Deep Sea Skiving

Deep Sea Skiving
Studio album by
Bananarama
Released7 March 1983 (1983-03-07)
Recorded1981–1982
Genre
Length37:59
40:16 (Japanese version)
LabelLondon
Producer
Bananarama chronology
Deep Sea Skiving
(1983) 		Bananarama
(1984)
Singles from Deep Sea Skiving
  1. "Aie a Mwana"
    Released: 28 September 1981
  2. "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'"
    Released: 29 March 1982
  3. "Shy Boy"
    Released: 21 June 1982
  4. "Cheers Then"
    Released: 22 November 1982
  5. "He's Got Tact (Japan only)"
    Released: 1982
  6. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"
    Released: 14 February 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Baltimore Sun[2]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[3]
Record Mirror[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Smash Hits4/10[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[8]
Stylus MagazineA[9]
The Village VoiceB−[10]

Deep Sea Skiving is the debut studio album by British vocal group Bananarama, released on 7 March 1983 by London Records. The album peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart[11] and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[12]

The inner-sleeve of the vinyl release contained numerous photos of the group, several of them in childhood. These pictures were reproduced in the 2013 Deluxe Edition CD/DVD re-issue.

On 19 March 2007, Bananarama's first six studio albums (including Deep Sea Skiving) were re-issued by Rhino Records. All tracks on Deep Sea Skiving were remastered and it included several bonus tracks, consisting of B-sides, remixes and a cover of the Sex Pistols song "No Feelings".

Background and recording

Two of the album's tracks, "Really Saying Something" and "Aie a Mwana", were drawn from previously recorded singles. Bananarama recorded three tracks ("Shy Boy", "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)", and "Boy Trouble") with Jolley & Swain producing, but dismissed the duo in the middle of the album's recording and recruited Barry Blue to produce the rest of the album. Siobhan Fahey explained, "[Jolley & Swain] wanted us to do their songs, not ours. They wanted a 1980s version of the old girl groups, disembodied voices. They didn't see us as voices with ideas."[13] Despite this, Jolley & Swain would be brought back as producers for Bananarama's next two studio albums.

Track listing

Standard edition

  1. "Shy Boy" – 3:16 (Steve Jolley, Tony Swain) produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain
  2. "Doctor Love" – 3:42 (Paul Weller) produced by Barry Blue
  3. "What a Shambles" – 3:34 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Terry Sharpe) produced by Barry Blue
  4. "Really Saying Something" – 2:45 (Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Edward Holland Jr.) produced by Dave Jordan
  5. "Cheers Then" – 3:31 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Terry Sharpe, John Martin) produced by Barry Blue
  6. "Aie a Mwana" – 3:36 (Jean Kluger, Daniel Vangarde, Joseph Avion) produced by Big John Martin and Little Paul Cook, remixed by John Luongo
  7. "Young at Heart" – 3:13 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Robert Hodgens) produced by Barry Blue; piano arranged by John Martin
  8. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" – 3:30 (Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka) produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain
  9. "Hey Young London" – 3:55 (Barry Blue, Stan Shaw, Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward) produced by Barry Blue
  10. "Boy Trouble" – 3:14 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward) produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain
  11. "Wish You Were Here" – 3:41 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward) produced by Barry Blue

(Note : the original US LP omits "Aie a Mwana", and has a slightly altered running order.)

Japanese version

  2. "He's Got Tact" – 2:57 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward)

2007 CD re-issue bonus tracks

  2. "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" – 4:24 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Vaughn Cotillard)
  3. "Girl About Town" – 3:28 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward)
  4. "He's Got Tact" – 2:57 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward)
  5. "Tell Tale Signs" – 3:08 (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward)
  6. "No Feelings" – 2:33 (Paul Cook, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten)

Notes

  • The version of "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" used is the Extended Version.
  • The version of "Girl About Town" used is a slightly longer version with an additional 4 bars just before the instrumental break (roughly 1:45 – 1:59) than the original vinyl 7" version (3:10).

2013 Deluxe Edition CD/DVD re-issue

Disc 1

  2. "He's Got Tact" – 2:59
  3. "Girl About Town" – 3:13
  4. "Tell Tale Signs" – 3:15
  5. "No Feelings" – 2:33
  6. "Aie a Mwana" (Extended Version) – 5:45
  7. "Really Saying Something" (Extended Version) – 5:39
  8. "Shy Boy" (12" Mix) – 5:50
  9. "Cheers Then" (Extended Version) – 5:18
  10. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" (12" Version) – 4:52

Disc 2

  1. "Aie a Mwana" (7" Version) – 3:48
  2. "Really Saying Something" (U.S. 7" Mix) – 3:46
  3. "Shy Boy" (U.S. 7" Mix) – 3:35
  4. "No Feelings" (Alternative Mix) 2:35
  5. "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" – 2:45
  6. "Boy Trouble" (Extended Version) – 4:20
  7. "Girl About Town" (Extended Version) – 5:31
  8. "Tell Tale Signs" (Extended Version) – 4:45
  9. "Aie a Mwana" (U.S. Extended Version) – 6:45
  10. "Really Saying Something" (U.S. Extended Version) – 7:54
  11. "Shy Boy" (U.S. Extended Version) – 7:20
  12. "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" (Extended Version) – 4:23
  13. "Aie a Mwana" (U.S. Dub) – 4:38
  14. "Shy Boy" (U.S. Dub) – 9:23
  15. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) (Na Dub Hey) – 4:12
  16. "Aie a Mwana" (Dubwana) – 3:40

DVD

  1. "Really Saying Something" – Directed by Midge Ure & Chris Cross
  2. "Shy Boy" – Directed by Midge Ure & Chris Cross
  3. "Cheers Then" – Directed by Keith "Keef" MacMillan
  4. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" – Directed by Keith "Keef" MacMillan
  5. "Really Saying Something" – performance on Top of the Pops
  6. "Shy Boy" – performance on 6.55 Special
  7. "Boy Trouble" – performance on 6.55 Special
  8. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" – performance on Saturday Superstore

Personnel

Bananarama

Technical

  • John Mackswith, Squid Palmer – engineer
  • Peter Barrett – design
  • Bay Hippisley – photography

Charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[14] 85
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 7
US Billboard 200[16] 63

References

  1. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Deep Sea Skiving – Bananarama". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ Considine, J. D. (10 April 1983). "Morrison album plays down words to let melody soar". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ^ Tucker, Ken (10 April 1983). "Bananarama: Spunky and clever". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  4. ^ Reid, Jim (12 March 1983). "Girl trouble. Bananarama – Deep Sea Skiving review" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 20. ISSN 0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022 – via World Radio History.
  5. ^ Connelly, Christopher (12 May 1983). "Bananarama: Deep Sea Skiving". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 July 2001. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  6. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Bananarama". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 41–42. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ Hillier, Beverley (17–30 March 1983). "Bananarama: Deep Sea Skiving" (PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 5, no. 6. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 30. ISSN 0260-3004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2022 – via World Radio History. Alt URL
  8. ^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Bananarama". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  9. ^ Merwin, Charles (19 April 2007). "Bananarama – Deep Sea Skiving / Bananarama / True Confessions / Wow! / Pop Life – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 April 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert (31 May 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Top Albums & Tapes – Week Ending April 2, 1983". Record Mirror. 2 April 1983. ISSN 0144-5804 – via ChartArchive.[permanent dead link‍] N.B. The Official Charts Company site lists an inaccurate peak for the album, due to the chart for the week it peaked being a duplication of the prior week's chart, when the album was at number 8.
  12. ^ "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for 'Bananarama' (from bpi.co.uk)". imgur.com. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  13. ^ Mehler, Mark (June 1983). "In Which Bananarama Asserts they Are 'Voices with Ideas'". Record. 2 (8): 6.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 26. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6272a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Bananarama Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 November 2020.