Bananarama

The 1980s saw the birth of the all girl group Bananarama and they went on to have huge success both in the UK and America. The original band was made up of Siobhan Fahey, Karen Woodward and Sara Dallin and they formed in the late 1970s when the punkscene was fading and the girls were studying fashion journalism.

They often did backing vocals for The Jam, Iggy Pop amongst others. They recorded there first demo song with the help of Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook and the success 'Aie a Mwana' prompted Decca Records to sign them up. During this period ex-Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren offered to sign and manage there career but he suggestions did not fit the girls ideology.

There stunning looks caught the attention of Face magazine and also ex- Specials frontman Terry Hall to work with them on there new project Fun Boy Three. The result was a top 5 hit with 'ain't what you do' which gave the girls the exposure they needed and they returned the compliment when they released 'really saying something' when the Fun Boy Three guested on the record.

A debut album followed titled 'Deep sea skiving' in 1983 which hit the top 10 in the UK and top 60 in America. It produced classic singles which all hit the top 5 with 'really saying something', 'shy boy' and 'na na hey hey kiss him goodbye'.

The next album was self titled and went in a different direction and became a more socially conscience aspect to it. It dealt with issues such as drugs and social apathy. It also contained 2 huge singles in 'robert de niro's waiting' and 'cruel summer'. In between they also guested on the Band Aid single 'do they know it's christmas' in 1984.

In 1986 saw the thrd album released 'True Confessions' which fared better in America than the UK but it did spawn the huge hit which became there mantra 'Venus'. Some of the production was carried out by the pop production moguls Stock,Aitken and Waterman.

There production skills gave the band a more dance orientated sound and the sales and popularity were testament to that. Following the success of Venus all production passed to Stock, Aitken and Waterman and the next album had a more europop feel. The album was titled 'WOW'. The album saw two hit singles with 'I heard a rumour' and 'love in the first degree' but by time the third single was released Siobhan left the group as she was not happy with the direction the band were taking.

Siobhan was quickly replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan and three singles quickly followed suit with 'I want you back', 'Nathan Jones' and 'Love, truth and honesty', they then closed the decade doing the offical Comic Relief song with French and Saunders in the cover of the Beatles song 'Help'.

The band made great strides to empower women in the music industry and there good looks and talent also helped. They hold the record for the most chart entries for an all girl group which shows there longevity and popularity.

During the 1980s they released four studio albums with the debut 'Deep sea skiving' only denting the top 10. A greatest hits album was released in 1988 and his hit number three in the UK charts. They released 25 singles of which 10 hit the top 10. There best position was number 3 with 'Robert De Niro's waiting' in 1984, 'Love in the first degree' in 1987 and 'help' in 1989.

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