Pepsi & Shirlie
Encyclopedia
Pepsi & Shirlie were a British
pop
duo
who released two album
s, All Right Now
in 1987 and Change in 1991.
, London
) and Shirlie Holliman
(born 18 April 1962, Watford
, Hertfordshire
), who had been Wham! backing vocalist
s. Holliman's original singing partner, Dee C. Lee
, had earlier left the group to join the Style Council and later marry its lead vocalist Paul Weller.
In 1986, they released their debut single "Heartache", which was produced
by Phil Fearon
and Tambi Fernando and reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
. "Heartache" also peaked at number two on the American dance charts. The follow-up single, "Goodbye Stranger", produced by Fernando and Pete Hammond, reached #9. Subsequent singles and their debut album All Right Now, released later in the year, flopped.
In 1991, they returned with the album Change and its lead single "Someday", a song produced by George Michael
. Both the album and the single went unnoticed, not even charting in the UK. After that, the group quietly retired.
Their tours included a concert
performed in Amman
, Jordan
.
Holliman has been married
since 1988 to Martin Kemp, a former member of the group Spandau Ballet
and now an actor
, whilst DeMacque resided in Wellington
, New Zealand
for a number of years, working at a gift shop on Lambton Quay
. She now lives in Norwich
, England
with her husband.
Pepsi & Shirlie returned in 2000 to record their backing vocals on Geri Halliwell
's UK
number one hit, "Bag It Up
".
Pepsi & Shirlie are re-uniting for an arena tour for the forthcoming Here and Now 10th Anniversary tour starting on the 24 June 2011.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
who released two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, All Right Now
All Right Now (Pepsi & Shirlie)
All Right Now is the 1987 debut album by former Wham! vocalists Pepsi & Shirlie.The album gave two Top 10 hits for the duo, "Heartache" and "Goodbye Stranger" . The other three singles fared worse, hitting below the top 40...
in 1987 and Change in 1991.
Career
The act comprised Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque (born 10 December 1958, PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) and Shirlie Holliman
Shirlie Holliman
Shirlie Holliman , is an English former pop singer, who found fame in the 1980s with Wham! and as part of the duo Pepsi & Shirlie....
(born 18 April 1962, Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
), who had been Wham! backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
s. Holliman's original singing partner, Dee C. Lee
Dee C. Lee
Dee C. Lee is an English pop singer.-Career:Lee was a backing vocalist for the pop group Wham! in the early 1980s, but she left the group to work as a solo artist and also to join Paul Weller's band, The Style Council...
, had earlier left the group to join the Style Council and later marry its lead vocalist Paul Weller.
In 1986, they released their debut single "Heartache", which was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Phil Fearon
Phil Fearon
Phil Fearon is a British record producer. He was the lead singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the 1980s band Galaxy.-Career:...
and Tambi Fernando and reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. "Heartache" also peaked at number two on the American dance charts. The follow-up single, "Goodbye Stranger", produced by Fernando and Pete Hammond, reached #9. Subsequent singles and their debut album All Right Now, released later in the year, flopped.
In 1991, they returned with the album Change and its lead single "Someday", a song produced by George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
. Both the album and the single went unnoticed, not even charting in the UK. After that, the group quietly retired.
Their tours included a concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
performed in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
.
Holliman has been married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
since 1988 to Martin Kemp, a former member of the group Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
and now an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, whilst DeMacque resided in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
for a number of years, working at a gift shop on Lambton Quay
Lambton Quay, Wellington
Lambton Quay is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll across the road and enter the shops on the opposite side. It was the site of the...
. She now lives in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with her husband.
Pepsi & Shirlie returned in 2000 to record their backing vocals on Geri Halliwell
Geri Halliwell
Geraldine Estelle "Geri" Halliwell is an English pop singer-songwriter, author and actress. After coming to international prominence in the late 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, Halliwell launched her solo career in 1998 and released her album Schizophonic...
's UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
number one hit, "Bag It Up
Bag It Up
"Bag It Up" is a pop–dance song recorded by Geri Halliwell. It was released on 13 March 2000 as the fourth and final single from Halliwell's debut solo album Schizophonic . It became Halliwell's third solo number one single in the United Kingdom selling 255,516 copies in total being certified Silver...
".
Pepsi & Shirlie are re-uniting for an arena tour for the forthcoming Here and Now 10th Anniversary tour starting on the 24 June 2011.
Albums
- All Right NowAll Right Now (Pepsi & Shirlie)All Right Now is the 1987 debut album by former Wham! vocalists Pepsi & Shirlie.The album gave two Top 10 hits for the duo, "Heartache" and "Goodbye Stranger" . The other three singles fared worse, hitting below the top 40...
(1987) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#69, U.S. #133 - Change (1991)
Singles
- "HeartacheHeartacheHeartache may refer to:* Love sickness, condition involving romantic obsession or longing* A broken heart or heartbreak, emotions after loss, disappointment or relationship break-up* Heart Ache, an EP by Jesu* Heartache...
" (1986) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#2 (2 Weeks); Switzerland #2 (2 Weeks); Netherlands #2; US Dance Chart #2; Norway #6 (3 Weeks); Austria #17; France #31; U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
#78, AUS #49 - "Goodbye Stranger" (1987) UK #9
- "Can't Give Me Love" (1987) UK #58
- "All Right NowAll Right Now"All Right Now" is a rock single by the English rock band Free. The song, released in mid-1970, hit #2 on the UK singles chart and #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "All Right Now" originally appeared on the album Fire And Water, which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed...
" (1987) UK #50, U.S. #66 - "Hightime" (1988) UK #79
- "Someday" (1991)
External links
- [ Brief biography at Allmusic.com]