“Cruel Summer” is a pop song originally performed by Bananarama that was a top ten hit in Britain in 1983. Sara Dallin of Bananarama told The Guardian that the song “played on the darker side (of summer songs): it looked at the oppressive heat, the misery of wanting to be with someone as the summer ticked by. We’ve all been there!” “Cruel Summer” was not an immediate international success when it was released. Its international popularity soared after its inclusion in the 1984 feature film The Karate Kid; this was a year after the song’s original release. The group did not allow the song to be included in the film’s soundtrack, but regardless it was their first top ten hit in the USA. When Bananarama were still struggling to make money in their early years, they even performed the song at a beauty contest in Hawaii. The song has since been revived in various forms. It appeared in several television commercials, was included on the soundtrack to the movie Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, and was covered by other acts, such as Ace of Base, who scored an international hit with it (their version even reached gold in the US), and Blestenation on the Blue Crush soundtrack. In 2003, Swedish electronica female artist Sophie Rimheden sampled the beat and bassline from the song on the track “In Your Mind” of the album HiFi. Since its success, the group recorded another three versions of the song. “Cruel Summer ’89” was recorded with new member Jacquie O’Sullivan in 1989, and …