Sara Elizabeth Dallin (born 17 December 1961) is an English singer/songwriter and a founding member of the pop group

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

. The group has achieved 28 UK top-50 and 11 US top-100 singles, including a US number one with "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

" (1986). Other hits include " Cruel Summer" (1983), "

I Heard a Rumour "I Heard a Rumour" is a song by English girl group Bananarama from their fourth studio album, '' Wow!'' (1987), and was released on 22 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became a hit in UK where it reached the top 20, but was more successf ...

" (1987) and " Love in the First Degree" (1987). Dallin and bandmate

Keren Woodward Keren Jane Woodward (born 2 April 1961) is an English singer/songwriter and, with Sara Dallin and Siobhan Fahey, a founding member of the girl group Bananarama. In 1986, the trio reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with their ve ...

are the only performers to appear on both the 1984 and 1989 Band Aid versions of "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

". Bananarama have sold over 30 million records and entered the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' for achieving most UK chart entries by an all-female group, a record they still hold.

Early life

Dallin is of English, French and Irish ancestry. She studied journalism at the

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate study, short courses, study-abroad courses and business t ...

(University of Arts) in 1980–81. She formed the group Bananarama with

, her childhood friend, and

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Deirdre Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the British girl group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the List of Billboard Hot ...

, whom she met at college. In 1980, Dallin and Woodward met

Paul Cook Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and a founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is nicknamed "Cookie" by friends in the punk music scene. Early life and career Cook was ...

, the former drummer of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

, in a club and they became close friends. They sang backing vocals for his and Steve Jones' new band The Professionals, and had their first taste of the music business, recording demos in

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

. When the house they were living in closed for renovation, Paul offered them a place to live in what used to be band

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

's office above the Sex Pistols' old rehearsal room in Denmark Street. The two would come in from clubbing and plug the guitars in and have late-night jams. Dallin first appeared on stage with Woodward and friend Mel O'Brien at the Camden Palace (now Koko) with their friend Vaughn Toulouse's band, Department S. Dallin, Woodward and Fahey first appeared on stage (in what would become Bananarama) with the Monochrome Set (friends of Siobhan) at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmos ...

supporting

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

. The trio then started rehearsing with musician friends and recorded their first demo "Aie A Mwana", which they performed at various clubs around London, such as ( Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden, The Embassy and The Wag Club. They came to the attention of Demon Records, signed a one-off singles deal, and "Aie A Mwana" was released. It was played by legendary

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, who championed young bands. Terry Hall (ex- Specials) heard the track and bought it, then saw a photo of Bananarama in what was referred to as the 'style bible', a magazine called '' The Face''. He had just formed a group called

Fun Boy Three Fun Boy Three were an English new wave pop Fun Boy Three Allmusic bio/ref> band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left the Specials. They released two albums and had se ...

and contacted them to ask if they would sing on some tracks on their new album. The single release "It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)" became a top-five hit, propelling Bananarama into the limelight.

Career

Dallin, Fahey and Woodward formed

and released their first single, "

Aie a Mwana "Aie a Mwana" is a song originally written by the French-Belgian writing and production team of Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger. It was first recorded in 1971 under the title "Aieaoa" on the album ''Le Monde fabuleux des Yamasuki''. In 1975, a v ...

", in 1981. The trio went on to have a string of top 10 hits in the UK, including " Shy Boy" (1982), " Robert De Niro's Waiting" (1984) and " Love in the First Degree" (1987). They also achieved international success, including in the United States, where they had top 10 hits with " Cruel Summer" (1984), "

" (number one in 1986) and "

" (1987). Fahey's replacement in 1988 was Jacquie O'Sullivan, with hits in this period including "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" (1988). O'Sullivan left in 1991, after which Dallin and Woodward continued as a duo. In 2017 they briefly reunited with Fahey for a series of live dates dubbed 'The Original Line Up Tour'. The original line-up of Bananarama received the Icon Award at the Glamour Awards in June 2017.

Personal life

Dallin was engaged to former Bananarama dancer Bassey Walker. The couple had a daughter in 1991 but later separated.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dallin, Sara 1961 births Living people Bananarama members English women songwriters English new wave musicians British women new wave singers English women rock singers English new wave singers Singers from Bristol