Bananarama's Keren Talks to Sky Showbiz

It's nearly a quarter of a century since they first hit the charts, but those fun-loving girls Bananarama are back yet again with another new single - surefire hit Move In My Direction.
And Sky Showbiz managed to grab the ever-lovely Keren Woodward for a good old chinwag...

Sky Showbiz: First and foremost, tell us about the new single...
Keren Woodward: Move In My Direction is a good, proper dance track. Very high N-R-G, very electro, very Bananarama... it's a great fun record and perfect for the dancefloor and Sara and I are both delighted with it.

SS: You've been phenomenally successful with record sales of 40m. Do you think you get the credit you deserve?
KW: I don't know, I mean, I think people like us and like what we do. Obviously, people will remember our most successful period back in the mid to late 80s. Then we were making pure, unadulterated pop music. We were with Stock, Aitken and Waterman and having a great time doing what we were doing.

SS: Many people don't realise you had punk connections when you first started out. Is it also true the late John Peel discovered you?
KW: We brought out a song in Swahili (laughs) that got to number 93. John Peel played it and Terry Hall out of The Specials liked it and contacted us after he saw our picture in a magazine called The Face. That's when we got to work with Fun Boy Three and things took off. We had been knocking about with Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and he was a great help. We lived in a old flat they hung out in before. Crazy days but we loved it.

SS: So what can we expect from your long-awaited album?
KW: It's great because it really does have a bit of everything. We have always had complete control in what we do, going back to the early 80s, and that hasn't changed. we're with an independent label called A&G and they are great because they leave us to it - we also had a great team around us. There are dance tracks, slower numbers, rockier stuff... it's a good mix.

SS: When will the album be out?
KW: Later this year, probably September. We actually still have some work to do on it, but it is virtually finished. It's just finding the time but as I said, we are very very happy with what we have produced.

SS: Your long-term boyfriend is Andrew Ridgeley out of 80s band Wham! We hear you've both opted for the quiet life.
KW: Well, yes we have lived in Cornwall for a long time now. It's lovely and quiet, we're right by the sea and have a fantastic quality of life. My son is down there and very happy too. We are truly blessed with our lives.

SS: It's been 20 years since Andrew and George Michael broke up Wham! Has he done much since?
KW: (Laughs) Well, he goes surfing a lot... he does his thing and is perfectly happy. I don't think he has worked much, no. We're all happy, as I said, we are blessed to be able to live in such a great place and do things at our own pace.

SS: Would you ever go down the reality show route?
KW: Hahahaha. Not me, no. Not my kind of thing. With all due respect, going on something like Reborn In The USA would not be good for us. That is for people only looking back and we are always looking to the future.

SS: Any unusual requests?
KW: It's funny actually but Andrew gets offered stuff like that all the time. Seriously he gets letters for I'm A Celeb and that kind of thing. Some of the money he is offered is unbelieveable. Totally outrageous in fact. But it's not our kind of thing. Andrew was offered some celebrity makeover show where they'll let you have plastic surgery... there was a form with the options so Andrew ticked every box for a laugh and sent it back.

SS: If you could be 21 again, would you like to be starting out in the music industry now?
KW: Oh no. It is very cut throat these days and artists don't have as much of a say. Seriously, from day one we have done things on our terms. Sara (Dallin) and I have been best pals for years and we have always been the same. But now, acts are dispensable, the industry has toughened up and record companies just want to make as much money as quickly as possible. It's hard, especially if you are a new act.

SS: What music is catching your ear at the moment?
KW: I love Goldfrapp. I think Alison Goldfrapp is amazing, truly amazing. Give me some Killers and Foo Fighters too... oh yes!

SS: When are you going to be back on the road?
KW: Dunno, but we would love to. We still really get a kick out of playing live gigs. We sometimes play G-A-Y and that place is wild. My son is 18 and he came along one night to film us and he was in total shock at how mad that place is - 3,000 people going crazy. He was totally taken aback. He said: "It's like a proper rock gig!"

SS: Finally a Wham! question; does Andrew see much of George Michael these days?
KW: Actually, if anything, I see more of him. He has let me stay at his place while I have been in London. We had a few glasses of wine the other night and a great laugh. The biggest mistake he ever made was giving me the security code to his house... hahahaha!