BANANARAMA

Profile of An Enduring Legacy

By M. Jason DeBoard

Honored by the Guiness Book Of World Records as the most successful British pop group in music history, Bananarama has proven to be a bona-fide music industry institution. Not even the mid-1990’s craze of the Spice Girls -- seemingly the only threat to this claim -- could knock Bananarama off their pedestal. 

Originally consisting of childhood friends Karen Woodward and Sarah Dallin, it wasn’t until Dallin started attending the London School of Fashion and struck up a friendship with fellow classmate Siobhan Fahey, that things began to gel. The rest, as they say, is (pop music) history.

Before earning world-wide fame, the group had a humble genesis that consisted of singing at friends' parties and at nightclubs, where they performed accompanied by karaoke tapes. Drawing inspiration from the British children's television program THE BANANA SPLITS and the Roxy Music song "Pyjamarama,” they came up with an amalgam, henceforth known as Bananarama.

Soon after, the girls caught the attention of ex-Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook, who brought them into the studio to record and produce their first single "Aie A Mwana" a cover of the Swahili Black Blood song. 

While not a hit by any stretch of the imagination, it was popular in the local clubs and caught the attention of the indie music group Fun Boy Three.  In 1981, the two groups recorded "It Ain't What You Do (It's the Way You Do It).”

The next year, Fun Boy Three returned the favor by backing the girls on a cover of the 1965 Velvettes song “He Was Really Sayin’ Something.” The song would land at number 10 on the charts, becoming the first of Bananarama’s many hits. 

From the very beginning, the group had a strong stage presence -- small town charm with just enough sass and sex appeal to keep an audience’s attention. Initially playing down their talents, the trio retained considerable control over their careers, in regards to not just their image but the material they chose to record. 

In 1983, they worked with producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley to record their first full album, Deep Sea Skiving, which brought the group three more hits: “Shy Boy,” a cover of Steam’s “Na Na, Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)” and “Cruel Summer” [their first U.S. hit]. The next year, their sophomore album, titled simply Bananarama, produced the hit “Robert DeNiro’s Waiting,” as well as the thinly-disguised political protest song, “Rough Justice.”

There would be a two year hiatus before Bananarama’s next album, True Confessions.  Teaming up with the production trio of Stock/Aitken/Waterman, the group would reach the pinnacle of its success with a cover of Shocking Blue’s “Venus,” which would reach number one on both British and U.S. charts. 

Another single from this album, “A Trick Of The Night” would be another hit on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks to the song being featured on the soundtrack of the Whoopi Goldberg film JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH. At about this time, Siobhan married Eurhythmics guitarist Dave Stewart.

1987 saw the release of WOW, the group’s fourth album and its’ last with Siobhan. It would spawn the hits “I Heard A Rumor,” “Love In The First Degree,” “I Can’t Help It,” “I Want You Back” and “Nathan Jones,” a cover of the 1971 Supremes original.  

Siobhan’s growing disdain for the Stock/Aitken/Waterman sound that Bananarama (and other pop acts like Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and Jason Donovan) had become synonymous with, led her to step out on her own in search of a more fulfilling career.

Initially planning on a solo career, Siobhan would resurface a year later as one half of the alternative rock duo Shakespeare’s Sister. Trading in her squeaky clean “pop” image for that of a harder edged, gothic rock goddess, she surprised fans and critics alike with her new image and sound. Shakespeare’s Sister would achieve only moderate success and disband in 1993.

In the meantime, Karen and Sarah had planned to move forward as a duo but constant pressures from those around them -- most notably their record company -- led to the addition of a new member to complete the trio. An acquaintance from over the years, Jacquie O’Sullivan had honed her skills as both a performer and songwriter while a member of a group called the Shillelagh Sisters.  

Not missing a beat, the “new” Bananarama forged on. Two tracks from the WOW album -- “I Want You Back” and “Nathan Jones” -- were re-recorded prior to the album’s release, with Jacquie’s vocals overlaying Siobhan’s. The new line-up then wrote and recorded their next hit “Love, Truth And Honesty,” followed by a cover of the Beatles’ “Help” (both were originally released as singles and later appeared on The Greatest Hits Collection album).

After almost four years without new material, Bananarama bounced back with the release of their Pop Life album in 1991. Produced by Youth, the project was a departure from the ultra slick, assembly line sound from the group’s numerous hits under Stock/Aitken/Waterman.  

Pop Life featured a cover of the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running" and four other hits: “Preacher Man,” “Only Your Love,” Ain’t No Cure” and “Outta Sight.” Shortly after the album's release, Jacquie left the group over “creative issues;” Karen and Sarah decided not to replace her and continued on as a duo. It would take the pair almost two years to complete their next project. 

Per their recording contract with London/Polygram, this would be Bananarama’s last album for the label. Karen and Sarah had originally conceived this project as an ABBA tribute that would have been titled ABBA Banana but it was clear that the record company felt there was very little commercial appeal left in the group.

Since Pop Life -- while generally a fun album to listen to -- garnered lackluster sales, the record company essentially pulled rank and pushed the duo to abandon their ABBA tribute and work with Stock/Aitken/Waterman for one more go around.

Finally released in 1993, Please Yourself was seen by many fans as a step backwards and proved to be a disappointment. Four singles were released: "Movin' On,” "Last Thing on My Mind" a cover of the Andrea True Connection hit "More, More, More” and "Is She Good To You?" Ravaged by UK critics, it was the first Bananarama album not released in America.  

In addition to being bullied into working for Stock/Aitken/Waterman, the album had been a nightmare to record as well. Only the first half of the album had been recorded when Sarah had to take time off due to her pregnancy. The album was finished once she returned from Maternity Leave.

Karen and Sarah had been particularly upset to find the release of the record being constantly delayed, as well as the label’s incessant habit of fine tuning the album. Stock/Aitken/Waterman had to remix it several times before executives at London/Polygram were satisfied. Said Pete Waterman in 1994: “We took out the brilliance of Bananarama.”

Along with the lack of aggressive advertising, it came as no surprise that Please Yourself failed to make much of an impact. The album originally had a limited edition release as a double disc and cassette. The fist disc/cassette  contained the ten tracks recorded for the release, plus a second disc/cassette consisting of various remixes of previously released tracks. The second release of the album only contained the single ten track disc/cassette.

Now without a record deal, Bananarama decided to “freelance” by having complete control over their work and then selling the final product – via licensing agreements -- to different independent record labels around the world.

The duo collaborated with independent producer Gary Miller (whom they’d met from their days with Stock/Aitken/Waterman) for their 1996 album Ultra Violet, released on Curb Records in North America, Dig It Records in Europe, Festival Records in Australia and Avex Records in Japan, where it was titled I Found Love after one of the tracks from the album. Inexplicably -- and rather odd -- the album was never released in Bananaarama’s home country. Brittan fans had to settle with obtaining this album as an import.

Containing a mix of contemporary Euro rhythms and infectious melodies that Bananarama is known for, Ultra Violet/I Found Love proved to be well received by fans and critics but was by no means a commercial success. It featured the hits “Every Shade of Blue,” “Rhythm of Life,” “Take Me To Your Heart,” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “I Found Love.”

 Three years later, Karen and Sarah reunited with Siobhan to record a cover of ABBA’s “Waterloo” as part of Channel Four’s EUROTRASH TRIBUTE and the subsequent A Song For Eurotrash album. The gals made it clear that Siobhan would not be rejoining the group.  

In 2001, Bananarama teamed up with French music producers Pascal Caubet and Florent Enfer for their eagerly anticipated release Exotica. Unfortunately, the album was a French-only release, so the rest of the world had to purchase it as a import.

A major disappointment, the album’s engineering alone has been the most heavily criticized aspect. Additionally, of the twelve tracks, four were re-recordings of past hits “Cruel Summer,” “Venus,” “Robert DeNiro’s Waiting” and “I Heard A Rumor.” Two singles were released off this album: "Careless Whisper" and "If."

Although the duos vocals were tweaked in some interesting harmonies and layers – which add the only sense of texture -- ultimately the album suffered from odd production decisions. A demo version of the album was circulated on the Internet in 1999 to great reception. However, the final mix of the album is rather mundane.

In 2002, Karen and Sarah admitted that they were unhappy with the final product but vowed to keep the legacy of Bananarama alive. Currently, they are still together, touring extensively throughout Europe and Asia.

©2004 M. Jason DeBoard