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,
Love the One You're With Isley Brothers, whose unique gospel-driven cover of the song sent it to the charts again reaching number three R&B and number eighteen pop, giving the group their fifth US top 40 pop single. UK pop group Bucks Fizz covered the song as their eighteenth single in 1986. The single, released in August, was the follow-up to the group's comeback top ten hit "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" and was seen as a make or break release. Ultimately the song peaked at a low No.47 in the UK Singles Chart during a three-week run. In a review, music magazine "Number One" said