Rainbow Network
Interview Neil Sexton

Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward and Siobhan Fahey formed Bananarama back in 1981 and soon had their first major hit with ‘It Ain’t What You Do’, a duet with Fun Boy Three. Since then, they’ve chalked up 23 UK Top 40 hits, such as ‘Venus’, ‘Robert De Niro’s Waiting’ and ‘Love In The First Degree’. Siobhan left the group in 1988, and was briefly replaced by Jaquie O’Sullivan, but Keren and Sara have continued as a duo since 1991.
Gaydar Radio's Neil Sexton caught up with the girls to talk about their new single and soon to be released ninth album!

It’s great that you’re making music again and it’s lovely to have you back. Where have you been?
Well, we’d had 10 years in the eighties at the top of the international charts and we took a few years off. When we came back it was all very much Britpop and there just didn’t seem a place for us - but now there does.

So what are you coming back with?
Well the single, ‘Move In My Direction’, is very much at the poppy end of the album because there’s quite a mixture of stuff on it. Hopefully we’ll be able to get the new album out for the end of September - if we can have a day off to get it finished!

So, are there are ballads?
No ballads! Some of the tracks are slightly slower, but it’s a bit of a mixture of styles – but all very modern!

You’ve been doing a busy round of promoting then?
Yes, but it’s been good and we’ve waited a long time, so it’s fabulous fun!

Does it feel good to be back?
Yes! We did our first Top Of The Pops in about ten years the other day which was nerve-wracking! And we did G-A-Y as well which was hilarious, the crowd was just fantastic.
They’re always up for a party at G-A-Y!

So, who’ve you been working with on the new album, because I believe you’ve been to Sweden?
That’s right; we’ve been working with some of the guys from the Murlyn team of producers. The single was done with a couple of twenty-year-olds and we wrote and recorded it in an afternoon before we got the flight home. It came very quickly.

So, you’re actually involved in the creative process as well?
Very much so.

Have you written all the songs for the album as well?
Yes, we have.

So you’ve always written your stuff as you’ve gone along?
Yes, apart from the obvious covers, we’ve co-written all the way.

What’s the reaction been from people to the fact that you’re back?
On the whole it’s been amazing; we weren’t expecting the positive comments that we’ve had. We always get a bit negative and think, ‘Oh well, something’s bound to go wrong,’ and nothing’s gone wrong so far. It’s a bit odd for us! No disasters!!

Do you normally have disasters then!?
Oh, we’ve had many!

Why have you decided to come back; you obviously had a fantastic career, why have you decided to do more?
It’s not like a sudden comeback thing; it’s just that we weren’t particularly successful in the nineties in this country. Elsewhere it’s been fine; we’ve constantly worked and been successful. It’s not like you reach a certain age and think, ‘Actually, I don’t like writing anymore, I don’t like singing.’ This is our career; we’ve done it since we were eighteen and it’s something we love so it’s not going to stop.

Did you always want to be pop stars when you were younger?
We always pretended as most girls do when we were growing up, but I don’t think it ever crossed our minds that it would happen. There were no female role models (girl bands) for us, so we made our own mark in a way.

I agree; you had your own style when you started out, the baggy look and everything. Was that all your own doing?
Yes, we made most of it ourselves. Could you tell?!

Was that to do with the financial situation; you didn’t have the money?
Yes, initially. But we did have our own little look and we liked it. Siobhan and I went to fashion college so we were always into clothes, so we just designed our own look.

So what’s the look that you’ve got for the new record?
Gorgeous! Gorgeous, glamorous, high maintenance and ridiculously upmarket! Everything has to cost a fortune or we won’t wear it!