Background "Venus" had been a part of Bananarama's repertoire for several years before they actually recorded it. The group's three members,
Sara Dallin,
Siobhan Fahey and
Keren Woodward, had the idea of turning the song into a
dance tune, but they were met with resistance from their producers at the time, Steven Jolley and Tony Swain. The group brought the idea to the production trio of
Stock Aitken Waterman, and it became Bananarama's first collaboration with them. The group had nearly completed recording their third studio album,
True Confessions, with
Jolley & Swain. Stock, Aitken and Waterman also resisted the idea because they believed that "Venus" would not make a good dance record. After persistence by the group, SAW relented. The track was initially produced in an arrangement more faithful to the Shocking Blue original, but was reworked in
hi-NRG style after Fahey suggested that their version should sound similar to
Dead or Alive's "
You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)". The collaboration on "Venus" led Bananarama and SAW to work together on the group's follow-up album,
Wow!, the following year. A new mix of the song appeared as the B-side to the 1989 limited release "Megarama '89" in Germany and France. Bananarama has since re-recorded "Venus" for their eighth album
Exotica (2001). It was later
remixed by
Marc Almond, with re-recorded vocals and included on their ninth album
Drama (2005).
Critical reception Initial response Jerry Smith of the
Music Week magazine considered Bananarama's cover as a "lively version" of the original song, "catchy enough for minor success" but "lacking substance" with its SAW production. Michael Pilgrim of
Record Mirror was not enthusiastic, wondering why the Bananaramas needed to record another song, describing it like this: "There's beefy
DOA-style
hi-NRG electronics, the odd male vocal and at one point the girls go 'Wooaarrlll!'". In a review published in
Smash Hits, Martin Degville and Neal X of
Sigue Sigue Sputnik criticized this cover version, saying about Bananarama that "they've destroyed it" and "They're completely boring and they've got boring hair".
Impact and legacy In 2014, Matt Dunn of
WhatCulture ranked the song number five in his "15 unforgettable Stock Aitken Waterman singles" list, describing it as a "timeless classic of 80s
synth pop, an instantly recognisable foot-tapping gem", while underlining the "provocative video and all its fire, sexy choreography, coffin dancing and red patent-leather devil outfits". In 2021, British magazine
Classic Pop ranked "Venus" number two in their list of "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs". In 2023, Tom Eames of
Smooth Radio ranked the song number two in his "Bananarama's 10 greatest songs, ranked" list. In 2025,
Classic Pop ranked it number 10 in their list of "Top 20 Cover Versions of the 80s". The same year, Thomas Edward of
Smooth Radio ranked the song sixth in his list of "Stock Aitken Waterman's 15 greatest songs, ranked".
Chart performance Bananarama's version of "Venus" peaked at number one in the United States, Australia, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland, while reaching number two in Germany and the top-ten in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom (number eight on the
UK Singles Chart, matching the same peak of Shocking Blue's version). It also topped the US
Dance Club Songs chart for two weeks.
Music video The accompanying music video, directed by
Peter Care and choreographed by
Bruno Tonioli, was extensively aired on
MTV and video channels across the world, and presented the trio in various costumes, including a
she-devil, a French
temptress, a
vampiress and several
Greek goddesses. In one sequence of the video,
Sandro Botticelli's painting
The Birth of Venus is adapted as a
tableau vivant. The video marked a pivotal shift towards a more glamorous and sexual image for the group that contrasted with the tomboyish style of their earlier work. In the music video there's a cameo of the Polish-German dancer
Andreas Wisniewski, who appears as a dancer during the synth solo.
Track listings •
UK / US / Canadian 7-inch vinyl single UK: London Records NANA 10 / US: London Records 886-056-7 / Canada: London Records LDS 227 / Australia: Liberation Records LS 1789 • "Venus" – 3:30 • "White Train" – 3:50 • :S.Dallin/S. Fahey/K. Woodward/P. Bishop/P. Seymour + some copies released in picture disc format
NANPD 10 •
UK / Australian 12-inch vinyl single UK: London Records NANX 10 / Australia: Liberation Records LMD 474 • "Venus" (extended version) – 7:23 • "Venus" (dub) – 8:15 • "White Train" – 3:50 •
UK 12-inch vinyl single #2 London Records NANXR 10 • "Venus" (the Hellfire mix) – 9:20 #:remixed by Ian Levine • "Venus" (Hellfire dub) – 6:55 • "White Train" – 3:50 •
UK 12-inch vinyl single #3 London Records NAXRR 10 • "Venus" (the Fire And Brimstone mix) – 6:35 #:remixed by Stock, Aitken & Waterman • "Venus" (Hellfire dub) – 6:55 • "White Train" – 3:50 •
US 12-inch maxi single London Records 886 088-1 • "Venus" (the Hellfire mix) – 9:20 • "Venus" (the Fire & Brimstone mix) – 6:55 • "Venus" (extended version) – 7:23 • "Venus" (dub) – 8:25 •
CD video single • "Venus" (extended version) – 7:23 • "True Confessions" (edit) – 4:09 • "
A Trick of the Night" (edit) – 4:07 • "
More Than Physical" (U.K. single version) – 3:40 •
Other versions • "Venus" (the Greatest Remix edit) – 3:40 • :Included on the 1989 U.K. CD single "Cruel Summer '89", remixed by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow • "Venus" (the Greatest Remix) 7:43 • :Included on the 1989 German CD single "
Megarama '89", remixed by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow • "Venus" (2001 version) • :Included on the album
Exotica • "Venus" (Marc Almond's Hi-NRG Showgirls mix) 6:02 • :Included on the 2005 album
Drama, remixed by
Marc Almond • "Venus" (from the soundtrack ''Sugar & Spice: Stuck in the 80's'') • "Venus" (Leo Zero Remix) • :Included on the EP Bananarama Remixed: Vol 1 • Venus (Leo Zero Disco Remix) • :Included on the EP Bananarama Remixed: Vol 1 • "Venus" (Boys Noize Remix edit) • : • "Venus" (Boys Noize Remix) • : • "Venus" (Boys Noize Remix - Instrumental)
Personnel Personnel are adapted from the
liner notes of
True Confessions. •
Stock Aitken Waterman – production,
Linn 9000 programming (credited as "A. Lin") •
Matt Aitken – guitar •
Mike Stock – keyboards • Garry Hughes – keyboards • Tim Young – mastering
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications ==BHF/Don Pablo's Animals remixes ==