Bananarama - "I Heard a Rumour"

(Debuted July 18, 1987, Peaked #4, 19 Weeks on the Chart)

Chart buffs should easily remember that Bananarama's biggest hit in the U.S. was their remake of "Venus," which hit #1 in 1986. However, when asked what their second biggest hit, their 1984 hit "Cruel Summer" might often be mentioned (as it's their other widely-played tune), but that would be wrong. That song hit #9, while "I Heard a Rumour" -- note the distinctively British spelling of the title -- actually hit #4 in 1987. It would also be the trio's final Top 40 hit in America as well.

The song was a fairly typical Stock Aitken Waterman production style-wise, which was becoming relatively common by that time. They had produced the trio's version of "Venus" and helmed their entire Wow! LP as a result of that success. The producers' "assembly line" methods towards studio craft and insistence on writing credits exposed some friction in the band, however, and member Siobhan Fahey would leave soon after "I Heard a Rumour" fell off the pop chart.