bananarama Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Bananarama “Venus”

sfilzen — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 21:42:31 +0000

Bananarama “Venus” 1986. 12″ single, London Records. A smash dance pop/new wave hit, going to #1 in the US and a bunch of other countries, “Venus” is a cover of Shocking Blue’s 1969 groovy psychedelic #1 hit. Bananarama reworked the song into a dance track and included it on their LP True Confessions. I adored “Venus” in ’86 and imitated the wavy/flamey-arm thing the Bananarama women do on the dance floor (I still do!).

The 12″ single version we have (there are several out there) has four remixes of the single, which weirdly does not appear on the record. “Venus (The Hellfire Mix)” is pretty similar to the single, maybe just a bit more sparse in instrumentation and amplified percussion. “Venus (Fire & Brimstone Mix)” simply bleeds 80’s over-the-top production with big echoey and twanging basslines and synth work, stamping 1986 permanently into the record’s grooves. The only thing missing is a saxophone solo. “Venus (Extended Version)” is longer, obviously, with extra vocal samples and extended hooks giving it a hi-NRG vibe, perfect for the dance club. Finally, “Venus (Dub Version)” is the longest of the bunch, clocking in at over eight hypnotic, repetitive minutes.

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Bananarama “Bananarama”

sfilzen — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:41:27 +0000

Bananarama “Bananarama” 1984. Today, April 2nd, is singer/songwriter/co-founder Keren Woodward’s 60th birthday (b. 1961). The band’s second self-titled album went to #16 in the UK and to #30 in the US. I loved the hit single “Cruel Summer” when it came out in the US in the summer of ‘84 (they released it in the UK in ‘83 where it went to #8; it charted at #9 in the US) and still do – such a great mid-tempo strolling new wave summer jam. I guess it was in the movie Karate Kid (though not included on the soundtrack) but while I did see that movie it never made that much of an impression. I mainly heard it on the radio and saw the video on MTV. Bananarama released four other singles from the LP: “Robert De Niro’s Waiting…” (#3 UK, #95 US), “Rough Justice” (#23 UK; it was not released in the US), “Hot Line to Heaven“ (#58 UK; the single version about half the length of the album version), and “The Wild Life” (#70 US). “The Wild Life” was not on the original Bananarama album release and is not on the version we have. It was included on some re-releases of the LP after its inclusion on The Wild Life movie soundtrack (1984). Later re-releases dropped the track and reverted back to the album’s original track sequence.

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Bananarama “Venus”

sfilzen — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 16:09:55 +0000

Bananarama “Venus” b/w “White Train” 1986. London Records. 45rpm. “Venus” was #1 on the Billboard charts this week back in ‘86 and also topped the charts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Mexico, and South Africa but only reached #8 in the British group’s home country. The single appears on the band’s third album “True Confessions.”

Bananarama’s cover of the 1969 song, written by Robbie van Leeuwen, first charted in 1970 when the Dutch band Shocking Blue took the song to number one. You can hear that version here with a slower tempo and a 60′s jangly-psychedelic-guitar sound. I, of course, love the 80′s version, all dancey and new-wavey, and I still like to do the “Venus” arm-dancing moves I mastered from watching Bananarama’s version, which was played incessently on MTV during the late summer/early fall of ‘86.

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Bananarama “Deep Sea Skiving”

sfilzen — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:30:38 +0000

Bananarama “Deep Sea Skiving” 1983. Polygram Records. Today July 20th is Paul Cook’s birthday (b. 1956), best known as the drummer for the Sex Pistols. What does this have to do with Bananarama? He helped discover the new wave girl group, helping to record their debut single, “Aie a Mwana” and produced their debut LP “Deep Sea Skiving” which reached #7 on the UK charts. That single does not appear on the US release of the album (which this copy is).

It’s classic girl-group music, updated to reflect the sound of the 80′s, bop-bop-shoobie-do-wah’s with bright beats and keyboards. Bananarama cover the Marvelettes’ on “He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’” as well as Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” in the video band members rock the fashion trend of patterned shirts with suspenders for women (which I heartily embraced at the time and luckily have documented with my 9th grade class photo).

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