Bananarama take the greatest hits into the open air

Six UK dates in June and July 2027 put Jason Donovan, T’Pau, Tony Hadley and Altered Images on the bill, hard on the heels of a Top 10 return for True Confessions.

Bananarama have set six outdoor dates across the UK for June and July 2027 under the banner Too Hot To Handle Greatest Hits Summer Tour. The announcement came on 5 October and places the duo at castles, historic grounds and open-air theatres with a rotating cast of special guests drawn from the same era as their biggest singles.

The run opens on 11 June at London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea, where Jason Donovan and T’Pau join the bill. Lincoln Castle follows on 19 June with Tony Hadley and Altered Images. July brings four further nights: Llangollen Pavilion on 4 July, Cardiff Castle on 10 July, Scarborough Open Air Theatre on 17 July and Halifax Piece Hall on 18 July. Donovan returns for Scarborough; Hadley and Altered Images cover the remaining stops.

Sara Dallin greeted the dates with clear intent. “Summer 2027 we are so ready for you! We can’t wait to perform all of our biggest hit singles and bring the Bananarama party to some of the UK’s most brilliant outdoor venues!” Keren Woodward set the tone for the night itself: “We promise a night of real 80s nostalgia and along with our special guests, guarantee an evening that will have everyone dancing and singing along!”

Catalogue heat behind the outdoor run

The timing comes amid a strong run for the records. The 40th anniversary reissue of True Confessions reached No.6 on the UK Album Chart this summer, putting a key album back in front of a wide audience. Glorious: The Ultimate Collection, released in 2024, had already gathered the singles into one package. Together those projects have kept the hits in circulation ahead of a tour framed expressly as a greatest-hits night.

The scale of that catalogue is well established. Bananarama hold the Guinness World Record for the highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Sales stand at more than 30 million records. Ten UK Top 10 hits include Cruel Summer, Venus, Love In The First Degree, Nathan Jones, Robert De Niro’s Waiting and I Heard A Rumour — the natural core of any outdoor set built for shared choruses.

Venues made for a shared chorus

The six stops favour stone, grass and open sky over seated halls. Chelsea’s formal grounds, the castle settings at Lincoln and Cardiff, the pavilion at Llangollen, Scarborough’s dedicated open-air theatre and the Piece Hall courtyard in Halifax all suit the mood Woodward described: nostalgia with room to dance. Placing Donovan, T’Pau, Hadley and Altered Images on the same bills keeps the evening inside one chart era from the first support set through to the final encore.

Further dates, ticket prices and on-sale windows were not included in the initial announcement. What stands is the shape of the summer itself: six confirmed nights, a greatest-hits brief, and a guest list chosen to match it. The outdoor party Dallin and Woodward have promised is set for 2027.