Bananarama are an English pop group from London formed in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. 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 Máire Deirdre Fahey is an Irish singer and musician whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the British/Irish girl group Bananarama, who have had several 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.
Marcella Levy, known professionally as Marcy Levy and Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut album Marcella in 1982. She joined Shakespears Sister in 1988 with ex-Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey. Their first two albums, Sacred Heart (1989), and Hormonally Yours (1992), both reached the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. Detroit sang the lead vocals on their biggest hit, "Stay", which spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1992. Detroit left the band in 1993 and had a UK top 20 hit with "I Believe" in 1994. She formed the Marcy Levy Band in 2002, and finished third in the 2010 ITV series Popstar to Operastar.
Hormonally Yours is the second studio album by British-based pop-rock act Shakespears Sister. Released in February 1992 by London Records, the album went on to become a critical and commercial success, and is their best-selling album to date. Hormonally Yours peaked at No. 3 on the album charts and was certificated double platinum by the BPI and spent 55 weeks on the charts. The album spawned five singles, three of which reached the UK Top 20. The album's second single, "Stay" became the group's best-selling single, topping the UK Singles Chart for 8 consecutive weeks. It was also a Top 5 hit in the US.
Wow! is the fourth studio album by English group Bananarama, released on 4 September 1987 by London Records. The album was entirely produced and co-written with the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. Tensions between group member Siobhan Fahey and Stock, Aitken and Waterman regarding songwriting input and lyrical content prompted Fahey's departure from Bananarama five months after its release. By the time the album's fourth single, "I Want You Back", was released in March 1988, Fahey had been replaced with Jacquie O'Sullivan, who re-recorded the vocals for the single version of the song. Fahey would resurface later in 1988 with her new band, Shakespears Sister.
"Stay" is a song by UK-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released by London Records in January 1992 as the second single from their second album, Hormonally Yours. The single was written by Siobhan Fahey, Marcella Detroit, and Dave Stewart, and became a global hit. It is the duo's first and only number-one single in numerous territories, including the UK, where it topped the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks and was the fourth-biggest-selling single of 1992. "Stay" also reached No. 1 in Sweden and in band member Siobhan Fahey's birthplace, Ireland. It was a transatlantic hit as well, reaching No. 4 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.
#3 is the third studio album released by British pop-rock music project Shakespears Sister, and the first to be released since the departure of Marcella Detroit in 1993. Originally scheduled for release in 1996, the album was shelved after the project's sole member, Siobhan Fahey, was dropped by London Records. London Records eventually gave the full rights of the album to Fahey in 2004, and the album was released through her website. Musically, #3 is a departure from the project's more pop-oriented previous albums, featuring a more rock and alternative-influenced sound. The album artwork was designed by Sarah Lucas, and in 2011, a two-disc expanded edition was released through major retailers. The album spawned the top 30 single, "I Can Drive".
"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.
"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. The song was re-recorded for UK single release, with new synthesizer tracks and vocal arrangement by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) production trio, at the request of London Records for the UK release. The song was included on the CD version of Greatest Hits Collection as a bonus track; it was not included on the vinyl version nor their 2001 compilation The Very Best of Bananarama. Lyrics from the Number One Mix, were sampled on Bananarama's "I Heard a Rumour" B-side song "Clean-Cut Boy".
"Love in the First Degree" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, Wow! (1987). It was released on 28 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.
"You're History" is a song by British-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released in July 1989 as the second single from their debut album, Sacred Heart (1989). The song was the first release to present the act as a duo and their first chart hit, reaching number seven in the United Kingdom. Outside the UK, "You're History" reached number five in Finland and entered the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Songs from the Red Room is the fourth studio album by British pop-rock project Shakespears Sister, released in November 2009 through SF Records.
The discography of UK-based pop-rock act Shakespears Sister consists of four studio albums, five compilation albums, one EP, and seventeen singles. Originally a solo act consisting of ex-Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey, it eventually evolved into a duo between Fahey and Marcella Detroit. They released their debut studio album Sacred Heart in 1989, which reached number 9 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold by the BPI. The album's lead single, double A Side "Break My Heart / Heroine" did not chart, the second single however, "You're History", reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, and managed similar top 20 success internationally. Their next three singles, "Run Silent", "Dirty Mind", and "Goodbye Cruel World", all failed to peak within the UK top 50. The second single from Hormonally Yours, "Stay" was the group's first and only number 1, staying at the top position for 8 weeks. The song also reached number 1 in Ireland and Sweden, and peaked within the top 5 in several other territories. Hormonally Yours peaked at number 3 in the UK and was certified double platinum, and reached similar success in international territories. The fifth and final single from the album, "My 16th Apology", was not a commercial success due to both members being on hiatus at the time.
"I Don't Care" is a song by British-based female duo Shakespears Sister, released on 4 May 1992 as the third single from their second studio album, Hormonally Yours (1992). The song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and had similar success internationally, reaching the top 20 in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. It also charted on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 55. Like several of Shakespears Sister's previous singles, it was heavily remixed for its release as a single, including re-recorded vocals and added instrumentals.
Shakespears Sister is an alternative pop and rock musical duo based in the United Kingdom that was formed in 1988 by singer–songwriter Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama. Shakespears Sister was initially a solo act, but by 1989 it had become a duo with the addition of the American musician Marcella Detroit. Together they released two top 10 albums and a string of top 40 hits, including the 1992 hit "Stay" which peaked at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks. Detroit was sacked from the band in 1993, leaving Fahey as the sole member again until she ended the project in 1996. After working under her own name for some years, Fahey revived the Shakespears Sister name in 2009. In 2019, Fahey and Detroit reunited as Shakespears Sister for a tour and released a single, "All the Queen's Horses" and the EP Ride Again.
The discography of American recording artist Marcella Detroit consists of seven studio albums, two compilation albums, sixteen singles, and ten other appearances. Detroit released her debut studio album Marcella in 1982 under her birth name Marcy Levy, which went largely unnoticed. She became a member of pop group Shakespears Sister in 1989, who released two studio albums in her time with the band, the second, Hormonally Yours, peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified double platinum by the BPI. After leaving the band in 1993, Detroit released her second studio album Jewel in March 1994, which peaked at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified silver. The album's lead single, "I Believe", peaked at No. 11 in the UK, and reached the top ten in Australia. Her following album Feeler, released in September 1996, was less successful, although it reached No. 82 in Japan. A live album, Without Medication Plus MTV "Buzz Live" was released promotionally in Japan the same year. Detroit's first EP, Abfab Songs, was released in 1999, consisting entirely of original songs featured on Absolutely Fabulous in 1996, when Detroit guest-starred in two episodes as an angel. The same year, she released Demoz, a double-CD collection of demos through her website. Her fourth studio album Dancing Madly Sideways was released in the same fashion, and thus did not chart in any territories.
"Run Silent" is a song by British-based pop act Shakespears Sister, released as the fourth single from their debut studio album Sacred Heart by FFRR Records. The single mix features Marcella Detroit more prominently than on the album version. The single failed to reach the success of "You're History", peaking at number 54 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 47 in Australia.
Singles Party (1988–2019) is a compilation album from British-American pop-rock group Shakespears Sister, released on 19 July 2019. It features a remastered collection of all the singles released by the group and two new songs. The deluxe edition containing a second CD with remixes, rarities and previously unreleased material accompanied by a 48-page booklet with photos, new sleeve notes and lyrics was also released the same day.
Ride Again is an extended play by British-American pop-rock group Shakespears Sister, released on 25 October 2019. The EP features three new songs along with new mixes of the two previously released tracks from Singles Party (2019), "All the Queen's Horses" and "C U Next Tuseday".
Shakespears Sister Ride Again is an all-UK concert tour by British-Irish/American rock act Shakespears Sister, which was announced along with their reunion in May 2019. Prior to their reunion and the tour's announcement, band members Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit hadn't spoken in twenty-seven years following a well publicised feud. The tour was announced in support of their compilation album Singles Party and their EP Ride Again. Consisting of 14 dates, Shakespears Sister Ride Again launched on October 31, 2019, in Nottingham and is set to conclude on November 20, 2019 in Brighton. The tour is managed by London Records.
