IC NEWCASTLE INTERVIEW

Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward stunned fans at Tiger Tiger in the latest Exclusive and Intimate series of gigs by Tyneside radio station Century FM. Such was the demand to see the "Nans", extra security had to be brought in at the bar.

The show was to promote their forthcoming single, Move In My Direction, and was the duo's first outing on the comeback trail. "It feels like we're starting all over again," says Dallin as we chat in the Loft area of Tiger Tiger minutes before the show. "It's exciting, though perhaps we're a little nervous too. But you know Bananarama, we just get up there and do it. What you see is what you get."

The new single has echoes of Bananarama of old, and is already No 1 in the club charts a month before its official release. "We felt the time was right to do this," adds Woodward. "It would not have worked in the late 90s for us, with the whole Britpop thing. "The scene is ripe for us now, so we're just going to go for it."

The pair, who along with Siobhan Fahey (she left in 1987), were Britain's most successful girl group until the advent of the Spice Girls, hardly look a day older than when they were constantly hitting the upper regions of the charts.

And they are personable too - in opposition to their diva reputations. "I think people thought we were moody simply because we stood up for ourselves," says Dallin.
"We had very strong opinions on what we were doing and we didn't want to be moulded by other people. I think that came across too."

The duo have high hopes the single and resulting album will do well both here and abroad. "Even though we haven't had a hit here for years, we had two successful albums abroad," says Woodward. "We've not been doing nothing."

In their heyday they had a string of hits, including Shy Boy, Really Saying Something, I Want You Back, Venus, I Heard A Rumour, Cruel Summer, Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) and Love In The First Degree, as well as top-selling albums like Deep Sea Skiving and Wow!.

As the girls prepared to take to the stage, fans of all ages poured into the bar. It was a camp, clubby, classic show from the off. They performed five songs, two new and three old, starting with I Heard A Rumour, with the audience joining in the dance moves. Robert De Niro's Waiting sounded as fresh as in 1984, while Venus was the undoubted highlight.
The girls appeared to relish being back on the stage again. Missing, though, was Love In The First Degree. "That's always our gay fans' favourite," says Woodward. "But we have left it out tonight as we haven't re-mastered the moves! How lazy are we!?"

And will they be coming back to Newcastle? "We'd love to tour if it all goes well. So, hopefully, yes," says Dallin. "We haven't toured since 1989 - a definite highlight of our career, as was John Peel championing It Ain't What You Do. Though I doubt he ever played a Bananarama record again!"