Bananarama “Love in the First Degree” 1987. 12″ single. Unaware of its release date, I fortuitously scheduled a happy hour meetup last night on its 39th anniversary (September 21st 1987) with a friend that Joe and I have affectionately nicknamed “Bananarama Brian” (his favorite band is, obviously, Bananarama; he’s even flown across the country to see them in concert multiple times). So in the spirit of fun chats, bubbly wine and snacks, I’m spinning the second single from the new wave/synthy dance pop band’s fourth album, Wow! (“Love in the First Degree” was released in 1988 in the US for some reason). It went #3 in the UK and to #48 in the US. Compared to some of their earlier hits, it’s pretty bland late 80’s dance pop: very formulaic for the time though clearly the dance clubs loved it (#2 UK dance chart, #10 US dance and top 10 in many other countries). The song was nominated for British Single of the Year but lost to the ear worm of the decade: Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The 12″ has three versions of the track: the “Eurobeast Style” mix, the 7″ single mix and the “Jailer’s Mix.” Much more fun and interesting is the track that isn’t a version of the single: “Ecstasy (Wild Style)” is a funky synthpop almost-instrumental (there are virtually no vocals).