Bananarama Have Written An Autobiography!

Sheena

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This is more exciting than anyone could ever imagine! I hope they are as candid as they were in the Q&A shows last year, because this could be absolute GOLD if they are!

Music, fame and a lifelong friendship.

In the early eighties, best friends Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward arrived at the YWCA in London, with their sights set on careers in journalism and the media… but that wasn’t to be.

At that time, London was the most vibrant and culturally innovative of places, and within the whirl of clubs, parties, and new friends, a chance meeting with former Sex Pistol Paul Cook changed everything. Moving into Malcolm McLaren’s old office, they started rehearsing and singing background vocals for Paul’s new band, before teaming up with Sara’s college friend Siobhan, and forming their own band.

It wasn’t long before they’d made their first appearance on Top of the Pops, wearing clothes they’d made themselves, and not sure which camera to look at. Who could have imagined that this would be the birth of one of the biggest-selling female bands of all time? Bananarama!

From ground-breaking performance at The Brits, to sold-out world tours, party games with George Michael, hanging out with Andy Warhol in New York, to performing at Glastonbury last year. Bananarama’s DIY-style and attitude inspired a generation, obliterating all previous notions of what a girl band was or could be. Whether opening-up about the challenges of making it in a male dominated industry, balancing motherhood and fame, the hairstyles and TV interviews they’d rather forget, or the joys of writing and recording new music, Sara and Keren are honest, revealing and hilarious.

REALLY SAYING SOMETHING is the story of two friends who continue to pursue their dreams their way – and have a great time doing it. It is a celebration of determination and a life-long friendship, with an unbeatable soundtrack.
 
Oh looks like I’ll be putting this and Skin’s ( Skunk Anansie) on the Christmas reading list. I wonder how direct they will be?
 
Well, this is the thing - it could be an Andrew Ridgley job or it could be a genuine warts'n'all.

Given the era in which they came through and the various trials the group went through, this could be properly fascinating.
 
Well, this is the thing - it could be an Andrew Ridgley job or it could be a genuine warts'n'all.

Given the era in which they came through and the various trials the group went through, this could be properly fascinating.
It would be and that’s the book everyone wants but I think by having Sara and Keren our story in the title it’s a clue it’s more about them generally rather than a Bananarama and record industry full disclosure.
 
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Obviously VERY EXCITED about this, even if I expect it to be heavy on the usual early days stories we've heard before like 'we were kicked out of the YWCA', 'we lived in the Sex Pistols' rehearsal room', 'Bobby de Niro called us up in our council flat and Sara got off with him despite him looking like Benny from Crossroads', 'Band Aid - we were hungover and giggled a lot'...

Terry Ronald is working on it with them. He also 'collaborated' on Dannii's (and with Tulisa, Kimberley Walsh, Michelle Collins and PAULINE QUIRKE :disco:)
 
Dannii’s was quite good if I remember. And surely the girls will have more to SAY.

I hope they double whammy it and release new music alongside it as the HOOHAH surrounding it will surely give their profile a boost.
 
Dannii’s was quite good if I remember. And surely the girls will have more to SAY.

I hope they double whammy it and release new music alongside it as the HOOHAH surrounding it will surely give their profile a boost.

Yes I remember Dannii's being decent too. I can't speak to the quality of Pauline's.

An album would be a bit much for their work rate I'd have thought, but a single or EP is surely manageable.
 
Dannii’s “My Story” was a great read if only for the line about bully Sharon Osbourne- “there she was looming over me - the 2006 Mother of the Year”
 
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Dannii’s “My Story” was a great read if only for the line about bully Sharon Osbourne- “there she was looming over me - the 2006 Mother of the Year”

I quoted this line back to Terry Ronald at a party :D :disco:
 
MEH. They could have done an expanded edition.

Having said that, I’ll bite.
 
MEH. They could have done an expanded edition.

Having said that, I’ll bite.
Yeah, though I always prefer unreleased tracks rather than remixes for expanded editions and I’ve no idea how much unreleased material there is from this period and I don’t need 8 I Found Love mixes.

Every Shade Of Blue is classic Bananarama from this album and I’m also partial to You’ve Really Got Something.
 
There’s basically a whole ALBUM of unreleased stuff! Not that they’d use it...
 
Yeah, though I always prefer unreleased tracks rather than remixes for expanded editions and I’ve no idea how much unreleased material there is from this period and I don’t need 8 I Found Love mixes.

Every Shade Of Blue is classic Bananarama from this album and I’m also partial to You’ve Really Got Something.

I think there were a couple of songs from this period or just after that were registered (one called Garden of Eden springs to mind), and then there are the late nineties demos, but being a Sara and Keren approved release stuff from the vaults would not be on the cards so remixes were be all we could have hoped for really.

I agree it is a shame that a similar package isn't being produced as for Drama and Viva (not that I have bought the former yet, my loonage must really be not what it was). I have assorted Every Shade of Blue and Take Me to Your Heart CD singles but it is nice to have these things collected and the mixes for the latter are different from the original if nothing else.

It is funny you should mention I Found Love, there's a very Italo remix that I think is vinyl only that I would have liked on CD. Oh well.

Twenty five quid plus postage isn't exactly cheap either. I'll see if Amazon stock it cheaper (and this is coming from someone who has the album four times on CD!).
 
They were signing copies of the book today. Getting quite excited about reading it now.

Has anyone picked up the Ultra Violet vinyl yet? I'm still holding for a deal, and I don't have Drama or Viva on vinyl so it doesn't feel like such a gap in the collection.
 
Did we see that they started recording the AUDIOBOOK today?

I can see that being a bit of a slog for them, never mind staying on script.
 
Did we see that they started recording the AUDIOBOOK today?

I can see that being a bit of a slog for them, never mind staying on script.
Yes I saw that! They’ll be sounding very bored by halfway I’d say.

I wonder if this is going to be a proper account of their career or a guarded recollection?
 
Somewhere between the two I would guess.
I imagine they’ll not go into full detail of their own escapades back in the day and I can’t see them being too critical of Siobhan or Jacquie. I think they’ll keep a lot of stuff in house.
 
I hope they are audibly tipsy in the audiobooks they're currently doing. With any luck they'll get bored and put Jacqueline O on speakerphone. As if they're not horrible enough to enjoy that.
 
On BBC Breakfast (:disco:) this morning plugging the book. The interview was filmed at Pineapple Dance Studios and I am sure everyone will be pleased to know that meeting Robert de Niro was covered. Keren declining Cliff Richard's advice, saying she knew the words to Do They Know It's Christmas THANKYOUVERYMUCH was new to me though.

The interviewer/voiceover suggested that they were meant to be going on tour this year, when I am pretty sure it was just the usual one-off summer shows, and that the book came about during lockdown when it was planned and I think started before.
 
People are receiving their copies now, though mine doesn't appear to have been dispatched yet. When it does arrive, I am going to attempt to show great restraint and not flip straight to the bits on the third wheel departures.
 
People are receiving their copies now, though mine doesn't appear to have been dispatched yet. When it does arrive, I am going to attempt to show great restraint and not flip straight to the bits on the third wheel departures.

I'm currently reading the Victoria Wood biography (nearly 600 pages!) and ploughing my way through her childhood. So tempted to skip forward to New Faces. And then a few chapters forward again.
 
Mine arrived this morning, there are a LOT of full colour photos in t’middle!

More photos, less words, less work.

On their Instagram unboxing video they showed the inside front cover picture; Keren had her eyes closed, wonder who chose that? :D
 
VERY large font too!
Hmmm. Well hopefully the content is good though when I heard they were only starting to write it in the summer and it would be ready by October I feared it might be rushed and generic, fingers crossed I’m wrong.
 
Apparently Keren thinks it was the 30th anniversary of Pop Life as she wrote this. You’d think somebody would fact check for them.
 

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