Cheryl Baker

Rita Maria Stroud (née Crudgington; born 8 March 1954), known professionally as Cheryl Baker, is an English singer and television presenter.

Cheryl Baker was born as Rita Maria Crudgington on 8 March 1954 in Bethnal Green, London.

After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs in the shipping industry, she began her professional singing career with the band Co-Co.

The group entered A Song for Europe in 1976 with the song "Wake Up".

They came second, being beaten by (eventual Eurovision winners) Brotherhood of Man by two points.

She had previously represented the UK at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the band Co-Co.

The group continued to perform together and in 1978, they entered A Song for Europe again with "The Bad Old Days".

This time they won and went on to perform for the UK in Paris.

According to The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History by John Kennedy O'Connor, Baker also made the second single biggest improvement by any Eurovision competitor in the contest, moving up from eleventh in 1978 to first in 1981.

"Making Your Mind Up" became a No.1 hit in many countries, including the UK and began a run of success for the group for the next five years.

Baker along with the group toured the world and gained many hit singles and albums, including two more British No.1s; "The Land of Make Believe" and "My Camera Never Lies".

In 1980, the group tried for Eurovision one more time.

Now under a new name, the Main Event, their song "Gonna Do My Best" came last in A Song for Europe and soon afterwards, the group disbanded.

Bucks Fizz became established as one of the biggest groups of the 1980s.

In the mid-1980s, while still with the group, Baker embarked on a career in television presenting.

She was a member of pop group Bucks Fizz, which won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and, for legal reasons, now performs under the name the Fizz.

The group had 20 singles reach the UK top 60 between 1981 and 1988, including three number one hits with "Making Your Mind Up" (1981), "The Land of Make Believe" (1981) and "My Camera Never Lies" (1982).

A few months later, Baker was contacted by Nichola Martin, who was setting up a new group under the name Bucks Fizz, with a view to entering a song "Making Your Mind Up" into A Song For Europe in 1981.

Joined by Mike Nolan, Bobby G and Jay Aston, Baker performed the song at the contest and won.

On 4 April 1981, Baker represented the UK again at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The song went on to win by a margin of four points and Bucks Fizz were catapulted into overnight stardom.

By winning the contest, Baker became only the third singer to represent the UK twice, following in the footsteps of Ronnie Carroll and Cliff Richard.

This feat, however, was matched once again the following year, by Sally Ann Triplett.

When Bucks Fizz went on to win the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up", Baker thus became one of the few artists to take part in Eurovision to win at their second attempt.

On 11 December 1984, Baker was involved in a serious crash in Newcastle upon Tyne, while on tour with the group, when the tour bus crashed into a lorry.

She was injured and rushed to hospital.

Although she broke three vertebrae in her spine, she made a speedy recovery.

Colleague Mike Nolan, however, suffered serious head injuries, prompting Baker to help establish the 'HeadFirst' charity which supports crash victims, specifically those with head injuries.

Baker continues to raise money for the charity.

Baker left the group in 1993.

In 2004, she began performing alongside Shelley Preston and fellow original Bucks Fizz member Mike Nolan as the Original Bucks Fizz.

Preston was replaced by original Bucks Fizz member Jay Aston in 2009.

Due to a legal dispute in 2011, the group renamed themselves Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston, formerly of Bucks Fizz.

The song managed 11th place – the lowest placing by a UK entry up to that point.

The song became a hit single, reaching 13 in the UK Singles Chart.

On the back of this, the group released their first (and only) album as well as further singles.

None of these found any success.

Since 2016, Baker has been performing with fellow original Bucks Fizz members Jay Aston and Mike Nolan under the name the Fizz.

They perform sell-out shows and have released several well-received albums.

In 2017, they rebranded themselves as the Fizz and are working on new material.