Robert De Niro's Waiting...

"Robert De Niro's Waiting..." is a song written by Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, Steve Jolley, and Tony Swain, recorded for English girl group Bananarama's eponymous second studio album. Produced by Jolley & Swain, it was released as the album's second single on 20 February 1984. It namechecks American actor Robert De Niro. The single is one of the group's strongest-performing releases, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart. It made a brief appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 95. Billboard ranked the song at number 74 on their list of the "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".[3]

"Robert De Niro's Waiting..."
Single by Bananarama
from the album Bananarama
B-side"Push!"
Released20 February 1984 (1984-02-20)[1]
GenreSynth-pop[2]
Length3:43
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jolley & Swain
Bananarama singles chronology
"Cruel Summer"
(1983)		 "Robert De Niro's Waiting..."
(1984)		 "Rough Justice"
(1984)
Music video
"Robert De Niro's Waiting" on YouTube

An extended version of the song is available on the 12-inch single. The B-side of both 7-inch and 12-inch singles is a song called "Push!". The version of "Push!" on the 12-inch single is not extended but preceded by an unlisted alternate version of the brief track that would be called "Link" at the end of side one of the Bananarama album. Bananarama have re-recorded "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." twice, in 2000 for the G-A-Y compilation and the next year another new re-recording was included on their eighth studio album Exotica (2001).

Lyrical content

In Bananarama's 2017 reunion interview with The Guardian, original group member Siobhan Fahey explained the song's meaning: "The thing I'm proudest of [...] is that we made quirky pop. The lyrics were much darker than you'd imagine. 'Robert De Niro's Waiting' is about date rape." Keren Woodward added, "You'll listen to it with new ears now." Sara Dallin continued, "I wanted it to be like 'Pull Up to the Bumper'. It didn't quite work out like that, did it?"[4] This echoed similar statements in the group's contemporaneous, and earlier, interviews.[5][6] However, in a 2019 interview with The Telegraph, Dallin offered a different explanation of the song's meaning: "It was just about hero worship. It wasn't about rape. I don't know where that came from. It's absolute rubbish."[7]

Music video

The music video for "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." was directed by Duncan Gibbins and shows Bananarama walking around dark streets, possibly followed by mafia-style clothed men. When it gets to the bridge part of the song, Dallin is shown running along, looking behind her as if being followed. As the video winds down, Dallin, Fahey, and Keren Woodward are back in their apartment, when the door bell rings. Woodward answers the door, only to be confronted by the man who might have been chasing them, armed with a Mafia-style violin case. As she looks nervously at him, the case falls open to reveal a sign saying "Pizza Delivery", along with three pizzas. Both the man and Woodward start laughing, and the video ends with Bananarama in their apartment eating the pizza and laughing.

Track listings

Some copies of the UK 7-inch came with a cut out postcard of Fahey, Woodward, or Dallin. There were also three separate picture disc releases each with a photo of Fahey, Woodward, or Dallin. The UK 12-inch was also available in three different vinyl colours: pink for Woodward, green for Fahey, and blue for Dallin, each with a large picture label.

7-inch single[8]

A. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." – 3:27
B. "Push!" – 4:08

12-inch single[9]

A1. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (extended version) – 5:43
B1. Untitled ("Link") (unlisted on label and artwork) – 1:59
B2. "Push!" – 4:08

Charts

References
  1. "New Singles". Music Week. 18 February 1984. p. 18.
  2. Graeme Virtue (14 November 2017). "Bananarama review – hi-NRG poignancy as pop trio return for first proper tour". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  3. "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  4. Nicholson, Rebecca (24 April 2017). "'People wet their knickers when they find out I was in Bananarama': the 80s trio return". Retrieved 11 July 2017 – via The Guardian.
  5. Nicholson, Rebecca (26 April 2017). "Bananarama are back: 'It was every bit as intense as a marriage, but without the sex'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  6. Potton, Ed (21 November 2017). "It's love in the first degree; This was a truly stonking comeback for the Eighties girl group, says Ed Potton Pop". The Times (London).
  7. Singh, Anita (19 April 2019). "Bananarama interview: 'We didn't have to be sexual to make it'". Telegraph Online. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  8. Robert De Niro's Waiting... (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Bananarama. London Records. 1984. NANA 6, 820 033-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. Robert De Niro's Waiting... (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Bananarama. London Records. 1984. NANX 6, 820 033-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 25. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1, no. 6. 7 May 1984. p. 8. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Robert De Niro's Waiting". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bananarama" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  14. "Bananarama – Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  15. "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts B". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  16. "Bananarama – Robert De Niro's Waiting...". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  17. "Bananarama: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  18. "Bananarama Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  19. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bananarama – Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  20. "Top 100 Singles 1984" (PDF). Music Week. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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