Bananarama
This British female dance-pop vocal trio, comprising Siobhan Fahey,
Keren Woodward and Sarah Dallin, came on the scene just as MTV was
becoming an influential force in the early 80s.
Some of Bananarama's early recordings were with English artists Fun
Boy Three. Their slight, airy vocals and strong grooves earned them a
number of hits on both sides of the Atlantic.
Until the Spice Girls, Bananarama were the most successful girl band
in Britain ever. As with the inventors of "Girl Power", their
voices were rather unremarkable, but you got to choose which one you
fancied; the dark one, the blonde one or the slightly less blonde one.
In the UK, their biggest singles were He Was Really Saying Somethin'
(with Fun Boy Three), Shy Boy, Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, Cruel
Summer, Robert De Niro's Waiting, Venus (a remake of the classic hit by
Shocking Blue), Love In The First Degree, I Want You Back and Help (The
Beatles song). All Top Ten Hits.
In the USA, they reached the Top Ten with Cruel Summer and I Heard A
Rumor, and made it to the number one spot with their version of Venus.
Their fizzy, amateurish charm unfortunately dissipated once they were
fed into the Stock Aitken and Waterman machine.
Siobhan Fahey, who married Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics in August
1987, retired from the group in December of that year and formed
Shakespeare's Sister. She was replaced by Jacqui Sullivan who quit in
mid 1991 leaving Bananarama a duo.
In 1996 the group released Ultra Violet and gave the long-deceased
equine creature a bloody good flogging . . .
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