“Love In The First Degree”: Bananarama’s Electro-Pop Dancefloor Confession
Released on September 21, 1987, “Love in the First Degree” saw Bananarama at the very height of their chart-topping powers. As the second single from their hit album Wow!, the track delivered everything fans loved about the trio—sassy vocals, playful lyrics, and polished Hi-NRG production from Stock Aitken Waterman. It’s a song that didn’t just plead guilty to being infectious—it flaunted it.
Sound: a Stock Aitken Waterman masterclass
Under the neon-lit supervision of SAW, the track pulses with high-gloss synths, electronic drums, and a Motown-inspired bounce, all grounded by a rhythm that practically begs to be danced to. The beat is relentless in the best way: crisp, energetic, and precision-tuned for maximum club appeal.
The chord progression even borrows from Pachelbel’s Canon, giving it an unexpected layer of harmonic sophistication under all that glossy pop veneer.
Lyrics: sentenced to pop perfection
The trio—Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward—deliver the lyrics with their trademark cool and cheeky charm. It’s a legal metaphor laced with emotion and playfulness: “I stand accused of love in the first degree…” The idea of being tried in a courtroom for falling head over heels in love becomes a smart lyrical hook. It’s both camp and clever, balancing melodrama with pop accessibility.
Fahey would soon depart the group, making this one of her last major singles—an energetic send-off if there ever was one.
Video: jailhouse glam and high kicks
Directed by Andy Morahan, the music video leans all the way into the song’s legal motif. The trio performs in a glammed-up jail, dancing in striped outfits and staging a full-on jailbreak with choreography that wouldn’t be out of place in Jailhouse Rock.
Fahey was pregnant during filming, so body doubles were used for some dance sequences—a detail that adds even more dimension to her final chapter with the group.
Charts: pop justice served
“Love in the First Degree” made a strong impact on charts around the world. In the UK, it debuted at No. 46 on October 10, 1987, and quickly climbed to a peak of No. 3, tying with “Help!” and “Robert De Niro’s Waiting…” as Bananarama’s highest-charting singles in their home country. It spent 12 weeks on the UK Singles Chart and earned a Silver certification from the BPI. The song also reached No. 5 in Australia, No. 6 in Ireland, No. 9 in Belgium, No. 10 in Norway, and No. 11 in New Zealand. In the US, it peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 10 on the Dance Club Songs chart. Across Europe, it landed in the Top 20 in Spain, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland, and reached No. 21 in West Germany. On the pan-European Hot 100, it climbed to No. 9, and it also peaked at No. 6 on the European Airplay Top 50.
Legacy: guilty of timeless appeal
Performed at the 1988 Brit Awards—Fahey’s final live appearance with Bananarama—“Love in the First Degree” remains a defining track of the SAW era and late-’80s pop. It was nominated for British Single of the Year, ranked highly in multiple retrospectives, and continues to fill dancefloors wherever a retro playlist drops.
It’s glossy, cheeky, and unapologetically fun. No appeal needed.