Bananarama is one of the most successful girl-pop groups to come out of Britain, despite their lack of instrumental talent and absence of concert tours. They were formed in late 1981 in London by childhood friends Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward. They were joined by Siobhan Fahey, who was a friend of Sara's from the London College of Fashion. The three women had been living together in a flat and decided to quit their jobs and start performing together. They drew the inspiration for their name from a children's television program The Banana Splits and the Roxy Music song "Pyjamarama."

Their first years together generated a few successful singles including "Shy boy" and "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)." At their beginnings, they also sang back up for Fun Boy Three on the single "It Ain't What You Do It's the Way You Do It." Their first album, Deep Sea Skyving, featured the single "Shy boy (Don't It Make You Feel Good)" which was produced by ex-Sex Pistol Paul Cook.

Part of the group's fame may have had to do with their refreshing musical integrity. They refused to use sex as a marketing tool. They also were not afraid to deal with the really tough issues in their music. Their second and self-titled album was in many ways different from the first. Bananarama dealt with much more serious issues, most markedly the single "Robert de Niro's Waiting" which dealt with the thoughts of a teenage rape victim.

The group suffered the loss of Fahey in 1987 when she married Dave Stewart from Eurythmic. They replaced her with an old friend of theirs, Jacqui Sullivan. Sullivan also moved on in 1991, and Woodward and Dallin continued as a duo for a time. The duo celebrated their 20 year anniversary in 2002 with a concert of 3,000 in London, and they were joined once again by Siobhan.