Bananarama have announced their first new album in a decade, In Stereo, as well as a series of intimate shows across the UK.

For the past three decades, Bananarama’s Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward have been one of pop’s most influential and revered groups. Their hit-packed career happened because they were the mould-breakers. Sometimes reminders of pop genius come in the slightest of touches, the subtlest of triggers. In Stereo, their upcoming 11th studio album, is full of them.

With zero complacency and an ever-increasing touring schedule across the world since their last full studio album Viva in 2009 (the band have since released numerous EPs), the duo’s creativity, vigour and passion have never faltered. 2017 provided a moment to take a step back from recording the LP, to bring the hugely successful one-off Original Line-up Tour to the stage before returning to complete the final tracks for In Stereo.

Having succeeded in their mission – these shows were only ever intended as an exciting diversion – it is back to the day job with all guns blazing, all choruses hitting the target. ‘That walk down memory lane can be a long one sometimes,’ says Sara. ‘You want to keep everything new intact as well.’

‘The amount of women we’ve met,’ says Keren, ‘that say that we were an inspiration to them growing up, has always been one of the best things about being in the band.’ ‘I’d make an album every year if I could,’ says Sara, of the gloriously fleet-footed handiwork put in on In Stereo. ‘Song-writing is what I love to do, along with performing.’ ‘We’ve always written from personal experiences,’ adds Keren, The perfect pop song is about creating a memory. If I look back on my life, you can almost tell the story of it through pop songs. Romances as a teenager, your first kiss, first love, first heartbreak. Those feelings don’t disappear, they change into something you can still write about from your own experience and everything around you.’

In the spring, they’re going to take an evening with Bananarama on tour for one time only, to small, intimate venues and will incorporate Q&As with the audience. The band will perform the hits as well as material from the new album. ‘It feels like the right thing to do,’ says Sara, ‘to get back in touch at ground level with the fans. To have a conversation with them and then play the new material.’

The live dates are as follows:

Friday 26 April – Omeara, London
Saturday 27 April – Borderline, London
Sunday 28 April – Glee Club, Birmingham
Tuesday 30 April – Gorilla, Manchester
Thursday 2 May – St Luke’s, Glasgow

Tickets are available here.

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