The Voodoo Queens were a North London-based
indie punk
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
/
riot grrrl
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...
band, who reached number one in the Indie Charts in 1993.
History
The band was composed of Anjali Bhatia (guitar, vocals),
Ella Guru
Ella Guru (born May 24, 1966) is an American painter and musician living in Hastings, East Sussex, England. She was a member of Mambo Taxi and the Voodoo Queens. In 1999, she became one of the founding members of the Stuckist art movement.
E ...
(guitar, backing vocals), Stefania 'Steffi' Lucchesini (drums), Rajni Bhatia (keyboards) and Anjula Bhaskar (bass). Rebecca Lunn later stepped in for Anjula who had to leave to visit family in India. and Mary Deigan replaced her on bass in 1994.
In late 1992, Anjali left the group
Mambo Taxi
Mambo Taxi were an English, London-based British indie band, linked with riot grrrl, who formed in 1991 and split up in 1995.Mason, StewartMambo Taxi Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-02-01
History
Mambo Taxi were inspired by the UK garage ...
, in which she was the drummer, to start the Voodoo Queens, along with her sister Rajni and cousin Anjula, Ella Guru (also of Mambo Taxi), and drummer Sunny.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Voodoo Queens", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, ] After only one concert, they were offered a
Peel session
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. This was recorded in January 1993, whilst Anjali was still working at
. Other radio and TV appearances followed, including a further two Peel Sessions, and a
on Channel 4's music and arts programme Naked City.
The music press, in addition to associating the band with the riot grrrl scene, also grouped them with other Asian-fronted bands such as
; Anjali felt that the press focused more on the music scene instead of the musical content.
artists in 1999. Anjali went on to become a solo artist, releasing several albums of dance-orientated material on
. Deigan joined
and later - along with Ella Guru - the Deptford Beach Babes. Steffi briefly played with long-running all-female post-punk band Gertrude.
*"Kenuwee Head"/"My Little Guitar Baby" (1993) Too Pure
*"F Is For Fame"/"I'm Not Bitter (I Just Want To Kill You)
(1994) Too Pure
*"Eat The Germs"/"Hairy"" (1995) Voodoo Records
*"Neptune"/"I'm Not Bitter (I Just Want To Kill You)" (1995) Dirt Records