Released in 1982, 'The very best of Dollar' was a compilation album released by the duo's first label Carrere at a time when the duo was successful with Trevor Horn-produced singles on the WEA label. The old tracks were repackaged and re-released, with Carrere probably hoping for similar success.
'The Dollar Album' was Dollar's third album and the duo's most successful one. No less than five singles were drawn from the album, of which 'Gimme some kinda magic' was the last one.
'Takin' a chance on you' was the second single from Dollar's second album 'The Paris collection'. Contrary to its predecessor 'The girls are out to get ya' and the follow-up 'You take my breath away', this single did make the UK singles chart, but only reached number 62.
In 1986, after Dollar reformed for the first time, they released the single 'Haven't we said goodbye before' on Arista records. The lack of success of this single and its predecessor 'We walked in love' had them looking for another record contract the next year.
The duo David van Day and Thereza Bazar had a rather stormy career in the first half of the Eighties, then broke up after relations between the two became increasingly strained. In 1986 they reformed and had a big hit with a cover of the Erasure track 'Oh l'amour'.
The duo Dollar had just released their debut album 'Shooting star' in 1979 when they released this single, a cover of the wellknown Beatles track 'I wanna hold your hand'. Whereas the original sounds straightforward and confident, this version, produced by Christopher Neil, sounds a bit shaky and lacks a bit in the vocal department.
When I listen to this single, I can't help but notice the dodgy sound effects and the very thin voice of Thereza Bazar. Dollar were just starting out in 1979, when 'Love's gotta hold on me' was released. The duo had had two minor hits in the UK, but hit the big time - amazingly - with this one: it reached number 4 in the UK singles chart.
'Who were you with in the moonlight' was the second single by the duo Dollar, releasedin April 1979 and produced by Christopher Neil.
Dollar's 1982 album 'The Paris collection' was recently re-released by Cherry Pop records, adding several bonus tracks to the tracklisting. I won't be buying it, because singles by Dollar is quite enough, I have to say. There is this undeniable kitch appeal, but I couldn't stand it for a whole album.
David van Day and Thereza Bazar formed Dollar in 1977 after leaving the group they joined at 17. At first, only Van Day quit the band to embark on a solo career, while Bazar could continue with Guys n' Dolls to earn a living for them both. The group's management were unhappy with the situation and sacked Bazar with the reasoning that a six-piece group consisting of three couples would now look odd with five members.
During a promotional trip to Japan in February 1983, relations between the two members of Dollar, Tereza Bazar and David van Day, had become increasingly strained and Van Day quit the band. Both tried a solo career, but without one another, they weren't very successful. In 1986 they reformed and released two less successful singles, 'We walked in love' and 'Haven't we said goodbye before'. New success came when they recorded a cover version of Erasure's 'Oh l'amour' in 1987. It became one of their biggest hits and peaked at number 7 in the UK. In late 1988, after one more unsuccessful single, Dollar disbanded again.
The four singles that Trevor Horn produced for Dollar were among the most successful of the duo's career. Among those, 'Mirror mirror' was the most successful one, peaking at number 4 in the UK singles chart and staying in there for 17 weeks.
'Videotheque' was released in 1982 and, like many of their singles, it was produced by Trevor Horn. Lots of echo effects and synthesizers once again disguise the limited vocal abilities of the two.
Trevor Horn was already doing production duties for Dollar when they released the single 'Give me back my heart'. This single is rather unique for proving the fact that even a producer like Trevor Horn can't rescue a song like this when it's performed by artists with limited vocal abilities. The whole affair sounds like two mediocre singers in an echo chamber.
The phenomenon Dollar had completely passed me by. It was only when I saw the 2002 Here & Now Tour that I found out what the duo David van Day and Thereza Bazar had done in the eighties. By 2002, it all looked very dodgy, but there were some great pop tunes hidden in there.
