Acting

Jacquie O'Sullivan

Jacquie O'Sullivan (born 7 August 1960) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group Bananarama from 1988 until 1991, replacing Siobhan Fahey, who left in early 1988. The line-up with O'Sullivan had UK top five hits with "I Want You Back" (1988) and a cover of The Beatles' "Help!" (1989), recorded with comedy duo French and Saunders for the charity Comic Relief. In 1989, O'Sullivan joined the group on their first world tour. Prior to Bananarama, O'Sullivan was the lead singer of the band Shillelagh Sisters. O'Sullivan joined the country/punk/rockabilly group Shillelagh Sisters in early 1983. It was "a sort of a fun band, a kind of trendy band". The band name came about courtesy of their Irish connections. They released their first single "Give Me My Freedom" in April 1984. The band's dissatisfaction with their record label CBS, along with differences between the band members, led to the band's demise in late 1984. O'Sullivan later stated that she felt the records they released "weren't very good". 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.