Bananarama Songs Ranked

Bananarama is an English new wave group from London formed in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Their success on both pop and dance charts saw them listed in the Guinness World Records for achieving the world’s highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 30 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Fahey left the group in 1988 and formed Shakespears Sister, best known for the UK number one “Stay” (1992). She was replaced by Jacquie O’Sullivan. This line-up had UK top five hits with “I Want You Back” (1988) and a cover of The Beatles’ “Help!” (1989), recorded with comedy duo French and Saunders for the charity Comic Relief. They also had further hits with “Love, Truth and Honesty” and “Nathan Jones”. In 1989, they embarked on their first world tour and had another hit with a new remixed version of “Cruel Summer”. In 1990 and 1991, they had further top 30 chart hits with “Only Your Love”, “Preacher Man” and “Long Train Running” and a new studio album Pop Life which featured these 3 singles and a fourth single “Tripping on Your Love” which was released soon after the album. After O’Sullivan’s early 1992 departure, Dallin and Woodward then continued Bananarama as a duo, with a further top 30 hits including “Movin’ On” (1992), “More, More, More” (1993), “Move in My Direction” (2005) and “Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)”. Fahey rejoined Bananarama in 2017 and they toured the UK and North America between November that year until August 2018. Here are all of Bananarama’s songs ranked.

Never miss out on the songs of this iconic group. Click the link below and get mesmerized again with their songs

15. Every Shade of Blue (Ultra Violet, 1995)

“This is my favorite Bananarama album. I bought this tape when it first came out and listened to it for months and am planning on buying the CD soon. Every song is extremely catchy and fun to listen to. It’s a shame this didn’t become popular like their 80’s stuff did because this is just as good.”

14. Link (Bananarama, 1984)

“Bananarama had such a clean pure original sound but like all groups in the music scene money,getting older and self-interest cuts a groups creative process short and Banarama was no exception.”

13. I Heard a Rumour (Wow !, 1987)

“Banana-Rama…what does one truly say? On one level the song is total cheese from the factory of cheese known as the 1980’s, but it has a really catchy upbeat that can dispel virtually any bad mood. Of course, I dare anyone to be ticked off after any Banana Rama song. It’s essentially pop candy for the ears. If you like it, you like it, and you loathe it there’s probably little chance this will change your mind.”

12. Love in the First Degree (Wow !, 1987)

“The 80’s was the most exciting era for pop music ever. There were so many variety of top notch unique songs that have never been surpassed ever since. Sad to see that good music ended after the 80’s. Music quality has gone down hill since then and we are left with mediocre songs that sound so stale after awhile today. If only the song writers today can recreate the magic of the 80’s and produce songs that sound like the 80’s, that will be phenomenal!”

See more: Bananarama Albums Ranked

11. What a Shambles (Deep Sea Skiving, 1983)

“What A Shambles” describes the downside of fame, such as the early mornings, interviews, and the pressured schedule that doesn’t give the star a life. As the chorus says, “I wish you were in our shoes/I wish you could be us/Washing all your laundry /And riding on the bus.” The title comes into play in describing a bad day: “What a shambles of a meeting/Don’t know what to say/What a shambles of a bus ride/What a shambles of a day…” One of the best songs here.”

10. Shy Boy (Don’t It Make You Feel Good) (Deep Sea Skiving, 1983)

“Take away the drums, and bass in “Shy Boy” and one can imagine a Shirelles or Chiffons-type group doing it, especially with the “shoop shoop ahh” refrain they chant in unison. It’s a mildly upbeat number.”

9. The Wild Life (Bananarama, 1984)

“Bananarama have another go with producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley on their sophomore effort. The catchy dance beat mixed with R&B sounds and those harmony vocals are still there, but there are some serious and less happier things covered here.”

8. King of the Jungle (Bananarama, 1984)

“King Of The Jungle” seems to be an IRA gunman song, someone who pushes guns by day, stalks at night, and has “gotta make another martyr.”

7. Cheers Then (Deep Sea Skiving, 1983)

“A wall of dreamy keyboards and piano gives “Cheers Then” the atmosphere of a nice outdoor cafe, but sadly, it’s about how all good things, even between “two old friends” thought to be inseparable, can come to an end: “But those good times came to an end/And its not worth another try/Time that lapsed a bond collapsed/We never planned for that/You felt betrayed I let you down/You’re better on your own.” One of the best songs here.”

6. Dream Baby (Bananarama, 1984)

“Dream Baby” is another nod to 60’s R&B laced with an especially snappy beat. Excellent album from the group from 1984. Keren, Siobhan, and Sarah really did a good job on this album”

See more: Blondie Albums Ranked

5. Rough Justice (Bananarama, 1984)

“The more serious “Rough Justice” details the tragic situation in Northern Ireland, including domestic violence, con-men, but mostly the IRA bombings: “Innocent people walking by/no time to smile before they die/don’t call that justice/children are starving on the street/another one disappearing every week/don’t call that justice.” Also, “I remember the pain and humiliation/I’ll show them rough justice/the way that they did.””

4. Venus (True Confessions, 1986)

“It’s catchy and everything, and the production is plenty iconic, but the more years go by the more cheesy, as in ‘just cheesy’, not ‘good cheesy’ I seem to find this one. Eventually I can see I’ll need to drink to truly enjoy it, and then maybe after that even that won’t help at the current trajectory, but either way I don’t think I’d ever let my brain rate it lower than two and a half.”

3. Robert de Niro’s Waiting (Bananarama, 1984)

“Songs about rape are curious things – in the hands of Tori Amos, they are cathartic; in the hands of the Shangri-La’s, they were quietly dignified. In the hands of the ‘Rams, they are unabashedly pop, which makes this delightfully eccentric. It’s also catchy as hell.”

2. Really Sayin Somethin (Deep Sea Skiving, 1983)

“Bananarama were just one of the many happy accidents that happened in the 80s. When they delivered this debut album, nobody could have predicted that they would have such a long run on the charts, and that they would become the most popular British girl group ever. Although their music was often derided by critics as superficial pop performed by three girls with rather thin vocal abilities, they certainly found an audience and beat the odds.”

1. Cruel Summer (Bananarama, 1984)

“The 80’s saw Bananarama deliver a lot of hit singles, but for me, this was their best. The instrumentation has such an infectious beat that you can’t help but bop along with it. And the ladies’ singing voices match perfectly to the lyrics about missing a significant other during the dog days of summer. The writers, arrangers, musicians, and singers did an amazing job of creating a mood where you just can’t help feeling like your being stifled by a summer heat wave – but the groove tells you that you will survive. The best and most memorable summer song of that decade and it still holds up today.”