Bananarama are a female vocal group founded in London in 1979. The group originally consisted of three members Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey, married to Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, left the group in 1988 and would later resurface as part of the pop duo Shakespears Sister. She was replaced by new member Jacquie O'Sullivan.
The original trio had their first two hits in 1982 together with male trio Fun Boy Three, firstly with It Ain't What You Do.. followed-up by Really Saying Something. Their first hit as a stand-alone group, Shy Boy, followed the same year with more hits coming in 1983 and 1984. Their career was revived somewhat in 1986 with the Top 10 cover version of Venus, a remake of Shocking Blue's song from 1969, produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman. A Greatest Hits collection effectively closed the first part of the trio's career in 1988. The new formation with O'Sullivan was less successful although the chart hits continued in the 1990s, when Bananarama were also reduced to a duo with just Dallin and Woodward.
Their latest album In Stereo was released in 2019.
Top of the Pops appearances[]
- all studio appearances unless otherwise stated.
- video links given next to dates where available
| Year | Date | Song | Chart pos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 11 February 1982 | It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It (with Fun Boy Three) | 43 | debut |
| 25 February 1982 | 9 | |||
| 11 March 1982 | 4 | (video)
highest chart position | ||
| 22 April 1982 | Really Saying Something (with Fun Boy Three) | 17 | ||
| 6 May 1982 | 5 | highest chart position | ||
| 08 July 1982 | Shy Boy | 20 | ||
| 22 July 1982 | 4 | highest chart position | ||
| 30 December 1982 | It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That You Do It (with Fun Boy Three) | - | end of year edition | |
| 1983 | 03 March 1983 | Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye | 21 | |
| 17 March 1983 | 5 | highest chart position | ||
| 14 July 1983 [1] | Cruel Summer | 21 | chart entry | |
| 28 July 1983 | 10 | reached no.8 peak the week after | ||
| 1984 | 08 March 1984 [2] | Robert de Niro's Waiting | 38 | |
| 22 March 1984 | 8 | video | ||
| 07 July 1984 | Rough Justice | 29 | single reached peak of 23 the week after | |
| 27 December 1984 [3] | Robert de Niro's Waiting | - | TOTP Review of 1984 | |
| 1985 | 29 August 1985 | Do Not Disturb | 40 | featured as 'breaker' |
| 12 September 1985 | 31 | as 'play-out' over credits/dancing - peak position | ||
| 1986 | 19 June 1986 | Venus | 22 | as 'breaker' (third week in Top 40) |
| 26 June 1986 [4] | 15 | |||
| 10 July 1986 | 8 | video over closing credits - peak position, held for one more week after | ||
| 1987 | 16 July 1987 [5] | I Heard a Rumour | 28 | new entry |
| 30 July 1987 | 14 | video | ||
| 15 October 1987 | Love In The First Degree | 22 | as 'breaker' (new entry). | |
| 22 October 1987 | 5 | video over closing credits; reached peak no.3 week after | ||
| 1988 | 21 January 1988 | I Can't Help It | 20 | as 'breaker'; peak position |
| 14 April 1988 [6] | I Want You Back | 14 | Jacquie O'Sullivan debut. | |
| 28 April 1988 | 5 | peak position, held for one more week after. | ||
| 29 September 1988 [7] | Love, Truth & Honesty | 28 | ||
| 13 October 1988 | 23 | peak position | ||
| 24 November 1988 [8] | Nathan Jones | 20 | ||
| 08 December 1988 | 15 | peak position | ||
| 1989 | 23 February 1989 | Help! (with Lananeeneenoonoo) | 12 | video over credits. |
| 09 March 1989 | 3 | peak position, maintained for more week after. | ||
| 08 June 1989 | Cruel Summer ‘89 | 33 | video over credits. | |
| 1990 | 26 July 1990 | Only Your Love | 33 | video as 'breaker' |
| 1991 | 10 January 1991 [9] | Preacher Man | 29 | reached peak of no.20 the week after. |
| 25 April 1991 | Long Train Running | 30 | video as 'breaker'; maintained position for one more week | |
| 1992 | 03 September 1992 [10] | Movin' On | 24 | peak position; debut as Dallin/Woodward duo |
| 1993 | 25 March 1993 | More More More | 24 | video (as breaker); peak position. |
| 1994 | 04 January 1994 | Robert de Niro's Waiting | - | Brief clip of 27-12-84 performance on TOTP 30th anniversary show |
| 2005 | 17 July 2005 [11] | Move in My Direction | NEW | failed to chart. Final TOTP appearance. |
Smash Hits[]
- 08 August 1990 - front cover, full colour feature with poster "It's hard not to be grumpy-.." (Keren, Sarah, Jacqui) [12]
Scrapbook[]
