1. A British pop duo
2.… Read Full Bio ↴There are five artists with the name Shampoo:
1. A British pop duo
2. A Belgian jazz rock band
3. A Brazilian rock band
4. An Atlanta, GA-based indie band
5. An anonymous underground house producer
1. Shampoo were a female pop duo recording between 1993 and 2000. Comprising of Jacqui Blake and Carrie Askew, Shampoo were most famous for their peroxide blonde hair, habitual wearing of sunglasses and their single Trouble.
History
Jacqui Blake and Carrie Askew met as teenagers at high school in Plumstead where they became best friends and partners in crime. In the early nineties they started writing 'Last Exit' the first fanzine for the Manic Street Preachers and later appeared in the video for Little Baby Nothing. The track featured vocals from porn star Traci Lords, although she did not appear in the video.
In their teens, they formed Shampoo (according to their self-propelled urban legend the name derived from the schoolyard nickname 'the shampoo girls' due to their repeated retort that they were 'washing their hair' whenever the boys in school would ask them out!) Their first single Blisters and Bruises with the b-sides 'Paydirt' and 'I Love Little Pussy' was released by Icerink records (a shortlived label created by Saint Etienne Bob Stanley and Pete Wigg) on 7' pink vinyl in 1993. This and their following single Bouffant Headbutt received favourable reviews in the music press, such as the NME and Melody Maker but was largely ignored by the general public.
Whilst their first two singles were all-out girl-punk racket the following year saw the release of their most famous song, 'Trouble', and the album 'We Are Shampoo which displayed a much more radio friendly sound. 'Trouble' crashed up the charts and landed the girls on Top Of The Pops and the cover of Smash Hits. For the remainder of 1994 the Shampoo flag flew high as their infectious pop-with-attitude found fans in both the mainstream and Alternative music scenes. The band famously became very successful in Japan - possibly due to sharing a love of all things Hello Kitty.
However, by the time they released their next album Girl Power in 1995 they were already virtually forgotten in Britain and when the Spice Girls appropriated the phrase to great effect its origins went sadly un-noted. Interestingly though it is for this reason that despite using the words 'girl power' constantly in interviews and on merchandise the Spice Girls were never able to have an album with this title.
Though their homelands were ignoring them, Shampoo were still doing well in Asia and to the astonishment of those who'd never heard of them made it into 1995's 'richest women in Britain' list. The third Shampoo album Absolute Shampoo was released solely on the internet in 2000 and the duo disbanded shortly afterwards.
Shampoo combined a poppy girlishness and a love of all things plastic, kitsch, and pink (the album artwork for 'We Are Shampoo' featured a collage of barbie dolls and sweetie wrappers) with a Punk sensibility. They often cited their main influences as being the Sex Pistols, Gary Numan and the Beastie Boys whilst also claiming to be huge fans of East 17 and Take That! They approached interviews with a studied insolence and tended to finish each others sentences claiming that they always think the same thing as each other. Playing on an image that was part Johnny Rotten, part stubborn lolita infantilism, part lipstick lesbian and part razor sharp wit, the girls tended to confuse both journalists and record-buyers as to who exactly their target audience was. Whilst this may have prevented an ongoing mainstream success this was arguably also their greatest strength in an industry increasingly dominated by one dimensional artists.
2. Shampoo was a progressive Jazz Rock band from Belgium who released 1 album in 1972 entitled Volume One and a single called All of Us / Today Is the First Day which was released in 1973
Members:
Luk Smets - Keyboards, Vocals
Marcel de Cauwer - Drums
Giorgio Chitschenko - Saxophone
François Maes - Saxophone
Rudi Pincé - Bass
3. Brazilian pop/rock band from the 80s.
Members:
Zé Luís - Vocals
Bira - Bass
André - Drums
Nelson - Guitars
Julio Caesar - Keyboards,Piano
4. Atlanta, GA-based indie band
Members:
Chandler Kelly - bass
Rush Meyers - Vocals, Guitars
Catherine Quesenberry - synth
War Paint
Shampoo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
War Paint...
Put It On, Put It On
Night Is Over, Lipstick Heaven
Bet You Can't Get It
From The 7/11
Charcol Is Our Body Armor
Blacked Our Faces
Perfect Make Up, We Don't Care
Chorus
We've Got Tangles In Our Hair
Get Your Masks On
Put It On If You Dare
Yeah! Yeah!
Slapping On The War Paint
Got No Class
But We Got The Style
War Paint
Slap It On When We Do War
War Paint
If You Can't Get A Head,
Get The Right Clothes On
We Don't Wanna Go To Heaven
All We Want Is... War Paint
Drunken Nights Are Such A Killer
Smudge Your Face On Your Pillow
Made You Look
And I Made You Stare,
Made You Lose Your Underwear! x3
Chorus x1
Who Wants To Be So...
Who Wants To Be So...
When You Can Be So Radical
The lyrics to Shampoo's "War Paint" celebrate messy nights out and the power of self-expression through makeup. The song starts with a chant of "War Paint, Yeah! War Paint," almost like a rallying call to put on a battle face. The lyrics reference putting on makeup after a night out, with lines like "Night is over, lipstick heaven," and "Charcol is our body armor, blacked our faces from runny mascara." It's clear that the "War Paint" is a metaphor for the makeup that makes them feel confident and empowered.
The chorus of the song reinforces this idea, with the lyrics "We've got tangles in our hair, get your masks on, put it on if you dare." The word "mask" here could be interpreted as a reference to the idea of using makeup as a disguise, or a way to conceal insecurities. However, the song emphasizes the fun and freedom that comes with wearing makeup, portraying it as a tool for self-expression rather than a way to hide flaws.
The song also references rebellion and non-conformity, with the line "Got no class but we got the style," and the repeated refrain "Who wants to be so...when you can be so radical." Overall, "War Paint" is a fun, upbeat celebration of the transformative power of makeup and the freedom to express oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah! War Paint, Yeah!
We're excited and pumped up for war, gearing up with our war paint!
War Paint...
Our battle gear for the war we're starting!
Put It On, Put It On
It's time to apply the war paint and get ready for battle.
Night Is Over, Lipstick Heaven
We partied hard all night but now it's time to get ready for war, and our lipstick looks amazing!
Bet You Can't Get It From The 7/11
Our war paint is not bought off the shelves. It's unique, and you can't get it from a convenience store.
Charcol Is Our Body Armor
Our war paint gives us protection, like armor.
Blacked Our Faces From Runny Mascara
Our mascara may run, but we don't care. Our faces are blacked out with our war paint.
Perfect Make Up, We Don't Care
Our war paint may not be perfect but we don't care. We are ready for battle!
Chorus
We sing about our tangled hair, wearing our masks, and slapping on our war paint without regard for how we look.
Got No Class But We Got The Style
We may not have class, but we have a unique style that sets us apart.
If You Can't Get A Head, Get The Right Clothes On
If you don't have the brains, wear the right clothes, and put on the right makeup to compensate!
We Don't Wanna Go To Heaven, All We Want Is... War Paint
We don't care about going to heaven. All we want is our war paint and to fight our battle.
Drunken Nights Are Such A Killer
Our late nights of drinking and partying have prepared us for this battle, but we know they are a danger to us!
Smudge Your Face On Your Pillow
We'll likely smudge our war paint on our pillows after the battle, and we're proud of that.
Made You Look And I Made You Stare,
Our unique appearance and war paint is sure to catch people's attention, and we know it.
Made You Lose Your Underwear! x3
We're so provocative, we make people lose their cool, their grip, and their manners just by our appearance and war paint!
Chorus x1
We repeat the chorus, reveling in our unique style, carefree attitude, and love for war paint.
Who Wants To Be So...
Why be ordinary or normal, when you can be rebellious, unique and risk-taking?
When You Can Be So Radical
Why be conventional when you can be radical, unique, and completely different from the rest?
Contributed by Grayson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.