Guys 'n' Dolls were a UK pop group, initially comprising a three-girl/three-boy line-up and later becoming two-girl/two-boy. In the mid-1970s, they scored UK top-ten hits with the singles " There's a Whole Lot of Loving" and "

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song, '"Io che non vivo (senza te)", by Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini) is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful single, ...

". In the late 1970s they found further success in the Netherlands, where they had a number-one hit with "

You're My World "You're My World" is a ballad originally recorded in 1963 as "Il mio mondo" ("My World") by Umberto Bindi, who co-wrote the Italian version with Gino Paoli. Subsequently, an English version was commissioned, and the lyrics were written by Carl S ...

Career

Guys 'n' Dolls were formed in November 1974, after Ammo Productions held auditions for three young men and three young women to perform as a vocal group. The six original members were

Paul Griggs Paul Griggs (born 20 November 1944 in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England) is a British musician. He first played professionally in the band The Cortinas, formed in 1963. The Cortinas released one single in 1968 on Polydor Records called "Phoebe ...

David Van Day David Van Day (born David Paul Day, 28 November 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and politician who was formerly a member of the pop vocal duo Dollar. He was also a member of the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls (along with his Dollar pa ...

, Dominic Grant,

Thereza Bazar Theresa Lorraine Bazar (born 23 May 1955) is a Canadian-born singer, best known as one half of the pop duo Dollar. Career Bazar met with success in her late teens as a member of 1970s group Guys 'n' Dolls, who scored a 1975 hit with "There's ...

, Martine Howard and Julie Forsyth (daughter of entertainer

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...

). Guys 'n' Dolls released their first hit single, " There's a Whole Lot of Loving", in January 1975. The song was originally recorded in September 1974 by a group of session singers (including

Tony Burrows Anthony Burrows (born 14 April 1942) is an English pop singer and recording artist. As a prolific session musician, Burrows was involved in the production of numerous transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of wh ...

and

Clare Torry Clare H. Torry (born 29 November 1947) is a British singer, well known for writing and performing the wordless vocals on the song " The Great Gig in the Sky" by the group Pink Floyd on their 1973 album '' The Dark Side of the Moon''. She also c ...

) for a TV advertisement for

McVitie's McVitie's () is a British snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company moved to various sites ...

biscuits. Guys 'n' Dolls were formed to cash in upon the popularity of the jingle and to present it as a single. However, the group was not ready in time to record an entirely new version for the single's hasty release and so the voices of the session singers remained on the single. The song became an immediate hit, rising to No. 2 in the UK singles chart, launching the group to overnight stardom. The following year, the group scored highly again as their cover of "

" peaked at No.5. Other singles by the group charted more modestly and they only had one hit album, ''Guys 'n Dolls'', released in 1975. In 1977, however, they scored a No.1 hit in both the Netherlands and Belgium with "

", launching them on a new phase of their career. By mid-1977, Van Day and Bazar were unhappy with the direction of the group, and their complaints led to the management asking them to leave. By mutual agreement, publicity at the time showed leaving the group was their own decision, to concentrate on songwriting. The duo, as

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

, had several hits in the late 1970s and 1980s. Guys 'n' Dolls continued as a quartet, with their third album ''Together'' (1977) depicting just the four remaining members. The group scored a final minor hit in the UK in 1978, and, after failing to renew their contract with

Magnet Records Magnet Records was a British record label, started in 1973 by Michael Levy and Peter Shelley. It was acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m. Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Stevenson's Rocket, Matchbox, ...

, concentrated on their success in the Netherlands, where they continued having hits for the next few years. In late 1978, the group performed as the opening act for Frank Sinatra for a series of London concerts. In 1979, the group took part in the

A Song For Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

contest, hoping to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?". The show was abandoned due to a BBC strike, but the song finished in tenth place of the 12 entries when the judges cast votes on the audio recordings of the songs. In 1980, Forsyth and Grant had their first child together, and Martine Howard and Guys 'n' Dolls' record producer Gerard Stellaard married and moved to the Netherlands. After marrying, Howard left the group, and was replaced by Forsyth's younger sister Laura early in 1981. The change was short-lived, as Laura was replaced by Rosie Hetherington, who had previously been a part of the dance troupe Legs & Co. Guys 'n' Dolls finished as a unit in December 1985, having spent 11 years together. Grant and Forsyth performed as the duo Grant & Forsyth, and had another five hits in the Netherlands. In 1988, Forsyth wrote the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry " Go" performed by

Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

. Both Forsyth and Grant, with ex-

Jigsaw Jigsaw may refer to: * Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves * Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces Arts and media Comics * Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...

member Des Dyer, sang backing vocals for the song's performance at the contest in Dublin, Ireland. The song finished second by a margin of one point behind

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

's song for Switzerland. The original line-up of Guys 'n' Dolls (Grant, Forsyth, Griggs, Howard, Van Day and Bazar) reunited for the first time in 31 years for a major television show in the Netherlands in March 2008. This included a number of press and TV interviews. Griggs has published a book called ''Diary of a Musician'', based on diaries he kept from 1960 onwards. It includes a large in-depth section on the story of Guys 'n' Dolls. Dominic Grant died at his home on 18 November 2020 at the age of 71.

Discography

*''Guys 'n' Dolls'' (1975) *''The Good Times'' (1976) *''Together'' (1977) *''Our Songs'' (1980) *''Happy Together'' (1982)

References

External links

Paul Griggs official website

Guys 'n' Dolls fansite

Julie Forsyth and Dominic Grant
*

{{Authority control 1974 establishments in England 1985 disestablishments in England English vocal groups English pop music groups Musical groups established in 1974 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Magnet Records artists