Bananarama are a British and Irish pop group, formed as a trio in 1980 by 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 30 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
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).
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written in 1850 by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) at Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts. It was published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed that it was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir for Thanksgiving, or as a drinking song. Although it has no original connection to Christmas, it became associated with winter and Christmas music in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was featured in a variety of parlor song and college anthologies in the 1880s. It was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder; this recording, believed to be the first Christmas record, is lost, but an 1898 recording also from Edison Records survives.
"Venus" is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue, initially released as a single in the Netherlands in the summer of 1969. Written by Robbie van Leeuwen, the song topped the charts in nine countries.
"Help!" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that served as the title song for the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was released as a single in July 1965, and was number one for three weeks in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Bananarama is the second studio album by British group Bananarama. Released in 1984, the album peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart, reached the US top 40 albums chart, and was certified Silver by the BPI.
The Starjets are a Northern Irish power pop group from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Bluebells are a Scottish indie new wave band, active between 1981 and 1986.
English group Bananarama have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, 16 compilation albums, two extended plays, 50 singles and four video albums.
"Aie a Mwana" is a song originally written by the French-Belgian writing and production team of Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger.
"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' is a soul song written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964. The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelettes, and a 1982 hit version by British girl group Bananarama.
"Shy Boy" is a 1982 song recorded by English girl group Bananarama which was written and produced by the production team of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and marked the first in a long line of studio collaborations between them and Bananarama. Released in the summer of 1982, "Shy Boy" became the third consecutive single by Bananarama to hit the top-five, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. It also was a success in Australia, where it reached number two, becoming their first top 40 hit in that country. Top-ten success also followed in New Zealand and Canada. "Shy Boy" charted well on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart and was the first of Bananarama's singles to dent the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 83. The song was known as "Shy Boy " in the USA.
"Cheers Then" is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It appears on their 1983 debut album Deep Sea Skiving and was released as its third single in November 1982, a few months before the album. The song was the first Bananarama single to be written by group members Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward and also their first ballad release.
"Hot Line to Heaven" is a song co-written and performed by English girl group Bananarama. The song appears on their second, self-titled album and was released as a single in the UK in 1984.
"The Wild Life" is a song written and performed by English girl group Bananarama. Written in two days, the track was composed for and included in the 1984 American film of the same name The Wild Life, and on its soundtrack. Bananarama's second, self-titled album had already been in stores for several months when this single was issued, and for a time the album was re-released with "The Wild Life" included. The song was released as a single in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan. The UK was instead given the song "Hot Line to Heaven" as the album's final single.
"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.
"Young at Heart" is a song by British female music trio Bananarama, released from their debut album, Deep Sea Skiving, in 1983. The song was later recorded by Scottish pop group the Bluebells, whose version reached the top of the UK Singles Chart after a re-release in 1993.
The Adventures were a Northern Irish rock/pop band, formed in Belfast in 1984 who had a number of hits during the 1980s and early 1990s.
And That's Not All... is a Bananarama videos compilation from 1984, which features the music videos that were to the singles from the Deep Sea Skiving and Bananarama albums. The video also featured two extra tracks, The Wild Life, a non-UK released single was as well as the "Bananarama" album track, "State I'm In", which was slated for a single release but was later cancelled. The video also featured snippets and behind the scenes footage of the girls.
John Anthony Mackswith is an English sound engineer.
