Voodoo Queens

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Voodoo Queens
Origin London, England
Genres Riot grrrl, punk rock, indie rock
Years active1992–1999
Labels Too Pure, Voodoo Records, Strange Fruit
Past membersAnjali Bhatia, Ella Guru, Stefania Lucchesini, Rajni Bhatia, Anjula Bhasker, Mary Deigan

The Voodoo Queens were an English, North London-based indie punk/riot grrrl band, who reached number one in the UK Indie Chart in 1993.

Contents

History

The band was composed of Anjali Bhatia (guitar, vocals), Ella Guru (guitar, backing vocals), Stefania 'Steffi' Lucchesini (drums), Rajni Bhatia (keyboards) and Anjula Bhaskar (bass). [1] Rebecca Lunn later stepped in for Anjula who had to leave to visit family in India. [2] and Mary Deigan replaced her on bass in 1994. [3]

In late 1992, Anjali left the group Mambo Taxi, 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. [3] After only one concert, they were offered a Peel session by BBC DJ John Peel. This was recorded in January 1993, whilst Anjali was still working at Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street. Other radio and TV appearances followed, including a further two Peel Sessions, and a busking competition against Boyzone 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 Cornershop; Anjali felt that the press focused more on the music scene instead of the musical content. [4]

Following the dissolution of the band, Ella Guru joined the Stuckist artists in 1999. Anjali went on to become a solo artist, releasing several albums of dance-orientated material on Wiiija Records. Deigan joined The Hangovers, [3] and later, along with Ella Guru, the Deptford Beach Babes. Steffi briefly played with long-running all-female post-punk band Gertrude.

Discography

Singles/EPs

Albums

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References

  1. ↑ "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 20/06/1993 Voodoo Queens". Bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 15/02/1994 Voodoo Queens". Bbc.co.uk.
  3. 1 2 3 Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Voodoo Queens", in The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN   1-84195-335-0
  4. ↑ Hyder, Rehan (2004), Brimful of Asia: Negotiating Ethnicity on the UK Music Scene , Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, p.  86, ISBN   0-7546-4064-7
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