Bananarama's 1983 single "Cruel Summer" has been named one of the best summer songs of all time, according to zloteprzeboje.pl, despite taking a darker view of the season than most hits in the genre.
The single was released on June 27, 1983, and reached number eight on the British national chart. Its international breakthrough came a year later after the song featured in the film The Karate Kid, pushing it to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and making it Bananarama's first major American hit.
Born from a summer without a break
The song's idea came from the band members' own inability to enjoy a normal summer in 1983, as performances, filming and promotion left them working in hot cities while their friends went on holiday. Band member Sara Dallin later explained that the song was meant as the opposite of a typical summer hit, capturing heat, stuffiness, irritation and a feeling of isolation from those who got to go away.
The track was written by all three members of the classic Bananarama lineup, Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward and Siobhan Fahey, with production help from Steve Jolley and Tony Swain.
A New York video and lasting legacy
The video was filmed in New York, a city the band chose partly because none of them had been there before and its atmosphere suited the song's theme of unbearable summer heat.
Rolling Stone magazine later ranked "Cruel Summer" 14th on its list of the best summer songs, with its appeal often credited to its contrast with typical carefree holiday anthems.
