Making Your Mind Up!

I'm going to take you back - to a time when life was simpler, to a time when clothes were a glorious technicolour of neon, to a time when Britain conquered Europe with its music. In May 1981, a colourfully clad foursome called Bucks Fizz took to the stage at Eurovision...and won!

Eurovision was a big deal in our house and I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures to this day is watching (often with open jaw) the 'musical' offerings from Europe. As a child, Eurovision was one of those wonderful things that I was allowed to stay up for. Mum, Lenny and I would sit and watch (and laugh at) the contestents along with Terry Wogan. He was as entertaining as the actual contest. We would give our own versions of the points and wait with baited breath for the winner to be announced. Believe it or not, the contest actually held a little bit of crediblility back then. And of course, it has launched the careers of more than one competitor. It is only more recently that it has become a political point scoring fiasco. I mean seriously, Britain may be pretty poor at many things (football, sporting events in general) but we are steeped in a rich and wonderful musical culture. This is the land of The Beatles, The Who, The Stones, The Roses, and a million other great artists. We don't really need to worry about the results of Eurovision and that coupled with the dubious choices of some of our political leaders is the reason we'll probably never win again. But just for now let's return to that night 29 years ago and enjoy it!

I sat on the sofa in my pyjamas as the points were awarded and the result announced. After a closely fought battle with Germany, Bucks Fizz had won! As a child of 7 I was beside myself that these four gorgeously dressed people from my country had won. The song was undeniably catchy and I know I'm not the only girl of my era who wanted one of their skirts. For those of you not in the know, the girls (Cheryl in red and the other girl in yellow) wore lovely full satin skirts that fell to their mid calves. And then, just before the last chorus the top skirts were ripped off by the boys revealing cute little mini-skirts in the same colours. How I wanted a skirt like that! How my friends and I practiced the dance moves to perfect the 'ripping' action! How we wanted to be them! And although, Bucks Fizz may not have won mercury prizes for their lyrical content, they did change my life.

My life of gig-going was about to commence and all due to them.

In 1982, my mum took me to my first ever gig. Yes, you've guessed it, I went to see Bucks Fizz at the Floral Hall in Southport. I was in a frenzy of excitment and although I didn't have the much sought 'velcro' Bucks Fizz skirt, I do recall exactly what I wore that night - a navy polka dot dress. Ok, so there was no velcro and no skirt hidden underneath but it did billow out beautifully whenever I twirled. And I spent a lot of time twirling!

The show was everything that an exciteable 8 year old could have wished for. I had their album on cassette and it was highly prized and frequently played. I was word perfect on all of the tracks, not just the hits (yes they had quite a few!) and sang my heart out for the duration of the gig. Although the titles of the songs are no longer familiar I do remember them singing the Land of Make Believe and of course the ever popular Making Your Mind Up which, as ever, drew gasps of delight from the audience when the velcro was released.

And so my love affair with live music began. I'm sure people have got far cooler first gigs. And maybe some people wouldn't actually admit to Bucks Fizz being their first but I am proud to say it was mine. It may have been a lifetime ago but I can still remember it vividly - even down to the bag of sweets I had clutched in my hand when we first entered the auditorium. I remember we sat fairly near the front and to the left which funnily enough is still the side of the stage that I tend to head for when I go gigging now. And I remember having the time of my life! It's fair to say, Mum and I had a thoroughly enjoyable night out and although I never got my Bucks Fizz skirt, I can still do the moves...all I need is some velcro!