The blonde or the brunette?
By Mandy Carter

The other responses can be stereotyped as: guys) they're fit; girls) ooo - I loved Bananarama and gays) ooo - I love Bananarama! An ebay related search term for 'Bananarama' is 'men's leather trousers', so it is not surprising to find that Bananarama have a huge gay following, recently playing to a packed out G.A.Y. audience.

We' re here to chat about the new single - Bananarama are back in the charts with Move In My Direction. Still, I am sure a few sneaky questions about Robert De Niro and Band Aid can be thrown into the mix. Keren laughs as she puts down her lunch. "Sure - any questions I don't like I can always tell you to bugger off!" Ha ha I laugh uncertainly, mentally reviewing my questions for any with 'bugger off' appeal. I think I am safe. I think she is joking. Actually it's doubtful whether she would tell me to bugger off really. She comes across ready to talk about anything, even indulging me in the same old stories she must have repeated so many times. I can't resist- is Robert De Niro still waiting? "Sadly not" she says with a smile. "We only saw him once. We were really young and really shy and out of our depth. I mean now, I can handle anyone but at the time I was so nervous that I can't remember anything about the evening really. Should have taken one of those" (she points at my dictaphone)."

So why now for a new single? 80s bands are now completely cool - generation x has grown up, got horrified at the mortgage and now wants to feel young again. It could be risky business stepping back into today's charts, but Bananarama haven't been that far away. Chances are we have listened to one of their songs without knowing it, as they have written for other artists, although not yet as successfully as Cathy Dennis. But as for themselves…

"By the mid to late 90s we couldn't get a UK deal. But then we met some guy who told some guy - you know how it goes, and then here we are!"
'We met some guy who told some guy' - this totally sums up Bananarama. Two best mates from Bristol, Keren and Sara worked in London clubs as coatroom attendants, where they hung out with The Sex Pistols who eventually got their demo to the bloke from The Specials. See - 'met some guy who told some guy' - perfect for then, perfect for now.

They co wrote most of their hits apart from the obvious covers; Keren's particular favourite is I Heard A Rumour for the 'sparkling, happy' intro, as well as it was the first time they brought in dancers, or rather, gay mates who could throw a few shapes.
"We started using gay friends doing butch moves in the background, dressed in tight tops and cycling shorts and we had the best time. To be honest you can take it seriously but there is no point doing anything if you are not having fun. I would hate to do this on my own - we have new boys in the band now and they are very cool. God I sound like a letch."

The high point for Keren was the 1989 world tour. They hired a large bus and packed in as many friends as they could. "It was like being in a rock and roll group! Most artists send the crew on the bus and then they fly but we were like 'not having any of that' - we all went on the bus. We want to do it again actually, if there is one thing I really want to do with this album is to do at least one more proper tour with a band and a full on tour before I stop. And get old."

That couldn't possibly happen - Keren looks great, spookily great in fact. You only have to see them in the video to Move In My Direction - all bodices and cashmere dresses in the Vegas sunshine. Fun? I ask. Hot she replies. Yup, cashmere not the obvious choice in the heat, but it looks very good.

The new single has taken a somewhat unexpected electro turn, but they still sound like the Bananarama their fans know and love. How do you feel? "We are really quite chuffed that we have been given the opportunity to do it. It's the best chance we have had in years and we think we have made a good album so we'll have to see what happens."

We debate the difference between charts then and charts now.
"You don't have to sell anything now do you? Its quite shocking as we have discs for selling a certain amount of singles and getting in the top five - now that would be a number one single. It used to be you'd release a single and it would go top 30 and then after six weeks you'd be in the top five and now its like bang: you release a single and you're straight in number one and then you're gone!"

I feel safe enough now to ask a few questions without getting the dreaded 'bugger off' thrown at me. So - Siobhan or Jacqui?
"I'd go for Siobhan. At the end of the day Siobhan was there when we started it all and you never going to lose what we had. We didn't know Jacqui as well and it's never really going to work walking in and taking someone's place like that. And if there was me and her in an interview, they would direct all the questions to me and then ask her 'so what's it like being the new girl' and that's just not fun for her and us."

And Band Aid? Were you guys really sulking in the video?
"Sulking? No - hung over! We felt incredibly unglamorous. I try and forget what I looked like. I remember thinking when we started singing together 'how loud is Bono's voice?' It was frightening when we all started to sing, but in the end they were asking can the girls keep it down a bit so I guess we did alright."

From singing around a tape recorder in Bristol, Keren and Sara have done more than all right. "I feel very privileged to make my living from travelling the world with my best friend."


And for those of you that don't know, Keren is the brunette.