BANANARAMA - SONGS FROM THE 80S
By Mark Nobes, chief editor
This page is dedicated to the British girl group Bananarama, who are best remembered for their eighties hits which included "Love in the First Degree", "Venus", "Robert De Niro's Waiting", "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and their early hits with Fun Boy Three, of course. In fact, the girls notched up a total of ten Top 10 hits during the 1980s.
The video playlist above features all of the the girls' chart hits from their Greatest Hits collection, so please enjoy!

1. It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Do It (with Fun Boy Three) #4
2. Really Saying Something (with Fun Boy Three) #5
3. Shy Boy #4
4. Cheers Then #45
5. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye #5
6. Cruel Summer #8
7. Robert De Niro's Waiting #3
8. Rough Justice #23
9. Hotline To Heaven #58
10. Do Not Disturb #31
11. Venus #8
12. More Than Physical #41
13. A Trick Of The Night #32
14. I Hear A Rumour #14
15. Love In The First Degree #3
16. I Can't Help It #20
17. I Want You Back #5
18. Love, Truth And Honesty #23
19. Nathan Jones #15
20. Help! (with French & Saunders for Comic Relief) #3
Released on 28th January 1983, Deep Sea Skiving was the girls debut album, reaching #7 in the UK and achieving Silver. The CD reissue includes an extra disc containing 16 bonus tracks.
"IT AIN'T WHAT YOU DO IT'S THE WAY THAT YOU DO IT" WITH FUN BOY THREE
It Ain't What You Do... reached #4 in 1982 and was the second single from the Fun Boy Three's self-titled debut album. The next single release, Really Saying Something, was also with Fun Boy Three but featured on Bananarama's album Deep Sea Skiving.
Fun Boy Three released two albums, the self-titled Fun Boy Three which reached #7 in the UK album charts and Waiting which reached #14. They also had seven Top 20 singles during the early 80s, between 1981 and 1983.

THE FUN BOY THREE WITH BANANARAMA "REALLY SAYING SOMETHING"
"SHY BOY"
However, the working title was Big Red Motorbike, but this was changed (as were the lyrics) before being recorded. The official video was directed by Chris Cross and Midge Ure who was still in Ultravox at the time.

"NA NA HEY HEY KISS HIM GOODBYE"
The song was originally a chart-topper for two weeks in the U.S. during December 1969 for a fictional band called Steam. This was actually by a band called The Chateaus who had already disbanded, but they thought the song was so bad that they didn't want to be identified on the record!


"ROBERT DE NIRO'S WAITING" (1984)

"HOTLINE TO HEAVEN"
Hotline To Heaven was written by the both the producers Steve Jolley and Tony Swain, and the three girls Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. The song was a UK only release but only managed to reach #58 in the singles chart. As a pop song I really like it, although it doesn't have such a memorable chorus as their bigger hits, and the lyrics are actually quite dark when you listen to them properly. But compared to some of today's nonsense in the charts, it sounds positively brilliant!
Released on 19th October 1984, the song features on the trio's second self-titled studio album. The biggest hit single from the album was Robert De Niro's Waiting.
"VENUS"
Venus was one of the more memorable songs from the eighties and one of Bananarama's best releases, in my opinion. I wasn't a huge fan of the trio, but this I liked.
This
was originally a 1969 song by the dutch band Shocking Blue, and was
number one in the U.S. and five countries across Europe in 1970.
In
the 80s, it was Bananarama's turn to cover the song and it returned to
number one in the U.S. and topped the charts in six other countries
around the world in 1986. Venus was the girls biggest hit from their
third album True Confessions, and their first top five hit single since Robert De Niro's Waiting in 1984.
However, Bananarama's rollercoaster ride in the charts continued as the next single release from the album More Than Physical just failed to break the UK Top 40, stalling at #41.


"TRUE CONFESSIONS"
"I WANT YOU BACK" (1988)
The single version (above) was specially remixed and re-recorded by the other two band members (Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward) to include Jacquie, with Keren playing bass guitar.


NATHAN JONES (SINGLE)

Smash Hits April 1982