Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque-Crockett (born 10 December 1958) is a British pop singer, best known as a member of the

Pepsi & Shirlie Pepsi & Shirlie are an English pop duo group formed in London in 1985, which released two albums, ''All Right Now'' in 1987 and ''Change'' in 1991. Their debut single "Heartache" reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. Career The act comprised ...

duo in the 1980s.

Early years

Helen ‘Pepsi’ DeMacque was born in London after her parents emigrated to Britain in the 1950s from St Lucia.

Music career

Pepsi and Shirlie at the Liverpool Echo Arena 25 June 2011

DeMacque became one of two singers/dancers for the group

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

in 1983. She replaced

Dee C. Lee Diane Catherine Sealy (born 6 June 1961), known as Dee C. Lee, is a British singer. Born to Saint Lucian parents, she grew up in south east London. Early in her career, she was a member of the British band Central Line under the aliases Dee Sea ...

, (who left to join

The Style Council The Style Council were a British musical ensemble, band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/New wave music, new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previousl ...

) and performed alongside

Shirlie Holliman Shirlie Kemp (née Holliman; born 18 April 1962) is an English singer, who found fame in the 1980s with Wham! and as part of the duo Pepsi & Shirlie. Early years Shirlie Holliman was child four of five born to Arthur and Margaret Holliman and ...

, first appearing in the music video for "

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by the English duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified pla ...

". When their work with Wham! ended, Holliman and DeMacque formed their own act, named

. Created immediately after Wham!'s final Wembley concert, the duo had a more upbeat and pop sound. The group had two UK Top 10

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

: " Heartache", produced by

Phil Fearon Phillip Joseph Fearon (born 30 July 1956) is a Jamaican–English record producer. He was the lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the 1980s band Galaxy. Career Fearon was born in the Colony of Jamaica in 1956 and moved to Lon ...

and Tambi Fernando, reaching #2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and "Goodbye Stranger", produced by Tambi Fernando and Pete Hammond, which reached #9. Pepsi & Shirlie went on hiatus in 1989, but briefly returned in 2000 to record backing vocals on the UK number one

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...

hit "

Bag It Up "Bag It Up" is a song recorded by British singer and songwriter Geri Halliwell for her debut solo album '' Schizophonic'' (1999). It was written by Halliwell, Andy Watkins, Paul Wilson and produced by Absolute. It was released as the fourth and ...

". The duo also reunited to perform for the Here and Now 10th Anniversary tour which kicked off on 24 June 2011. In 1998 and 1999, DeMacque collaborated with

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, participating in his tour Then & Now in 1998 and two events, the premiere of ''

Tubular Bells III ''Tubular Bells III'' is the eighteenth studio album by English guitarist, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield. It was released on 31 August 1998 by Warner Music UK and is the third installment in his ''Tubular Bells'' album series, following ...

'' in London and the concert Art in Heaven/Millennium Bell for the transition to the year 2000 in Tiergarten in Berlin. Pepsi also performed on a song from the album ''

The Millennium Bell ''The Millennium Bell'' is the 20th record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999. The theme of the album is a reflection of different periods of human history. The album borrows its name from the dawning of the 3rd millennium and Oldfield's ...

''. In 2011, she sang with Forthright, a group of producers and mixers in London.

Film career

DeMacque has also worked as a film and TV actor, including a portrayal of

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

. As a stage actor, she appeared in

James Rado James Alexander Radomski (January 23, 1932 – June 21, 2022), known professionally as James Rado, was an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known as the co-author, along with Gerome Ragni, of the 1967 musical ''Hair''. He ...

Gerome Ragni Gerome Ragni (born Jerome Bernard Ragni; September 11, 1935 – July 10, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as one of the stars and co-writers of the 1967 musical '' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical''. On Jun ...

and

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song " African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were ''Hai ...

's musical, ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', at the

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

in London with

Michael Bogdanov Michael Bogdanov (15 December 1938 – 16 April 2017) was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for young people. Early years Bogdanov was born Michael Bogd ...

directing.

Personal life

DeMacque was domiciled in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, for a number of years, working at a gift shop on

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) 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 ...

. While in Wellington she collaborated with New Zealand electronic artist (Jeremy Geor) 50Hz and performed live with composer

Rhian Sheehan Rhian Sheehan is a New Zealand composer and producer born in Nelson and now based in Wellington. He is known for his fusing of orchestral chamber music and piano, with ambient electronic and post-rock cinematic atmospheres. He has also written m ...

early on in his career. By 2006 she had settled in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, England with her husband James Crockett, working for a medical aid business, until 2010. She later moved to

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindia ...

, where she and her husband operate a charter sailing business. Her nephew was the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest contestant

Cesár Sampson Cesár Sampson (born 18 August 1983) is an Austrian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and model. He was also a social worker and fitness coach. He represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song " Nobody but You", winning ...

. In 2021, DeMacque and Shirley Kemp released their joint autobiography, ''Pepsi & Shirlie: It's All in Black and White,'' published by

Welbeck Welbeck is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, slightly to the south-west of Worksop. The village population is included in the civil parish of Holbeck. Welbeck became a coal-mining centre in 1912 and has a famous stately home, Welbeck Abb ...

. The book gives an account of their time touring the world, performing first with

and then in their own rite, as a duo.

References

External links

* *
Pepsi & Shirlie discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeMacque, Helen 1958 births Living people 20th-century Black British women singers Singers from London English women pop singers English people of Saint Lucian descent People from Paddington British expatriates in Saint Lucia British expatriates in New Zealand