Pop Life (Bananarama album)


Pop Life is the fifth studio album by British girl group Bananarama, released in 1991. It is the only album released which features Jacquie O'Sullivan, who replaced Siobhan Fahey in Bananarama upon her departure in 1988. This album marks the end of the group's association with the Stock Aitken Waterman production team as most of Pop Life was produced by Youth. UK singer Zoë provided backing vocals on "Long Train Running". This would be the last album by Bananarama as a trio.
After the group's first world tour in 1989, they started recording their fifth album with producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, but they were dissatisfied with the results of those sessions, thinking the majority of those songs of sub-par quality, although "Ain't No Cure" and "Heartless" were eventually released on the album. They started looking for other producers, first working with David Z with whom they recorded "Some Boys", but they felt it was not the direction they wanted to follow and the song remained unreleased until 2013. They then worked with Steve Jolley who, along with Tony Swain, had produced the group's first three records. A song co-written by him, "Is Your Love Strong Enough" ended up on the album, while another remains unreleased. The group settled with Youth, who had been Sara Dallin's boyfriend years before and whom the group knew well, to produce the majority of the album.
Upon its release Pop Life earned positive reviews from critics but was a commercial failure, peaking at number 42 in the UK, number 37 in Sweden, and number 146 in Australia. Four mid-charting singles were issued from the album, and following the release of "Tripping on Your Love", O'Sullivan left the group, leaving members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward to continue as a duo.
The album was a departure from their previous albums as it incorporates a much more diverse range of musical genres, including flamenco guitar, retro-rock, acid house, reggae, experimental club, and their hallmark Euro disco sound.
The track "Ain't No Cure" was covered by Stock Aitken Waterman produced girl group Delage in 1991, although it was not released until 1997.

Legacy

Track listing

CD version
  1. "Preacher Man" – 3:15
  2. "Long Train Running" – 3:31
  3. "Only Your Love" – 3:58
  4. "What Colour R the Skies Where U Live?" – 4:27
  5. "Is Your Love Strong Enough" – 5:07
  6. "Tripping on Your Love" – 3:20
  7. "Ain't No Cure" – 3:27
  8. "Outta Sight" – 4:31
  9. "Megalomaniac" – 6:16
  10. "I Can't Let You Go" – 6:10
  11. "Heartless" – 3:22
  12. "Preacher Man" – 7:31
Cassette version
  1. "Preacher Man" – 3:15
  2. "Long Train Running" – 3:31
  3. "Only Your Love" – 3:58
  4. "What Colour R the Skies Where U Live?" – 4:27
  5. "Is Your Love Strong Enough" – 5:07
  6. "Tripping on Your Love" – 3:20
  7. "Ain't No Cure" – 3:27
  8. "Outta Sight" – 4:31
  9. "Megalomaniac" – 6:16
  10. "I Can't Let You Go" – 6:10
2007 CD re-issue plus bonus tracks
  1. "Preacher Man" – 3:15
  2. "Long Train Running" – 3:31
  3. "Only Your Love" – 3:58
  4. "What Colour R the Skies Where U Live?" – 4:27
  5. "Is Your Love Strong Enough" – 5:07
  6. "Tripping on Your Love" – 3:20
  7. "Ain't No Cure" – 3:27
  8. "Outta Sight" – 4:31
  9. "Megalomaniac" – 6:16
  10. "I Can't Let You Go" – 6:10
  11. "Heartless" – 3:22
  12. "Only Your Love" - 4:02
  13. "Preacher Man" - 3:39
  14. "Megalomaniac" - 4:35
  15. "Tripping on Your Love" - 3:15
  16. "What Colour R the Skies Where U Live?" - 6:24
  17. "Ain't No Cure" - 4:03
2013 Deluxe Edition 2CD/DVD re-issue
Disc 1
  1. "Preacher Man" - 3.14
  2. "Long Train Running" - 3.30
  3. "Only Your Love" - 3.58
  4. "What Colour R The Skies Where U Live?" - 4.27
  5. "Is Your Love Strong Enough?" - 5.06
  6. "Tripping on Your Love" - 3.19
  7. "Ain't No Cure" - 3.27
  8. "Outta Sight" - 4.32
  9. "Megalomaniac" - 6.22
  10. "I Can't Let You Go" - 6.07
  11. "Heartless" - 3.20
  12. "I Don't Care" - 6.16
  13. "Some Boys" - 5.33
  14. "Only Your Love" - 8.11
  15. "Tripping on Your Love" - 6.10
  16. "Preacher Man" - 6.08
Disc 2
  1. "Only Your Love" - 7.33
  2. "Preacher Man" - 7.31
  3. "Long Train Running" - 6.39
  4. "Tripping on Your Love" - 7.20
  5. "Ain't No Cure" - 4.06
  6. "What Colour R The Skies Where U Live?" - 6.55
  7. "Tripping on Your Love" - 7.07
  8. "I Don't Care" - 6.10
  9. "Ain't No Cure" - 7.02
  10. "Tripping on Your Love" - 6.26
  11. "Long Train Running" - 4.34
  12. "Tripping on Your Love" - 8.12
DVD
  1. "Only Your Love"
  2. "Preacher Man"
  3. "Long Train Running"
  4. "Tripping on Your Love"
  5. "Only Your Love"
  6. "Preacher Man"
Unreleased songs and demos
  1. "Nothing Lasts Forever"
  2. "Don't Throw It All Away"
  3. "One in a Million"
  4. "Love Generation"
  5. "Wake Up and Love Me"
  6. "Got to Be Good"
  7. "Sweet Destiny"
  8. "You Give Love a Bad Name"

    Charts

Personnel

Bananarama
Musicians
Additional Personnel