Posted January 17, 200916 yr Bananarama http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drp100/p108/p10895mrlm2.jpg The most successful British girl group in UK pop history featuring the seminal line up of the trio comprising lifelong friends Keren Woodward and Sarah Dallin along with Siobhan Fahey. ALL MUSIC GUIDE BIOGRAPHY Key Compiliation: The Very Best Of (2002) http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/drf600/f630/f63073kkuu7.jpg Career Defining Song: giQ_SwN7lz8 Venus (1986 UK#8 USA#1)
January 17, 200916 yr Author Other Key Songs: 5n6chxpEINs Cruel Summer (1983 UK#8 USA#9) u_D8UKtPcv4 Robert De Niro's Waiting (1984 UK#3 USA#95) IddaRTuYRW4 I Heard A Rumour (1987 UK#14 USA#4) _nl46l8XHvg Love In The First Degree (1987 UK#3 USA#48) Where any you fans of Bananarama or do you think they now pale in significance to the Spice Girls; Sugababes; Girls Aloud .... & The Saturdays (:lol:)?
January 17, 200916 yr Best British girlband ever - no question. However, I'd definitely include Love in the First Degree and the one that got them the NME cover in 1990 - Only Your Love as key moments for them. And the comilation.... the best one's the original Greatest Hits Collection.
January 17, 200916 yr Author Best British girlband ever - no question. However, I'd definitely include Love in the First Degree and the one that got them the NME cover in 1990 - Only Your Love as key moments for them. And the comilation.... the best one's the original Greatest Hits Collection. K2yd6HA7sEw Only Your Love is my favourite 'Rama track, but it sadly did not do very well chartwise only #27 in the UK. Saying that all the singles produced by Youth from their Pop Life album are highlights for me. Also the first Greatest Hits collection only goes up to 1989 so it omits the said Pop Life singles, so I don't think it is their definitive compiliation.
January 17, 200916 yr They went a bit cr@p when they associated themselves with that prick Watertw@t though, even though they did cause him a lot of grief :lol: .... Then Siobhan Fahey left the band, and that certainly didn't help matters.... I really didn't like that cover of "Venus" tbh..... "Cruel Summer" is an excellent tune though, as is the thing they did with Fun Boy Three.... Obviously, even at their worst, they WERE better than The Crapadays and Spice Girls, that goes without saying...... :lol:
January 17, 200916 yr Love the Nanas. Personal opinion, the SAW stuff was their best period, but maybe I should keep that to myself! It got them a US number one, which is pretty amazing in itself...
January 17, 200916 yr K2yd6HA7sEw Only Your Love is my favourite 'Rama track, but it sadly did not do very well chartwise only #27 in the UK. Saying that all the singles produced by Youth from their Pop Life album are highlights for me. Also the first Greatest Hits collection only goes up to 1989 so it omits the said Pop Life singles, so I don't think it is their definitive compiliation. It's a brilliant single, I think... still amazed it missed the top 20, I remember a massive buzz around the track on its release in that hot summer of 1990. And Pop Life was a terrific album, too... Youth did well Their cover of Long Train Running...and the video (ripped off to the letter by Girls Aloud for Can't Speak French), was magnificent, too. True about the 89 compilation... that newer one looks so tacky though.... like one of those £2.99 jobbies crammed with b-sides and dud live tracks you find in supermarkets.
January 17, 200916 yr love Bananarama. my first girl group. I was 3 and my sister bought me their greatest hits. I was in my element Now that Im 22 I think at times they were borderline shambolic. But earlier in their carreer that was part of their appeal. They became much glossier and more glamerous in their SAW days. I think my favourite album is "Pop Life". visually and musically they were on top form but didn't really translate into the 90's well sadly Never really warmed up to them as a 2 piece. bought the last abum "drama" though whcih was quote orgasmic! Would have been better if it was all 3 of them again
January 17, 200916 yr Much preferred the Shocking Blue version of Venus Didn't mind Bananarama they were alright to listen to and their music was upbeat and cheery but did nothing for me really
January 17, 200916 yr Yeah! Love them dearly. Without doubt, my favorite track is "I Heard A Rumour". Just love the synth stabs and general fabulousness of it all. I will also defend "Only Your Love" as a very under-rated track, I guess by this point pop music became a dirty word as a result of the S/A/W's p***-taking and Bananarama fell victim despite this being a genuine great pop track.
January 17, 200916 yr Yeah! Love them dearly. Without doubt, my favorite track is "I Heard A Rumour". Just love the synth stabs and general fabulousness of it all. I will also defend "Only Your Love" as a very under-rated track, I guess by this point pop music became a dirty word as a result of the S/A/W's p***-taking and Bananarama fell victim despite this being a genuine great pop track. I feel like hugging you Scotty. IHAR is one of my favourites, though I would just plump for Love In The First Degree over it. Frankly it's nice to see someone else in this forum who can listen to SAW without wanting to throw up.
January 17, 200916 yr I feel like hugging you Scotty. IHAR is one of my favourites, though I would just plump for Love In The First Degree over it. Frankly it's nice to see someone else in this forum who can listen to SAW without wanting to throw up. Yeah exactly, when instant gratification is required, turn to S/A/W! Having said that, I hated Steps with a fiery passion. They lacked the charm and innocence of their 80s material. They were truly vile.
January 17, 200916 yr Exactly, SAW is total musical junkfood. It's sickly, gooey and cheesy, but it doesn't make you fat and you don't need prozac if you have Kylie. As for Steps, I liked them at the time. But to be fair I was about 11.
January 17, 200916 yr I feel like hugging you Scotty. IHAR is one of my favourites, though I would just plump for Love In The First Degree over it. Frankly it's nice to see someone else in this forum who can listen to SAW without wanting to throw up. SAW had some great moments. Not just I Need A Rumour and Love In The First Degree, but their earlier productions produced great pop - Mel & Kim, Dead Or Alive, Princess etc I still think Bananarama were the best girl group. Only Your Love would be in my Top 5 tunes by them, definetely
January 18, 200916 yr Much preferred the Shocking Blue version of Venus totally agree..... ill never forgive them for camping up that excellant track. Yeah exactly, when instant gratification is required, turn to S/A/W! Having said that, I hated Steps with a fiery passion. They lacked the charm and innocence of their 80s material. They were truly vile. your hatred of steps redeams you m8! :lol: Exactly, SAW is total musical junkfood. It's sickly, gooey and cheesy, but it doesn't make you fat and you don't need prozac if you have Kylie. As for Steps, I liked them at the time. But to be fair I was about 11. junkfood is ok in small ammounts, we all have our guilty secrets. SAW had some great moments. Not just I Need A Rumour and Love In The First Degree, but their earlier productions produced great pop - Mel & Kim, Dead Or Alive, Princess etc i agree.... s/a/w DID create some acceptable pop early on... banana bints have been discussed many times before... i like some tracks , mainly the early material, and 'trick of the night'. the best group ever?.... by what yardstick? surely the spicegirls were more influencial and sold more? and their chart runs totally pissed all over the bananabints, ... yet i prefer the bananabints to spicegirls. 'issues' the latest saturdays song is actually pretty good , they can perform it live and its quite impressive.... summut the nanas and the spiceys have achieved???? i dunno..
January 18, 200916 yr the best group ever?.... by what yardstick? surely the spicegirls were more influencial and sold more? and their chart runs totally pissed all over the bananabints, ... yet i prefer the bananabints to spicegirls. 'issues' the latest saturdays song is actually pretty good , they can perform it live and its quite impressive.... summut the nanas and the spiceys have achieved???? i dunno.. From what I know, Bananarama could never really cut it as a live act. But the demands and pressures of even manufactured acts are much more intense then back then. Bananarama could blissfully mime and jaunt around a bit on TOTP and get w*n**red every other night. The Saturdays and Girls Aloud are required to put in 110% all the time and be able to sing live... Yet there's something delicious and organis about Bananarama, which you don't get with the girly groups of today (although I will admit, Girls Aloud front some corkers!)
January 18, 200916 yr The Saturdays and Girls Aloud are required to put in 110% all the time and be able to sing live... They put 110% into the PR, Hype and marketing stuff... The actual tunes themselves, the music, considerably less effort seems to go into that..... If 110% effort was made by them into the actual songwriting, then, I wouldn't really have any probs with the likes of GA or Saturdays.... And, it took a HELL of a long time for the Sats to start singing live.... I believe that even their GAY appearance was mimed..... :rolleyes: Yeah, the Nanas were a bit shambolic and amateurish, but that was part of the fun, they were INDIVIDUALS, not slick or polished, or pre-packaged, really, I mean, is there anything more boring than an act having no real individuality and being this "well-oiled machine", it's music you're making, not cars or widgets..... "Play it from the fukkin' heart" as Bill Hicks once said.... They all came out of the Post-Punk scene as well, so they were never really gonna be all that polished anyway....
January 18, 200916 yr I like a few of their tracks, 'I Want You Back' came up on my iPod when I was cycling home yesterday and I forgot how much I liked it. :lol:
January 18, 200916 yr Author They put 110% into the PR, Hype and marketing stuff... The actual tunes themselves, the music, considerably less effort seems to go into that..... If 110% effort was made by them into the actual songwriting, then, I wouldn't really have any probs with the likes of GA or Saturdays.... And, it took a HELL of a long time for the Sats to start singing live.... I believe that even their GAY appearance was mimed..... :rolleyes: Yeah, the Nanas were a bit shambolic and amateurish, but that was part of the fun, they were INDIVIDUALS, not slick or polished, or pre-packaged, really, I mean, is there anything more boring than an act having no real individuality and being this "well-oiled machine", it's music you're making, not cars or widgets..... "Play it from the fukkin' heart" as Bill Hicks once said.... They all came out of the Post-Punk scene as well, so they were never really gonna be all that polished anyway.... Spot on. What younger members don't realise is that Bananarama managed themselves, they choose who produced their records; and frequently threatened to go on strike with their record company over single release choices. A far cry from most manufactured pop acts today. Another reason why Pete Waterman & Simon Cowell are hated by mine & Grimly's generation because they reversed the power of control from the artists back to the Svengalis not seen since the Pre-Beatles era. Also when Bananarama were first popular the majority of popular acts had male vocalists (in stark contrast to today's music scene), as they were first popular pre-Madonna. Hence for the 1984 Band Aid record they were virtually the only females in that ensemble (bar Shalamar's Jody Watley).
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