Bananarama

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Bananarama

Bananarama are an English

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
girl group

Girl group

A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally Harmony together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production values and backing by top studio musicians....
who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Although there have been line-up changes during the years, the group enjoyed its most popular success as a trio, made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey

Siobhan Fahey

Siobhan Fahey was a founding member of the 1980s United Kingdom girl group Bananarama, and later founded the musical outfit Shakespears Sister....
, Keren Woodward

Keren Woodward

Sara Dallin

Sara Elizabeth Dallin is an England singer and songwriter from the pop music group Bananarama. She co-founded the group along with Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward in 1979, and has been a key force in the group's longevity despite other personnel changes and throughout her time with the band she occasionally plays bass guitar as well as fre...
.

group was founded in London in September 1979 by Fahey, Woodward and Dallin. Dallin and Woodward had been childhood friends in Bristol since the age of 4 and attended St.

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Encyclopedia

Bananarama are an English

United Kingdom

Girl group

Siobhan Fahey

Siobhan Fahey was a founding member of the 1980s United Kingdom girl group Bananarama, and later founded the musical outfit Shakespears Sister....
, Keren Woodward

Keren Woodward

Sara Dallin

Career

Early years

The group was founded in London in September 1979 by Fahey, Woodward and Dallin. Dallin and Woodward had been childhood friends in Bristol since the age of 4 and attended St. George's School for Girls together. The pair became a trio when Dallin met Fahey while studying fashion journalism. The two became fast friends because they both dressed more radically than the other students. The trio were ardent followers of the punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
and post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk was a popular musical movement with its roots in the mid to late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the early 1970s....
music scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s and often performed impromptu sets or backing vocals at gigs for such bands as The Monochrome Set

The Monochrome Set

The Monochrome Set were an England post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides . The band is notable for its witty lyrics, the laconic delivery of lead singer Bid, and the idiosyncratically retrogressive playing style of original lead guitarist Lester Square....
, Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop, born James Newell ?sterberg, Jr. on April 21, 1947, is an American Rock music singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. Although he has had only limited mainstream success, Iggy Pop is considered an innovator of punk rock, garage rock, and other related rock music....
, The Jam

The Jam

The Jam were an English Rock music band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes and incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock influences rather than rejecting them, placing...
, Department S

Department S (band)

Department S were a United Kingdom New wave music musical ensemble formed in 1980, who took their stage name from the 1960s Television Department S....
and The Nipple Erectors

The Nipple Erectors

The Nips were an England punk rock band formed in London in 1977, and are notable as The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan's first musical group....

In 1981, Bananarama's members were living above the rehearsal room which was used by former Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. The band are widely credited with initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and creating the first generation gap within rock and roll....
members Steve Jones

Steve Jones (musician)

Stephen Phillip Jones is an England rock music guitarist and singer, best known for his highly influential work as guitarist and founding member of punk band the Sex Pistols....
and Paul Cook

Paul Cook

Paul Cook, born on 20 July 1956, is an England drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols....
. With their help, Bananarama recorded their first demo

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for musicians to approximate their ideas on Magnetic tape or compact disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, Record producers or other artists....
"Aie a Mwana

Aie a Mwana

"Aie a Mwana" is the first single released by English girl group Bananarama. Group members originally recorded the track as a demo and ultimately it was the demo version that was pressed onto the record....
" (a cover of a song by Black Blood, sung in Swahili

Swahili language

Swahili is the first language of the Swahili people , who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands....
). The demo was heard at Demon Records, who offered the girls their first deal. The song was an underground hit and the girls were subsequently signed by Decca

Decca Records

Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
(later London Records

London Records

London Records is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 in music through 1979 in music, then becoming a semi-independent label....
). They remained on this label until 1993. Bananarama's previous experience in a recording studio was as background vocalists on the Department S

Department S (band)

Department S were a United Kingdom New wave music musical ensemble formed in 1980, who took their stage name from the 1960s Television Department S....
b-side "Solid Gold Easy Action", a T. Rex cover in early 1981.

During this early period Bananarama was approached by Malcolm MacLaren, who suggested he manage the band. MacLaren, famous for managing the Sex Pistols Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, and notorious for generating scandal, proposed some new material that was sexually suggestive, and did not fit with what at the time was the bands tomboyish and straight-forward image. Bananarama passed on both the material and MacLaren as manager.

UK fashion magazine The Face
The Face (magazine)

The Face was a magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan out of his publishing house Wagadon. Logan had previously created titles such as Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s during one of its most successful periods....
featured an article on Bananarama after their first single, and it caught the attention of ex-Specials member Terry Hall

Terry Hall (singer)

Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He released his first solo album, Home, in 1994....
, who invited them to collaborate with his new vocal group Fun Boy Three

Fun Boy Three

Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful England band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singers Terry Hall , Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials....
on the track "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)

T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)

"T'ain't What You Do " is a song written by jazz music musicians Sy Oliver and Trummy Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by both Jimmie Lunceford and Ella Fitzgerald....
". In 1982, the song hit the Top 5 in the UK and gave the girls their first significant mainstream success. Fun Boy Three then guested on Bananarama's song "Really Saying Something" later that year.

Debut and following success (1982 - 1988)

Bananarama experienced their greatest success during the period from 1982 to 1989. Their first three albums were primarily produced and co-written with Jolley & Swain

Jolley & Swain

Steve Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful pop music musician, songwriter and record producer duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era....
. Their debut album, Deep Sea Skiving
Deep Sea Skiving

Deep Sea Skiving is the debut album by the British female vocal group Bananarama, released in 1983 in music. The album peaked at no.7 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry....
(1983) contained several hit singles — "Really Saying Something" (#5 UK) and "Shy Boy

Shy Boy

"Shy Boy" is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It appears on their 1983 debut album Deep Sea Skiving and was released as its second single....
" (#4 UK) — and included a cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a song written and recorded by Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, and Paul Leka; attributed to a then-fictitious band "Steam," it was released under the Mercury Records subsidiary label Fontana Records....
" (#5 UK). The band recorded a version of the Sex Pistols song "No Feelings" in late 1982 for the soundtrack of the British film Party Party.

The next album, Bananarama
Bananarama (album)

Bananarama is the second album released by the British girl group Bananarama. Released in 1984, the album peaked at no.16 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry....
(1984) was a more socially conscious effort. The songs tackled heavier topics: "Hot Line to Heaven

Hot Line to Heaven

"Hot Line to Heaven" is a song co-written and performed by English girl group Bananarama. The song appears on their second, Bananarama and was released as a single in the UK in 1984....
" is a stand against the drugs-are-cool culture; and "Rough Justice

Rough Justice

"Rough Justice" is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It was the third single released from their Bananarama in 1984....
" dealt with social apathy. The album contained the hit singles "Robert De Niro's Waiting" and "Cruel Summer

Cruel Summer

"Cruel Summer", a song by United Kingdom girl group Bananarama, was a U.K. number eight hit in 1983 and a U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number nine hit in 1984....
" (1983), which was included in the movie The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is a 1984 in film film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue....
. The trio also recorded the single "The Wild Life

The Wild Life

"The Wild Life" is a song written and performed by English girl group Bananarama. Written in two days, the track was composed for and included in the 1984 American film of the same name The Wild Life , and on its soundtrack....
" for a 1984 American film of the same name

The Wild Life (film)

The Wild Life is a 1984 comedy-drama film, written by Fast Times at Ridgemont High writer Cameron Crowe, and directed by Art Linson. The film is only available on VHS and Laserdisc in pan and scan with stereo analog tracks....
. Their music videos from this period often contained a feminist or self-empowerment stance, such as learning how to box in order to scare off neighbourhood bullies.

Bananarama were one of the few female groups featured on the Band Aid

Band Aid (band)

For the bandage company, see Band-Aid.Band Aid was a Great Britain and Ireland Charitable organization supergroup , founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year....
single "Do They Know It's Christmas?

Do They Know It's Christmas?

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 specifically to raise money for relief of 1984?1985 famine in Ethiopia....
", and were the only artists to appear on both the original 1984 Band Aid
Band Aid (band)

For the bandage company, see Band-Aid.Band Aid was a Great Britain and Ireland Charitable organization supergroup , founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year....
and the 1989 Band Aid II versions. They did not, however, participate in 2004's Band Aid 20 twentieth anniversary version.

In 1986, some of the group's production duties on the album True Confessions
True Confessions (album)

True Confessions is the third album by the British girl group Bananarama. Released in 1986, the album was not a commercial success in the UK, but achieved their biggest sales and chart success in the U.S., where the first single "Venus " hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 ....
were taken up by Mike Stock

Mike Stock

Mike Stock is a English people songwriter and record producer best known for being a member of the songwriting and record production trio Stock Aitken Waterman....
, Matt Aitken

Matt Aitken

Matt Aitken , is a British songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman....
and Pete Waterman

Pete Waterman

Peter Alan Waterman OBE is an England record producer, occasional songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast....
known as Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman

Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a United Kingdom songwriter and record producer trio who had great success during the mid-late 1980s and early 1990s with many of their productions....
(SAW). This move resulted in the international number one hit "Venus" (a remake of Shocking Blue

Shocking Blue

Shocking Blue was a Netherlands rock music musical ensemble from The Hague formed in 1967. Their biggest hit record, "Venus ," went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970, and the band had sold 13.5 million gramophone record by 1973, but the group disbanded in 1974....
's number one hit from 1970). The dance-oriented beats on the song typified the SAW approach to pop production. Bananarama were said to have been put in contact with SAW after hearing and expressing a fondness for "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

"You Spin Me Round " is a song by Dead or Alive on their 1985 in music album Youthquake. The original cut was over four minutes long and was edited for the album....
" by Dead or Alive

Dead or Alive (band)

Dead or Alive are a United Kingdom New Wave music band from Liverpool that rose to popularity during the 1980s, and evolved from the late 1970s band Nightmares in Wax....
. Also in 1986, Dallin and Woodward were featured as backing vocals on two songs on Family Album, produced by John Lydon

John Lydon

John Joseph Lydon , also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British rock musician and lyricist, best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock group Sex Pistols during the 1970s and 2000s, and also as the vocalist of post punk group Public Image Ltd in the 1980s and 1990s....
.

The music video

Music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a pop music or rock music song with lyrics. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings....
for "Venus" received heavy airplay on MTV

MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
in the United States. It featured the group in various costumes including a devil

Devil

The Devil is the title given to the supernatural being, who, in mainstream Christianity, Islam, and some other religions, is believed to be a powerful, evil entity and the tempter of humankind....
, a French temptress, a vampire

Vampire

Vampires are mythology or folklore Revenant who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living. In folkloric tales, the undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive....
and a Greek goddess. The video marked a pivotal shift towards a more glamorous and sexual image which contrasted with the tomboyish style of their earlier work. It was also the start of their use of toy-boys as backup dancers which would become a hallmark of their videos. This visual iconography and Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG

Hi-NRG is high-tempo disco music , as well as a more specific, derivative genre of electronic dance music that achieved mainstream popularity in the mid to late 1980s....
-influenced sound drew heavily from gay culture

Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures

Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are cultures and communities composed of persons who have shared experiences, background, or interests due to a common sexual identity or gender identity....
and accordingly attracted a gay fan-base.

In the wake of the success of "Venus", all production and co-writing responsibilities for their next album, 1987's Wow!
Wow! (album)

WOW! is the fourth album released by Bananarama. It is entirely produced and co-written with the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio and is the last album by the girl group to generate significant chart hits in the U.S....
, were transferred from Jolley & Swain to SAW. Consequently, the group's sound also morphed from New Wave to dance-oriented, bubblegum Europop

Europop

Europop refers to a style of pop music that first developed in today's form in Europe, throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and ?90s....
.

"I Heard a Rumour

I Heard a Rumour

"I Heard a Rumour" is a 1987 song recorded by English girl group Bananarama, featured on their Wow! album. It was also featured in the film Disorderlies and included on its soundtrack....
" was their strongest performing international hit from this album. In the US, the song was featured in the motion picture, Disorderlies
Disorderlies

Disorderlies is a 1987 in film comedy film starring the hip hop music group, The Fat Boys, and Ralph Bellamy....
, starring The Fat Boys

The Fat Boys

The Fat Boys was an United States hip-hop music trio from Brooklyn, New York City, that emerged in the early 1980s....
and Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Rexford Bellamy was an United States actor with a career spanning sixty-two years....
. "Love in the First Degree

Love in the First Degree

"Love in the First Degree" is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its second single except in the U.S., where it was the album's third single ....
" was one of their biggest UK hits, and the disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music that originated in and was initially popular among African American, gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans communities in the United States in the late 1960s....
-oriented "I Can't Help It

I Can't Help It

"I Can't Help It" is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its third single except in the U.S., where it was the album's second single and Australia, where it was the album's fourth single ....
" (which boasted a semi-controversial video featuring the group in a milk bath filled with fruit and half-naked men) was a minor hit.

By the time the third single from Wow! was released in early 1988, Fahey — who had married Eurythmics

Eurythmics

Eurythmics are a United Kingdom musical duet, formed in 1980 by Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart.The pair have achieved significant global, commercial and critical success, selling 75 million records worldwide, winning numerous awards, and have undertaken several successful world tours....
' Dave Stewart

David A. Stewart

David Allan Stewart, often known as Dave Stewart is an England born British musician and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics....
— left the group as she had become disillusioned with the direction the band were taking. She would later resurface as the frontwoman of the pop duo Shakespears Sister

Shakespears Sister

Shakespears Sister was a synth-pop-rock musical band formed by former Bananarama singer-songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988. It was Fahey's first musical project since leaving Bananarama....
with Marcella Detroit

Marcella Detroit

Marcella Detroit is a singer, musician and songwriter. She was a member of the band Shakespears Sister, along with Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama....
.

The Jacquie O'Sullivan Years (1988 - 1991)

In Fahey's absence, Jacquie O'Sullivan

Jacquie O'Sullivan

Jacquie O'Sullivan is a singer and songwriter....
(formerly of the Shillelagh Sisters

Shillelagh Sisters

The Shillelagh Sisters were a UK female group composed of Jacquie O'Sullivan , Lynder Halpin , Patricia ?Trisha? O?Flynn and Maria ?Mitzi? Ryan ....
) joined the ranks. The single "I Want You Back

I Want You Back (Bananarama song)

"I Want You Back" is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its fourth and final single....
" was re-recorded with O'Sullivan, as was the The Supremes

The Supremes

The Supremes, an American girl group, were one of the signature acts on Motown Records during the 1960s. Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, Michigan in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop music, soul music, Broadway theatre show tunes, psychedelic soul and disco....
cover "Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones (song)

"Nathan Jones" is a hit single recorded by The Supremes, and released in spring 1971 on the Motown label. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Leonard Caston and Kathy Wakefield, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight Top 40 hits the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the act for a solo career....
" which was released as a single from their 1988 retrospective compilation Greatest Hits Collection
Greatest Hits Collection (Bananarama album)

The Greatest Hits Collection is a compilation album released by Bananarama which features their single releases and greatest hits. It was issued by London Records in 1988, shortly after the departure of group member Siobhan Fahey....
. At the same time, Bananarama entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the all-female group who have the most chart entries in history, a record they still hold.

As a fund-raising charity single for Comic Relief

Comic Relief

File:Comic Relief.svgComic Relief is a British charity organisation that was founded in the United Kingdom in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis in response to famine in Ethiopia....
in 1989, Bananarama recorded a cover of the Beatles' song "Help!

Help! (song)

"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the album Help! and the film Help! . It was also released as a single, and was #1 for three weeks in both the USA and UK....
" with Lananeeneenoonoo, a mock girl group created by British female comedy duo French & Saunders

French & Saunders

French & Saunders is a United Kingdom sketch comedy television show written by and staring BAFTA Award-nominee Dawn French and Emmy Award and BAFTA Award-winner Jennifer Saunders....
with fellow comedienne Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke

Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an England actor, comedienne, playwright and Theatre direction....
. 1989 also saw the band's first world tour, which hit North America, east Asia and the UK.

Bananarama's 1991 album Pop Life saw the group working with a variety of producers including Youth

Martin Glover

Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is an influential record producer and a founding member and bassist of the United Kingdom band Killing Joke....
, Shep Pettibone

Shep Pettibone

Robert E. Pettibone, Jr. is a record producer, remixer, songwriter and club Disc jockey, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. His earliest work known to the public was for one of New York City's top disco/dance radio stations, WRKS-FM, and later as remixer/producer for the disco label Salsoul Records....
, and Steve Jolley

Steve Jolley

Steve Jolley is an United States soccer defender , who currently plays for Long Island Rough Riders in the USL Premier Development League.Jolley led Kempsville High School to back-to-back Virginia state championships....
of Jolley & Swain. They also incorporated a wider range of musical genres including reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
, flamenco

Flamenco

Flamenco is a Spain term that refers both to a musical genre, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork....
guitar, and acid house

Acid house

Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance music-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics....
. After the release of the fourth and final single from the album, however, O'Sullivan left the band to form the short-lived Slippery Feet.

The duo years (1991 - present)

In 1993, Dallin and Woodward returned as a duo with a new album called Please Yourself
Please Yourself

Please Yourself is the sixth studio album by British girl group Bananarama. It was released in 1993 by London Records, the last release the group had on this label....
, which also marked the return of production duties back to the remaining members of SAW, Stock and Waterman. Ironically, though the lead single was titled "Movin' On", the album was a regression to their previous Eurodisco sound as illustrated by their cover of Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More

More, More, More

"More, More, More" was the signature song of Andrea True, who performed under the name "The Andrea True Connection".The song was originally recorded in Jamaica where True, a porn star, had been appearing in a television commercial....
". It was to be their last album on London Records.

Their next offering was 1995's Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet (Bananarama album)

Ultra Violet and I Found Love are two titles given to the seventh studio album released by United Kingdom girl group, Bananarama, in 1995....
(titled I Found Love in Japan) on a new label. The album and its two singles "Every Shade of Blue

Every Shade of Blue

"Every Shade of Blue" is a 1995 pop music / dance music song by English girl group Bananarama, from their Ultra Violet album. Originally released in Japan as a double-A-side with "I Found Love ", the track was gradually released throughout 1995 and 1996 in several different countries ? each time on a different independent dance label, a...
" and "Take Me to Your Heart

Take Me to Your Heart

"Take Me to Your Heart" is a ballad recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It appears on their album Ultra Violet and was released as its second and final single....
" were only released in some European countries, North America, Japan and Australia, and not in their home country.

In 1998, Dallin and Woodward recorded the track "Waterloo

Waterloo (song)

"Waterloo", first called "Honey Pie", was the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA's second album Waterloo , their first for Epic Records & Atlantic Records....
" (a cover of the classic ABBA

ABBA

ABBA were a Sweden pop music group. The band consisted of Agnetha F?ltskog, Benny Andersson, Bj?rn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad . They topped the charts worldwide from the mid-1970s in music to the early 1980s in music....
song) together with Fahey for the Eurovision

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition....
celebration A Song For Eurotrash on Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
. In 2001, they released the album Exotica
Exotica (Bananarama album)

Exotica is the eighth studio album released by United Kingdom female girl group Bananarama. It was produced by Pascal Caubet, and issued only in France, in 2001, on the M6 Interactions record label....
. Collaborators included Pascal Caubet and Dallin's partner Bassey Walker. The album also included Latin and R&B influenced dance songs, as well as reinterpreted versions of their earlier hits. Only two promotional singles would be released from the album: one of those was a cover of George Michael

George Michael

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou , best known as George Michael, is a two-time Grammy Award winning, England singer-songwriter, who has had a career as frontman of the duo Wham! as well as a soul music-influenced, solo Pop music musician....
's ballad "Careless Whisper

Careless Whisper

"Careless Whisper" is a 1984 single by Wham!, released by Epic Records in the UK, Japan and other countries; and by Columbia Records in North America....
" (which was co-written by Woodward's partner — and Michael's ex-Wham!

WHAM!

Wham! was a pop music band formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. It was briefly known in the United States as Wham!-UK because of a naming conflict with another band....
-bandmate — Andrew Ridgeley

Andrew Ridgeley

Andrew John Ridgeley is an England pop music singer, guitarist and environmentalism born to Jennipher and Albert Ridgeley. His mother is British and his father is Egyptian-Italian Andrew came to public attention as a member of the 1980s pop music duet Wham!...
.

As of 2002, Bananarama had sold 40 million records worldwide. That year, they released another greatest hits album, The Very Best of Bananarama
The Very Best of Bananarama

The Very Best of Bananarama is one of several greatest hits collections by English girl group Bananarama.Released by Warner Music Group, parent company of Bananarama's label London Records, this set is the "official" hits package released to celebrate the group's twentieth anniversary....
, in the UK. They also recorded the song "Love, Leave, Forget" for Sky TV

Sky TV

Sky TV may refer to:*British Sky Broadcasting, a television network and media company in United Kingdom**Sky Digital , a brand name of the British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and satellite radio service in UK and Republic of Ireland...
's show Is Harry on the Boat?
Is Harry on the Boat?

Is Harry on the Boat? was a 2001 United Kingdom made for TV movie, based on the lives of holiday reps in Ibiza. A television drama series then followed, airing on Sky One from 2002 to 2003....
as well as the song "U R My Baby" for a German disco project. That same year, Bananarama (with Siobhan Fahey as special guest) celebrated their 20th anniversary at the London Astoria

London Astoria

The London Astoria was a music venue at 157 Charing Cross Road in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. The Astoria closed on the 15th of January 2009....
in London. 3000 people participated in this event.

With 80's retro in vogue, Bananarama attempted a comeback in the British charts in 2005. Solasso remixed their early hit "Really Saying Something" and re-released it as a single. A new single, "Move in My Direction

Move in My Direction

"Move in My Direction" is a Pop music–Dance music song written by United Kingdom duo Bananarama, David Clewett and Ivar Lisinski for Bananarama's ninth studio album Drama ....
", was released in July and hit the charts at #14, making this song the group's 24th Top 40 UK hit, and their first Top 20 hit since their 1991 single "Preacher Man

Preacher Man

"Preacher Man" is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It appears on the group's fifth studio album Pop Life and was released as the album's second single....
". Follow-up single "Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)

Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)

"Look on the Floor" is a Pop music–Dance music song written by Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward, David Clewett, and Ivar Lisinski for Bananarama's album Drama ....
", however, peaked at a relatively disappointing #26 and the Drama
Drama (Bananarama album)

Drama is an album by United Kingdom girl group Bananarama. It is their ninth studio album , and the fourth album released by Bananarama as a duo....
album flopped at #169. In June 2006 the group's contract with A&G Productions expired and was not renewed.

Drama was released in the U.S. on May 16 and after a fourteen year absence, Bananarama was back on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play

Hot Dance Club Play

Billboard 's Hot Dance Club Play chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. nightclubs. It is compiled by Billboard exclusively from playlists submitted by nightclub disc jockeys who must apply and meet certain criteria to become "Billboard-reporting DJs."...
and the Hot Dance Airplay

Hot Dance Airplay

Hot Dance Airplay is a monitored dance music radio chart that is featured weekly in Billboard magazine. The chart was also featured in its sister publication R&R , but it has since been removed, although a summary is still featured in the chart highlight section....
charts with an import version of "Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)

Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)

"Look on the Floor" is a Pop music–Dance music song written by Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward, David Clewett, and Ivar Lisinski for Bananarama's album Drama ....
". "Look on the Floor" became their first U.S. hit since 1992, when they scored with "Tripping on Your Love

Tripping on Your Love

"Tripping on Your Love" is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It appears on the group's fifth studio album Pop Life and was released as the album's fourth single in the UK and the first single in the United States....
". "Move In My Direction" was released as a second single in the U.S.

Summer 2006 saw the Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an United States record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as "Warners" and 'the Bunny', based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros....
release of The Twelve Inches of Bananarama
The Twelve Inches of Bananarama

The Twelve Inches of Bananarama is a compilation album by English girl group Bananarama, released on October 2, 2006 by Warner Bros. Records....
, a compilation of twelve remixes on CD for the first time. The collection features the rare George Michael

George Michael

Rhino Entertainment

Rhino Entertainment Company is an United States specialty record label and production company, owned by Warner Music Group....
on CD with bonus material, including alternative versions, remixes and B-sides. On May 7 2007 another best-of collection titled Greatest Hits and More More More
Greatest Hits and More More More

Greatest Hits and More More More is a compilation album by United Kingdom girl group Bananarama, released on May 7, 2007 by Warner Bros. Records....
was released by Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an United States record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as "Warners" and 'the Bunny', based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros....
.

Dallin and Woodward performed a set along with other 1980s acts at Retro Fest on 1 September 2007 at Culzean Castle

Culzean Castle

Culzean Castle is a castle near Maybole, Carrick, Scotland on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland....
in Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former counties of Scotland in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine, North Ayrshire....
, Scotland

Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
.

Future plans

In February 2007, Bananarama's official website announced that the band were back in the studio recording new material. A cover version of Voyage Voyage

Voyage Voyage

"Voyage Voyage" is a 1986 song written by Jean-Michel Rivat and recorded by the French singer Desireless. It was the first single from her album Fran?ois and became a smash hit in many countries in Europe....
was recently performed live and may be released as a single. Bananarama also confirmed they were contributing vocals as guest artists on the song "Ultra Violet" by new dance act Block Rocker, a teaming up of producers/remixers Digital Dog and Ashiva. The project was expected to be released in the summer of 2007, but so far remains unreleased. Also around the same time it was rumoured that Sara Dallin

Sara Dallin

Keren Woodward

Keren Jane Woodward is an English people Pop music singer and songwriter from the all-women band Bananarama.She now lives in Cornwall with her Significant other, former Wham! singer and guitarist Andrew Ridgeley and her son Thomas , from a previous relationship with the male Model David-Scott Evans....
would both return to take up occasionally play bass guitar if they were to record again.

In October 2007, Bananarama announced that they would be appearing on 2008's "Here and Now Tour

Here and Now Tour

The Here and Now Tour is a series of concert tours, which began in 2001, featuring groups and singers famous in the 1980s. The Tour takes in arenas and theatres around the UK and still runs today....
" with other 1980s artists such as Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Jo Carlisle is an United States singer. Carlisle has enjoyed success twice during her career, first as lead singer and founding member of the seminal, all-female band New Wave music band The Go-Go's, then as a successful international solo artist....
, Paul Young

Paul Young

Paul Antony Young is an England pop music musician....
, ABC, and Rick Astley

Rick Astley

Richard Paul Astley is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Astley is married to producer Lene Bausager and has one daughter. Astley has released or appeared on recordings that have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide....
. They also announced plans to record a new album of disco

Disco

Discography

Studio albums

1983: Deep Sea Skiving
Deep Sea Skiving

Deep Sea Skiving is the debut album by the British female vocal group Bananarama, released in 1983 in music. The album peaked at no.7 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry....
1984: Bananarama
Bananarama (album)

Bananarama is the second album released by the British girl group Bananarama. Released in 1984, the album peaked at no.16 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry....
1986: True Confessions
True Confessions (album)

True Confessions is the third album by the British girl group Bananarama. Released in 1986, the album was not a commercial success in the UK, but achieved their biggest sales and chart success in the U.S., where the first single "Venus " hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 ....
1987: Wow!
Wow! (album)

WOW! is the fourth album released by Bananarama. It is entirely produced and co-written with the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio and is the last album by the girl group to generate significant chart hits in the U.S....
1991: Pop Life
1993: Please Yourself
Please Yourself

Please Yourself is the sixth studio album by British girl group Bananarama. It was released in 1993 by London Records, the last release the group had on this label....
1995: Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet (Bananarama album)

Ultra Violet and I Found Love are two titles given to the seventh studio album released by United Kingdom girl group, Bananarama, in 1995....
2001: Exotica
Exotica (Bananarama album)

Exotica is the eighth studio album released by United Kingdom female girl group Bananarama. It was produced by Pascal Caubet, and issued only in France, in 2001, on the M6 Interactions record label....
2005: Drama
Drama (Bananarama album)

Drama is an album by United Kingdom girl group Bananarama. It is their ninth studio album , and the fourth album released by Bananarama as a duo....

Tours

1989 (March) World Tour
1995 Canadian "Ultra Violet"/"Dance Mix 95" promo tour
1997 Australian tour
1999 UK tour with Culture Club
Culture Club

Culture Club were a Grammy Award-winning United Kingdom Pop music group that formed in the early 1980s. The band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay , and Jon Moss ....
2007 Here and Now Tour
Here and Now Tour

The Here and Now Tour is a series of concert tours, which began in 2001, featuring groups and singers famous in the 1980s. The Tour takes in arenas and theatres around the UK and still runs today....
(with Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Jo Carlisle is an United States singer. Carlisle has enjoyed success twice during her career, first as lead singer and founding member of the seminal, all-female band New Wave music band The Go-Go's, then as a successful international solo artist....
, The Human League
The Human League

The Human League are a British people synthpop band. Formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1977, they achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s....
, Paul Young
Paul Young

Paul Antony Young is an England pop music musician....
, The Weather Girls, T'Pau
T'Pau (band)

T'Pau was a late 1980s Pop music musical group led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 chart-topper in the United Kingdom, and several hits in the United States and Europe....
, etc.)
2008 Here and Now Tour (with Rick Astley
Rick Astley

Richard Paul Astley is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Astley is married to producer Lene Bausager and has one daughter. Astley has released or appeared on recordings that have sold more than 40 million copies worldwide....
, Curiosity Killed the Cat
Curiosity Killed the Cat

Curiosity Killed the Cat was a United Kingdom Pop music band that found success in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, ABC, Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew

Cutting Crew is a pop rock musical band formed in England in 1985 in music, best known for their United States chart-topper hit record, " Died in Your Arms"....
and Johnny Hates Jazz
Johnny Hates Jazz

Johnny Hates Jazz was an England pop music band formed in 1986 by Clark Datchler , Calvin Hayes , and the Germany born Mike Nocito ....
)

External links

: Official Website.
: Fan site.
: Bananarama fan club
: Jacquie O'Sullivan Official website
: Siobhan Fahey official web site
Official web site of Shakespears Sister/Siobhan Fahey

Bananarama

Career

Early years

Debut and following success (1982 - 1988)

The Jacquie O'Sullivan Years (1988 - 1991)

The duo years (1991 - present)

Future plans

Discography

Studio albums

Tours

See also

External links