In celebration of an incredible forty-year career, with over three decades as a duo, female chart-toppers Bananarama are set to release their new album, MASQUERADE, on July 22nd in North America via In Synk, distributed by BFD/The Orchard. MASQUERADE, the duo’s twelfth studio album, finds them reunited with producer Ian Masterson, with whom they also worked on 2019’s IN STEREO and 2009’s VIVA. The project was originally conceived as an EP, but when the pandemic wiped out their live schedule in 2020, MASQUERADE grew into a sleek and cohesive 11-track electro-dance album. Click here to pre-order the album; click here to access the album cover art and see below for the track listing.
Of their longevity in the industry, Bananarama’s Sara Dallin commented, “When we started out, we could never have envisaged that we would be doing this for 40 years. I remember in the early days, I was 26 at the time, and someone in an interview said we were pushing 30 and we were getting a bit old to make music. Women in the music industry were seen as having a shelf life.”
In advance of the release of the album, available today is the sultry, infectious title track, which can be accessed here. Of the album’s title track, Dallin explained, “When I was in lockdown, there were a lot of conversations happening to do with inclusivity, diversity and gender and racial equality…And that kind of led to this idea of “Masquerade”: how you present yourself in different ways depending on the situation, but really, you just want people to live how they want to live. It’s a song we’re really very proud of.” Click here to access single art.
One of the most successful female groups of all time, the UK’s Bananarama have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, enjoying chart-topping hits all around the world. With such ubiquitous songs as “Venus,” “Cruel Summer” and “Robert DeNiro’s Waiting,” Bananarama is listed in the Guinness Book Of World Records for achieving the world’s highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. The duo recently published their autobiography “Really Saying Something: Sara & Keren – Our Bananarama Story” in October, 2020. Bananarama continue to tour the world. Bananarama is Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward.
Bananarama MASQUERADE track listing:
- Favourite
- Stay Wild
- Velvet Lies
- Masquerade
- Running With The Night
- Bad Love
- Let’s Go Outside
- Brand New
- Need A Little More
- Forever Young
- Waiting For The Sun To Shine