I Heard A Rumour: Bananarama confirm reunion tour after nearly 30 years

After almost three decades, British pop group Bananarama have announced a comeback. All three original members of the popular outfit, consisting of Keren Woodward, Siobhan Fahey and Sara Dallin, are reuniting for a UK tour later in 2017.

The trio, who sold 40 million records at the peak of their career in the 1980s, last performed together at the Brit Awards in 1988 and will share the stage again this winter for the first time in 29 years. Kicking off at the Glasgow Sec Armadillo on 12 November, Bananarama will then visit cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham before wrapping up at Southend Cliffs Pavilion on 2 December. Tickets go on sale Wednesday 26 April at 9am via AEG Presents.

Announcing the news, Dallin reveals that she had discussions with Fahey, 58, and Woodward, 56, at Christmas before "the whole thing snowballed". Fahey, who quit Bananarama in 1988 to form Shakespeare's Sisters, also told The Sun: "By the time I managed to come over to talk about it, somehow it had become a done deal, the dates had been scheduled and we had a photoshoot arranged. It's pretty nerve wracking for me, it was 29 years ago that I left so I'm rusty to say the least."

Fahey continued: "I didn't say 'yes' immediately, I was in complete shock but my heart felt a sense of absolute joy and I just felt it was the right time in my life. Emotionally it felt like something I needed to revisit, to go back to my roots and that time with my best friends. We're going to go back and celebrate that extraordinary life we led together in our twenties."

Bananarama are best known for the hit singles Cruel Summer, Love In The First Degree, Venus and Robert De Niro's Waiting, all of which entered the UK's top 10 chart. The band also appeared in the line-up for Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas in 1984. Reflecting on their heyday, Woodward said: "In some ways it feels like a lifetime ago, but in others it feels like only yesterday. Our first rehearsal together is this week. It will be a celebration of the years we were together, rather than us trying to do new music.

"It's when we had all our biggest hits and really had a lot of fun. We've still got time to plan the tour because it doesn't launch until November but we've had a few early discussions and know that we're going to be doing all of the greatest hits and more. We haven't quite decided what that 'more' is going to be, yet – but it's exciting."

Listen to Bananarama's Cruel Summer: