The band moved to London where they signed to Chrysalis Records and released their first single in 1984. Following their debut album, the group moved to Elektra Records and scored their biggest hit, "Broken Land". Written by guitarist Pat Gribben, it reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart, and became the most played song on BBC Radio 1 in 1988.[1][2]
The band were actively recording and touring from 1984 up until 1993, but despite being managed by the highly-influential Simon Fuller, The Adventures never achieved a significant commercial breakthrough.[3][4]
The band have reformed several times to play live gigs and festivals in Belfast, including in 1997, twice in the 2000s, and in 2019.[3] No further studio recordings have been made.
History
Lead vocalist Terry Sharpe and guitarist Pat Gribben first worked together when in 1978 they joined punk band The Starjets.[5] The band experienced limited success and disbanded in the early 1980s.[6] In 1982, Sharpe appeared in the Bananarama video for "Shy Boy"[7][8] and co-wrote several tracks on their debut album Deep Sea Skiving.[9]
In early 1984, Sharpe and Gribben formed The Adventures with Gribben's wife, Eileen, Gerard Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder,[5] performing their first show in February 1984 in North London.[10] They signed to Chrysalis Records[5] and were taken on by upcoming manager Simon Fuller, who saw them achieve much publicity and promotion in the music press, including an appearance on BBC's Crackerjack.[11] Despite this promising start, their debut single, "Another Silent Day", released in the summer of 1984, barely scraped into the chart.[1] Further singles were released, "Send My Heart", "Feel the Raindrops", and "Two Rivers", all of which were minor hits in the UK Chart, but no major breakthrough was achieved.[12] Their debut album, Theodore and Friends, was released in 1985 while the group were on a world tour supporting Tears for Fears. It received much critical acclaim, but again no significant sales.
The band lay low for the next two years. During this time, main songwriter Pat Gribben composed some new songs for a second album and the band left Chrysalis Records and were picked up by Elektra Records.[5] With another burst of promotion and heavy airplay, their new single "Broken Land" became their only significant hit, reaching No.20 in the UK Singles Chart and spending 10 weeks on the chart.[1] It was quickly followed up by the album, The Sea of Love,[5] which reached No.30 and also remained on the charts for 10 weeks.[12] The follow-up singles, "Drowning in the Sea of Love" and "One Step From Heaven", stalled at No.44 and No.82 respectively, though the album was certified Silver (for 60,000 copies sold) by the BPI in 1989, a year after its release.
The band combined pop/rock with a folk music sound for their third studio album, Trading Secrets with the Moon. Released in early 1990, along with a couple of singles, the album failed to capitalise on their earlier success and only appeared briefly on the UK Albums Chart, stalling at No.64.[12] This ended their contract with Elektra.
With another rethink and now down to a quartet, The Adventures returned in 1992 with the single "Raining All Over the World". Now signed to Polydor Records, the song reached No.68, and was to be the group's final chart appearance.[1] A fourth album, Lions and Tigers and Bears, was released in 1993, produced by ex-Vibrators bassist Pat Collier at London's Greenhouse Recording Studios. Despite featuring a new single, a contemporary reworking of the classic 1960s hit "Monday Monday", the album met with a tepid response and failed to chart. The group were then dropped by Polydor, and broke up soon after.
Pat Gribben has continued to write songs, and has worked with singer Ryan Molloy. Terry Sharpe spent some years performing in a cover band, The Dead Handsomes. The Adventures regrouped briefly in 2007 for some gigs in Belfast, but no major reunion was ever organised. They regrouped again in 2009 to perform further small scale gigs in Belfast, as well as appearances at the Time To Be Proud and Féile an Phobail festivals during the summer.
Former bass player Tony Ayre died on 20 December 2009.[13]
On 5 January 2019, The Adventures (featuring Sharpe along with Pat and Eileen Gribben) played their final show at The Empire, Belfast,[7] with The Starjets[14] reforming later on in the year.[15]
Band members
Terry Sharpe – lead vocals (born 11 September 1956)
Bananarama are 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.
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).
"Help!" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that served as the title song for the 1965 film and the band's accompanying 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 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, 51 singles and four video albums.
"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.
"Young at Heart" is a song by British female music trio Bananarama, released on 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 Fun Boy Three is the debut album by English new wave pop band the Fun Boy Three, a band consisting of three ex-members of the UK ska band the Specials: Terry Hall, Neville Staples and Lynval Golding. It was released in 1982 by Chrysalis Records and was re-released in 1999 by EMI as Fame. Several songs on the album feature backing vocals by the female pop trio Bananarama. Three singles were released from the album: "The Lunatics ", "T'aint What You Do ", and a remix of "The Telephone Always Rings".
Theodore and Friends is the debut album from the Northern Irish rock band the Adventures, released in 1985.
The Sea of Love is the second album by the Northern Irish rock band The Adventures, released in May 1988. Entirely written by band member Pat Gribben, the album was produced by Pete Smith and Garry Bell. The Sea of Love featured the single "Broken Land", their only Top 40 hit in the UK, and also their only chart entry in the United States.
Trading Secrets with the Moon is the third studio album by rock band The Adventures, released in 1989.
Lions and Tigers and Bears is the fourth album by rock band The Adventures, released in 1993.
Sara Elizabeth Dallin is an English singer 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.
"Broken Land" is a song by Northern Irish band the Adventures, released in 1988 as the first single from their second album The Sea of Love. It was their biggest hit in the UK, spending 10 weeks on the chart, and was also a big hit in Ireland, where it reached the top ten.
"Drowning in the Sea of Love" is a song by Northern Irish band the Adventures, which was released in 1988 as the second single from their second studio album The Sea of Love. The song was written by Pat Gribben and produced by Pete Smith. "Drowning in the Sea of Love" peaked at No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 15 on the Irish Singles Chart.
"Raining All Over the World" is a song by Northern Irish band The Adventures, which was released in 1992 as the lead single from their fourth and final studio album Lions and Tigers and Bears (1993). The song was written by Pat Gribben and produced by Pat Collier. "Raining All Over the World" reached number 68 in the UK Singles Chart and number 21 in the Music Week Top 50 Airplay Chart.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.15. ISBN1-904994-10-5.
Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 19 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrateded.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p.12. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
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