Thereza Bazar

Guys ‘n’ Dolls: 1974 – 1977

Thereza was chosen to be part of manufactured pop harmony  group – Guys ‘n’ Dolls. The group released their first single There’s a Whole Lot Of Loving in 1975 which reached number 2 in the charts. They were constantly touring the major cabaret circuit in UK, Holland and Germany, and appeared on multiple TV shows across UK, Holland, Germany, and Italy.

Thereza discovered her love of pop music and song writing in the group which is also where she met her future singing partner and lover David Van Day. As the hits kept coming, David’s dissatisfaction grew due to his lack of camera shots and profile which culminated in David and Thereza being unceremoniously kicked out of the group.

Dollar: 1978 – 1981

The plan had always been that David Van Day would secure a solo deal and Thereza would support him, but the plan changed given there was no appetite to sign David as a solo artist. It was suggested that they might have more luck if presented as a boy/girl duo, especially as Greece was all the rage and there was no girl/boy duo in the UK.

In 1978 ‘Dollar’ were signed to a record deal and the two went on to achieve great success. Their luck continued as they were given two great songs written by David Courtney and the production expertise of Chris Neil.

The talented  team led to the creation of a new kind of sound, and their first record Shooting Star was a top 20 UK hit. This was followed by a string of hits including Who Were You With In The Moonlight, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and notably Bazar’s self-penned hit, Love’s Gotta Hold On Me, which reached number 4 in the British charts and was a summer sensation in 1979.

The Trevor Horn Sound: 1981 – 1983

The duo’s success was catapulted into another dimension in the early 80s when Bazar’s inspirational idea to contact Trevor Horn ushered in a musical era for Dollar and the Trevor Horn juggernaut.

Hand Held in Black and White was the first Horn-produced Dollar record which claimed the number one position on the UK Airplay Chart.

Bazar’s angelic vocals became synonymous with the Trevor Horn sound, paving the way for ABC’s Lexicon of Love and the Frankie Goes to Hollywood era.

Dollar would go on to achieve even greater success with Mirror Mirror becoming a huge hit in 1981, reaching number 4 in the charts. This was followed by the breathtakingly beautiful Give Me Back My Heart which also reached number 4 in the charts, and the magnificent Videoteque which peaked at 17.

These records were a turning point for the 80s and a pivotal moment in record production.

Gary Numan, Freddy Mercury and Elton John

In between all of this, Thereza was guesting as a vocalist for Gary Numan, writing songs for Samantha Fox, and touring around Europe, staying in a different hotel in a new country every day.

When there was a bit of down time, dinners with pop royalty including Elton John and Freddy Mercury were the norm, and Thereza was frequently seen in glamorous London night clubs with the paparazzi close behind.

Thereza and David were living in the fast lane and the Dollar album quickly became a popular selling album.

David Van Day calls it a day

As the two were setting their sites on the US – it all fell apart and David Van Day called it a day, leaving the group whilst the two were doing a TV tour in Japan.

The English answer to Madonna

Thereza at this point had never envisioned becoming a solo artist, but was invited to New York by Bud Prager who was Foreigner’s manager and a huge force in the US record industry. He announced that he would be managing Thereza’s career, and that she would be the English answer to Madonna.

The next 2 years were possibly the best and worst of Thereza’s career, affording her the opportunity to work with Tery Britten (What’s Love Got To Do With It – Tina Turner), Phil Pickett (Karma Chameleon – Culture Club), Billy Livesey (Five Star), and Simon Darlow who co-wrote Give Me Back My Heart and Videotheque

Combined with the production brilliance of Arif Mardi (Bee Gees, Aretha Franklin, Scritty Politti), it’s not hard to understand why the US and UK record labels believed they had a massive hit on their hands.

How wrong could they have been!

The Big Kiss Album Lost to Oblivion: 1983 – 1985

The Big Kiss single was released in 1985 but a hiatus occurred – the boss of the US record label was fired and the whole project fell apart. This was the low point of Thereza’s professional life. Feeling vulnerable and dejected, she decided to go back to a safe place that she knew –  back to David Van Day.

Dollar reunited but it was a bittersweet reunion as the two weren’t as close as their younger years. Whilst they made some classic pop records, they didn’t enjoy the same chart success until Bazar came up with the idea to do a remake of the Erasure track Oh L’amour.

Dollar were back on Top Of The Pops with a top 10 hit and things were looking great, but the professional relationship was too stressful and it was Thereza’s turn this time to call it a Day.

She set her sites for sunnier shores in Sydney, Australia and removed herself from the glitz and the glamour of the music industry. Although there were some forays back into reality TV – perhaps out of curiosity to see what she was missing – each time it confirmed it was a life she didn’t want to live.

Trevor Horn reunion tour: 2004 But there was one highlight – an invitation from Trevor Horn to perform at his Prince’s Trust concert at Wembley Arena which turned out to be one of the proudest moments of her life.

One woman show

Fast forward to 2019, Thereza put on a solo ‘one woman show’ to share her passions and secrets of the glory days with her loyal fans – and to see how performing as an older person would feel.

Who would have thought this would be the catalyst for Thereza to reignite her career as Thereza Bazar’s Dollar, unleashing the same passion and enthusiasm that she had back in the 1980s. Emulating her classic hits and performing with a live band, the Oh L’tour 2023 show will be a glamorous pop party, befitting the first princess of pop.