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Throwback Threesome – Bananarama

By Phil Harris
Bananarama (Keren Woodward, Siobhan Fahey and Sara Dallin) pictured outside SARM Studios in Notting Hill, London, during the recording of the Band Aid single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', part of the Feed The World campaign, raising money for famine-stricken Ethiopia, on November 25, 1984. (Photo by Larry Ellis/Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

Bananarama was formed in 1980 by Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. The three friends were fans of London’s punk rock scene, but they would go on to spin pop gold.

After enjoying some initial success in their native U.K., Bananarama finally broke through in America with their 1984 self-titled third album. The song that put the trio over the top with U.S. audiences was “Cruel Summer.” In 1986, the group released “Venus,” their lone #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. They had one more top-5 hit with “I Heard a Rumour” in 1987.

  • Cruel Summer (1983)

    This video was shot during the particularly “Cruel Summer” of 1983 in New York City. Despite sweltering temperatures, the girls appeared to enjoy outrunning the NYPD, inexplicably led by a Boss Hogg type. Do British people think “The Dukes of Hazzard” took place in Manhattan?

  • Venus (1986)

    The video for “Venus” marked a shift from Bananarama’s tomboy image to a more glamorous look. Dallin, Fahey, and Woodward appear in a variety of costumes, including a she-devil, a vampire, and several Greek goddesses. It received extensive play on MTV and video channels around the world.

  • I Heard a Rumour (1987)

    The elaborate costume changes continued in “I Heard a Rumour” with the trio dressing up as a cowgirl, can-can girls, and Carmen Miranda. The video even pays tribute to Hollywood’s golden age with some classic Busby Berkeley-style choreography.

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