Jacquie O'Sullivan (born August 7, 1960, London, England) is a singer and songwriter.

Career

O'Sullivan was originally a member of the country/punk/rockabilly group Shillelagh Sisters. In 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.

She appeared on Bananarama's fund-raising cover of The Beatles' "Help!", which went to number three on the UK Singles Chart in 1989. She also participated in Band Aid II's 1989 re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

O'Sullivan's first songwriting credit with Bananarama would appear on the song "Love, Truth and Honesty" from the compilation album, Greatest Hits Collection.

In 1991, Bananarama recorded the album Pop Life, the only full-length album on which O'Sullivan would appear. She later stated in an interview that her role in Bananarama was that of a paid employee. O'Sullivan was given no say in the creative, musical or visual direction of the group. The constant emphasis by the music press that she was the "new girl" and her lack of a voice in group decisions prompted her to exit Bananarama, a split which was amicable with remaining members Dallin and Woodward.

When she left Bananarama, O'Sullivan formed the disco act Slippry Feet from 1992 to 1996. They recorded songs for a record titled Freak Time Viewing and then disbanded.

In 2001, Jacquie O’Sullivan signed a three album deal with AlmaFame Records, featuring unreleased songs from throughout her music career. The first release in late 2001 was the Slippry Feet album Freak Time Viewing. In early 2002 the Shillelagh Sisters album Sham'Rock & Roll was released and a third album, tentatively titled The Jacquie O Collection, featuring new songs and re-recordings of her hits with Bananarama, was announced but the record label folded and nothing was released.

She now works for Lee Dennison Associates, international casting directors in London and New York City. Lee Dennison Associates were recently appointed to cast the new Bananarama single, due for release in Summer 2007.

Other information

• In 1978 O'Sullivan was one of three backing vocalists on Status Quo's album "If You Can't Stand the Heat".
• In 1982 O'Sullivan appeared in the videoclip of Visage's "Night Train". She performed 'additional backing vocals' on the single and dance mix of the song (the refrain "journey on the night train!") but not the original whispered backing vocals on the album version.
• In 1983 she appeared in the videoclip of Eurythmics "Who's That Girl?", along with the members of Bananarama, which she would later join.
• In 1986 she played an extra in a café scene in the British film Absolute Beginners.
• O'Sullivan was a backing vocalist in lip-synched TV performances for Living in a Box for a short time in 1987. She got fired after she did not learn the lyrics and the camera showed close-ups of her mouth not matching the song.
• She also appeared briefly on the second videoclip (also called 'whitey version') of Siobhan Fahey's song "Pulsatron", issued in 2005.
• O'Sullivan was romantically linked with the actor Steven Brand, in the late 1980s and early 1990s as well as the writer, Paul Simper.

External links

• Lee Dennison Associates