"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" | ||||
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Single by The Velvelettes | ||||
B-side | "Throw a Farewell Kiss" | |||
Released | 28 December 1964 | |||
Recorded | November 1964 (Version 1) December 1964 (Version 2) | |||
Genre | Pop, soul | |||
Length | 2:30 | |||
Label | V.I.P. (Motown) V.I.P. 21503 | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Norman Whitfield | |||
The Velvelettes singles chronology | ||||
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"Really Saying Something" | ||||
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Single by Bananarama with Fun Boy Three | ||||
from the album Deep Sea Skiving | ||||
B-side | "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" | |||
Released | 29 March 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | New wave | |||
Length | 2:45 | |||
Label | London | |||
Songwriter(s) | Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. | |||
Producer(s) | Dave Jordan, Fun Boy Three | |||
Bananarama singles chronology | ||||
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Fun Boy Three singles chronology | ||||
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"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' is a soul song written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield,William "Mickey" Stevenson,and Edward Holland,Jr. in 1964. [1] The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelettes,and a 1982 hit version (with the title altered to "Really Saying Something") by British girl group Bananarama.
The original version of the song was recorded by Motown group the Velvelettes in December 1964. An alternate version recorded in October/November had been discarded. Produced by Norman Whitfield,the Velvelettes' version was released on Motown's V.I.P. label on December 27,1964,and was a minor hit for the group in early 1965. "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" peaked at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,and at number 21 on the then recently reinstated Billboard R&B Singles chart. [2] [3] The single was the second most successful release for the Velvelettes,a minor Motown act which never released a full-length album.
"Throw a Farewell Kiss",composed by Whitfield and Holland and produced by Whitfield,had been recorded in October 1962 and was issued as the B-side of "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'". Six years later,Whitfield had the Temptations record "Farewell Kiss" for their 1971 album Sky's the Limit .
In 1982,the British girl group Bananarama recorded a cover version of the song and released it as the first single from their debut album Deep Sea Skiving . Fun Boy Three provided background vocals,having had a hit with Bananarama earlier in the year with another cover,"T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)".
The 1982 single became the second consecutive top-five hit for both Bananarama and Fun Boy Three,peaking at number five in the UK singles chart. It also received heavy play on the then-young MTV network in America. "Really Saying Something" was both groups' second chart entry in Australia,peaking at number seventy-four. The B-side,"Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares",has been issued on CD for the first time on the 2007 UK reissue of Deep Sea Skiving as one of five bonus tracks. It also became the group's third single to chart in America but only became a minor hit peaking at #108.
The song was revived in 2005 by Solasso,who remixed the song and released it as a bootleg remix. It was later included on Bananarama's album Drama .
"We're Really Saying Something" | |
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Single by Buffalo G | |
Released | 29 May 2000 |
Genre | Pop,pop rap |
Length | 3:18 |
Label | Epic |
Songwriter(s) | Norman Whitfield,William "Mickey" Stevenson,and Edward Holland,Jr. |
Alternative cover | |
The Irish girl group Buffalo G released a rap cover version of the song in 2000,reaching the top 20 in both the Irish and UK charts.
"Really Saying Something" | |
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Promotional single by Shakespears Sister | |
Released | April 2011 |
Genre | Pop,rock |
Length | 2:36 |
Label | SF |
Songwriter(s) | Norman Whitfield,William "Mickey" Stevenson,and Edward Holland,Jr. |
In late February 2011,Siobhan Fahey's current project,Shakespears Sister announced that they were releasing their own version of "Really Saying Something",as a special anniversary single,celebrating 30 years since Bananarama recorded their first single. The single was available exclusively on Shakespears Sister's web site as a digital download and a limited edition CD single. [4] Copies of the CD single are no longer in production,and it is now one of Shakespears Sister's rarest collectibles to date. Fahey produced the single with her designer Anthony Walton,in an attempt to promote her forthcoming live releases.
Chart (1965) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 64 |
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 21 |
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
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UK Singles Chart [5] | 5 |
US Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80 | 16 |
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 [6] | 8 |
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] | 74 |
Belgium [8] | 7 |
Dutch Singles chart | 16 |
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
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UK Singles Chart | 17 |
Irish Singles Chart | 13 |
Bananarama is a British-Irish girl 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 30 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/Irish girl group Bananarama,who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later formed the Brit Award- and Ivor Novello Award-winning 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).
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Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer,who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and of the late-1960s subgenre of psychedelic soul.
The Velvelettes were an American singing girl group,signed to Motown in the 1960s. Their biggest chart success occurred in 1964,when Norman Whitfield produced "Needle in a Haystack",which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100,and number 27 in Canada.
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Drama is the ninth studio album by English musical duo Bananarama,released on 14 November 2005 by A&G Records. It features eleven newly recorded tracks,along with a remix of their 1986 single "Venus" and a 2005 remix of their 1982 single "Really Saying Something",an underground bootleg club hit produced by Solasso.
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The Hit Factory:The Best of Stock Aitken Waterman is a compilation album released in 1987 by Stylus Records in association with PWL Records. The collection brought together some the biggest hits by British production team Stock Aitken Waterman. It reached #18 in the UK Top 100 Album Chart and achieved a Gold BPI award.
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