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 Rumour, 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
Eurythmics in August 1987, retired from the group in December 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.
But if you want to hear how influential
Bananarama really were . . . listen to I Heard A Rumour and
then any Spice Girls song. Get my drift?
| The
Band |
Sarah Dallin
|
Siobhan Fahey |
Keren Woodward
Jacqui Sullivan |
|
|
