NOW INTERVIEW
Readers (and fans) ask the questions.

Which one of your music videos makes you cringe?
Claire, West Midlands
Keren: So many, so many! Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye was the worst. I felt Venus captured the essence of the band best - it was tongue-in-cheek and a bit camp.

What do your kids think about your comeback?
Perrie, London
Sara: My daughter Alice used to say: "You weren't really famous like the Spice Girls, were you?" She's finding out the truth now. I go to parents evenings where the teachers are fans.

Are you still in touch with Siobhan [Fahey] and Jacquie [O'Sullivan]?
Annie, Southampton
Keren: I haven't seen Jacquie for a while. The last I heard she was in Thailand. We still see Siobhan. There was an uncomfortable silence for seven years, but we're friends again now.

I heard that the song Waiting was about a girl who was raped. Is this true?
Paul Mitchell, London
Sara: That was a rumour. The song was about being bored with boys next door and retreating into fantasy - the rape thing has gone into legend.

Which actor would you each go bananas over?
Gina Kyriacou, Coulsdon
Keren: Actors don't do it for me. Robert De Niro rang and asked us out once. We said yes, but we were very shy and had to get slightly drunk before we met him.
Sara: It Joaquin Phoenix for me. The De Niro story seems so unlikely, but it happened. I don't know which of us he fancied!

If you could be a member of any other current band, which would it be?
Corey Simmons, Rotherham
Sara: Linkin Park. I like the mayhem. Most female bands don't do it for me these days.

How have you survived so long when pop bands have such a short shelf life?
Tina Simmons, Hatfield
Keren: It helps if you're close friends - we met at the age of four. But the way the business has gone, everything is so controlled and pre=packaged. I don't think we'd be given the chance now.
Sara: We've stuck together and been lucky to have some great pop songs. You can't go wrong with a good pop song.

How would you celebrate the 25th anniversary of Bananarama next year?
Angela Philips, Richmond
Keren: What a shocking thought! We'll have to do something, I suppose. The new Wembley Stadium? Think Big!

Who's the biggest party animal?
Alan Bell, Dalston
Keren: Oh dear, possibly me. We're legendary. Shane MacGowan ended up at our flat once and he was the first to go to bed. While he was asleep, we drew whiskers on him.

Does George Michael cook when you go round his house?
Smantha Stonley, Milton Keynes
Sara: It's all out of the packet with George. I don't think I've ever seen him cook. We eat out.

What was you biggest fashion crime in the 80s?
Jane Dunne, Harlow
Keren: Hats, checked shirts and old man's trousers. Most of it, looking back. We're slightly more sophisticated these days.
Sara: The grey ra-ra skirts were [singer-songwriter] Terry Hall's fault. Hideous.

Where did the name Bananarama come from?
Jen, Enfield
Keren: Our first song was in Swahili. We thought bananas were tropical and we liked the Roxy Music song Pyjamarama.

Did you choose the hunky male dancers who appeared half naked in your videos?
Jeremy Rance, Southfields
Sara: No, we had a gay choreographer who held auditions. He made them take their clothes off. I didn't fancy any of them. Well, apart from the one I married, obviously...

I know all your routines, so can I be the third 'Nana?
Jacqueline Fleming, Glasgow
Keren: No. We haven't been a trio for a long time. We didn't even want to be a trio when Jacquie came in.

You stormed America in the 80s. Why do today's British artists find it so hard to conquer?
Stephen, London
Sara: Our first release in the States was on the soundtrack to The Karate Kid and it launched us there, so there was a bit of luck.

You lost your crown as most successful girls' band to the Spice Girls. Was that hard to swallow or were you pleased for them?
Angela, Hemel Hempstead
Keren: I thought the Spice Girls were great. It was a different era; they were a business and they were marketed. We might have been the blueprint, but they did it better.
Sara: But we still have the record for the most hits.

Pete Waterman said you wre the hardest act he ever worked with, but that you're the ultimate girl group. What are your memories of your time at the Hit Factory?
Matt Jones, London
Keren: Pete's a big music fan and his heart's in the right place. It only went wrong when the songs began to sound generic. PWL [Pete Waterman Limited] got used to having control of their acts and we wouldn't play ball. We said what we thought, so there were quite a few rows.
Sara: We had strong opinions about what was right for us. PWL hadn't had much success before us, then they started writing songs that seemed to fit everyone. But Pete was a father figure to us.

What's been your biggest dissapointment?
Robert Sowers, San Diego
Keren: We never had a UK No1 single - that hurts a bit.

Would you ever use plastic surgery to extend your career?
Lynne Welsh, Ilford
Keren: We're probably the only two girls in London of a certain age who haven't had anything done.
Sara: I don't like the idea of surgery and I certainly wouldn't have it prolong my career.

I've been waiting for 22 years to ask you this question! Why did you call your first album Deep Sea Skiving? What the heck does it mean?!
Alanna Perron, Dover
Keren: I have no idea. It probably went with the picture!

PRIZE QUESTION: Keren, why has your hubby Andrew Ridgeley never bothered to record any more music since leaving Wham!?
Catherine Stone, Leigh-on-Sea
Keren: He saw enough of the music business for a lifetime and he suffered from the press more than most. He has other thing in his life, like me! At home, we avoid work. I rarely even play him the odd tune.