Keren Jane Woodward (born 2 April 1961) is an English singer and, with

Sara Dallin Sara Elizabeth Dallin (born 17 December 1961) is an English singer and a founding member of the pop group Bananarama. The group has achieved 28 UK top 50 and 11 US top 100 singles, including a US number one with "Venus" (1986). Other hits includ ...

and

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...

, a founding member of the girl group

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

. In 1986, the trio reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with their version of "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

". Woodward and Dallin are the only constant members of Bananarama, and both have been a part of the group for over 40 years since 1979.

Early life

Woodward is a classically-trained pianist; she sang in choirs and performed in amateur dramatics with Dallin, whom she has known since childhood. After leaving school, Woodward worked at the BBC in Portland Place, London.

Career

Woodward formed

with Dallin and Fahey, releasing their first single " Aie a Mwana" in 1981. They went on to have a string of UK top-ten hits and top the American charts in 1986 with "

". Fahey left the band in 1988, to be replaced by

Jacquie O'Sullivan Jacquie O'Sullivan (born 7 August 1960)'' Smash Hits'', 1988. Personal File: Jacqui O'Sullivan, p. 11 is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group Bananarama from 1988 until 1991, replacing Siobhan Fahey, wh ...

, who left in 1991. Woodward and Dallin performed as a duo from 1991 to 2017. They briefly reunited with Fahey in April 2017 and received the Icon Award at the

Glamour Awards The ''Glamour'' Awards is an annual set of awards hosted by '' Glamour'' magazine. Woman of the Year awards honour "extraordinary and inspirational" women from a variety of fields, including entertainment, business, sports, music, science, medic ...

in June 2017. The trio toured the UK in November and December 2017 and North America in February 2018. They performed their final dates as a trio in August 2018.

Personal life

In the mid-1980s, Woodward had a relationship with model David Scott-Evans, with whom she had a son, Thomas, born 31 December 1986. In 1990, Woodward began dating

Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!. Early life Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey, England, to parents ...

, formerly of the musical duo

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

They lived with her son in a 15th-century converted barn in

Wadebridge Wadebridge (; kw, Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The permanent populat ...

North Cornwall North Cornwall ( kw, An Tiredh Uhel) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also the name of a former local government district, which was administered from Bodmin and Wadebridge . Other towns in the area are Launceston, Bude, P ...

. They ended their relationship in November 2017.

References

External links

* 1961 births Living people Bananarama members English women singers English new wave musicians English songwriters Women new wave singers Musicians from Bristol {{UK-singer-stub