Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXLIX--Bananarama: Really Saying Something

While technically their second single, this week's tune was the first of theirs I had heard and one I fell in love with at first listen...and still am in love with to this day.  As is sometimes the case, though, the band never had another song that I even remotely liked.  Doesn't make the magic of the first any less wondrous....

Bananarama formed in 1981 in London by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Karen Woodward.  They were an immediate success--within a year they had a record deal and three top ten hits in their native U.K.  Over the course of the last thirty-eight years, Bananarama has released nine studio LPs (their debut album is the only top ten hit they had in the U.K, and their best showing here in America was #15), and, wait for it...twelve compilation albums, because surprisingly enough, they became one hell of a singles band, especially in the U.K.  They have released forty-five singles, 31 of which charted in the United Kingdom (ten in the top ten, but nary a number one), and 11 here in America (with three top tens and one #1).  Dallin and Woodward have remained with Bananarama since their forming, but Fahey (who married and eventually divorced Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame) became disillusioned with the band's direction and left to form Shakespears Sister (with which she had some success, including a Brit Award).  They reunited in 2017 for the obligatory Let's Make a Hell of a Lot of Money Reunion Tour, and Fahey once again departed at its end.  Bananarama released their latest album this year, and is touring in support of it.

Fun Fact:  Bananarama is in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the most charted singles by an all female group.

"Really Saying Something" was released in 1982 from Bananarama's debut album, Deep Sea Skiving (Skiving, for the two of you who may be interested, is British slang for skipping school or work without good reason--and yes, I had to look it up).  It would reach #5 on the U.K. charts, though only climbing to #108 (with a kinda/sorta bullet?) on the Billboard Hot 100 (the Hot 100 has an addendum called "Bubbling Under" which charts the ten singles between 101 and 110).  At some point I should also note that the British ska band Fun Boy Three provided backing vocals for the chorus...which probably only matters to the members of Fun Boy Three and their families....

Let's see...female vocalists?  Check.  Incredibly catchy Motown tune (originally released as "He Was
Really Saying Something" by the Velvelettes in 1964)?  Check.  Funky drum and bass beats?  Check.  Nonsensical yet fun phrasing in the chorus ("Bop bop shoo be doo wah")?  Check.  And that's about all you need to know--a really bouncy pop tune about a boy trying (and succeeding!) to win a girl's heart.  Banararama stayed true to the song's Motown roots (especially with the harmonies) while adding a few modern (at the time) touches by infusing the song with reggae/ska inflections.  "Really Saying Something" isn't a song to make anyone forget "Born to Run" but it's still a hell of a pop tune and another nice edition to the pantheon here at Friday Night Jukebox.

Lyric Sheet:  "My heart started thumping'Blood pressure jumping/He was really saying something/Really saying something/Bop bop shoo be doo wah..."

Enjoy:

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emaycee