Ladies Nite

This evening I’m focusing on Madonna and Bananrama. Madonna is the most iconic of all 1980s artists (along with Michael Jackson). Over a 10 year period (1984-1994) she scored 28 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

The one Madonna single that was never issued in the USA , or anywhere aside from Japan, was “Spotlight.” And I’ll never understand why. “Spotlight” was the lead song on Madonna’s continuous-play dance album You Can Dance, released in November of 1987. The moment the needle on my turntable hit the opening drum beat on “Spotlight,” I absolutely loved it.

To this day it’s one of my all time favorite Madonna songs, and I think it’s the most overlooked song in her entire catalogue.

Here is the best video version of “Spotlight” that I’ve been able to find…

Bananarama reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their cover version of “Venus” in 1986. They had 11 singles chart in the Hot 100, including the Top 10 hits “Cruel Summer” (1984) and “I Heard a Rumour” (1987). But they were never quite as popular here as in their native UK. Although the loss of singer Siobhan Fahey in 1987 reduced the trio to a duo and looked like the kiss of death, Banarama has never stopped recording or performing to this day. Original members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward have kept the group alive, and they just released their 11th album, In Stereo, this year.

In Stereo is one of their best releases and the song “Dance Music” is my personal favorite from the new album. Here is the official audio/video and a live video of the song shot in London.