KEREN TALKS TO BLUEYONDER.CO.UK

When the Spice Girls were just a twinkle in the eye, and none of members of Girls Aloud had even been conceived, another girl band dominated the UK charts. Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward and Siobhan Fahey were Bananarama. They ruled the airwaves and sold millions of records.
They were three young women, who knew their own minds, did their own hair and make-up, and wore their own clothes. Badly. But we loved them nonetheless. Girls wanted to be them and the boys wanted to bed them. We've all sung along to their songs with a hair brush in front of the mirror. No? Just me then. Cruel Summer, Venus, Robert De Niro's Waiting are all pop classics, amongst their impressive catalogue of hits.

But then they disappeared. So what happened? Siobhan married Dave Stewart and left the band, the 90s came and pop was out and brit-pop was in, babies followed, and they struggled to get a record deal in the UK. Now, Sara and Keren have been given a new lease of life with the release of their first single in a number of years. Move In My Direction is a slice of electro-pop which can more than hold its own in the charts, and is the debut track from their forthcoming album.

blueyonder caught up with Keren (Sara was ill) and talked about their return to the business, why you'd never catch her topless, and why she's a fan of Charlotte Church.

So why have you decided to come back now?
Well, we took a break from it all and then we wanted to return we couldn't. No-one would give us a record deal. We couldn't get an album out here. The 90s came and it all got a bit northern and baggy. Pop wasn't cool. Even when we weren't in the public eye we still did some work -- we wrote some tracks for Steps. Sara wrote a track and I thought `you can't give that away' lets do it ourselves. One thing led to another and it was a case of right place, right time.

What have you noticed has changed the most about the industry?
The recording process has changed massively and the whole downloading ringtones thing is bizarre. Also the fact that people like Rachel Stevens or Girls Aloud don't put out any records outside of the UK is amazing. We would never have dreamed of putting out a song that was only for one country.

So have you just got back into the swing of things then?
Well yeah, really. It's a lot easier now. Everyone's been really welcoming and the response to the single has been good. I don't get even get that nervous. There's only been the odd time when we've performed in front of screaming teenage girls and thought `they don't know who I am'. It's funny because Sara's daughter Alice has been travelling with us recently and she was quite small when the Spice Girls were out - she keeps saying `mum were you really as famous as them' she can't believe it.

Were you ever tempted to do those recent 80s comeback tours?
We got a lot of phone calls but we said no. It's great for making money and great fun but it is kinda saying that's it. We have new material and so it didn't seem the right way to move forward.

What do you think of the girls band that proceeded you?
Well the Spice Girls were international - they were put together and more or less a money making machine. The Sugababes were friends before they were a band and I can relate to that. It seems that these days everyone is media trained -- we were never like that. We said what we liked, didn't have a stylist and did our own thing. I really like Charlotte Church -- I think she's great. She was on a road show we were doing and I heard her warming up her voice. She sounded amazing. I saw her a bit later on and she had a beer and a fag and I thought -- good girl.

Did you ever play the media game?
Of course we did! I wouldn't do that now. I would be the last person to phone up a photographer and say `I'm on the beach and I'm going to be topless today, bending over do you want a photograph of me'.

Are you still in touch with Siobhan?
At the time, I would be lying if I said there wasn't animosity between us. Sara and I had been friends since we were four and I think she found that hard to deal with. We didn't feel like we were excluding her in any shape or form but she obviously felt that way. I felt we parted because of musical differences -- we were comfortable with that fabulous Stock, Aitken and Waterman pop stuff and she didn't. She wanted to be cool. We were never ashamed to be pop.

And what about your contemporaries of the time?
I'm still in touch with Pet Shop Boys and George Michael. Obviously, because of my husband Andrew (Ridgely of Wham!).

Would he ever come back?
NO. Absolutely not. He's happy living the life of riley with no ambition to return.

What can we expect from the album?
It's melodic pop which ranges from trance, electro and dance. It's a mixed bag really. I think you'll like it.