While most summer songs are about the beach and having fun with friends, Bananarama's Cruel Summer deals with isolation amid the oppressive heat. It was not an immediate smash, but after it was featured in The Karate Kid (1984), it turned up the temperature of the Billboard Hot 100. For the video, the girls are seen slaving away at a gas station before hitching a ride with a trucker and being chased by the cops, pelting them with bananas (hey, it was the '80s). Shot on a brutally hot day, the girls struggled to get through filming. Apparently when they broke for lunch, Sara, Siobhan and Keren tried cocaine for the first time thanks to some local dockers and everything shot afterward showed them way more enthusiastic!
Cruel Summer was filmed in Brooklyn, NY
Location: Jumping, Skipping & Kicking
Address: Pierrepont Place, Brooklyn, NY
The choreography in this video left much to be desired but since it was shot during a heatwave, I give them props for even being outside. The girls are first seen here at Pierrepont Place...
Then they are seen hopping up Old Fulton Street...
Then they are kicking it up at 1 Water Street. The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is the yellowish building on the left. It is seen again later when the cops arrive.
Address: Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
They start climbing the fire escape stairs of 17 Old Fulton Street...
Location: The Gas Station
Address: 14 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
The gas station is still there! Although, most of it is currently obstructed by a wall, but luckily there was a little window I was able to see through.
The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, seen briefly easier, is now seen in it's entirety...
Location: The Truck Approaches
Address: Everit Street, Brooklyn, NY
This street intersects with Old Fulton St at the gas station...
Location: The Cops Chase The Truck
Address: Furman Street, Brooklyn, NY
Old Fulton Street turns into Furman Street as you hit the East River...
Locations Visited: September 2016
Relation Location:
The Karate Kid (1984)
I was looking at that on Google Map Streetview just last night. This is a nice presentation. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Greg! Thanks for visiting.
DeleteExcellent job, you really exceeded my expectations. After Karate Kid, I actually thought this song and band was all California. How wrong I was.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm sure "you're not the only one" who thought that ;-)
DeleteThank you for clearing it up for me. The opening shot, with the black wrought iron fence looks like Richmond Terrace on Staten Island, near the ferry terminal.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Yes, it does look very similar to Richmond Terrace, where Madonna shot her Papa Don't Preach video.
Deletei wish i seen an up to date photo of the gas station
ReplyDeleteI hope to stop by again sometime in the future.
Deletewho the actors are in this video?
ReplyDeleteNot sure about that.
DeleteThanks for this. I see they made the gas station location into a restaurant shortly after you visited. According to Google, it was called 14 Old Fulton St Soft Launch. It's closed now, but if you click on the Google photos of that location, the gas station is clear as day. I bet there is another restaurant in its location by now.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Wow, that's interesting they turned it into a restaurant. I'll have to try and stop by next time I'm in the area.
Deleteyes, let me know I'm always curious about the change I would like to visit that area myself
Deletemost likely most things change very few things stay the same the80's are gone never to return but the memories last forever
ReplyDeletewow things have changed a lot it's kind of disappointing their just a few things that resemble what was filmed in the 80's if it wasn't for you, I would be lost going there to pick the filming areas out as usual thanks again
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Yeah, it's always sad when locations become barely or completely unrecognizable.
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