Wow! (Bananarama album)

Wow!
Studio album by Bananarama
Released	4 September 1987
Recorded	July 1986 – May 1987
Genre	Pop dance-pop synth-pop hi-NRG
Length	42:39
Label	London
Producer	Stock Aitken Waterman
Bananarama chronology
True Confessions (1986) Wow! (1987) The Greatest Hits Collection (1988)
Singles from Wow!
"I Heard a Rumour" Released: 22 June 1987[1] "Love in the First Degree" Released: 21 September 1987[2] "I Can't Help It" Released: 28 December 1987 "I Want You Back" Released: 28 March 1988

Wow! is the fourth studio album by English group Bananarama, released on 4 September 1987 by London Records.^[3] The album was entirely produced and co-written with the Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. Tensions between group member Siobhan Fahey and Stock, Aitken and Waterman regarding songwriting input and lyrical content prompted Fahey's departure from Bananarama five months after its release. The album reached number 26 on the UK Albums Chart and number 44 on the US Billboard 200,^[4][5] while peaking at number one in Australia.^[6] The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 3 February 1988.^[3]

Background and writing

The group's sound successfully shifted towards dance-oriented Europop under the direction of Pete Waterman, but the creative process on the project was often fraught, with Matt Aitken describing the band's contribution to song writing as minimal outside of suggesting song titles.^[7] Karen Hewitt, who was the engineer at the songwriting sessions made clear that Bananarama very much tried to be involved in the creative process but that this was not made easy by Mike and Matt who wanted to work very quickly. Bananarama were, however, very assertive and opinionated during the sessions.^[8]

While Fahey often clashed with Waterman, and claimed she was responsible for having him banned him from the studio,^[9] tensions during recording of the album commonly centred on a struggle for dominance between Aitken and the band.^[10] By the time the album's fourth single, "I Want You Back", was released in March 1988, Fahey had been replaced with Jacquie O'Sullivan, who re-recorded the vocals for the single version of the song. Fahey would resurface later in 1988 with her new band, Shakespears Sister. Wow! was reissued in 2013 as a three-disc deluxe edition, including "Reason for Living", which is an early version of "I Want You Back".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Record Collector	[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[13]
Smash Hits	8/10[14]

American magazine Cashbox placed Wow! in its "Out of the Box" section among the best albums of the week, with the comment: "The songwriting/production team of Stock/Aitken/Waterman has laid down the funky programmed synth grooves in full force on this effort destined for serious airplay."^[15] Writing for Smash Hits, Chris Heath found that the album contains four "rather brilliant" songs – "I Heard a Rumour", "Bad for Me", "Once in a Lifetime" and "Love in the First Degree" – while "the rest isn't bad either though there are a few bits where they still sound completely useless. Thank goodness for that."^[14]

Retrospectively, Jose F. Promis of AllMusic praised the album's "quite intoxicating" singles, but criticised "Some Girls" as "dated" and "Strike It Rich" as "an inferior version of 'I Can't Help It'", while finding that "Bad for Me" "unintentionally highlights the trio's vocal limitations"; however, he concluded that Wow! is still "sure to please fans of Bananarama, or any fans of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman sound".^[11] In 2018, Mark Elliott of Classic Pop listed Wow! as the second-best album produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, commenting that "Bananarama's decision to embrace high-camp pop was a commercial triumph".^[16]

Track listing

All songs written by Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, except where noted.

LP

1. "I Can't Help It" – 3:32
2. "I Heard a Rumour" – 3:25
3. "Some Girls" – 4:19
4. "Love in the First Degree" – 3:33
5. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
6. "Strike It Rich" – 3:25
7. "Bad for Me" – 3:39
8. "Come Back" – 3:40 (Richard Feldman, Nick Trevisick)
9. "Nathan Jones" – 5:12 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
10. "I Want You Back" – 3:53

CD and cassette

1. "I Can't Help It" – 3:32
2. "I Heard a Rumour" – 3:25
3. "Some Girls" (12" Version) – 5:47
4. "Love in the First Degree" – 3:33
5. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
6. "Strike It Rich" (12" version) – 6:01
7. "Bad for Me" – 3:39
8. "Come Back" – 3:40 (Richard Feldman, Nick Trevisick)
9. "Nathan Jones" – 5:12 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
10. "I Want You Back" – 3:53

Australian CD (CDLIB5146)

1. "I Can't Help It" – 3:32
2. "I Heard a Rumour" – 3:25
3. "Some Girls" – 4:19
4. "Love in the First Degree" – 3:33
5. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
6. "Strike It Rich" – 3:25
7. "Bad for Me" – 3:39
8. "Come Back" – 3:40 (Richard Feldman, Nick Trevisick)
9. "Nathan Jones" – 5:12 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
10. "I Want You Back" – 3:47
11. "Some Girls" (12" Version) – 5:47
12. "Strike It Rich" (12" Version) – 6:01
13. "The Bananarama Mega-Mix" – 7:31

LP (limited edition double vinyl)

1. "I Can't Help It" – 3:32
2. "I Heard a Rumour" – 3:25
3. "Some Girls" – 4:19
4. "Love in the First Degree" – 3:33
5. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
6. "Strike It Rich" – 3:25
7. "Bad for Me" – 3:39
8. "Come Back" – 3:40 (Richard Feldman, Nick Trevisick)
9. "Nathan Jones" – 5:12 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
10. "I Want You Back" – 3:53
11. "The Bananarama Mega-Mix" – 7:26
12. "Mr. Sleaze" (Rare Groove Remix)
13. "Ecstasy" (Wild Style) – 5:37

2007 CD re-issue bonus tracks

1. "I Can't Help It" – 3:32
2. "I Heard a Rumour" – 3:25
3. "Some Girls" – 4:21
4. "Love in the First Degree" – 3:33
5. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
6. "Strike it Rich" – 2:18
7. "Bad for Me" – 3:39
8. "Come Back" – 3:40 (Richard Belman, Nick Trevisick)
9. "Nathan Jones" – 5:12 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
10. "I Want You Back" – 3:53
11. "Clean Cut Boy" (Party Size) – 4:39 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Ian Curnow)
12. "Mr. Sleaze" – 4:44
13. "Ecstasy" (Wild Style) – 5:37
14. "Nathan Jones" (Psycho 7-inch edit) – 3:03 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
15. "I Want You Back" (Single Version) – 3:47
16. "Amnesia" (Theme from The Roxy) – 6:28 (Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman)
17. "Nathan Jones" (single version) – 3:18 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)

2013 deluxe edition 2CD/DVD re-issue

Disc 1

1. "I Can't Help It" – 3:32
2. "I Heard a Rumour" – 3:25
3. "Some Girls" – 4:19
4. "Love in the First Degree" – 3:33
5. "Once in a Lifetime" – 4:05
6. "Strike It Rich" – 3:25
7. "Bad for Me" – 3:39
8. "Come Back" – 3:40 (Richard Belman, Nick Trevisick)
9. "Nathan Jones" (Bass Tone Mix) – 5:34 (Kathy Wakefield, Leonard Caston)
10. "I Want You Back" – 3:53
11. "Clean Cut Boy" (Party Size) – 4:43
12. "Mr Sleaze" – 4:49
13. "Ecstasy" – 4:11
14. "Amnesia" (12" extended version) – 6:26
15. "I Heard a Rumour" (Horoscope Mix) – 5:57
16. "Love in the First Degree" (Jailers Mix with intro) – 6:19
17. "I Can't Help It" (extended club mix) – 8:03

Disc 2

1. "Love in the First Degree" (Love in the House Mix) – 8:33
2. "I Heard a Rumour" (House Mix) – 7:22
3. "I Can't Help It" (The Hammond Version Excursion) – 6:33
4. "Reason for Living" (12" master) – 6:08
5. "Some Girls" (12" version) – 5:46
6. "Strike It Rich" (12" version) – 5:59
7. "I Heard a Rumour" (original 12" mix) – 7:06
8. "Nathan Jones" (original 12" mix) – 5:45
9. "I Want You Back" (original 12" mix) – 7:18
10. "Ecstasy" (Chicago House Stylee) – 5:57
11. "I Heard a Rumour" (dub) – 5:18
12. "Mr Sleaze" (Rare Groove Remix) – 6:02

DVD

1. "I Heard a Rumour"
2. "Love in the First Degree"
3. "Mr Sleaze"
4. "I Can't Help It"
5. "I Want You Back"
6. "Love, Truth and Honesty"
7. "Nathan Jones"
8. "Help!"
9. "I Can't Help It" (12" version)
10. "I Want You Back" (alternative version)
11. "I Heard a Rumour" (on Top of the Pops)
12. "I Want You Back" (on Going Live)
13. "Love, Truth and Honesty" (on Top of the Pops)
14. "Nathan Jones" (on Wogan)

Notes on "Some Girls" and "Strike It Rich"

• The original LP release of the album included album versions of both songs (4:19 and 3:25, respectively).
• The original CD included 12-inch versions ( 5:47 and 6:00, respectively).
• The 2007 re-issue of Wow! contains the album version of "Some Girls" and contains the shortened faded version of "Strike it Rich" (12" Version) from the "Love, Truth & Honesty – The Remixes" 12" single – 2:18.

Notes on "Nathan Jones" and "I Want You Back"

The album contains what is now known as the 'Bass Tone Mix' of "Nathan Jones" and most versions of Wow! contain the album version of "I Want You Back", with some exceptions. Notably, the Australian CD and cassette releases contain the single version of "I Want You Back", which was re-recorded with Jacquie O'Sullivan though this was not noted in the booklet or on the release packaging.

Personnel

Bananarama

• Sara Dallin – vocals
• Siobhan Fahey – vocals
• Keren Woodward – vocals
• Jacquie O'Sullivan – vocals on the single version of "I Want You Back" (uncredited)

Musicians

• Mike Stock – keyboards and Linn programmes
• Matt Aitken – guitar, keyboards and Linn programmes
• John O'Hara – keyboards
• A. Linn – drums
• Pete Waterman – additional drum patterns
• Ian Curnow – Fairlight programming
• Pete Hammond – mixer
• Phil Harding – assistant mixer
• Mark McGuire – engineer
• Burni Adams – tape operator
• Freddy Bastone – mixer on "Nathan Jones"

Additional personnel

• Hillary Shaw – manager
• Peter Barrett – sleeve design
• Andrew Biscomb – sleeve design
• Andy Earl – photography
• Carrie Branovan – additional photography
• Herb Ritts – gatefold sleeve photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Wow! Chart (1987–1988) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 1 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 32 European Albums (Music & Media)[18] 78 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 11 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 65 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[21] 24 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 38 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[23] 49 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 31 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 22 UK Albums (OCC)[4] 26 US Billboard 200[5] 44 Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[26] 2

Year-end chart Year-end chart performance for Wow! Chart (1988) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 22

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Wow!

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28]	Gold	50,000^^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[29]	Gold	10,000^*
Singapore	—	10,000[30]
United Kingdom (BPI)[3]	Gold	100,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Index". Record Mirror. 20 June 1987. p. 3. ISSN 0144-5804.
2. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 56.
3. "British album certifications – Bananarama – Wow". British Phonographic Industry. 3 February 1988. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
4. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
5. "Bananarama Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
6. "Australiancharts.com – Bananarama – Wow!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
7. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 41: Looking Back with Matt Aitken on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
8. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 14: I'm The One Who Really Loves You to Brand New Lover on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
9. Nicholson, Rebecca (24 April 2017). "'People wet their knickers when they find out I was in Bananarama': the 80s trio return". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
10. "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: BONUS: Yoyo on the '80s: Kylie Minogue, Mel & Kim, Dead Or Alive, Rick Astley, Bananarama and more on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
11. Promis, Jose F. "Wow! – Bananarama". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
12. Staunton, Terry (January 2014). "Wow! | Bananarama". Record Collector. No. 423. ISSN 0261-250X. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
13. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Bananarama". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
14. Heath, Chris (26 August – 8 September 1987). "Bananarama: Wow!" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 9, no. 17. p. 58. ISSN 0260-3004. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via World Radio History.
15. "Album Releases" (PDF). Cashbox. Vol. 51, no. 13. New York. 19 September 1987. p. 7. ISSN 0008-7289. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023 – via World Radio History.
16. Elliott, Mark (April 2018). "Top 15 SAW albums". Classic Pop. No. 39. pp. 58–59. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
17. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0895". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
18. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 10. 5 March 1988. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
19. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bananarama – Wow!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
21. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
22. "Charts.nz – Bananarama – Wow!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
23. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Bananarama – Wow!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Bananarama – Wow!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
26. Kimberley, Christopher (2000). Zimbabwe Albums Chart Book: 1973–1998. Harare.
27. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1988". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
28. "Canadian album certifications – Bananarama – Wow". Music Canada. 23 November 1987. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
29. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1989". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
30. "Women top the pop charts". The Straits Times. Singapore. 27 December 1987. p. 16. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2023.