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More Than Physical

"More Than Physical" is a song written and performed by English girl group Bananarama. It was one of two tracks on the group's True Confessions album produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio instead of Jolley & Swain.

 

The album version of the song is different from the single version.

In order to capitalize on the number-one success of previous single "Venus" (the other True Confessions track produced by SAW), "More Than Physical" was given a Hi-NRG-influenced make-over to sound similar to the dance-oriented chart-topper.

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Despite heavy exposure on MTV, "More Than Physical" did not duplicate the success of "Venus", stalling at number forty-one on the UK singles chart and number 73 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was a top-40 success in Australia, peaking at number 28 on the Kent Music Report chart, and in Ireland, peaking at number 25. Its biggest success was in nightclubs, and "More Than Physical" became a top-five hit on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.

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"More Than Physical" was featured prominently in the 1987 British film Rita, Sue and Bob Too starring Michelle Holmes and Siobhan Finneran. The song is featured in the scene where the girls are babysitting for Bob and Michelle, and they dance around the living room while the video to "More Than Physical" plays on the television.

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The bassline of the track is derivative of the 70s disco hit "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey.

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The remixed single version's music video further capitalized on Bananarama's new glamorous and sexy visual image by including several well-muscled topless men in a montage of shots of the group members. Some of the shots were made with colored filters, and are juxtaposed with tightly cropped shots of body parts or movements in slow motion. The music video was directed by Peter Care and one of the models in the video is Keren Woodward's then-boyfriend, David-Scott Evans.

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Buy and listen
Bananarama
More Than Physical
Wogan Show 1986
Bananarama
More Than Physical
Live 2017
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