THE BELLE STARS The Clapping Song
A huge hit in late 1982 and early 1983. 'The Clapping Song' performed here by British pop band (and Bananarama soundalikes), The Belle Stars. Maybe the comparison is a little unfair as both acts surfaced around the same time, but the Bananas had the enduring career. 'The Clapping Song' was originally recorded back in 1965 by Shirley Ellis. The Belle Stars formed in 1980 and it was their cover of 'Iko Iko' which would be their first chart success in their homeland. 6 years later it would be a hit all over again thanks to the Oscar winning movie 'Rain Man', In July of 1982 the all girl group released 'The Clapping Song' and it just missed the British Top 10 (#11) but here in Australia it performed even better, entering the charts in November and would spend 7 months there, peaking at #4 and made the end of year chart for 1983; being the 33rd best seller. The Belle Stars would achieve their greatest pop success with 'Sign Of The Times' a #3 on the U.K chart in 1983.
I have used a performance from Top Of The Pops and topped and tailed it with stills and re-edited the clip to get a full length synching up to a better mp3 recording of 'The Clapping Song', another track that was blasted everywhere in late 1982 and a postcard from that era and for me specifically that transitional time in my young life.