HEPBURN

Great Moments In Pop – The 90s Part 16.

Here’s another all-female group that came on to the pop scene in the late-90s, and once again, there’s a few reasons why they stand out to me. Hepburn were a group that formed in 1997, they all played various instruments, and this was just about in the era when people still seemed to be surprised by that. I suppose they could be grouped in with the likes of 21st Century Girls and Thunderbugs who were also on the crowded scene around this time.

In May 1999 their debut “I Quit” was released, and this was their first and only Top Ten hit single. I’m sure that around the time of this, someone told me that Hepburn had performed at my school, presumably as part of a promotional tour. But I have no memory of ever seeing them, and goodness knows why they would’ve wanted to come round here at all, and as they were now a success, they probably wouldn’t be returning any time soon. vlcsnap-00417

And this was around the time that I started to do my GCSEs. So maybe while I was in one room trying to do an exam, they were upstairs performing their hit. I do doubt it though. “I Quit” also became popular after featuring on the soundtrack to Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and there was a second video made for this too. Next in August 1999 was “Bugs”, which made the Top 20. vlcsnap-00418

There was some surprise that the chorus to this one was “bugs on the windshield“, these Americanisms definitely made this seem like another attempt to be successful on the other side of the Atlantic. In September 1999, their first and only album, also called “Hepburn” was released, this just made the Top 30, receiving mixed reviews, and they all looked rather pouty on the cover. vlcsnap-00420

And in February 2000, “Deep Deep Down” was released, which also made the Top 20, but this was the end of the pop road for them, and they split not long after. It’s a shame that they didn’t get their own TV spin-off series just like another female group of the time, then they could’ve been coming atcha, just like Cleopatra, and they would probably still be chart megastars to this day.