''Ripe'' is the only studio album by English female

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

duo Banderas, released in 1991. It features the single "This Is Your Life", which reached number 16 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, plus the follow-up single "She Sells", which reached number 41. A third single, "May This Be Your Last Sorrow", failed to chart. The album includes an appearance from singer

Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and soul ...

, providing backing vocals on the track "Why Aren't You in Love With Me?"; Banderas band members Caroline Buckley and Sally Herbert had been backing musicians with Somerville's band

The Communards The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. The duo consisted of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way", originally by Harold Melvin & the Blue N ...

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

from

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

and

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post ...

from New Order provide guitar on "This Is Your Life", with Sumner also doing backing vocals.

Critical reception

In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, William Cooper gave ''Ripe'' three out of five stars, describing the album as "addictive ear candy" and that band member Caroline Buckley sings "with confidence and clarity." He described the opening track, "This Is Your Life", as "funky ndbeautifully produced", and "May This Be Your Last Sorrow" as "eerie", though going on to write that the eight remaining tracks "don't quite scale the same heights", yet "Buckley's extraordinary pipes save the material from sinking into mediocrity."

Track listing

All tracks written by Caroline Buckley and Sally Herbert ( Banderas), except where noted.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

Musicians

Banderas *Caroline Buckley – vocals *Sally Herbert – violin, string arrangement Other musicians *Simon Bishop – drums (tracks 2, 5–8) *Gary Butcher – guitar (tracks 4–5, 8) *Simon Elms – trumpet (track 8) *

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former president of the ...

– percussion (tracks 3, 7) *Adrian Lane – trombone (track 8) *

Stevie Lange Stevie Vann (born Stevie van Kerken), also known as Stevie Lange, is a Zambian singer and vocal coach. She is best known for her work as a backing vocalist and studio singer for many groups and solo performers in the 1970s and 1980s. As lead vocal ...

– backing vocals (tracks 4–6, 8) *

– guitar (track 1) *Andy Northfield – keyboards (track 4) *Dave Pollitt – bass (track 4) *Keith Michael Osborne – guitar (track 9) *Jos Pook – viola (track 5) *

Guy Pratt Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...

– bass (tracks 2, 5, 7, 8) *

Audrey Riley Audrey Riley is an English cellist and string arranger, based in the UK. Career Riley trained at the Guildhall School of Music with Leonard Stehn. She was a cellist for Virginia Astley from 1983 to 1986 and a one-time auxiliary member of The Fam ...

– cello (track 5) *Sonia Slany – violin (track 5) *

– backing vocals (track 5) *

– guitar, backing vocals (track 1)

Production

*Sally Herbert – programming *Chuck Norman – programming (tracks 1–9) *Produced by

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session k ...

, except track 9 produced by Banderas & Mike Dignam *All tracks engineered by

Tim Weidner Tim Weidner is an engineer and producer, best known for his work with Trevor Horn. Biography Weidner has produced for Dead or Alive (band), Dead or Alive. He has done mixing for artists including Seal (musician), Seal, Mike Oldfield (''Tubular Bell ...

, except tracks 1 & 3 by Mike Dignam & Mike "Spike" Drake, track 9 by Mike Dignam *Additional arrangement on track 3 by Less Stress *Photography by Chris Nash *Design by "Two"

Charts

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Ripe''
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

1991 debut albums London Records albums Albums produced by Stephen Hague Pop albums by English artists