Pepsi & Shirlie

Pepsi & Shirlie
Shirlie (left) and Pepsi (right) performing at the Echo Arena, Liverpool on 25 June 2011
Background information
OriginLondon, England, United Kingdom
Genres
Years active
  • 1985–1991
  • 2000
  • 2011
LabelsPolydor
Past members

Pepsi & Shirlie were an English pop duo group formed in London in 1985 by two backing singers for Wham! They released two albums, All Right Now in 1987 and Change in 1991, and their debut single "Heartache" reached number 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]

Although DeMacque had ambitions to be a solo performer after Wham!, Holliman convinced her that it would be best to proceed as a duo.[3]

In 1987, they released their debut single "Heartache", which was produced by Phil Fearon and Tambi Fernando and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. "Heartache" also peaked at number two on the American dance charts.[4] Although featuring a credit for super producers Stock Aitken Waterman on many pressings of the single, "Heartache" was never worked on by the trio – with all additional production work and remixing done by Pete Hammond on behalf of Pete Waterman.[3]

The follow-up single, "Goodbye Stranger", produced by Fernando and Hammond, reached number 9.[1] Subsequent singles and their debut album All Right Now, released later in the year, were commercially unsuccessful. During this era, the act's 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. Holliman recalled Michael writing the song from scratch during the recording session, after accepting her request to help out with their comeback.[3] Neither the album nor the single attracted much attention, not even charting in the UK.[1]

DeMacque worked with Michael again in 1995, when the two pseudonymously released a cover of the Dead or Alive classic "You Spin Me Round" under the name Infamy.[3]

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.[5]

Their memoir It's All in Black and White was published by Welbeck in September 2021.[6]

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[1] 		AUS
[7]
All Right Now 69 99
Change
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: Polydor
  • Formats: CD, CS, LP
 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[1][8] 		AUS
[7] 		US Dance
[9] 		US
[9] 		IRE
 SWI
 NOR
 GER
 NLD
 ATR
 BEL
 FRA
 NZ
"Heartache" 1987 2 49 2 78 3 2 6 8 2 17 2 31 9
"Goodbye Stranger" 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 — — — — — — — — — — — —
"What's Going On Inside Your Head?" 1989 — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Someday" 1991 78 — — — 80 — — — — — — — 200
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "PEPSI & SHIRLIE - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. ^ Jury, Louise (22 October 2011). "How we met: Pepsi and Shirlie". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 18: Heartache on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 201.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Hackett, Tamsin (21 April 2021). "Welbeck to publish memoir from pop duo Pepsi & Shirlie". The Bookseller. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 423. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ^ a b "Pepsi & Shirlie Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Pepsi & Shirlie - Heartache". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2022.