The Greatest Hits Collection | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | October 1988 (first edition) | |||
Recorded | 1981–1988 (first edition), 1989, 1991, 1992–1993 | |||
Genre | Pop, dance-pop, new wave | |||
Label | London Records | |||
Producer | Fun Boy Three, Tony Swain, Steve Jolley, Stock Aitken Waterman, Bananarama | |||
Bananarama chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Greatest Hits Collection | ||||
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The Greatest Hits Collection is a compilation album released by Bananarama which features their single releases and greatest hits. It was issued by London Records in 1988, eight months after the departure of group member Siobhan Fahey. The track listing differed between versions released in the United States and Canada, as well as those released throughout Europe and other territories.
Except where otherwise noted, all songs are represented on the album in their single or 7" mix variants. The version of "I Want You Back" (originally on their Wow! album) on this collection is the newer version of the song with vocals re-recorded by Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward with new member Jacquie O'Sullivan, following the departure of Fahey. One new song, "Love, Truth and Honesty", was released as a single (which featured O'Sullivan's first credits as a song-writing contributor), and peaked inside the UK top 30. The other new track on the compilation was a re-recorded version of the Supremes track "Nathan Jones". Like "I Want You Back", this song was originally included on the Wow! album released before Fahey's departure. The new line-up re-recorded the song with new vocal and instrumental arrangements. This new version, now known as the 'Dave Ford Mix', was initially included on vinyl and cassette issues of this compilation, and on the original Canadian CD pressing. It was subsequently remixed by in-house PWL Mixmaster Pete Hammond [1] and released as a single, reaching the UK Top 20 and this version replaced both the earlier 'Psycho 7" Edit' and 'Dave Ford Mix' versions on the compilation. Later re-issues have added on various remixes, as well as a cover of the Beatles hit, "Help!".
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [3] |
NME | 9/10 [4] |
Number One | [5] |
Q | [6] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
Smash Hits | 9+1⁄2/10 [8] |
A review published in Music Week stated the compilation is composed of "a surprising amount of hits" and deemed it "enjoyable, disposable, fair play to them and hard to deny". [9]
LP and Cassette
Side A
Side B
CD
As noted above, many variants of the album exist on CD depending on region and edition. On all editions of The Greatest Hits Collection, the included version of "Trick of the Night" is now known as the 'Tricky Mix 7" Edit'. While the 1999 international re-release included the 7" version of Preacher Man from the Pop Life album, most variants of the CD release contain some version of the following track listing:
In 2008, a reworked version of The Greatest Hits Collection was released. Titled The Greatest Hits & More More More, this release featured an expanded track list incorporating many of the singles not present on the original compilation, most notably those from Pop Life and Please Yourself . This release contains the album version of "More, More, More" and the 'PWL 7" Mix' of "A Trick of the Night".
In order to coincide with Siobhan Fahey's return to the group for The Original Line Up Tour in 2017, London Records released an expanded version of the original 1988 edition as a double album. The tracklist was updated to include all of their UK singles released between 1981 and 1988 on disc one and a selection of remixes from the same period on disc two. The cover art from the original release was reused, however, the booklet was updated to include some additional pictures of the group in 2017 along with new liner notes for the additional tracks. [10]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Venus" | Robbie van Leeuwen | Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:40 |
2. | "I Heard a Rumour" |
| Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:25 |
3. | "Love in the First Degree" |
| Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:33 |
4. | "I Can't Help It" |
| Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:32 |
5. | "I Want You Back" |
| Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:47 |
6. | "Love, Truth and Honesty" |
| Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:25 |
7. | "Nathan Jones" | Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:20 | |
8. | "Really Saying Something" (with Fun Boy Three) |
| 2:45 | |
9. | "Shy Boy" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:16 |
10. | "Robert De Niro's Waiting" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:43 |
11. | "Cruel Summer" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:35 |
12. | "It Ain't What You Do" (with Fun Boy Three) |
| 2:54 | |
13. | "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:30 |
14. | "Rough Justice" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:38 |
15. | "Trick of the Night" |
| Jolley & Swain | 4:08 |
16. | "Aie a Mwana" |
| 3:38 | |
17. | "More Than Physical" |
| Stock Aitken Waterman | 3:43 |
18. | "Do Not Disturb" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:25 |
19. | "Hot Line to Heaven" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:54 |
20. | "The Wild Life" |
| Jolley & Swain | 3:17 |
21. | "Cheers Then" |
| Barry Blue | 3:30 |
No. | Title | Producers [12] | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Really Saying Something" (U.S. Extended Version, with Fun Boy Three) |
| 7:57 |
2. | "Shy Boy" (U.S. Extended Version) |
| 7:20 |
3. | "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" (Extended Version) | Jolley & Swain | 4:51 |
4. | "Robert De Niro's Waiting" (Extended Version) | Jolley & Swain | 5:42 |
5. | "Venus" (12" Hellfire Mix) |
| 9:18 |
6. | "More Than Physical" (Garage Mix) | Stock Aitken Waterman | 8:46 |
7. | "I Heard a Rumour" (Miami Mix) |
| 7:13 |
8. | "Love in the First Degree" (Eurobeat Style) |
| 7:18 |
9. | "I Can't Help It" (The Hammond Version Excursion) |
| 6:33 |
10. | "Nathan Jones" (Psycho Mix) |
| 6:23 |
11. | "Cruel Summer '89" (Swing Beat Dub) |
| 5:17 |
Bananarama
Musicians
Additional Personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end chart
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [32] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [33] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [34] | Platinum | 57,087 [34] |
France (SNEP) [35] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [36] | Platinum | 20,000* |
Italy sales 1988–1989 | — | 100,000 [37] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [38] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [39] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [40] | 3× Platinum | 900,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [41] video | Gold | 50,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Bananarama are an English pop 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 32 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).
Jacquie O'Sullivan is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group Bananarama from 1988 until 1991, replacing Siobhan Fahey, who left in early 1988. The line-up with O'Sullivan had UK top five hits with "I Want You Back" (1988) and a cover of The Beatles' "Help!" (1989), recorded with comedy duo French and Saunders for the charity Comic Relief. In 1989, O'Sullivan joined the group on their first world tour. Prior to Bananarama, O'Sullivan was the lead singer of the band Shillelagh Sisters.
"Cruel Summer" is a song by English girl group Bananarama. It was written by Bananarama and Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, and produced by Jolley and Swain. Released in 1983, it was initially a stand-alone single but was subsequently included on their self-titled second album a year later. The song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1983 and the group appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops that summer, and after its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid, it reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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. The album reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart and number 44 on the US Billboard 200, while peaking at number one in Australia. The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 3 February 1988.
"Nathan Jones" is a song by American girl group the Supremes from their twenty-third studio album, Touch (1971). It was released on April 15, 1971, as the album's lead single. Produced by Frank Wilson and written by Kathy Wakefield and Leonard Caston, "Nathan Jones" was one of eight top-40 entries the Supremes recorded after its original frontwoman, Diana Ross, left the group for a solo career.
The Essentials is one of several greatest hits collections by Bananarama. This compilation was only released in the US by Rhino Records' Essentials series. Within the same year, WEA issued The Very Best of Bananarama to mark the group's twentieth anniversary.
The Very Best of Bananarama is a greatest hits album by English group Bananarama, released on 15 October 2001 by Warner Strategic Marketing and London Records. It was released to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary, including their singles released from 1981 to 1993. The album reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart.
Really Saying Something: The Platinum Collection is one of several greatest hits collections by British girl group Bananarama, released in 2005. It was the second hits package released by Warner Music Group, the parent company of Bananarama's label London Records.
English group Bananarama have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, 16 compilation albums, two extended plays, 51 singles and four video albums.
"'Tain't What You Do " is a song written by jazz musicians Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, Harry James, and Ella Fitzgerald, and again the same year by Nat Gonella and His Georgians. The "shim sham" is often danced to the Lunceford recording of this song.
"Love in the First Degree" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, Wow! (1987). It was released on 21 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. It achieved major success in the UK and Australia, and also peaked within the top 20 in many European countries, but, unlike "I Heard a Rumour", it reached only the lower end of the top 50 in the US.
"I Can't Help It" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, Wow! (1987). It was released on 28 December 1987 as the album's third single, except in the United States, where it was the second single, and Australia, where it served as the fourth single. The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio. The single peaked at number 20 in the UK singles chart, number 27 on the Australian ARIA chart, and number 47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"Love, Truth and Honesty" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits Collection (1988). Co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio, the song was released on 12 September 1988 by London Records as the album's lead single. It achieved a moderate success, peaking out of the top 20 in the majority of countries where it was released. The music video was produced by Big TV!.
The Greatest Remixes Collection is a compilation of Bananarama remixes released exclusively in Southeast Asia in 1990. At the time of the release, the only mix that had not been issued on CD was the Miami Mix of "I Heard a Rumour", although none of the mixes had ever been compiled on a Bananarama album. Subsequently some of the mixes have been available on easier to find Bananarama albums, such as The Very Best of Bananarama double CD or The Twelve Inches of Bananarama.
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.
Stock Aitken Waterman Gold is a compilation album released in 2005 by Sony BMG, PWL Records and EBUL.
The Greatest Hits Collection is a Bananarama videos compilation released by London Records in 1988, as a companion video to their Greatest Hits album. The video differs slightly from the album—"More Than Physical" is not included on the album; the video to "Love in the First Degree" includes group live performance from 1988 BRIT awards ; and "Mr. Sleaze" is actually the B-side to "Love in the First Degree", and the video includes images from old Bananarama videos, while both songs and videos for either "I Want You Back" and "Love, Truth & Honesty" feature new member Jacquie O'Sullivan. The video for "Nathan Jones" was not included at the time of release.
Sara Elizabeth Dallin is an English singer/songwriter 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.
30 Years of Bananarama is a CD/DVD retrospective of British girl group Bananarama's musical career from 1981 through 2009. This compilation album was issued by Rhino Records on 9 July 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the group. The album entered the UK album chart on 16 July at number 62.