Week Thirty-Two: Pocket Rockers - Bananarama - "I Heard a Rumour" - Greatest Hits

Talking about my iPod got me to thinking about all the super-cool music contraptions my parents purchased me when I was younger. My absolute favorite had to be my Pocket Rocker that I got at Toys 'R Us one Christmas... so I am going to take you way back to my Pocket Rocker days.

***Please Note*** - all band information has been pulled straight from Wikipedia because I am coming up on final exams and mock trials for my classes... therefore, my creativity is dwindling --- however, if I do recall something, I will be more than happy to share

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Wow! I seriously had no idea that the girls from Bananarama had ties to Malcolm McLaren and some of the members of the Sex Pistols... I swear, I learn something new & cool every single day. Oh, but here's an interesting fact about Keren Woodward --- she's actually married to Andrew Ridgeley from Wham! It's so funny to hear her talk about it. I have seen a few interviews where she says something along the lines of: "Yeah, I married one of the guys from Wham!... ya know, the one that's not gay... oh, you didn't know there was one that was not gay?!?!" She's too funny!!!:

"Bananarama are an English female pop band who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on harmony, the band generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed most success as a trio made up of lifelong friends Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward and Sara Dallin. In The 1980s, Bananarama were listed in the Guinness World Records as the all female group with the most chart entries in the world, a record which they still hold. Since 1992, Woodward and Dallin have continued Bananarama as a duo.

Bananarama were founded in London in 1979 by Fahey, Woodward and Dallin, the latter two having been childhood friends in Bristol since the age of four, and attending St. George's School for Girls together. The pair became a trio when Dallin met Fahey while studying fashion journalism in London. They became friends because they both dressed more radically than the other students. The trio were ardent followers of the punk rock and post-punk music scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s and often performed impromptu sets or backing vocals at gigs for such bands as The Monochrome Set, Iggy Pop, The Jam, Department S[2] and The Nipple Erectors.

In 1981, Bananarama's members were living above the rehearsal room that was used by former Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook. With their help, Bananarama recorded their first demo "Aie a Mwana" (a cover of a song by Black Blood, sung in Swahili). The demo was heard at Demon Records, who consequently offered Bananarama their first deal. The song was an underground hit and Bananarama were signed by Decca (later London Records) and remained on the label until 1993. Bananarama's only previous experience in a recording studio at the time was as background vocalists on the Department S b-side, "Solid Gold Easy Action," a T.Rex cover in early 1981.

During this early period Bananarama were approached by Malcolm McLaren, who offered to manage the group. McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, and notorious for generating scandal, proposed some new material that was sexually suggestive, and did not fit with what at the time was the band's tomboyish and straightforward image. Bananarama passed on both the material and McLaren as their manager.

UK fashion magazine The Face featured an article on Bananarama after the release of their first single. This caught the attention of ex-Specials member Terry Hall, who invited them to collaborate with his new vocal group Fun Boy Three on the track "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)". In 1982, the song hit the Top 5 in the UK and gave Bananarama their first significant mainstream success. Fun Boy Three then guest starred on Bananarama's single, "Really Saying Something", later that year."

Since my favorite Bananarama song is actually "Love in the First Degree," I will include that one below the lyrics. I have to add that I love the way the ladies in Bananarama turn the tables and completely objectify men in their videos:

Who needs friends who never show 
I'll tell you what you want to know 
I could have saved a broken heart 
If I'd found out long ago 

(bridge 1) 
I'm just thinking about 
Those lonely nights 
When I waited for your call 
'Til I found out 
All my friends were right 
I didn't know you at all 

(chorus) 
I heard a rumour 
(Ooh, ooh, I heard a rumour) 
They say you got a broken heart 
I heard it 
I heard a rumour 
(Ooh, ooh, I heard a rumour) 
Yes I did, boy ooh, ooh, ooh 

Now it seems they're telling me 
You've changed your wicked ways 
But should I give you a second chance 
Baby, I'm too afraid 

(bridge 2) 
So you realise what hurt you made 
And the love you threw away 
How can I forgive or soon forget 
It's never gonna be the same 

(chorus x 2) 

(bridge 1) 

(chorus ad lib)