Deep Sea Skiving

Template:Use dmy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date<ref name="SmashHits 19830303"/> | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Bananarama1984studioDeep Sea SkivingBanana dss.jpgyesBananaramaTemplate:Start date<ref name="SmashHits 19830303"/>* Red Bus (Marylebone)

• Utopia (Primrose Hill)* New wave<ref name="Atkinson"/>
• synth-pop<ref name="Daw"/>
• post-punk<ref name="Hughes"/>37:57London* Steve Jolley
• Tony Swain
• Barry Blue
• Paul Cook
• John Martin
• Sara Dallin
• Dave Jordanx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Deep Sea Skiving is the debut studio album by the English pop group Bananarama, released on 9 March 1983 by London Records.

The album peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart<ref name="UKAlbums"/> and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).<ref name="BPI"/>

Background and recording

By the time they began working on a full-length album, Bananarama had recorded and released two singles, "Aie a Mwana" and "Really Saying Something",<ref name="DallinWoodward">Template:Cite book</ref> which were both subsequently included on Deep Sea Skiving. After hearing the Imagination song "Body Talk" (1981) and being impressed by its "slinky" sound, Bananarama sought to work on their debut album with the song's producers, Jolley & Swain.<ref name="DallinWoodward"/> On their first meeting with the group at Red Bus Studios in Marylebone, Jolley & Swain presented Bananarama with a song in the vein of Motown girl groups called "Big Red Motorbike", which after being rewritten at the behest of the group, who disliked its lyrics, would become "Shy Boy".<ref name="DallinWoodward"/> After recording two more tracks, "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" and "Boy Trouble", with Jolley & Swain producing,<ref name="Notes"/> Bananarama recorded the rest of Deep Sea Skiving at Utopia Studios in Primrose Hill with producer Barry Blue.<ref name="DallinWoodward"/>

Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey attributed the change in producers to the group's desire to record more of their own compositions, explaining, "[Jolley & Swain] wanted us to do their songs, not ours. They wanted a 1980s version of the old girl groups, disembodied voices. They didn't see us as voices with ideas."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The duo would nonetheless be brought back as producers for Bananarama's next two studio albums, Bananarama (1984) and True Confessions (1986), and group members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward later acknowledged Jolley & Swain's role in helping the group hone their songwriting and arrangement skills during the Deep Sea Skiving sessions.<ref name="Hughes">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="DallinWoodward"/>

Writing about Deep Sea Skiving in 1983, Los Angeles Times critic Terry Atkinson said that Bananarama "mix the old Motown/Spector 'girl group' approach with the modern African rhythms and new-wave effervescence that were popularized, in part, by the female-led Bow Wow Wow."<ref name="Atkinson">Template:Cite news</ref> StereogumTemplate:'s Robbie Daw later wrote that the album "stood out as a synth-pop and 1960s girl group hybrid",<ref name="Daw">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while Classic PopTemplate:'s Mark Lindores described its sound as "falling somewhere between the Slits and the Supremes" and noted that Bananarama "blended the notion of the classic girl groups of the 60s and the DIY ethos of the punk scene that spawned them".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Release

Deep Sea Skiving was released on 9 March 1983 by London Records,<ref name="SmashHits 19830303">Template:Cite magazine</ref> reaching number seven on the UK Albums Chart.<ref name="UKAlbums"/> "Aie a Mwana" had previously been issued in 1981 as a one-off release by Bananarama for the independent label Demon Records,<ref name="DallinWoodward"/> while "Really Saying Something" followed in 1982 and became the group's first major hit as a lead artist, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="OCC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Three further singles were released from Deep Sea Skiving: "Shy Boy", "Cheers Then", and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye". While "Cheers Then" charted at a relatively low number 45, "Shy Boy" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" gave Bananarama two further UK top five singles, reaching numbers four and five respectively.<ref name="OCC"/> The Japanese edition of the album included an additional track, "He's Got Tact", which was recorded by the group for a Honda advert and issued as a single in Japan.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The sleeve artwork for Deep Sea Skiving was designed by Peter Barrett, while the cover photograph of Bananarama was taken by Bay Hippisley, who also constructed the underwater-themed set.<ref name="Dineley">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The black tunics worn by Bananarama on the cover were sewn by the group members themselves.<ref name="DallinWoodward"/> According to Barrett, the full image showed the group in what was intended to look like a "giant fish tank with them swimming inside with their fish. However, when the key image came back, the metal looking tank frame looked murky so I stripped it away to a white border which contrasted better with the colourful image."<ref name="Dineley"/> The inner sleeve contains numerous photos of the group members, several of them in childhood.

As part of a reissue series covering Bananarama's first six studio albums, Deep Sea Skiving was re-released on CD on 19 March 2007 by Rhino Records with several bonus tracks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The six albums were reissued again by Edsel Records on 28 October 2013, each as a double-CD set with an accompanying DVD.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The London label reissued the albums on CD on 20 July 2018, and on coloured vinyl and cassette on 30 November 2018.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Critical reception

Writing for Rolling Stone, Chris Connelly praised Deep Sea Skiving as sounding "like a great party" even without overt "conviction" or "soul", and commented, "Bananarama aren't the type to sing 'Come See About Me': they're hot stuff, they know it, and if you don't, that's your problem."<ref name="Connelly"/> Observing "a lot of promise here", Record MirrorTemplate:'s Jim Reid highlighted Bananarama's "charm and vivacity" and complimented their self-penned songs, while suggesting that their craft would improve over time through "extensive live work and a more considered stab at songwriting".<ref name="Reid"/> Beverley Hillier of Smash Hits, however, said that "their identity is totally overshadowed by that of the different producers and songwritersTemplate:Nbsp... while their vocals are dull and monotonous."<ref name="Hillier"/>

In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Stewart Mason deemed Deep Sea Skiving "Bananarama's finest album by far, and an underappreciated pop gem of its era", writing that the group "were unashamedly poppy, but they had enough artistic credibility to create a debut album that, barring a couple of small missteps, actually works as an album instead of a collection of singles with some filler."<ref name="Mason"/> Record CollectorTemplate:'s Rob Hughes described it as an album of "mischievous post-punk pop" which "scrambled preconceived ideas of what an all-girl band could be: post-punks with a pop vision and strong DIY aesthetic."<ref name="Hughes"/>

Track listing

Notes

• The original US LP edition omits "Aie a Mwana" and has a slightly altered running order.
• The original Japanese LP edition positions "He's Got Tact" between "What a Shambles" and "Really Saying Something".

Template:Track listing

Notes

• The version of "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares" used is the extended version.
• The version of "Girl About Town" used is a slightly longer version, with an additional four bars just before the instrumental break (roughly 1:45–1:59), than the original vinyl 7" version (3:10).

Template:Track listing Template:Track listing

2013 deluxe edition CD/DVD reissue – DVD

1. "Really Saying Something" – music video (directed by Midge Ure and Chris Cross)
2. "Shy Boy" – music video (directed by Midge Ure and Chris Cross)
3. "Cheers Then" – music video (directed by Keith "Keef" MacMillan)
4. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" – music video (directed by Keith "Keef" MacMillan)
5. "Really Saying Something" – performance on Top of the Pops
6. "Shy Boy" – performance on 6.55 Special
7. "Boy Trouble" – performance on 6.55 Special
8. "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" – performance on Saturday Superstore

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref name="Notes">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Bananarama

• Sara Dallin – vocals
• Siobhan Fahey – vocals
• Keren Woodward – vocals

Production

• Barry Blue – production
• Paul Cook (credited as "Little Paul Cook") – production
• Sara Dallin – production
• Steve Jolley – production
• Dave Jordan – production
• John Luongo – remixing ("Aie a Mwana")
• John Mackswith – engineering
• John Martin (credited as "Big John Martin") – production, piano arrangement ("Young at Heart")
• Squid Palmer – engineering (assistance)
• Tony Swain – production

Design

• Peter Barrett – design
• Bay Hippisley – photography

Charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	85
UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="UKAlbums">Template:Cite magazine N.B. The Official Charts Company site lists an inaccurate peak for the album, due to the chart for the week it peaked being a duplication of the prior week's chart, when the album was at number 8.</ref>	7

External links

• Template:Discogs master