#AtoZChallenge B is for Bananarama

It's time again for the A to Z challenge. The challenge is to write posts 6 days a week (Monday through Saturday) during the month of April.  I've chosen the theme of Women in Music for this years challenge.


Bananarama are an English female pop music vocal group formed in London in 1979 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Their success on both pop and dance charts have earned the group a listing in The Guinness Book of World Records as the all-female group with the most chart entries in the world, a record which they still hold.

They released their debut single "Aie a Mwana" in 1981. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 28 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK singles chart. Their 10 UK Top 10 hits include "It Ain't What You Do..." (1982), "Really Saying Something" (1982), "Shy Boy" (1982), "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (1983), "Cruel Summer" (1983), "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (1984) and "Love in the First Degree" (1987). In 1986, they had a US number one with another of their UK Top 10 hits, "Venus". In total, they had 11 singles reach the US Billboard Hot 100 (1982-1988), including two more in the top 10, with "Cruel Summer" (1984) and "I Heard a Rumour" (1987). They are associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US. In 1988, "Love in the First Degree" earned them a Brit Award nomination for Best British Single, while their fourth album Wow! (1987), topped the Australian ARIA albums chart.

Following Fahey's departure from the group in 1988, Jacquie O'Sullivan joined the group for three years and they had UK Top 10 hits with "I Want You Back" (1988) and "Help!" (1989). In addition to their chart success, the band is also known for their vocal style, generally singing in unison rather than in harmony like most vocal groups. Since 1992, Woodward and Dallin have continued Bananarama as a duo, with hits including "Movin' On" (1992) and "More, More, More" (1993). In 2005, they had their first UK Top 40 hits in 12 years, with the singles "Move in My Direction" and "Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)".

"Love in the First Degree" is Bananarama's biggest-selling single in their native UK. It holds a three-way tie for their highest UK singles chart placing (number three). The single also became a top-ten success in Australia and earned a top-twenty placing in New Zealand. In the United States the song just missed the top-forty, but was a top-ten club hit. The B-side was Mr. Sleaze in which Bananarama member Sara Dallin not only sang on that track but also played bass guitar like she did on "Love in the First Degree".

As one of their final performances with Fahey, the group performed the song at the 1988 BRIT Awards with a large entourage of male dancers dressed only in black bikini briefs. The song was nominated for best British single at the BRIT Awards, but lost to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", also produced by Stock Aitken Waterman.

By the time "Love in the First Degree" was released in the United States, Fahey had already announced her departure from Bananarama.

https://youtu.be/Iiy5HO4VKEA

What does tomorrow bring?

2016 A to Z challenge!

Who will represent the letter C?

Cher?

Nenah Cherry?

Mary Chapin Carpenter?

Cyndi Lauper? 

And while I have your attention...
Do you like to read books? 
Take a look at my new site featuring books!
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