Biography
Shampoo merged underground indie defiance with insistent pop melodies and brash vocal energy, becoming a fleeting sensation whose reach extended well beyond its brief existence. South London teenagers Carrie Askew and Jacqui Blake drew equal inspiration from Sex Pistols and Manic Street Preachers as from boy bands such as East 17, stitching punk, pop, rap, glam-rock, and dance-pop into a collage that echoed self-published zine aesthetics. Their gritty 1993 debut "Blisters & Bruises" and the glossy insurrection of 1994's signature track "Trouble," included on the first album We Are Shampoo, transformed tedium and revolt into exhilarating listening. Shampoo's imprint surfaced rapidly in 1996 when the title Girl Power served as a slogan that Spice Girls elevated to global dominance, while the web-only 2000 release Absolute Shampoo kept the duo at the forefront of experimentation; the Ting Tings, Charli xcx, and Hannah Diamond later extended this irreverent, deliberately synthetic pop strain, culminating in due recognition through 2024's Complete Shampoo.
The project began with the teenage friendship of Carrie Askew and Jacqui Blake in Plumstead, southeast London. Blake started as a companion to Askew's older sister yet the two quickly united over shared enthusiasm for bands like Manic Street Preachers. In 1991 they produced the Manics fanzine Last Exit, and the next year both appeared in the video for the single "Little Baby Nothing." Their striking visual approach, fusing deliberately shredded punk clothing with girlish pastel shades, gave them the look of a ready-made group even before they began writing songs in their bedrooms. Taking the name Shampoo, Askew and Blake fused the early hedonism of Beastie Boys, the pointed irreverence of Sex Pistols, and the melodic immediacy of East 17 with their own perspective. With Lawrence of Felt and Denim serving as producer, they cut an initial set of songs issued by Icerink, the label run by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. The 1993 debut single "Blisters & Bruises" earned praise for its unrefined punk immediacy and was selected as Melody Maker's Single of the Week; later that year "Bouffant Headbutt" received similar notice, resulting in a contract with the EMI subsidiary Food.
Although Shampoo's earliest singles failed to reach the charts, their following effort succeeded. Released in July 1994, "Trouble" presented a more streamlined and melodic iteration of the duo's playful approach, peaking at number 11 on the U.K. Singles Chart while also registering in Australia, Ireland, Japan, and the Netherlands and securing a Top of the Pops slot. That October brought the full-length debut We Are Shampoo. Produced by Conall Fitzpatrick, the album sustained the accessible direction of "Trouble," combining Brit-pop, dance-pop, glam-rock, and punk with further declarations and escapades from the pair. It reached number 45 in the U.K., supported by respectable showings from the singles "Viva La Megababes" and "Delicious." In Japan, however, We Are Shampoo achieved Top Ten status, prompting enthusiastic fan receptions during the duo's visits. A Japan-exclusive collection of B-sides and rarities titled Delicious, along with a book and video anthology, accompanied the second album's initial 1995 Japanese release as Shampoo or Nothing, which climbed to number ten on the Oricon Albums Chart. Meanwhile "Trouble" re-entered the U.K. Singles Chart via its placement on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers soundtrack, and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine later recorded a version for the B-side of "Young Offenders Mum."
Shampoo delivered the single "Girl Power" in July 1996, reaching number 25 in the U.K. Just days afterward Spice Girls debuted on the U.K. Singles Chart with "Wannabe," having adopted the phrase "Girl Power" as their own and transforming it into a worldwide sensation. By the time the second album appeared in the U.K. that September under the title Girl Power, the duo's commercial momentum had already declined. The record failed to chart, and their interpretation of the Waitresses' "I Know What Boys Like" peaked at number 42, marking their final U.K. single. Also in 1996 the Japanese single "Yea Yea Yea (Tell Me Baby)" reached number 95. That year the Girl Power song "Don't Call Me Babe" featured on the Barb Wire soundtrack, while subsequent years saw Shampoo tracks appear in Foxfire, Casper: A Spirited Beginning, and Jawbreaker. The 1998 Japanese best-of collection The Greatest followed. After parting with EMI due to modest sales of Girl Power, Askew and Blake persisted in writing and recording with longtime associates Stanley and Wiggs, issuing the more polished third album Absolute Shampoo in 2000 exclusively through their website and thereby ranking among the earliest acts to sell music directly online.
Although they supplied voices for the 2000 Sony PlayStation puzzle game Spin Jam, Blake and Askew gradually stepped back from Shampoo to focus on family life. They stayed close, however, and their catalog continued to surface in popular culture. We Are Shampoo received a U.K. reissue in 2007, the same year "Trouble" appeared in St. Trinians. During the 2010s Charli xcx voiced admiration for the duo, whose influence surfaced in her own work and in the 2012 hit "I Love It" recorded with Icona Pop. The deliberate artificiality of Shampoo's sound likewise shaped hyperpop practitioners such as Hannah Diamond and GIRLI. In 2021 Miley Cyrus recorded "Delicious" for a Gucci fragrance advertisement, and BBC Strictly Come Dancing performed "Trouble" in a 2023 episode. Appreciation for the duo culminated in June 2024 with Complete Shampoo, a Cherry Red anthology encompassing their entire recorded output and videos.
The project began with the teenage friendship of Carrie Askew and Jacqui Blake in Plumstead, southeast London. Blake started as a companion to Askew's older sister yet the two quickly united over shared enthusiasm for bands like Manic Street Preachers. In 1991 they produced the Manics fanzine Last Exit, and the next year both appeared in the video for the single "Little Baby Nothing." Their striking visual approach, fusing deliberately shredded punk clothing with girlish pastel shades, gave them the look of a ready-made group even before they began writing songs in their bedrooms. Taking the name Shampoo, Askew and Blake fused the early hedonism of Beastie Boys, the pointed irreverence of Sex Pistols, and the melodic immediacy of East 17 with their own perspective. With Lawrence of Felt and Denim serving as producer, they cut an initial set of songs issued by Icerink, the label run by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. The 1993 debut single "Blisters & Bruises" earned praise for its unrefined punk immediacy and was selected as Melody Maker's Single of the Week; later that year "Bouffant Headbutt" received similar notice, resulting in a contract with the EMI subsidiary Food.
Although Shampoo's earliest singles failed to reach the charts, their following effort succeeded. Released in July 1994, "Trouble" presented a more streamlined and melodic iteration of the duo's playful approach, peaking at number 11 on the U.K. Singles Chart while also registering in Australia, Ireland, Japan, and the Netherlands and securing a Top of the Pops slot. That October brought the full-length debut We Are Shampoo. Produced by Conall Fitzpatrick, the album sustained the accessible direction of "Trouble," combining Brit-pop, dance-pop, glam-rock, and punk with further declarations and escapades from the pair. It reached number 45 in the U.K., supported by respectable showings from the singles "Viva La Megababes" and "Delicious." In Japan, however, We Are Shampoo achieved Top Ten status, prompting enthusiastic fan receptions during the duo's visits. A Japan-exclusive collection of B-sides and rarities titled Delicious, along with a book and video anthology, accompanied the second album's initial 1995 Japanese release as Shampoo or Nothing, which climbed to number ten on the Oricon Albums Chart. Meanwhile "Trouble" re-entered the U.K. Singles Chart via its placement on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers soundtrack, and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine later recorded a version for the B-side of "Young Offenders Mum."
Shampoo delivered the single "Girl Power" in July 1996, reaching number 25 in the U.K. Just days afterward Spice Girls debuted on the U.K. Singles Chart with "Wannabe," having adopted the phrase "Girl Power" as their own and transforming it into a worldwide sensation. By the time the second album appeared in the U.K. that September under the title Girl Power, the duo's commercial momentum had already declined. The record failed to chart, and their interpretation of the Waitresses' "I Know What Boys Like" peaked at number 42, marking their final U.K. single. Also in 1996 the Japanese single "Yea Yea Yea (Tell Me Baby)" reached number 95. That year the Girl Power song "Don't Call Me Babe" featured on the Barb Wire soundtrack, while subsequent years saw Shampoo tracks appear in Foxfire, Casper: A Spirited Beginning, and Jawbreaker. The 1998 Japanese best-of collection The Greatest followed. After parting with EMI due to modest sales of Girl Power, Askew and Blake persisted in writing and recording with longtime associates Stanley and Wiggs, issuing the more polished third album Absolute Shampoo in 2000 exclusively through their website and thereby ranking among the earliest acts to sell music directly online.
Although they supplied voices for the 2000 Sony PlayStation puzzle game Spin Jam, Blake and Askew gradually stepped back from Shampoo to focus on family life. They stayed close, however, and their catalog continued to surface in popular culture. We Are Shampoo received a U.K. reissue in 2007, the same year "Trouble" appeared in St. Trinians. During the 2010s Charli xcx voiced admiration for the duo, whose influence surfaced in her own work and in the 2012 hit "I Love It" recorded with Icona Pop. The deliberate artificiality of Shampoo's sound likewise shaped hyperpop practitioners such as Hannah Diamond and GIRLI. In 2021 Miley Cyrus recorded "Delicious" for a Gucci fragrance advertisement, and BBC Strictly Come Dancing performed "Trouble" in a 2023 episode. Appreciation for the duo culminated in June 2024 with Complete Shampoo, a Cherry Red anthology encompassing their entire recorded output and videos.
Albums
Singles
