29 January, 1982.

We have another repeat offender this morning, well I wouldn’t call this song an offence, more the fact that it’s Monday morning and clearly the inner jukebox just can’t be arsed…so we have this one…again. How many times now? Answers on a postcard please, because I’ve lost count!

Written by Melvin “Sy” Oliver and James “Trummy” Young, this was a jazz song first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, under the title ‘Taint What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It), and was quickly followed by recordings from Ella Fitzgerald, Harry James and Nat Gonella in the same year.

In 1982 British New Wave band Fun Boy Three gave the song a modern twist, with a version that was a mix of pop and ska, and changed the title slightly.

Having heard previous singles by Bananarama, and after reading an article about them, Terry Hall decided he liked their music style and wanted the girl group as backing singers. The joint venture was so successful that Bananarama returned the favour and later that same year Fun Boy Three featured on the single Really Saying Something.

On its release this song spent ten weeks on the UK charts, peaking at number four. It also reached number three in Belgium and the Netherlands.