Sara
ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER : As I recall , The Cure ’ s Robert Smith once observed – with awe – that the only people who could drink him under the table were the gals in Bananarama . SARA DALLIN : [ Laughs ] We ended up
IE : So it ’ s true that – gasp ! – Bananarama were hard partiers ? SD : Well , it was all very innocent partying . We liked to dance , we loved to go to clubs , and we were 18 , 19 when we started . So we kind of grew up in the public eye . And obviously , when you ’ re doing a show , you just want to go out afterward as any young person would do . So it was all combined with the group , and we were traveling all over the world , so we ended up going to parties all over the world . And any day of the week , we just loved to dance , so we would do a TV appearance and then all file off to a club somewhere , come home at 6:00 in the morning , and then fly off somewhere else and do another show . Because , of course , you ’ ve got the energy when you ’ re that young . I certainly couldn ’ t do it now .
IE : That ’ s sort of how you started , right ? onstage with him a few times , and I remember we had a wild night out with him in New York once . So either him or one of The Cure said it , I ’ m sure . But they became good friends of ours , just because we were on a lot of the same TV shows around Europe , and occasionally we ’ d end up on the very same show , and we ’ d get up onstage to dance with them while they did their thing . Those were fun days .
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“ Why don ’ t you get your own group together ?” So because of that idea – and
Joining punk bands onstage as backup singers and dancers ? SD : I remember Keren and I bumped into Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols in about 1981 in a club , and he said we could stay with him , rent-free . So we got two mattresses from the hostel we were in and put them in with all his Sex Pistols stuff , like bondage trousers . We were all teenagers and punks , and for me , it was like , “ Wow ! Look where we are !” And he rehearsed there – he was in a band called The Professionals – so Keren and I used to go sing with him or play bass or whatever , and just mess around . Then Paul said , the fact that we ’ d done backing vocals for other bands – we made a demo , and it got picked up . And the rest is history .
IE : Few groups can claim to have an all- Swahili debut single like your “ Aie a Mwana .” SD : Ha ! I know ! We hadn ’ t heard it before , but that song was in Siobhan ’ s record collection . And I have no idea why we chose to record that – it ’ s very bizarre . But it was a sound The Specials had , as well . Terry Hall had heard that same single and bought it , and that African drumming and all those exotic tomes were very
Bananarama with Fun Boy Three , 1982
strange and different sounds for the early ‘ 80s , I think . They were quite experimental . But I think that ’ s why we worked so well with The Fun Boy Three , as well .
IE : And Malcolm McLaren himself initially wanted to manage you ? SD : Well , we met Bernie Rhodes , who managed The Clash , and then we met Malcolm McLaren . And Bernie said , “ You have to go underground for a year and get your whole idea together and the songs you want to sing and play .” And we were like , “ A year ? Are you kidding me ? We ’ re 19 – we ’ re not going underground for a year . I ’ m going to make some demos , and this is exactly what I ’ m
8 illinoisentertainer . com march 2018