Bananarama "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"

by Mark Nobes, chief editor

Bananarama's cover of the hit single by Steam, reached a higher chart position than the original song, although spent less time in the official UK singles chart. The original version by Steam reached No.9 during 1970, and spent 14 weeks inside the chart. The band did not officially exist, and the track was recorded by Paul Leka with studio musicians Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer. The song was actually an unfinished track that they had penned together while in the band The Chateaus, during 1961. 
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - Bananarama (1983) 7 inch vinyl

Chart Performance

Bananarama's version entered the UK singles chart at No.40 on 20th Feb 1983, reaching a peak position of No.5 on 13th March for one week. It had stiff competition from three real 80s classics. Bonnie Tyler was at No.1 with "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Eurythmics were at No.2 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", and Michael Jackson was at No.3 with "Billie Jean".
The single reached No.4 in Ireland, but was not a major hit in the U.S., reaching only No.101 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track was released as the fifth and final single from Bananarama's debut studio album Deep Sea Skiving.

The B-side

The B-side featured a new track "Tell Tale Signs" (2:58) which was later included on the 2007 re-released of Deep Sea Skiving, but did not appear on the original release.
UK 12" vinyl single
"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (Extended Version) 4:52
"Na Na Hey Hey Na (Dub) Hey" 4:12
"Tell Tale Signs" (Extended Version) 4:46

The Video

The video opens with the three girls (Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward and Siobhan Fahey) playing hopscotch in a school playground - the trio are wearing check shirts and braces. However, they are forced to move on by a group of lads who want to play football. In the next scene, they decide to toughen up by joining a boxing club. They can be seen skipping and also boxing with the the male members.
With their new tough image, they leave the club wearing leather jackets and approach the three lads, who are stood chatting by their bikes in the school playground. Feeling intimidated (the cowards!), they run off, leaving the girls free to jump on the motorcycles and ride off.

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