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Bob Henderson

Bananarama's Retirement Gig Last Night

Warning: Ageist Review Ahoy.

Okay, before the nutty 'nana fans start foaming at their false teeth, it was not (officially) their retirement gig. They have no (official) plans to retire. But it might be worth a thought.

They played at The Garage last night, which was nowhere near as busy as last time I was there - even after giving the tickets away. The venue was just free condoms short of being turned into a gayclub, as 200 homosexual gentlemen of a certain age came to see Bananarama go through their motions. When they finally got onstage, the number of women in the room doubled.

The following performance consisted of said two women stumbling around in the semblance of a dance routine, fags on every side of them, whilst shouting along to their own songs. They spunked out their* biggest song Venus second, which was a premature ejaculation if ever there was one (the emphasis being on mature). The biggest problem with Bananrama’s sound is that they’re so desperately pandering to their gay audience that they’ve ruined the songs they were loved for in the first place. All of the old ‘classics’ got an Almighty reworking, with ridiculously beefed up basslines and Generic 4/4 Dance Beats added to EVERYTHING. At one point it was such a Britney production values rip off, it was like watching my gran doing Karaoke.

Still, it was a lovely send off and it must have left them with a warm glowing feeling, getting all their fans in one room.

*a cover version

Added by Jhogue

31/05/2012 11:28:19

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Added by Jhogue

31/05/2012 11:28:00

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...and I am not foaming at the mouth and do not have false teeth and to label Bananarama fans "nutty" is another insult !

Added by TrixieFirecracker

30/10/2009 06:19:52

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Okay so you didn't enjoy the gig but you could have just said that instead of resorting to a paragraph and a bit of slurs and insults . Everyone who was there had won tickets and wanted to be there , I understand that you were probably forced to attend but that is no excuse for this disgusting and poorly written review . It seems you did not pay attention at all to the gig except for Venus ! You do not mention the fact the girls performed some new songs , that they are extremely likeable and funny , that the audience was very very up for it ! And you might as well insult their producer as well while your at it , oh you have ! "generic" etc etc , he was actually playing keyboards at the gig and put together the tracks for the show .Of course you wouldn't know that because no research whatsoever has gone into your piece . There really isn't a place for your constant ageism in this review ! Who cares how old the performers or the audience are , it's not relevant . And I a

Added by TrixieFirecracker

30/10/2009 06:18:18

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Cut off in my prime. As I was saying.... It's obvious that you don't particularly like Bananarama. I suggest you go back to listening to Lady Gaga & Cheryl Cole. A pathetic excuse for a review. 0 out of 10.

Added by Jelloid

30/10/2009 02:07:52

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Really, that whole article is EXTREMELY rude. There's no need for it. If Bob Henderson he didn't like the gig then he should have written a GROWN UP article - not one full of childish little digs at the age/sexuality of the audience etc . You conveniently forgot to mention that the gig took place as a result of a competition run by HMV, whereby if you bought the new Bananarama album you could win tickets to The Garage to see them perform an exclusive 1 hour set. You also conveniently forgot to mention the FUN that everyone had there (all apart from you though it seems - poor soul) - and the HILARIOUS between song banter that Keren & Sara had with the audience. This was a gig set up specifically for their fans. Yes, the gay fans make up a core part of Bananaramas fan-base - they're very loyal to them. But what were you trying to prove by constantly highlighting the sexuality & age of the audience??? It's obvious that you don't particularly like Bananarama. I suggest you go b