Bananarama "Cruel Summer"

[A Thug Named Slickback]

Of their long list of hits, "Cruel Summer" is probably my favorite Bananarama single. The song hit #8 in the UK in 1983 and #9 in the US over a year later. This song is a great piece of pop, complete with a catchy hook, an awesome bassline, and a terrible quintessentially 80s video.

This song was featured in The Karate Kid, but didn't actually appear on the soundtrack. I'll bet that was half the reason the song broke in the U.S. This was their first big U.S. hit.

[tico]

My third favorite of theirs, behind "I Heard A Rumour" and "Venus".

[mst3k]

Great song. Ace Of Base's remake was alright, but nowhere near the original.

[620 Soul Train]

It seemed to me that Ace Base remade the song into a love song when in fact it really wasn't. Anyway I used to get hugely excited whe the video came on the MTV and the radio. I thought at the time, that these cats were new. As soon as I moved to the UK, I found out that they really weren't.

[areyoureadytojump]

A summer classic.

The video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n6chxpEINs

[joker]

I like it a lot, and it's way better than Ace of Base's remake.

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Love this. Brings back good memories of "The Karate Kid" film in 1984.

[Soulsista]

This was my favorite of their singles.

[Deleted]

I like it but I prefer Ace Of Base's version.

[Minor Scratch]

I do like Ace of Base's version a bit better too.

[Juanca]

By far the better version. My 2nd favorite from them. I still love their version of "Venus". I didn't know the original back in 1986, and I loved it the first time I heard it, which actually was during my first trip ever to the US - a trip to Miami in the July-August vacations of 1986 :))

[Deleted]

No question that this is my favorite version of the song, between the video and the bouncy production.

[Agent Yoncé]

Awesome song.

[Deleted]

Easily my favorite of their singles. Love it.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

One of my favorites!

[jenglisbe]

Classic jam. My fave of theirs and one of my faves of the 80s period.

[disman00911]

Bananarama's best song and one of the best 80s pop songs of all time.  Heard it as an 80s flashback on 101.9 the Mix during their 80s at 8 hour, the defunct 80s channel 103.1, and I may had heard it on 100.3 (whatever form of AC they were at that time).

music video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ml3nyww80

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

#414 on Billboard's 500 Greatest Pop Songs

414. Bananarama, "Cruel Summer"

Hot 100 Peak: No. 9 (Sept. 29, 1984)

You Know What It Is: The warm-weather perennial that approached summer with both less sentimentality and more xylophone than nearly any other pop song prior.

Living on Video: A big hit on MTV at the channel’s mid-’80s peak, the “Cruel Summer” clip made the song seem like less of a drag by showcasing the trio’s playfulness, without being so energetic that it undercut the song’s malaise. (Though you’d think their summer might’ve been a little less cruel if they traded in those heavy-looking overalls and long pants for some tank tops and shorts.)

Because of You: “Cruel Summer” has endured as much as a title as it has as a song, lending its name to otherwise unrelated projects like Kanye West’s 2012 short film (and GOOD Music label album), Freeform’s 2020 mystery TV serial, and Taylor Swift’s 2019 Lover deep cut, which belatedly grew into a 2023 top five Hot 100 hit.