Keren from Bananarama dishes the dirt on Stock Aitken Waterman and tells Peter Hackney what she thinks of his unflattering album review.
UK pop group Bananarama are no strangers to criticism.
Reviewing their 1983 debut album Deep Sea Skiving, Britain’s NME deplored the girls’ “strained, inept vocals” and “utterly vacuous sheen”. Writing about Bananarama - The Greatest Hits for Amazon.com, one reviewer memorably urged punters to “avoid these rotten bananas … this is the lousiest compilation ever”. In its review of 1991’s Pop Life, US music bible Billboard said the group sounded “utterly anonymous, like session singers on their own album”.
And few were harsher than I was when reviewing their latest offering, Drama (SX 274). While I accorded Bananarama respect for “making so little stretch so far”, I found that the girls sounded bored – and boring – and posed the question, “Is this the most inappropriately named album ever?”, leading one irate fan to abuse me in the SX letters pages the next week. (I love you too, Quinn from Newtown).
So it was with some bemusement that I received a request from Bananarama’s management to interview Keren from the group, to promote Drama. After some hesitation I thought, ‘Why not?’ It might be fun. Besides, Keren could have right of reply to my review.
“Excuse me if I seem grumpy, I’m a bit stressed,” says Keren from the home she shares in Cornwall with her partner Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! fame. “I’m packing for a promo trip to New York and I can’t find anything to wear. I’ve got to pick a frock for my album signing – maybe you can help.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re from a gay paper aren’t you? Aren’t gay men supposed to have exquisite taste?”
“I don’t know about that,” I say, thinking of the crowd I’d seen at Stonewall the previous night. “Besides, I’m in Sydney and you’re in Cornwall.”
“I know,” sighs Keren. “Perhaps if I describe the outfits to you…” she trails off. I’m not sure if she’s joking or not.
“So, what made you decide to re-enter the pop fray after all this time?” I ask, quickly moving things along.
“Well, we never really stopped,” says Keren. “We had a few years off in the ‘90s. I took some time off to have a child, but I couldn’t stay away. It’s in the blood, I think. We’re performers at heart – we can’t stay away from the limelight.
“The other thing is, you can’t sit at home doing nothing. People think once you’ve made it in pop you never need to work again, but it’s not true. We had huge success in the ‘80s but when the money’s split between songwriters, managers, the record company, taxes and all the rest, you can’t retire on it,” she explains. “People assume pop stars are rich beyond their wildest dreams with their own private jets and all that, but it’s not like that unless you’re Madonna.”
Somehow, I’d never assumed that Keren from Bananarama had her own private jet, but I let that pass. “Bananarama have been around for 25 years,” I say. “You must have some interesting stories to tell.”
“24 years,” corrects Keren. “It’s 25 next year. Yes, we do have lots of stories. Looking back, the thing I’m most proud of is Band Aid. We’re the only act involved in both the original Band Aid single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ and the 1989 Band Aid II version.”
Band Aid II was a Stock Aitken Waterman project, I recall. What are Keren’s recollections of the S/A/W days? “We had a volatile relationship with them. When we went to them they developed this sound for us with ‘Venus’ which was fantastic, but it became the blueprint for everything they did afterwards. Kylie, bloody Jason Donovan and all the rest sounded like ‘Venus’ and it really pissed us off. But looking back, I do appreciate those times and S/A/W really were very talented.”
I decide it’s time to mention my review. “You have a loyal cult following,” I venture, “but you’ve also attracted heavy flak over the years. I have to admit that I wasn’t very nice in my review of Drama.”
“What did you say?” asks Keren.
“Well, basically that you can’t sing and that the album is a bit crap,” I gulp.
There is a silence at the other end of the line. Then she says, “Well, I respect that you’ve told me that and I respect your point of view. I admit we’re not the world’s greatest singers and Drama isn’t going to change the world.” Keren chuckles. “You know, I can’t believe it myself, being in the music industry this long when we’re not musicians in any capacity. Besides, I like the sound of your voice, so I won’t hold it against you.”
And with that, I conclude my interview with Keren from Bananarama. Not a bad stick, she is – she even agreed with my unflattering review, in a roundabout way.
Quinn from Newtown, eat your heart out.
Bananarama’s new album Drama is out now through Central Station Records.