Shy Boy

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"Shy Boy"
Banana sb.jpg
Single by Bananarama
from the album Deep Sea Skiving
B-side "Don't Call Us"
Released21 June 1982 (1982-06-21)
RecordedMarch 1982
Genre New wave [1]
Length3:16
Label London
Songwriter Jolley & Swain
Producer Jolley & Swain
Bananarama singles chronology
"Really Saying Something"
(1982)		"Shy Boy"
(1982)		"Cheers Then"
(1982)

"Shy Boy" is a 1982 song recorded by the 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. [2] 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. In the United States, where the song was released with the longer title "Shy Boy (Don't It Make You Feel Good)", [3] it charted well on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and was the first of Bananarama's singles to dent the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 83. [4]

Contents

It was included on their 1983 debut studio album Deep Sea Skiving . The song was originally called "Big Red Motorbike", however Bananarama did not like the lyrics and changed it to "Shy Boy". [4]

In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it 64 on their list "100 Best Songs of 1982". [5]

Critical reception

Upon the single release Robin Smith of Record Mirror placed it among singles of the week, found track palatable as ice cream and compared trio with the Supremes. [6] Danny Baker called it "lovely stuff" and described it in his review for New Musical Express as "familiar beaty blend of drums, echo and those lovely Bananarama vocal arrangements on another easily remembered tune that should have us dancing all the way to the topspot in the charts". [7]

Music video

The music video was directed by Midge Ure and Chris Cross who were then members of the group Ultravox. [4] It featured the girls giving a nerdy guy a make-over, turning him into a stud. When his new look attracts the attention of a sexy secretary, the girls get revenge by dousing him with a bucket of water. The nerd-turned-stud was played Terry Sharpe, the lead vocalist of the Northern Irish rock group the Adventures, who was Sara Dallin's boyfriend at the time. [4]

Track listing

UK 7" vinyl single [8] London Records NANA 2

  1. "Shy Boy" 3:13
  2. "Don't Call Us" 3:10

Canadian 7" vinyl single [8] Mercury Records MS 76178

  1. "Shy Boy" 3:13
  2. "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" 2:45
    S. Dallin/S. Fahey/K. Woodward/Cotillard

UK 12" vinyl single [8] London Records NANX 2

  1. "Shy Boy" (Extended Version) 5:49
  2. "Don't Call Us" (Extended Version) 4:10

USA 12" vinyl single [8] London Records 810 299-1

  1. "Shy Boy (Don't it Make You Feel Good)" (Long Version) 6:58
  2. "Shy Boy (Don't it Make You Feel Good)" (Dub Version) 9:22

The song "Don't Call Us" appears on the album Deep Sea Skiving retitled as "Boy Trouble".

Chart performance

References

  1. ↑ Lindores, Mark (March–April 2022). "Album by Album: Bananarama". Classic Pop . No. 74. pp. 46–49. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  2. ↑ "Official Website". Bananarama. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Deep Sea Skiving (liner notes). Bananarama. London Records. 1983. 422-810 102-1 R-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Official Website". Bananarama. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (27 September 2022). "100 Best Songs of 1982". Rolling Stone .
  6. ↑ Smith, Robin (26 June 1982). "Singles: Bananarama – "Shy Boy"" (PDF). Record Mirror . London: Spotlight Publications Inc. p. 14. ISSN   0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Baker, Danny (26 June 1982). "Singles: Bananarama – "Shy Boy" (London)". New Musical Express . London: IPC Limited. p. 25. ISSN   0028-6362 . Retrieved 16 December 2025– via Flickr.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Bananarama detailed discography - Shy Boy". Bananarama.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 25. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ "Bananarama – Shy Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 38, No. 3". RPM . 19 March 1983. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Radio Luxembourg Singles". umdmusic.com. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  13. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 33, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  14. ↑ "Bananarama – Shy Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Bananarama – Shy Boy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Bananarama: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  17. ↑ "Bananarama Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Bananarama Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "National Top 100 Singles for 1982". Kent Music Report. 3 January 1983. Retrieved 22 January 2023– via Imgur.
  20. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1982". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1982". Ultratop. Retrieved 24 October 2021.


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