Name Helen DeMacque | Years active 1981–present Occupation(s) Singer | |
 | ||
Labels Innervision RecordsEpic RecordsColumbia Records (US & Canada) | ||
Associated acts Wham!, Pepsi & Shirlie | ||
Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque-Crockett (born 10 December 1958) is a British pop singer, best known as a member of the Pepsi & Shirlie duo in the 1980s.
Contents
Early years
Pepsi DeMacque's family came from Canaries on the West Coast of St Lucia, but she was born in London after her parents emigrated to Britain in the 1950s.
Music career
DeMacque became one of two singers/dancers for the group Wham! in 1983. She replaced Dee C. Lee and performed alongside Shirlie Holliman.
When their work with Wham! ended, Holliman and DeMacque formed their own act, named Pepsi & Shirlie. Created immediately after Wham!'s final Wembley concert, the duo had a more upbeat and pop genre sound. The group had two UK Top Ten hits: "Heartache", produced by Phil Fearon and Tambi Fernando, reaching #2 in the UK Singles Chart, 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 hit Bag It Up. The duo also re-united 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, participating in his tour Then & Now in 1998 and two events, the premiere of Tubular Bells III 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 song from the album The Millennium Bell. 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. As a stage actor, she appeared in James Rado, Gerome Ragni, and Galt MacDermot's musical, "Hair," at the Old Vic Theatre in London, England, with Michael Bogdanov directing.
Personal life
DeMacque resided in Wellington, New Zealand, for a number of years, working at a gift shop on Lambton Quay. For a while she lived in Norwich, England, with her husband James Crockett before moving to St Lucia, where she and her husband operate a charter sailing business.