Bananarama have regained total control of their career by releasing their latest music independently.
The duo, starring Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, is celebrating 40 years together this year with a brand new album – their second independently-released long-player.
Speaking about ‘Masquerade’ – the follow-up to 2019’s ‘In Stereo’ – Keren admits taking the reins on their career without the backing of a record label has been an overwhelmingly liberating and positive experience.
“It has been such a turnaround for us – which we only really discovered in 2019 after not doing an album for 10 years,” she tells Retro Pop’s August 2022 issue. “You just sort of think, ‘Oh my God, you can do it yourself and have complete control,’ which is obviously something that we’ve always hankered after.”
She explains: “Most of our albums and most of our career has been mostly under our control, but there’s always stuff you have to give away to someone else because they’re the people with the money and pulling the strings.
“But, you know, for us now, it just seems to sit so well with us. We choose exactly what we do and when we do it.”
On ‘Masquerade’, the pair reunite with longtime collaborator Ian Masterson on 11 new recordings, including taster track Favourite and the title song, which is accompanied by a stunning video filmed in Puglia, Italy.
Another song, Forever Young, was written by Sara and her daughter Alice, as a tribute to a lifetime of friendship between herself and Keren.
“We’ve been friends since we were kids and been through so much that, when I listen to it, it almost makes me cry,” she admits.
“And I hope when we do it on stage I don’t cry, because there’s just those joyous memories and nostalgia, of how we grew up together, went to clubs and had all these adventures.”
In support of the album, Bananarama will play a pair of intimate live dates at the Lafayette, London on August 3 and 4 – and as they collate four decades of hits into their latest live set, Sara maintains they never considered stepping away from music.
“I don’t think we thought about how long it would last,” she muses. “It’s like, if you love your job, you don’t suddenly think, ‘Well, I’m 30 now, I won’t do that job anymore,’ or, ‘I’m 40, I won’t do it anymore.’
“It’s just something we love and we’ve been fortunate enough, because of the ‘80s and MTV, to have been internationally successful.”
She adds: “I’m just thrilled that it’s 40 years. I mean, I think it does speak a lot for what we’ve achieved, really, and our body of work.”
Read the full interview in the August 2022 edition of Retro Pop, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store or use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist.
