Boomerang - Boomerang (1986)

After posting the Mens Room album, it got me thinking about a similar female trio, Boomerang, whose album I've had on my want list for some time.  I remember seeing the video once to "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" back in the 80s, and that was the first and last I heard of them.  Other than that song I never heard anything else by them until recently, and I was intrigued.  So I finally bought the vinyl and ripped it for you all!  And I'm glad I did.  It is very similar to the Mens Room album - synth-poppy girl group goodness.  Boomerang consisted of Adriana Kaegi, Cheryl Porier and Perri Lister.  Adriana and Cheryl were a part of The Coconuts, the trio of ladies that accompanied Kid Creole on his many hits.  As part of Kid Creole & The Coconuts, they released eight albums in the 1980s/early 90s, all tropical flavoured funk and Latin music.  They had their greatest success in the UK, with their biggest hit being "Annie I'm Not Your Daddy".  Swiss Adriana co-founded the group with her husband August Darnell, better known as 'Kid Creole'.  Though The Coconuts did release one album by themselves on EMI in 1983, Don't Take My Coconuts (stay tuned here for that one!), Darnell was still heavily involved in it's writing and production.  The ladies grew frustrated and wanted to make their own music with a different producer (Adriana also divorced Darnell in 1985), so they signed a deal with Atlantic Records to do just that.  When Coconut Taryn Hagey declined to join them, they asked Perri Lister, who had briefly been a Coconut, to join them.  Perri had been part of Brit dance troupe & recording artists Hot Gossip, and had also sang back-up for new wave act Visage and Billy Idol. In fact, she had a nine year relationship with Billy Idol starting in 1980, and they had a son in 1988.  She also appeared in his videos such as "White Wedding" and "Hot In The City" and danced topless in Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur" video.  Taking the name 'Boomerang', they enlisted popular long-time producer David Kershenbaum and gathered a collection of songs, some originals and some remakes.  Their first single was a remake of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", and they made a video for it.  This was followed by "When The Phone Stops Ringing" (which would later become a minor hit in 1987 for British pop group Eighth Wonder) and "In The Darkness" (which France Joli first recorded in 1985 for her Witch Of Love album, and Taylor Dayne would cover on her 1988 debut album).  Interestingly the album also included the 'Tina Yothers classic' (LOL) also covered by Mens Room on their album, "Baby I'm Back In Love Again".  But despite the fact that they were backed by a major label, the label did little to promote them and, according to Adriana, the act "went nowhere".  A shame because they had such potential.  After that, Adriana and Cheryl went back to Kid Creole & The Coconuts (another Coconuts-only album, Killer Bees, was released in Japan only in 1991), and then left for good in 1991.  Of the three ladies of Boomerang, Adriana has retained the highest profile in the entertainment industry.  She has pioneered on-line fashion shows, released a solo jazz album, Tag, in 2009, and released the documentary Kid Creole & My Coconuts in 2011, documenting her time with the groundbreaking group.

Live performance of These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

Download Boomerang

1		Boomerang Fanfare / Boomerang
2		These Boots Are Made For Walkin'
3		Night Train
4		When The Phone Stops Ringing
5		Guess You Know I'll Always Be Around
6		Baby I'm Back In Love Again
7		In The Darkness
8		Money, Men And Makeup
9		Stowaway