Bananarama - Venus

'Venus' is a 1969 song by the Dutch band Shoking Blue which the group took to number one in the U.S. and five countries across Europe in 1970. The composition has been featured in numerous films, television shows and commercials, and covered dozens of times by artists around the world.

'Venus' had been a part of Bananarama's repertoire for several years before they actually recorded it. The band had the idea of turning the song into a dance music tune, but they met with resistance from their producers at the time, Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. Undaunted, the women brought the idea to the production trio of Stock, Aitken and Waterman, or S.A.W., who had just recently scored a global hit producing Dead or Alive's 'You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)'. This was Bananarama's first collaboration with S.A.W.

Dallin, Fahey, and Woodward had nearly completed recording their third album, titled 'True Confessions', with Jolley and Swain, and being fans of the Dead or Alive selection, they sought out the SAW team in order to make their version of 'Venus' sound like 'You Spin Me Round'. Ironically, Stock, Aitken and Waterman also resisted the idea because they believed that 'Venus' would not make a good dance record.

After persistence by the women, SAW relented, and the result was a worldwide smash. Bananarama's 'Venus' went to number one in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Mexico and South Africa. It hit number two in Germany and Hong Kong and was a top ten success in Italy, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Venezuela, Norway, Prtugal and Spain. The single made it to number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. It also went to number one for two weeks on the U.S Dance chart.

The music video for the song received extensive play on MTV and video channels across the world, and presented Bananarama in various costumes, including a she-devil, a French temptress, a vampiress, and several Grecian goddesses. In one sequence of the video, The Birth Of Venus, the painting by Sandro Botticelli, was reenacted. The video marked a pivotal shift towards a more glamourous and sexual image for the girls that contrasted with the tomboyish style in their earlier work.

The collaboration on 'Venus' led Bananarama and SAW to work together on the group's follow-up album Wow! the following year. Bananarama has since re-recorded the track for their 2001 album Exotica and it was later remixed by Marc Almond, with re-recorded vocals, and included on their 2005 album Drama.

Click the link below to download the following:
Video
Video Mix
12 Hellfire mix
Hellfire Dub
Extended Club Mix
Greatest Remix
Love To Infinity's Love Eruption Mix
Marc Almond Hi NRG Showgirls mix
Soul Revenger Original Club Mix
Venus (Fire & Brimstone Mix)
Venus (from Exotica)
White Train - B-Side

Link Removed by request of PWL Publications

Bananarama - Venus - Video



Bananarama - Venus - Video Mix