Masquerade

Legendary pop band Bananarama celebrate 40 sensational years of releasing music, chalking up an astonishing 30 chart hits and 30 million record sales.

Legendary pop band Bananarama celebrate 40 sensational years of releasing music, chalking up an astonishing 30 chart hits and 30 million record sales. To mark this momentous occasion the band will release their 12th brand new studio album 'Masquerade'. The duo reunited with producer Ian Masterson, with whom they also worked on 2019's In Stereo – their highest-charting album since the late '80s – and 2009's Viva, home to the thumping club hit 'Love Comes'. A disrupted 2020 tour schedule gave them an opportunity to turn an EP into a sleek and cohesive 11-track album. “I love writing songs it’s probably my favourite part. Shutting myself away and coming up with ideas and then telling a story in less than 4 minutes, it really is quite an art”, says Dallin. "Arranging the music, vocals and harmonies really is our forte," Woodward adds. The result is a tremendously entertaining electro-dance album that sounds both fresh and quintessentially Bananarama.

In 1979, artist Kit Williams turned Britain into a giant treasure map, promising a golden hare, buried in the earth, to the first person who solved the riddle of his book Masquerade. The hysteria that followed the hunt drove Williams’s underground, where he has continued to create complex and beautiful art, which he refuses to publicly exhibit. In his first interview in two decades, Kit lifts the lid on life before and after Masquerade. Did the hare deprive us of one of our most gifted painters?

"The Masquerade is Over” is a compilation of lyrically riveting tunes, frolicsome dance numbers, and daft, sappy ballads. The album draws inspiration from songs the group performs live on a regular basis, as well as some other distinct selections, brought out of the woodwork for this album. Recorded in June 2023 and produced by Stewart Lerman, the album features Stefan Vasnier on piano, Aidan O’Donnell on bass, and Ben Cliness on drums. Some songs feature the trumpet of Charlie Caranicas, percussion from David Langois and guitar from Greg Ruggeiro.

"The Masquerade is Over” is a compilation of lyrically riveting tunes, frolicsome dance numbers, and daft, sappy ballads. The album draws inspiration from songs the group performs live on a regular basis, as well as some other distinct selections, brought out of the woodwork for this album. Recorded in June 2023 and produced by Stewart Lerman, the album features Stefan Vasnier on piano, Aidan O’Donnell on bass, and Ben Cliness on drums. Some songs feature the trumpet of Charlie Caranicas, percussion from David Langois and guitar from Greg Ruggeiro.