The original song was called "Aieaoa", and was featured on the pseudo-Japanese dance album Le Monde fabuleux des Yamasuki, which was released in 1971 by the French writing and production team of Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger.

Originally released as a stand-alone single, "Aie a Mwana" was eventually added to the group's debut album Deep Sea Skiving in a remixed and more polished version two years later.

The "tropical" nature of the single inspired the group's name: banana coming from the vibe of "Aie a Mwana" and -rama added to the end as a nod to an early Roxy Music song called "Pyjamarama".

The single was issued by the independent label Demon Records and then licensed to Deram,[6][7] when Bananarama signed to London, however both times the song failed to reach the UK top 75.

Write-ups in the English music and fashion press (NME, The Face) caught the attention of Terry Hall, who invited Bananarama to sing on his new vocal group Fun Boy Three's next single.

All above tracks available on the 2013 2CD/DVD re-issue of Deep Sea Skiving (Edsel Records EDSG 8029) Greek singer Lakis Giordanelli released a version known as "Agorazo Palia" ("Αγοράζω Παλιά", "I am buying old things") in 1976 with different lyrics.