Jacquie O'Sullivan



Jacquie O'Sullivan (born 7 August 1960, Hendon, London) is an English singer and songwriter.

Early years
O'Sullivan was originally a member of the country/punk/rockabilly group Shillelagh Sisters (pronounced: Shillayley). It was "a sort of a fun band, a kind of trendy band". The band name came about courtesy of their Irish connections. After a year with that group she parted company. She did, however, feel the records they released "weren't very good". She appeared on the Visage videoclip to their song Visage, in 1981. She also appeared in the music video for Eurythmics' 1983 hit single "Who's that girl?". The original Bananarama members also featured in the video.

1988-91: Breakthrough with Bananarama
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.

She appeared on Bananarama's fund-raising cover of The Beatles' "Help!" for Comic Relief alongside comedians French and Saunders and Kathy Burke, who appeared as "Lananenenoonoo". The record peaked at 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 only songwriting credits with Bananarama would appear on the song "Love, Truth and Honesty" from the compilation album, Greatest Hits Collection and on the song "Only Your Love".

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", along with constant asks of 'How does it feel to replace Siobhan?' and that she herself had a lack of a voice in group decisions prompted her to exit Bananarama, a split which was amicable with remaining members Dallin and Woodward.

When French and Saunders parodied Bananarama in their 1988 Christmas special as "Lananenenoonoo", O'Sullivan was portrayed by Kathy Burke as "Kim". O'Sullivan's perceived lack of input into the group was used as a source of humour, with Kim ignored and dismissed in interviews and group discussions.

1992-96: Slippery Feet
When she left Bananarama, O'Sullivan formed the disco act Slippery Feet from 1992 to 1996. They recorded songs for a record titled Freak Time Viewing and then disbanded.

2001-present: New management, Freak Time Viewing and The Jacquie O Collection
In 2001, 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 Slippery 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.

In 2005 she appeared briefly on the second videoclip (also called 'whitey version') of Siobhan Fahey's song "Pulsatron".

1994 - 2015: Yoga teacher and massage therapist
O’Sullivan went to India and in 1994 trained to be a yoga teacher. She continued to teach and on her travels has taught yoga all over the world. She continued with her yoga education, taking teacher training with the prestigious Prana Yoga College. She completed her two-year teacher training with the life center, earning a distinction. O’Sullivan still teaches all over the world, but is now based in Bloomsbury, teaching lots of classes in various locations, gyms, dedicated yoga centers, corporate clients and lots of private clients. She is also a certified Level 2 Reiki Teacher as well as a massage therapist, specialising in Swedish and Deep Tissue massage.