spine after undergoing tests at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

The terminal cancer diagnosis was revealed to the public when a journalist called at her house, pretending to be a nurse.