Bananarama

_Photo credit: Flashbak._

Things have been quiet from the original threesome since their 1988 BRIT Award performance. Despite never officially separating, the group’s entity has been fractured by departures and arrivals. But in April 2017, original members, Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward and Siobhan Fahey, announced their reformation for a brand new UK tour, and it seems that the spark is still alive.

Bananarama’s success is rooted in the 80s; a time of big hair, hooped earrings and statement lips which defined the decade, all to a dance pop new wave soundtrack. They achieved international success and their first three albums (Deep Sea Skiving, Bananarama and True Confessional) escalated their image to a global phenomenon. With their compelling message of liberalism, the band played a major role in defining the female voice during the 1980s. In 1987, the band released their fourth album WOW! which made the top 40 in the UK charts and included high climbing individual singles such as I Heard a Rumour and Love in the First Degree. The release of the album also saw the departure of Fahey, following disputes within the group. She was shortly replaced by Jacquie O’Sullivan’s for a three year stint with the band. After her departure, Woodward and Dallin continued as a duo throughout the nineties.

Verging on thirty years later, the original trio are back. The band announced their reunion on twitter and sparked a frenzy of excitement for all those whose inner Venus was in need of a cathartic dance release. With the promise of new material on its way, Bananarama’s sound of the 80s, natural feminism and striking look are exactly what’s required to dance away the winter blues.

For a group who helped to broadcast female empowerment and gay rights, their return has been met with open arms. The UK tour is selling fast, with many major venues already sold out. They’ll be performing to a sold-out Colston Hall in Bristol, at the end of November, and it promises to be an unmissable night of unashamed pop underpinned by a stark sentiment of empowerment. It’s good to see them back.