Jacquie O'Sullivan

Jacquie O'Sullivan (born 7 August 1960, Hendon, London) is an English singer and songwriter.

Contents

 * 1 Career
 * 1.1 Early years
 * 1.2 1988-91: Breakthrough with Bananarama
 * 1.3 1992-96: Slippery Feet
 * 1.4 2001-present: New management, Freak Time Viewing and The Jacquie O Collection
 * 2 External links
 * 3 References

Early years
O'Sullivan was originally a member of the country/punk/rockabilly group Shillelagh Sisters (pronounced: Shillayley). It was "a sort of a fun band, a kind of trendy band". The band name came about courtesy of their Irish connections. After a year with that group she parted company. She did, however, feel the records they released "weren't very good". In 1978 she contributed backing vocals to the album If You Can't Stand The Heat by Status Quo. She also appeared in the music video forEurythmics' 1983 hit single "Who's that girl?". The original Bananarama members also featured in the video.

1988-91: Breakthrough with Bananarama
In March 1988, she was chosen by Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward (who had known O'Sullivan since they were eighteen) to become a member of Bananarama, as a replacement for outgoing member Siobhan Fahey, who also approved of the choice. Bananarama's hit streak continued with the addition of O'Sullivan. They re-recorded the vocals for the songs "I Want You Back" and "Nathan Jones" with O'Sullivan to replace versions previously recorded by Fahey. The group scored eight consecutive Top 40 hits in the UK with O'Sullivan.

She appeared on Bananarama's [fund-raising cover of The Beatles' "Help!" for Comic Relief alongside comediennes French and Saunders and Kathy Burke, who appeared as "Lananenenoonoo". The record peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart in 1989. She also participated in Band Aid II's 1989 re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

O'Sullivan's only songwriting credits with Bananarama would appear on the song "Love, Truth and Honesty" from the compilation album, Greatest Hits Collection and on the song "Only Your Love".

In 1991, Bananarama recorded the album Pop Life, the only full-length album on which O'Sullivan would appear. She later stated in an interview that her role in Bananarama was that of a paid employee. O'Sullivan was given no say in the creative, musical or visual direction of the group. The constant emphasis by the music press that she was the "new girl", along with constant asks of 'How does it feel to replace Siobhan?' and that she herself had a lack of a voice in group decisions prompted her to exit Bananarama, a split which was amicable with remaining members Dallin and Woodward.

When French and Saunders parodied Bananarama in their 1988 Christmas special as "Lananenenoonoo", O'Sullivan was portrayed by Kathy Burke as "Kim". O'Sullivan's perceived lack of input into the group was used as a source of humour, with Kim ignored and dismissed in interviews and group discussions.

1992-96: Slippery Feet[edit]
When she left Bananarama, O'Sullivan formed the disco act Slippry Feet from 1992 to 1996. They recorded songs for a record titled Freak Time Viewing and then disbanded.

2001-present: New management, Freak Time Viewing and The Jacquie O Collection[edit]
In 2001, Jacquie O’Sullivan signed a three album deal with AlmaFame Records, featuring unreleased songs from throughout her music career. The first release in late 2001 was the Slippery Feet album Freak Time Viewing. In early 2002 the Shillelagh Sisters album Sham'Rock & Roll was released and a third album, tentatively titled The Jacquie O Collection, featuring new songs and re-recordings of her hits with Bananarama, was announced but the record label folded and nothing was released.

In 2005 she appeared briefly on the second videoclip (also called 'whitey version') of Siobhan Fahey's song "Pulsatron".