Robert De Niro's Waiting...

"Robert De Niro's Waiting..." is a song written by Bananarama, Steve Jolley and Tony Swain, and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. Produced by Jolley & Swain, it is the second single released from their self-titled second album in 1984. It namechecks American actor Robert De Niro.

"Robert De Niro's Waiting..."
Single by Bananarama
from the album Bananarama
B-side"Push!"
Released20 February 1984
RecordedDecember 1983
GenreNew wave
Length3:43
LabelLondon Records
Songwriter(s)Dallin, Fahey, Woodward, Jolley, Swain
Producer(s)Jolley & Swain
Bananarama singles chronology
"Cruel Summer"
(1983)		 "Robert De Niro's Waiting..."
(1984)		 "Rough Justice"
(1984)

The single is one of the group's strongest performing releases, peaking at number three in the UK singles chart. (The single to date stands in a three-way tie with "Love in the First Degree" (1987) and "Help!" (1989) as Bananarama's highest-charting UK hit.) It made a brief appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 95.

An extended version of the song was available on the 12" single. The B-side of both 7" and 12" singles was a song called "Push!". The version of "Push!" on the 12" single was 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 album Exotica.

Original group member Siobhan Fahey said the song is "about date rape" in Bananarama's 2017 reunion interview with The Guardian.[1] This echoed similar statements in the group's contemporaneous interviews.[2][3] However, in a 2019 interview with The Telegraph, bandmate Sara 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."[4]

Billboard named the song #74 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[5]

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, Bananarama member Sara Dallin is shown running along, looking behind her as if being followed. As the video winds down, Sarah and the other two members of Bananarama, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward, are back in their apartment, when the door bell rings. Keren 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 Keren start laughing, and the video ends with Bananarama in their apartment eating the pizza and laughing.

Track listing

UK & US 7" vinyl single

UK: London Records NANA 6 / USA: London Records 820 033-7

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

+ some copies of the UK 7" came with a cut out postcard of Siobhan, Keren or Sarah + there were also 3 separate UK picture disc releases each with a photo of Siobhan, Keren or Sarah.

UK & US 12" vinyl single

UK: London Records NANX 6 / USA: London Records 820 033-1

  1. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (extended version) – 5:43
  2. "Link" (single version - unlisted on label and artwork) – 1:59
  3. "Push!" – 4:08 (S. Dallin/S. Fahey/S. Jolley /A. Swain/K. Woodward)

+ the UK 12" was also available in 3 different vinyl colours: pink for Keren; green for Siobhan; and blue for Sarah, each with a large picture label.

Other versions

  1. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (2000 version)
    Taken from the album G-A-Y.
  1. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (2001 version)
    Taken from the album Exotica.

Charts
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 40
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[7] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 25
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 22
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[11] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 8
UK Singles (OCC)[13] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 95
West Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 7

Cover versions

A cover version by Subterfuge appears on the compilation Punk Chartbusters, Vol. 1, released in 2000. The German Hip Hop trio Fettes Brot released a German version called "Nicolette Krebitz wartet" on their album Fettes Brot lässt Grüßen, released in 1998. The Russian band Nautilus Pompilus released a darker version of the song called "Alain Delon," or "The View From The Screen."

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. Singh, Anita (19 April 2019). "Bananarama interview: 'We didn't have to be sexual to make it'". Telegraph Online. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  5. "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  6. 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.
  7. "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1 no. 6. 7 May 1984. p. 8. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Robert De Niro's Waiting". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bananarama" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bananarama – Robert De Niro's Waiting..." (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  11. "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.
  12. "Swisscharts.com – Bananarama – Robert De Niro's Waiting...". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  13. "Bananarama: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  14. "Bananarama Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bananarama – Robert De Niro's Waiting...". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
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