Dollar

Back in the day, there was only one thing worse than admitting that you liked ABBA, and that was daring to suggest that you liked anything that the sickly-sweet cutesy cutesy Dollar did. Like, ANYTHING. I have it on good authority that people would furtively sneak into an out of town record store (like Woolworths) just before closing time and whisper "have you got ... by Dollar". Oh, L'amour? Oh, the shame! Dollar were, by anyone's standards, sh*t.

But. That was then. And with the benefit of hindsight, and actually good songwriters, producers and remixers, we can review again with greater clarity and dare I say, less prejudice and vitriol. Sure, Thereza wasn't the best vocalist and you only have to ask Rita Stroud (Cheryl Baker) what she thinks of David Van Day, but you know, some of this stuff wasn't that bad at all! Even their own songwriting efforts ("Star Control") showed some talent and ability, but it's the songs that people did manage to overcome their embarrassment to buy in Woolies that really do stand out as some of the best examples of unashamed pop of the late 70s and into the heady 80s. Listen, they actually outdid Erasure by having a bigger hit with "Of L'amour" than the boys did. And even though the Erasure version is always going to be the definitive, Thereza's breathy rendering alongside David's more than adequate vocal happily grooved teeny-boppers on a flashing dancefloor - more than the original version did that's for sure. And if Ian Levine and Trevor Horn felt that this saccharin duo were worth a punt on, then they couldn't have been THAT bad, surely? Well... Maybe. Maybe not. But I'll often spin the 2019 extended version of 'Mirror Mirror' and have a bop round with my Hoover. And why not, the embarrassment has faded and as they say, you can't be sued for it - or can you...?