The most successful British girl group in pop history,
Bananarama formed in London in late 1981. Drawing equal inspiration for their name from the children's television program The Banana Splits and the
Roxy Music song "Pyjamarama," the trio was comprised of lifelong friends
Keren Woodward and
Sarah Dallin along with
Siobhan Fahey, whom
Dallin befriended at the London College of Fashion. After getting their start singing at friends' parties and at nightclubs (where they performed accompanied by backing tapes -- none of the women played her own instrument), they came to the attention of ex-
Sex Pistols drummer
Paul Cook, who produced
Bananarama's first single, a cover of
Black Blood's "A.I.E. (A Mwana)." After the group backed
Fun Boy Three on the single "It Ain't What You Do, It's the Way You Do It,"
the Three returned the favor for 1982's "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'," a cover of the 1965
Velvelettes song that was the first of
Bananarama's 26 U.K. chart smashes.
While their initial hits, including "Shy Boy," "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)," "Cruel Summer" (their first U.S. smash), and a cover of
the Shocking Blue's "Venus," were roundly dismissed as fluffy pop fare, the success of 1984's rape-themed release "Robert DeNiro's Waiting" convinced the group to tackle more serious topics; however, the follow-up single, "Rough Justice" -- a song protesting political tensions in Northern Ireland -- bombed, and the trio's career stalled. In 1986,
Bananarama's fortunes improved considerably when they joined forces with the production team of
Stock, Aitken & Waterman, who produced the album
Wow!; the group's most successful outing to date, it featured "Love in the First Degree" and "I Heard a Rumour," both of which were major hits.
In 1987,
Fahey left the group after marrying
Eurythmics'
Dave Stewart; she later resurfaced as one half of the duo
Shakespear's Sister.
Woodward and
Dallin, meanwhile, enlisted pal
Jacquie O'Sullivan, formerly of
the Shillelagh Sisters, to fill the void. After a long layoff, the revamped group teamed with new producer
Youth to issue the 1991 album
Pop Life, which featured a cover of
the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Running." Shortly after the album's release,
O'Sullivan too exited, and
Woodward and
Dallin forged on as a duo for 1992's
Please Yourself and 1995's
Ultra Violet. After a brief hiatus, the group returned with 2005's Euro-dance-friendly
Drama and 2009's similar
Viva.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi