Miss A Okay (drums) Squirrel (guitar) Bella Donna (drums) Piper (keyboard) Aurora De Morales (bass) Tammy Lee Sticks (drums) Modesty Blaze (vocals/keyboard)
Cocktail Slippers was formed in 2001 and has since released five studio albums. They are known for their energetic live performances and have played alongside artists such as Nancy Sinatra, Crowded House, Elvis Costello and The Strokes.[2][3] The band is continuously touring Europe and the US.
Cocktail Slippers were formed in Oslo in early 2001, evolving out of the all-female band The Barbarellas.[5][6] After the original group dissolved, several former members regrouped with a new drummer and adopted the name Cocktail Slippers.[7] The band released its debut album Rock It! in 2001 on the Norwegian label MTG and quickly became known for its high-energy garage rock sound and frequent live performances in Norway.
The band’s second album Mastermind (2004) generated little commercial impact and led to limited national exposure, with no significant international breakthrough at the time.
In 2003, while touring Oslo with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt discovered the band after buying their debut album in a local record store. He subsequently began playing their songs on his radio show Little Steven’s Underground Garage. Van Zandt later signed Cocktail Slippers to his label Wicked Cool Records,[8] claiming that they were, in fact, the reason the record company came to be.[9]
In 2009 the band released Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, produced in collaboration with Van Zandt. Besides own material, the album holds two songs written by Little Steven: "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" and "Heard You Got a Thing for Me", and features cover versions of Lesley Gore's "She's a Fool" and Connie Francis' "Don't Ever Leave Me". The album received strong reviews internationally[10][11] and marked the band’s widest exposure to date, including festival appearances in Europe and the United States, among them repeated invitations to South by Southwest.[7]
During the 2010s, Cocktail Slippers underwent several lineup changes and gradually shifted toward a more pop-oriented sound, most notably on their fourth album People Talk (2014). The band continued touring, appeared in the television series Lilyhammer,[12] and took part in a range of live events and collaborations.
The extended gap between People Talk and the band’s fifth album was caused by multiple lineup changes, parental leave among band members, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Cocktail Slippers returned with Shout It Out Loud! in 2021 on Wicked Cool Records. Since then, the band has resumed regular touring in the United States and Europe, released new recordings including the EP Talking About Love (2024), and remained active as a live act.
Visual style
The band has always been conscious of its visual expression, and over the years has experimented with different looks. They’ve performed as sailor girls, tennis players, and gangsters. More recently, they’ve collaborated with the designer Cårejånni Enderud, who has added glam and glitter to their costumes.[14] The idea is to convey a sense of girl power, in a style reminiscent of WWE wrestling with exaggerated costumes – superheroes covered in glitter.[15]
Camp is important both for their stage names and overall style. The band's name references the look of Alexis from the TV soap Dynasty,[15] and they typically use that TV series' theme song to start their concerts.[16]
Personnel
Members
Current members
Stine "Rocket Queen" Bendiksen – lead guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)
Astrid "Sugar" Waller – bass, backing vocals (2001–2012, 2016–present)
Maria "Smash" Storaas – drums, percussion (2022–present)
Silje "Hope" Hope – lead vocals (2011–present)
Sara "Vega" Andersson – lead guitar, backing vocals (2018–present)
Former members
Ingjerd "Modesty Blaze" Sandven Kleivan (also "Lisa Farfisa") – lead and backing vocals, keyboards (2001–2011)
Marianne "Tammy Lee Sticks" Otterstad – drums, percussion (2001–2008)
Ann Kristin "Miss A-OK" Gåsbakk – drums, percussion (2019–2022)
Lill "Aurora de Morales" Hallbakken– bass, backing vocals (2012–2016)
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