Poptastic Confessions!: The 30th Anniversary of Only Your Love by Bananarama

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

The 30th Anniversary of Only Your Love by Bananarama

Dear Poptastic Readers,

It was 30 years ago this month that Bananarama released the single "Only Your Love" — July 1990. It would be the first single from their then forthcoming album Pop Life, which turns 30 next year! Perhaps you aren't even familiar with the track, or why it is important in the history of Bananarama's career. We're here to tell you!

Artwork by Paul Jackson

Leading up this single, Bananarama had their most successful era with producers Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW). Siobhan didn't like the new music direction for Bananarama and left in early 1988. The record company demanded that Bananarama stay a trio, so Sara and Keren asked Jacquie to join. They knew her from the clubs, and they knew she could sing as Jacquie was the lead singer of the Shillelagh Sisters.

With Jacquie on board, the group finished the promotion from the WOW! album and then went right in to The Greatest Hits Collection followed by the 1989 World Tour. During this time, Jacquie was featured on a handful of singles — some new songs, some rerecorded songs that Siobhan was originally on, and some remixes of previous classics without Jacquie's vocal at all.

Artwork by Paul Jackson

So by 1990, Bananarama fans were ready for a new sound, and ready for Jacquie to lose her "new girl" status in the group. "Only Your Love" did just that. Bananarama had left the SAW camp and gone to indie producer Youth (aka ex-Killing Joke member Martin Glover). The new song was a bold new sound from Bananarama, but it didn't lose any of the fun of Bananarama. Just watch the fantastic music video where Sara, Keren, and Jacquie all look absolutely gorgeous ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCH_gpTZYns

Still FABULOUS to this day! "Only Your Love" was written by Sara Dallin, Andy Caine, and Youth. It was produced by Youth. Unfortunately, the song didn't do well on the charts (#27 in the UK, and #51 in Australia). However, UK fans say that Radio 1 played "Only Your Love" a lot, and the chart placement wasn't representative of the actual air play. Sadly, the single was not released in the US.

Artwork by Paul Jackson

Looking back, "Only Your Love" brings back fond memories for Bananarama fans. To celebrate the 30th anniversary, the Pop Life Fanzine has released a special edition dedicated to the single. It features fan's memories of the song, as well as producer Youth and remixer Terry Farley. You can download the issue here.

If you missed the 2017 original lineup tour special edition of the Pop Life Fanzine, you can download the 2017 issue here.

Eventually the printed issues from 2003 to 2007 will be online. In the meantime, you can see the first 3 issues on the Poptastic Confessions Facebook page. Go to the photos, when it shows the albums, click more, scroll down and you will see the first 3 issues.