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