Pepsi & Shirlie
Pepsi & Shirlie | |
|---|---|
 Shirlie (left) and Pepsi (right) performing at the Echo Arena Liverpool on 25 June 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | Polydor Records |
| Members | Helen DeMacque Shirlie Holliman |
Pepsi & Shirlie are an English pop duo group formed in London in 1985. who released two albums, All Right Now in 1987 and Change in 1991. Their debut single "Heartache" reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
Career
The act comprised Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque (born 10 December 1958, Paddington, London) and Shirlie Holliman (born 18 April 1962, Watford, Hertfordshire), who had been Wham! backing vocalists. Holliman's original singing partner, Dee C. Lee, had earlier left the group to join the Style Council and later married its lead vocalist Paul Weller.[2]
In 1987, they released their debut single "Heartache", which was produced by Phil Fearon and Tambi Fernando and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. "Heartache" also peaked at number two on the American dance charts.[3] The follow-up single, "Goodbye Stranger", produced by Fernando and Pete Hammond, reached No. 9. Subsequent singles and their debut album All Right Now, released later in the year, were commercially unsuccessful. Their tours included a concert performed in Amman, Jordan.
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.[1]
Pepsi & Shirlie returned in 2000 to record their backing vocals on Geri Halliwell's UK number one hit "Bag It Up". The duo also re-united for the 'Here & Now 10th Anniversary tour' starting on 24 June 2011.[4]
In popular culture
In the Only Fools and Horses episode "Danger UXD", Del has a box full of sex dolls. Due to their faulty valves, two of them (one black and one white) self-inflate. Del calls them "Pepsi & Shirlie."
In EastEnders, Shirley Carter says to Heather Trott she wished Pepsi & Shirlie had drowned George Michael on the "Club Tropicana" video shoot.
In I Partridge – We Need To Talk About Alan, a spoof autobiography of the fictional broadcaster Alan Partridge published in 2011, 'Partridge' claims that either Pepsi or Shirlie (he cannot remember which) was responsible for triggering his Toblerone addiction.[5]
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Record label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[1] | AUS[6] | |||
| 1987 | All Right Now | 69 | 99 | Polydor Records |
| 1991 | Change | — | — | |
Singles
| Title | Release | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7][1] |
AUS [6] |
US Dance [8] |
US [8] |
IRE |
SWI |
NOR |
GER |
NLD |
ATR |
BEL |
FR |
NZ | |||
| "Heartache" | 1986 | 2 | 49 | 2 | 78 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 31 | 9 | |
| "Goodbye Stranger" | 1987 | 9 | — | 26 | — | 5 | 5 | — | 31 | 28 | — | 8 | — | 39 | |
| "Can't Give Me Love" | 58 | — | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | 89 | — | 23 | — | — | ||
| "All Right Now" | 50 | 65 | — | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hightime" | 1988 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Someday" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 200 | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b c d "PEPSI & SHIRLIE - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Jury, Louise (22 October 2011). "How we met: Pepsi and Shirlie". The Independent. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 201.
- ^ "Here and Now: The very best of the 80s". Here-and-now.info. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "Alan Partridge returns to our screens tonight - here's a few of the many moments of note from an unforgettable career". Belfast Live. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 423. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "Pepsi & Shirlie Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
