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Cruel Summer
"Cruel Summer" is a pop song originally performed by Bananarama that was a top ten hit in Britain in 1983. Sara Dallin of Bananarama told The Guardian that the song ?played on the darker side (of summer songs): it looked at the oppressive heat, the misery of wanting to be with someone as the summer ticked by. We've all been there!?[1]
History"Cruel Summer" was not an immediate international success when it was released. Its international popularity soared after its inclusion in the 1984 feature film The Karate Kid; this was a year after the song's original release. The group did not allow the song to be included in the film's soundtrack, but regardless it was their first top ten hit in the USA. When Bananarama were still struggling to make money in their early years, they even performed the song at a beauty contest in Hawaii. The song has since been revived in various forms. It appeared in several television commercials, was included on the soundtrack to the movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and was covered by other acts, such as Ace of Base, who scored an international hit with it (their version even reached gold in the US), and Blestenation on the Blue Crush soundtrack. In 2003, Swedish electronica female artist Sophie Rimheden sampled the beat and bassline from the song on the track "In Your Mind" of the album HiFi. Since its success, the group recorded another two versions of the song. "Cruel Summer '89" was recorded with new member Jacquie O'Sullivan in 1989, and given a new jack swing make-over. It reached number nineteen in the UK singles chart in June. This version was not included on a Bananarama album until 2005's Really Saying Something: The Platinum Collection. Another version of the song was recorded and featured on their 2001 album Exotica. This version featured Latin instrumentation and additional lyrics, but it was not released as a single. In 2009 they released another updated version as a B-side to their single "Love Comes". The song was also featured as the theme tune to the first series of Trouble's reality show of the same name, where a group of young adults were sent off to a holiday camp, only to be tortured and humiliated in an attempt to win a large sum of money. Music videoThe music video features a take on the American TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, with a bumbling cop duo who chase the girls as they make their escape in a truck (at one point, Bananarama members throw bananas at a trailing police cruiser). The music video for the 1989 remix was a compilation of different shots from Bananarama's earlier videoclips. Notably missing are clips from the original 1983 video. Ex-member Siobhan Fahey is only featured in a pair of frames. Bananarama were unable to record a proper video for the song due to being in the middle of a world tour at the time of release. Remixes
PersonnelBananarama
Ace of Base versionIn 1998, the Swedish group Ace of Base recorded the song at the request of their British record label London Records (who also had released the original version). Produced by Cutfather & Joe, the song was released as the lead single from their third American album, also called Cruel Summer. It was also on their album Flowers. It reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold. It also reached number eight in the United Kingdom, matching the peak of the original Bananarama version. A different, more "dancier" version of the song (big bonus mix) was released on mainland Europe and in France it was re-recorded as a duet with the boyband Alliage. Track listings
Official remixes/versions
Charts
ReferencesExternal links
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