The fantastic Bananarama make a bid for their 25th UK Top 40 hit single with their new single, Love Comes, which is out today! There are a whole range of formats available from different remix bundles on iTunes and 7digital, a CD single (surely a novelty these days), and a set of 7" picture discs (retro!), and I've seen a 12" Extended Mix at townsendrecords.co.uk. The girls, or at least their new label Fascination Records, have really made an effort and this a must have release for any fan. Check out this exclusive competition too.
Sadly I think this single may struggle as there has been little radio or video play, even less than 2005's excellent Look On The Floor, which still managed to crack the Top 30! Anyway what do I know, I've bought the lot anyway. Check out this new interview from BBC Breakfast News:
Last weekend I attended my very first festival. I could not bring myself to actually camp out, so I am now broke! Sadly I missed Toyah who opened the festival on the Saturday afternoon. I was gutted! After a boozy afternoon accompanied by the songs of Dr and the Medics, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and Billy Ocean, it was time for the headliners.
Bananarama kicked off the evenings festivities with Cruel Summer, which, like the whole of their set went down well with the 20,000+ crowd that had turned out in the glorious British countryside, on perhaps one of the best weekends we've had this year. The girls belted out Venus, Love In The First Degree and Really Saying Something to rapturous applause. What they lacked in vocal prowess, they made up for with spirit and good humour. Sadly they didn't have time to do their new single Love Comes (out next week fans!!!)
Belinda Carlisle was on next, and she was not happy with the sound and had a few diva moments before launching into one of the strongest sets of the day. Leave A Light On, Live Your Life Be Free (one of my favourites!), Circle In The Sand, and of course Heaven Is A Place On Earth. It was great to hear these fantastic songs played live, I've seen her with the Go Go's, but not on her own before, so this was a big treat for me, and Belinda didn't disappoint.
Rick Astley hit the stage shortly after and performed his SAW hits Together Forever, Whenever You Need Somebody, When I Fall In Love, Never Gonna Give You Up and a great version of Cry For Help which was easily the highlight. He seems to have developed quite a sense of humour about his status as an 80's icon too.
The lovely Kim Wilde was the star attraction for the Saturday, topping the bill, and what a stunning job she did! She rocked out, covering her hits You Came, Kids in America, You Keep Me Hanging On, If I Can't Have You and a cover of Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence, as well as her own hit Four Letter Word which she sang beautifully!
Day two is a bit hazey, but I do remember thinking Heaven 17 were pretty fab, Go West and T'Pau were also on. By the evening I'd pulled round a bit. ABC were the first of the big acts on the stage. They were pretty good, but I'll admit I wanted them to hurry up and clear the stage to make way for Sister Sledge.
Yes, Sister Sledge! Now some of my readers my know that there are a couple of versions of Sister Sledge floating around, but this lineup includes Kathy Sledge! Yes, Kathy! Kathy was the lead vocalist on all of their hits, and she was in fine voice as she knocked out He's The Greatest Dancer, Chic's Everybody Dance, Lost In Music, and We Are Family! I have no idea who the other girls up there were but half of them weren't even born when the Sledge's were doing their thing! Fakes! the lot of them. But who cares, they were great. Kathy's outfit was rather daring too.
Gloria Gaynor headlined the final night of the festival, and oh my, what a finale! From the anthemic I Am What I Am to her original take on The Police's Every Breath You Take, and of course the classic, I Will Survive!
The whole event was extremely well done, even the toilets weren't that bad! I had a fab time and I cannot wait for next year! They even had fireworks!
As if Kathy's fantastic TV show My Life on the D List (which airs on E! in the UK), her CD, and her standup shows weren't enough for her growing army of fans, now she's gone and written a book! She's also on Facebook too!
The legendary DIV-A! returns with a new album, I don't care what people say about her comeback single, I Didn't Know My Own Strength, I think it's brilliant. We all know what Whitney has been through, the humiliation of Being Bobby Brown, her 'crack is whack' interview with Wendy Williams, the drug paraphernalia pictures in the Enquirer, the divorce, and worst of all that horrible duet with Cissy, Auntie Dionne and Little Bobbie Christina! This is the comeback of the year, after La Toya's of course!!! Can't wait.
Who'd have thought these two would ever get a record deal again after the horrible underperformance, I mean 'distribution problems', of their last album, Drama. Well Fascination Records/Universal have taken pity on them and September 2 sees the release of their quite frankly exquisite new single, Love Comes! I love the title especially. The album Viva is out the week after, and the single is being released as a CD and two retrotastic 7" picture discs, with exclusive b-sides!
Paula is best known these days her for countless seasons on TV karaoke contest, American Idol. But back in the day she was a dance/pop icon with global hits like Opposites Attract, Straight Up and the sublime Rush Rush. But in the 90’s things went horribly wrong for Paula. Despite releasing probably her most sophisticated and sexy single to date, My Love Is For Real, her third studio album was D.O.A.. Since then there have been TV movies, a tween dance school, a couple of TV shows – including 2007’s loopy tour-de-force Just Paula, which saw the loveable TV talent show judge breakdown when she was forced out of Bratz: The Movie! Two hot singles followed that hot mess; Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow and I’m Just Here For The Music! A new album is due soon.
Every iPod needs: Straight Up, Forever Your Girl, Rush Rush, My Love Is For Real (& the Strike remix!), Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow.
CD:Straight Up - Greatest Hits (2008)
B is for Bananarama
From their early hits such as Really Saying Something to their SAW powerhouse gems like Venus and I Heard A Rumour, these girls paved the way for every girl group that came after. Things looked rosy for Bananarama at the end of the 80’s, despite losing Sibohan Fahey, they had a big Greatest Hits collection and a successful tour under their belts. However, the 90’s turned out not to be so kind to the trio. They ditched the Hit Factory in favour of a hipper sound for their album Pop Life, but despite some good reviews the album wasn’t a success. By 1993 thy were down to a duo and things only got worse, and tripe like 1995’s Ultra Violet and the dreadful French-only Exotica in 2001 did nothing to endear them to anyone who still retained their auditory senses. Things have got a lot better for the Nana’s in recent years, 2005 saw them enjoy two pop hits with Move In My Direction and Look On The Floor, two slick pop gems from their album Drama. The girls are working on an album of disco covers for a new labelwhich they will showcase when they headline Manchester Pride in August.
Every iPod needs:Cruel Summer, Venus, I Heard A Rumour, I Can’t Help It, Preacher Man, More More More, Look On The Floor!
CD:The Very Best of Bananarama (2001), Drama (2005)
