Banderas - Ripe (1991)

Banderas was a British duo comprised of vocalist Caroline Buckley and violinist/musician Sally Herbert. They formed after working with Jimmy Sommerville's group the Communards. Their one and only album was produced by American Stephen Hague, who had had huge success producing British synth bands like OMD, Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Erasure, among many others. The sound was very much in the vein of those - danceable, sometimes funky synth-pop, with some trip-hoppy slower numbers. The real difference is Caroline's vocals, which are both ethereal and soulful, and the lyrics, which are very positive and uplifting. The first single "This Is Your Life" was a top 20 pop hit in the UK and top 40 dance hit in the US. The follow-up singles "She Sells" and "May This Be Your Last Sorrow" did not fare nearly as well, and though the album made the British top 40, the duo was largely ignored. It's likely that their image, that of two older, shaven headed and very androgynous women, was not what the audience associated with or wanted from female dance artists at the time, the majority of which were very young and sexualized. The two continued to work with Sommerville, and Sally has appeared and several albums since, both playing violin and doing string arrangements. Caroline has kept a lower profile (though a girl with the same name appeared on the first season of Pop Idol in a classically bad performance). According to one site, Sally is working with Caroline on writing some new songs, so who knows, we may hear more from them still. For now, download this lovely album, especially if you like previous postees Waterlillies.

Video for This Is Your Life (UK Version)

Video for This Is Your Life (US Version)

Video for She Sells

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1		This Is Your Life
2		The Comfort Of Faith
3		May This Be Your Last Sorrow
4		First Hand
5		Why Aren't You In Love With Me?
6		She Sells
7		Too Good
8		Don't Let That Man
9		It's Written All Over My Face
10		Never Too Late