Ep 43: Help! (and Pop Life)

A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman

Thanks to a little help from comedy trio Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Kathy Burke (aka Lananeeneenoonoo), Bananarama's hit streak continued as their remake of The Beatles' "Help!" took them back to the UK top 3 in early 1989. Released in support of Comic Relief, the cover version was true to the song's pop roots musically, but came with added input from the satirical girl group sprinkled throughout. Like the French & Saunders sketch from Christmas 1988 that had inspired the collaboration, the jokes were incredibly pointed, with Jacquie O'Sullivan's role in the group turned into a punchline (with her blessing, it would seem). But following the success of "Help!", Bananarama hit a difficult patch, with their ongoing work with Stock Aitken Waterman unable to deliver anything they were happy with and the trio turning to producer Youth for the bulk of their 1991 album, Pop Life. We look at the troubled SAW sessions from 1988 to 1990 and discuss why fan favourite "Ain't No Cure" was a wasted opportunity, with input from Matt Aitken on the matter. Plus. we hear from Youth about Pop Life, which gave Bananarama their last UK top 30 hits as a trio.

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