POP Bananarama Hasn’t Heard Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ – But They Want Her to Cover Their Hit of the Same Name

Fast forward four decades to now. Not only is the British group (which debuted as a trio but has continued as a duo since 1991) still active, but they are releasing Glorious: The Ultimate Collection on Friday (March 8). The collection spans era-defining chart hits, fan favorites and two new songs, “Feel the Love” and “Supernova,” both of which deftly capture the runaway-train ebullience of the band’s ‘80s hits. “I don’t really see that because you get to a certain age or a certain point you should stop,” Woodward says, “(As long as) you like what you’re doing and other people are enjoying it too.”

Blue’s “Venus.” “We’d heard a song with a Hi-NRG beat and we’d just found Stock Aitken and Waterman, the producers, and we asked them to do a Hi-NRG version of ‘Venus,’” Dallin recalls of the recording’s genesis. “Nobody wanted to do (it), not the record company or Stock Aitken and Waterman. So we when did it, on our insistence, and it became No. 1, it was fantastic.”

Even though the group’s biggest Hot 100 hit was a cover, Bananarama has by and large written most of its own material over its 40-year career – which is part of what keeps them going. “It’s the joy of scribbling something down in your kitchen, and then the next minute, you’re singing it at Glastonbury or Kew Gardens – you’re suddenly singing it to thousands of people,” says Dallin ahead of the group’s anniversary shows at the London Palladium.

“We’re not doing it just because it’s the only thing we’ve done,” Woodward declares. “We’re genuinely doing because we love it. I mean, when we when we do shows, it’s extraordinary how much fun we have with a live audience.”

“To still be able to do that, I feel very lucky,” Dallin says. “I think there’s an authenticity to us we’ve never lost,” Woodward opines. “A lot of it has to do with us being friends for so long and keeping each other grounded. It all goes towards making us a complete band and having that joy. I wouldn’t necessarily want to do it for this long if it was just me on my own. That’s part of the joy.”