Bananarama

Childhood friends in Bristol, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward formed Bananarama after meeting Siobhan Fahey while studying fashion journalism together. Heavily influenced by punk, they'd jump up on stage to sing backing vocals with the likes of Department S and Monochrome Set. Signed by Demon Records, their first single "Aie A Mwana" (1981) – a cover of the 1975 Swahili song of the name same by Black Blood – was a minor hit, but their major chart breakthrough came in 1982 singing with Fun Boy Three on their hit "It ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)," who returned the favour to sing on Bananarama's first hit in their own right, "Really Saying Something." It triggered a string of hits through the 1980s - many produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman - and enjoyed an international Number 1 with a cover of Shocking Blue's "Venus." When Siobhan Fahey left in 1988, after marrying Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, she was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan and the hits continued until O'Sullivan's departure in 1992. Dallin and Woodward continued to record sporadically with sales of over 40 million records. As a duo, they went on to release seven more studio albums, including 1993's Please Yourself on London Records, 2009's Viva and Masquerade; Bananarama's 12th album to date, which came out on 22 July 2022 to commemorate their 40th anniversary.

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