Listen to Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer’ from American Horror Story: 1984 – Season 9, Episode 1

Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer’ showed up on the first episode of the new season of American Horror Story this week — American Horror Story: 1984, Season 9, Episode 1, “Camp Redwood” (aired on 18th September, 2019).

The track was played as the group are chatting together after the aerobics class.

Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer‘ is one of the British girl group’s most iconic songs. Interestingly, though, it was a year after its initial 1983 release before it became an international hit.

That was due to its inclusion on the soundtrack of the now-iconic movie The Karate Kid. That event catapulted the track onto the charts in almost 20 countries, including the U.S., the UK, Austria, Belgium and Canada.

It made it to the number 2 spot on the Canadian Dance chart, to number 3 on the Belgian singles chart and the number 10 spot in the U.S. on both the Hot Dance Club Play chart and the Billboard Hot 100.

Soon after, the single was included on Bananarama’s self-titled sophomore studio album.

The group also released a music video with the girls driving around New York City during a crazy hot summer being pursued by a inept cop.

Do look closely at the video as well as, years later, Bananarama admitted part of it was shot after they had just done their first ever cocaine — given to them by dock workers they met in a bar who noticed how exhausted they were in the over 100 degree NYC heat.

The after-cocaine section is where the women look particularly manic.

Watch and listen to Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer‘ as featured on American Horror Story in their official music video below.

You can also hear their second studio album in full in the Spotify widget below that. It has an extended version of the song if you want to dance a little longer.