Bananarama are an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world's highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 32 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
Siobhan Maire Fahey is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the British girl group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later formed the musical act Shakespears Sister, who had a UK number one hit with the 1992 single "Stay". Fahey joined the other original members of Bananarama for a 2017 UK tour, and, in 2018, a North America and Europe tour.
Deep Sea Skiving is the debut studio album by British vocal group Bananarama, released on 7 March 1983 by London Records. The album peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Cruel Summer" is a song by English girl group Bananarama. It was written by Bananarama and Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, and produced by Jolley and Swain. Released in 1983, it was initially a stand-alone single but was subsequently included on their self-titled second album a year later. The song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1983 and the group appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops that summer, and after its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, it reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Steven Nicholas Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era.
True Confessions is the third studio album by British group Bananarama. It was released on 30 June 1986 by London Records. The majority of the album was produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, with the exception of "Venus" and "More Than Physical". The latter, given a garage remix for its single version, was Bananarama's first songwriting collaboration with the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) production team.
The Greatest Hits Collection is a compilation album released by Bananarama which features their single releases and greatest hits. It was issued by London Records in 1988, eight months after the departure of group member Siobhan Fahey. The track listing differed between versions released in the United States and Canada, as well as those released throughout Europe and other territories.
"Nathan Jones" is a song by American girl group the Supremes from their twenty-third studio album, Touch (1971). It was released on April 15, 1971, as the album's lead single. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Kathy Wakefield and Leonard Caston, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight top-40 entries the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the group for a solo career.
Exotica is the eighth studio album released by the British female vocal duo Bananarama. The album was released only in France by the independent label M6 Interactions.
Bunch of Hits is a greatest hits album by English group Bananarama, released on 13 March 1993 by Spectrum Music. It contains many of the same tracks found on the 1989 hits set Greatest Hits Collection, plus several album tracks. Bananarama's two biggest singles are absent: "Cruel Summer" and "Venus". It also includes two B-sides available for the first time on CD, "Scarlett" and "Ghost". This album was not released by the group's record label London Records. The album was released with different artwork and titles in other countries, such as Pop Giants, Collection Series, Robert De Niro's Waiting and also saw a re-release with different artwork in the UK in 1998.
The Very Best of Bananarama is a greatest hits album by English group Bananarama, released on 15 October 2001 by Warner Strategic Marketing and London Records. It was released to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary, including their singles released from 1981 to 1993. The album reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Robert De Niro's Waiting..." is a song written by Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Steve Jolley, and Tony Swain, recorded for English girl group Bananarama's eponymous second studio album. Produced by Jolley & Swain, it was released as the album's second single on 20 February 1984. It namechecks American actor Robert De Niro. The single is one of the group's strongest-performing releases, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart. It made a brief appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 95. Billboard ranked the song at number 74 on their list of the "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".
"Rough Justice" is a song by English girl group Bananarama. It was co-written by group members Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward and the writing-production duo Jolley & Swain who also produced the song. The song was released in May 1984 as the third single from their self-titled second album.
"Do Not Disturb" is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It was written and produced by the production duo of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. Originally released as a stand-alone single in 1985, the track was later added to Bananarama's third album True Confessions, which was issued by London Records a year later. "Do Not Disturb" was released in the UK, Australia, Germany, and Japan but only charted in the UK.
"A Trick of the Night" is a mid-tempo ballad recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It was written and produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and released as the final single from Bananarama's album True Confessions.
"Love in the First Degree" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, Wow! (1987). It was released on 21 September 1987 as the album's second single, except in the United States, where it was released in 1988 as the third single. The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio. It achieved major success in the UK and Australia, and also peaked within the top 20 in many European countries, but, unlike "I Heard a Rumour", it reached only the lower end of the top 50 in the US.
"Megarama '89" is a megamix of songs by English girl group Bananarama. It was released as a single in 1989 in Germany, Japan and France. The French single differs from the version released in Germany and Japan.
The Greatest Remixes Collection is a compilation of Bananarama remixes released exclusively in Southeast Asia in 1990. At the time of the release, the only mix that had not been issued on CD was the Miami Mix of "I Heard a Rumour", although none of the mixes had ever been compiled on a Bananarama album. Subsequently some of the mixes have been available on easier to find Bananarama albums, such as The Very Best of Bananarama double CD or The Twelve Inches of Bananarama. The album has become very rare and expensive.
Sara Elizabeth Dallin is an English singer/songwriter and a founding member of the pop group Bananarama. The group has achieved 28 UK top-50 and 11 US top-100 singles, including a US number one with "Venus" (1986). Other hits include "Cruel Summer" (1983), "I Heard a Rumour" (1987) and "Love in the First Degree" (1987). Dallin and bandmate Keren Woodward are the only performers to appear on both the 1984 and 1989 Band Aid versions of "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Bananarama have sold over 30 million records and entered the Guinness Book of World Records for achieving most UK chart entries by an all-female group, a record they still hold.
30 Years of Bananarama is a CD/DVD retrospective of British girl group Bananarama's musical career from 1981 through 2009. This compilation album was issued by Rhino Records on 9 July 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the group. The album entered the UK album chart on 16 July at number 62.
