Why did siobhan fahey leave bananarama

Bananarama were the biggest girl group of the 80s thanks to their gleefully shambolic pop hits and punk attitude. Can Siobhan, Keren and Sara recapture their glory days? T he last time all three founding members of Bananarama were properly together as a band was in at the Brit awards. They were performing their hit single Love in the First Degree, dressed in black cocktail dresses, flanked by a mini army of topless male dancers , much to the blustering horror of the host, Noel Edmonds.

Shortly after that night, Siobhan Fahey walked out on her bandmates Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, calling time on almost 10 years of pop history. It was a particularly acrimonious split. Dallin and Woodward kept the group going, even replacing Fahey for a couple of years with a different singer, but they were so mad at their former friend, who was mad at them in return, that it has taken almost three decades to rebuild their relationship. Today, in an out-of-the-way pub in north London — chosen to minimise the chance that fans will see them while their reunion is still a secret — they are Bananarama again.

Appropriately, Dallin and Woodward arrive 10 minutes ahead of time, while Fahey, ever the rebel, is 10 minutes late she flew in from Los Angeles, where she lives, just a couple of hours before we meet. For a time, seeing the three of them in the same room was about as likely as Morrissey and Johnny Marr reforming the Smiths.

But here they are, the biggest girl group of the 80s, the blueprint for the Spice Girls, the punks who became pop stars, about to announce a substantial UK tour. Although they have appeared together twice since the 80s — on Eurotrash in the 90s, and at the 20th birthday party of London clubnight G-A-Y in — they had always said a full reunion would never happen.

There was too much bad blood. They had to become mates again first. A few months later, Woodward picked up the phone and told Fahey she should come on tour with them. They had never actually done a tour, the three of them, together. Did she really not know? People wet their knickers when they find that out.

She beams across the table. They also write sweetly about their grown-up children — Dallin, 58, has a daughter called Alice; Woodward a son named Tom — and celebrate friends they lost too soon, including George Michael. We share the burden and we always have, but it must be 10 times more difficult to do it alone. I just think we were very positive role models for young girls. And I am quite proud of that. Although the group released a new album 'In Stereo' back in April, Siobhan - who added that she "doubts" she'll ever return again - admitted she wasn't involved in the record.

Last month, Siobhan reunited with ex Shakespears Sister bandmate Marcella Detroit after reportedly settling their differences, leading to a UK tour and new single 'All the Queen's Horses'. Siobhan Fahey says the treatment she experienced at their hands was partly behind her decision to quit the chart- topping girl group in The year-old, who co-founded Bananarama with friends Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward in , revealed the tension between her and Pete Waterman became so great that she could not bear to be in the same room as him.

The songwriting partnership of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Waterman were nicknamed the Hit Factory, selling 40million records, and in , Bananarama made them their main producers after working on the smash hit Venus together. But in an interview with Attitude magazine, Miss Fahey, who recently reunited with her former bandmates for Bananarama's first ever tour, said: 'I found the sexism of Stock Aitken Waterman very difficult to handle.

I couldn't be in the studio at the same time as Pete. The band was also asked about Waterman, 70, once branding them 'difficult' to work with. Bananarama's cover version of Shocking Blue's Venus became a worldwide chart hit, and they went on to make Stock, Aitken and Waterman their main producers.

Miss Woodward, who last year split from Wham! Difficult compared to other artists who just accepted songs, performed them and left. Miss Dallin added: 'We said how we wanted things done, and there are men around who are afraid of that.

They term you as 'difficult'. Their cover version of Shocking Blue's Venus became a worldwide chart hit, reaching No. Billboard Hot chart in , and Bananarama went on to make Stock, Aitken and Waterman their main producers. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

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