Pop acts of the '80s didn't get much more quintessentially British than Bucks Fizz. Assembled for a memorable winner at the Eurovision Song Contest, the vocal quartet scored 11 Top 20 hits in England throughout the decade - none of which never made a whisper near the U.S. charts. But if you're an anglophile in search of an education, Cherry Red's got you covered with a generous new 5CD collection.

The Land of Make Believe: The Definitive Collection lives up to its name, gathering 39 single sides plus a dozen 12" mixes and a further 31 previously unreleased tracks: all original instrumental backing tracks and vaulted remixes. It's all packed in a heavy-duty digipak offering a 28-page booklet of liner notes, photos and discographical notes.

Masterminded in part by songwriter-producer Andy Hill and his then-wife Nichola Martin, Bucks Fizz (named for Martin's favorite cocktail) was assembled with four upbeat vocalists: Mike Nolan, Cheryl Baker, Jay Aston and Bobby G - all of whom had participated in and around the competitive Eurovision scene that introduced worldwide hits and hitmakers like Sandie Shaw, Lulu and ABBA. Their debut single "Making Your Mind Up" was England's entry into the competition, going all the way by a nail-biting margin of four points over runner-up Germany. (Fans of the contest will no doubt remember the group's dramatic performance, in which the male vocalists ripped away their female counterparts' colorful skirts to expose miniskirts underneath.) For much of the first half of the '80s, Bucks Fizz were a U.K. chart mainstay: the catchy, subtle protest song "The Land of Make Believe" (co-written by Hill and King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield) and follow-up "My Camera Never Lies" both topped the U.K. singles chart, while "Now Those Days Are Gone," "If You Can't Stand the Heat" and "When We Were Young" were all Top 10s.

Shortly thereafter, the group's fortunes changed dramatically: their rendition of Terry Britten and Graham Lyle's "What's Love Got to Do with It" was shelved when Tina Turner released her smash hit version, a 1984 tour bus crash left all the members injured, and Aston quit dramatically the next year, during which it was revealed that she was having an affair with Hill. Nonetheless, the addition of new member Shelley Preston and the single "New Beginning (Mamba Serra)" found them back in the Top 10 - but it wasn't to last: the group's final charting single "Heart of Stone" missed the U.K. Top 40 in 1988. (Two years later, it became a U.S. Top 20 hit and title track for an album by Cher.)

By the mid-'90s, only Bobby G remained as an original member; at one point, he and David Van Day of U.K. pop duo Dollar were locked in a legal dispute over the band name after briefly working together. The G-led Bucks Fizz stopped performing in 2018; by that point, Nolan and Baker - first rejoining with Shelley Preston and then with original member Alston - had formed a new group, The Fizz. (Not involved in either: writer/producer Andy Hill, who would go on to write songs for Peter Cetera, Celine Dion and others.)

Whether you're journeying to The Land of Make Believe for the first or 50th time, fans of U.K. pop history will have a field day with this set, packed with hits and rarities in equal measure. It's available in the U.K. on October 27 and can be pre-ordered below.

The Land of Make Believe: The Definitive Collection (Cherry Pop CRPOPS269 (U.K.), 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: The Singles

1. Making Your Mind Up
2. Piece of the Action
3. One of Those Nights
4. Land of Make Believe
5. My Camera Never Lies
6. Now Those Days Are Gone
7. If You Can't Stand the Heat
8. Run for Your Life
9. When We Were Young
10. London Town
11. Rules of the Game
12. Talking in Your Sleep
13. Golden Days
14. I Hear Talk (7" Mix)
15. You and Your Heart So Blue
16. Magical
17. New Beginning
18. Love the One You're With
19. Keep Each Other Warm (7" Mix)
20. Heart of Stone

Disc 2: The B-Sides

1. Don't Stop
2. Took It to the Limit
3. Always Thinking of You
4. Now You're Gone
5. What Am I Gonna Do
6. Taking Me Higher
7. Stepping Out
8. Shot Me Through the Heart
9. Where the Ending Starts
10. Identity
11. When We Were At War
12. Don't Think You're Fooling Me
13. Where Do I Go Now
14. Pulling Me Under
15. Oh Suzanne
16. In Your Eyes
17. Too Hard
18. Give a Little Love
19. Here's Looking At You

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 1-3 and Disc 2, Track 3 from Bucks Fizz - RCA PL 25365 (U.K.), 1981

• Disc 1, Track 1 and Disc 2, Track 1 released as RCA U.K. single PB 5339, 1981
• Disc 1, Track 2 and Disc 2, Track 2 released as RCA U.K. single PB 5366, 1981
• Disc 1, Track 3 and Disc 2, Track 3 released as RCA U.K. single PB 5389, 1981

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 4-6 from Are You Ready - RCA PL 25424 (U.K.), 1982

• Disc 1, Track 4 and Disc 2, Track 4 released as RCA U.K. single PB 5437, 1981
• Disc 1, Track 5 and Disc 2, Track 5 released as RCA U.K. single PB 5469, 1982
• Disc 1, Track 6 and Disc 2, Track 6 released as RCA U.K. single PB 5506, 1982

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 7-8 and Disc 2, Track 9 from Hand Cut - RCA PL 25461 (U.K.), 1983

• Disc 1, Track 7 and Disc 2, Track 7 released as RCA U.K. single PB 68020, 1982
• Disc 1, Track 8 and Disc 2, Track 8 released as RCA U.K. single FIZ 1, 1983

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 9-11 and Disc 2, Track 15 from Greatest Hits - RCA PL 70022 (U.K.), 1983

• Disc 1, Track 9 and Disc 2, Track 9 released as RCA U.K. single PB 68065, 1983
• Disc 1, Track 10 and Disc 2, Track 10 released as RCA U.K. single PB 68109, 1983
• Disc 1, Track 11 and Disc 2, Track 11 released as RCA U.K. single PB 68131, 1983

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 12-14 from I Hear Talk - RCA PL 70397 (U.K.), 1984

• Disc 1, Track 12 and Disc 2, Track 12 released as RCA U.K. single FIZ 2, 1984
• Disc 1, Track 13 and Disc 2, Track 13 released as RCA U.K. single FIZ 3, 1984
• Disc 1, Track 14 and Disc 2, Track 14 released as RCA U.K. single FIZ 4, 1984

Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 15-19 from Writing on the Wall - Polydor POLH 30 (U.K.), 1986

• Disc 1, Track 15 released on RCA U.K. single PB 40233, 1985
• Disc 1, Track 16 and Disc 2, Track 15 released as RCA U.K. single PB 40367, 1985
• Disc 1, Track 17 and Disc 2, Track 16 released as Polydor U.K. single POSP 794, 1986
• Disc 1, Track 18 and Disc 2, Track 17 released as Polydor U.K. single POSP 813, 1986
• Disc 1, Track 19 and Disc 2, Track 18 released as Polydor U.K. single POSP 835, 1986

Original version of Disc 1, Track 20 from The Story So Far - Stylus Music SMR 870, 1988

• Disc 1, Track 20 and Disc 2, Track 19 released as RCA U.K. single PL 42305, 1988

Disc 3: Original Extended Mixes

1. My Camera Never Lies
2. If You Can't Stand the Heat
3. When We Were Young (Extended Club Version)
4. London Town (Extended Club Mix)
5. Rules of the Game
6. I Hear Talk
7. Talking in Your Sleep (Extended Version)
8. You and Your Heart So Blue (Extended Version)
9. New Beginning (Extended Version)
10. Love the One You're With (Extended Version)
11. Keep Each Other Warm (Long Version)
12. I Hear Talk (1986 Extended Version)

Disc 3, Track 1 from RCA U.K. 12" RCAT 202, 1982
Disc 3, Track 2 from RCA U.K. 12" RCAT 300, 1982
Disc 3, Track 3 from RCA U.K. 12" RCAT 342, 1983
Disc 3, Track 4 from RCA U.K. 12" RCAT 363, 1983
Disc 3, Track 5 from RCA U.K. 12" RCAT 380, 1983
Disc 3, Track 6 from RCA U.K. 12" FIZT 4, 1984
Disc 3, Track 7 from RCA U.K. 12" FIZT 2, 1984
Disc 3, Track 8 from RCA U.K. 12" PT 40234 R, 1983
Disc 3, Track 9 from Polydor U.K. 12" POSPX 794, 1985
Disc 3, Track 10 from Polydor U.K. 12" POSPX 813, 1986
Disc 3, Track 11 from Polydor U.K. 12" POSPX 835, 1986
Disc 3, Track 12 from original pressings of Writing on the Wall - Polydor POLH 30 (U.K.), 1986

Disc 4: Backing Tracks (previously unreleased)

1. Making Your Mind Up
2. Piece of the Action
3. One of Those Nights
4. Land of Make Believe
5. My Camera Never Lies
6. Now Those Days Are Gone
7. If You Can't Stand the Heat
8. Run for Your Life
9. When We Were Young
10. London Town
11. Rules of the Game
12. Talking in Your Sleep (Monitor Mix Instrumental)
13. Golden Days
14. I Hear Talk
15. You and Your Heart So Blue
16. Magical
17. New Beginning
18. Love the One You're With
19. Keep Each Other Warm
20. Heart of Stone

Disc 5: Unreleased Extended Mixes (previously unreleased)

1. Making Your Mind Up
2. Took It to the Limit
3. Land of Make Believe (1991 Dance Funk Remix)
4. If You Can't Stand the Heat (Alternative Version)
5. January's Gone
6. In Your Eyes
7. Too Hard
8. I Need Your Love
9. Don't Turn Back
10. New Beginning (Dub Funk)
11. Love the One You're With (Dub Funk)