Tony Waddington (songwriter) then offered it to the demo musicians, provided that they would become an actual group. The musicians agreed, were named The Rubettes, and "Sugar Baby Love" became a UK number one hit in 1974, also reaching number 37 in the US chart. They wrote and produced all of the Rubettes' subsequent UK hits – nine Top 50 hits in all between 1974 and 1977 – winning an Ivor Novello Award as Songwriters of the Year, and also reached the UK Top 10 with "Sugar Candy Kisses" by Mac and Katie Kissoon. They set up their own record label, State Records,
I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance) lead on the international hit "I'm on Fire" by 5000 Volts (1975), but her contribution was unacknowledged, with Luan Peters cited as vocalist in promotion for the group. It was through a mutual friend, singer Lee Vanderbilt, that Charles met record producer Biddu who encouraged her to record "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)", utilizing Manchester musicians Richie Close (keyboard), Clive Allen (guitar), Des Browne (bass) and Tom Daley (percussion) to create a signature hit sound for Charles. Reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1976 and topping the chart for three weeks,