Last week, pop legends Bananarama celebrated a significant chart milestone. And so did their label.
Courtesy of a new 40th Anniversary Edition of 1986’s True Confessions, the repackaged record charted at No.6 (8,462 sales), in turn surpassing not only its own original peak of No.46, but also becoming the trio’s highest-charting studio album ever.
Previously, as reported by Music Week chart analyst Alan Jones, the No.7 peak of their 1983 debut set, Deep Sea Skiving was their record. Their only album to chart higher is their Greatest Hits Collection, which reached No.3 in 1988.
And now, understandably, Team Bananarama are celebrating.
“We can’t quite believe the outpouring of love this reissue has received from our fans," the original Bananarama line-up of Keren Woodward, Sara Dallin and Siobhan Fahey told Music Week. "London Records and Fascination have been nothing short of brilliant with ideas. They understand our fanbase just perfectly and we’re really grateful to them for their hard work in making this such a success. 1986 was a very special year for Bananarama – although True Confessions wasn’t our biggest album in the UK, it was our biggest worldwide and revisiting that time again has been really nostalgic for us all.”
London Records and Fascination have been nothing short of brilliant with ideas
Bananarama
True Confessions has also proved to be a milestone for London Records, who have worked closely with the group on plans to “reinvigorate their catalogue” since 2018. The re-release has just provided the label with its first Top 10 release achieved through a catalogue reissue.
“We’re thrilled to see True Confessions finally receive the recognition it deserves, 40 years after its release,” said Laura Kelly, MD of London Records. “Bananarama were the original girl band, writing hits that continue to resonate with audiences around the world. This is also a landmark moment for London Records as our first Top 10 through a catalogue reissue. Huge congratulations to Will Larnach-Jones and the team for their vision and creativity in bringing this campaign to life. It’s always a joy to work with Peter Loraine and the entire Fascination Management team, and we’re incredibly proud to have played a part in this milestone.”
This is also a landmark moment for London Records as our first Top 10 through a catalogue reissue
Laura Kelly, London Records
On the management side, Banarama are handled by Peter Loraine, founder of Fascination Management and a former winner of The Strat at the Music Week Awards. Those who read his career-spanning interview at the time will recall that his fondness for the group is both longstanding and without equal.
“People would say, ‘What are you going to do when you leave school?’ and I would always say, ‘I'm going to move to London, I'm going to be friends with Bananarama,’” he told Music Week, remembering his ambitions as a teen.
It’s extremely rewarding to have been part of the team responsible for its well deserved Top 10 chart position – albeit 40 years after its original release
Peter Loraine, Fascination
Indeed, he even produced his own Bananarama fanzine at the time.
“My history teacher leant me £100 to get the first one printed,” he told us. “That’s a real 'Sliding Doors' moment in my life… Bananarama’s management also really liked the fanzine and sent me a train ticket for a meeting. They said they’d like to make my fanzine the official fanzine, and they also wanted me to deal with the fan mail. There were sacks and sacks of mail in the room and they wanted me to take it all away and reply to it all. They said, ‘We’ll pay you £40 a week’ and at that point I was making about £2 doing a paper round. I’d won the jackpot. And all these letters were from people just like me.”
Today, Loraine tells Music Week of what this full circle moments means to him.
“It’s been a dream come true to work with the original Bananarama line up and London Records to execute a campaign that has been so adoringly embraced by the band’s fanbase,” Loraine said. “True Confessions is a brilliant album that was somewhat overlooked originally in the UK. It’s extremely rewarding to have been part of the team responsible for its well deserved Top 10 chart position – albeit 40 years after its original release!”
Photo: Martin Brading
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