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"Trouble"
Single by Shampoo
from the album We Are Shampoo and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie: Original Soundtrack Album
B-side	"We Don't Care" "School Is Boring"
Released	18 July 1994 (1994-07-18)
Genre	Bubblegum pop
Length	3:19
Label	Food
Songwriter(s)	Carolyn Askew Jacqueline Blake Conall Fitzpatrick
Producer(s)	Conall Fitzpatrick
Shampoo singles chronology
"Bouffant Headbutt" (1993) "Trouble" (1994) "Viva La Megababes" (1994)

"Trouble" is a song by British female pop music duo Shampoo, released in July 1994 by Food Records as the first single from their debut album, We Are Shampoo (1994). The song was written by the duo's Carolyn "Carrie" Askew and Jacqueline "Jacqui" Blake with producer Conall Fitzpatrick, and peaked at No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top-20 in Australia, Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands, as well as No. 37 in Canada. Attempting to break into the US market, the song was released as a promotional single for the 1995 film Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, in anticipation of the release of the US version of We Are Shampoo. A new music video was filmed featuring clips from the Power Rangers film. NME magazine ranked "Trouble" at No. 23 on their list of the 50 best songs of 1994.

Release

The US promotional campaign for Shampoo, which centred on the single "Trouble", was described by Billboard as a massive effort. In addition to releasing the song as a promotion single for the Power Rangers film, 15,000 promotional cassettes of "Trouble" were given away at Wet Seal stores, as were coupons for the full album, and a video-reel containing music videos for "Trouble" and Shampoo's other singles, "Delicious" and "Viva La Megababes" was made, with the hopes of finding in-store play at over 200 music retail outlets.

Critical reception

Tom Demalon from AllMusic said that within seconds of hearing the track "most listeners will either be gleefully giggling along with the girls or scrambling for the stop button." While reviewing the Jawbreaker soundtrack, another editor, Doug Stone, spoke favourably of the track, and Jonathan Bernstein from Spin described it as Shampoo's version of 'No Sleep till Brooklyn', stating the song catapulted them to success, particularly in Japan. Larry Flick from Billboard felt the song was just as goofy as the Power Rangers film it was supporting, and that it would probably only be of interest to children and top 40 radio as a novelty. Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian said, "The music is in the pouting, yelping tradition of the Slits, cushioned by the most basic of backbeats. Fetching enough, but their self-conscious emphasis on the minutiae of adolescence ('School is boring, let's go home') is tiresome." Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel declared 'Trouble' as "a romping tale of party girls who stay out too late and can't get home". In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton commented, "Whether they can be any more than a summer novelty is open to question and I will watch with interest."

Taylor Parkes from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, adding, "Glossy, lipstick-thin rap beats frame a torturous tale of woe, as Jacqui and Carrie miss the last tube home, have no money for a cab, get caught in the rain, wait in vain for the night bus, and, in desperation, attempt to steal a car, before remembering that neither of them can drive." Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Please meet Jacqui & Carrie. Headmasters beware of these schoolgirl versions of Poly Styrene (X-Ray Spex) and ex-Transvision Vamp Wendy James provoking with punky bubble gum pop." Another Music & Media editor, Robbert Tilli, compared their style to the likes of Bananarama, Transvision Vamp and Fuzzbox. Alan Jones from Music Week said, "Taking their cue from the B-52's, circa 'Love Shack', Shampoo are not one of the most original bands around, but they are good fun. Sure to score." Sylvia Patterson from NME also named 'Trouble' Single of the Week, praising it as "fiercely catchy, unfeasibly stupid, gloriously good-looking. What more do you want?" Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave it three out of five, writing, "Shampoo have tried to be pop stars before and failed, yet they might just do it this time with the help of an annoying chorus and noisy guitars. They may want to make out they're anarchists, but they've still got to be in for 9pm."

Music videos

The original music video for the song was directed by Chris D'Adda. It features the girls trying to get home from central London after a night out, as their lyrics describe. The re-make music video to promote Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie features new footage of the girls singing to the camera, intercut with footage from the film.

Appearances

In addition to the Power Rangers film and soundtrack, the song featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film Foxfire and the 1999 film Jawbreaker. The song is sung by characters in the 1997 film Blackrock, though it was not included on the film's soundtrack, and it also appears in episode three of the TV series Clueless, as well as the Daria episode "Speedtrapped". In 2007 the cast of the film St Trinians recorded a cover of the song, which was released on the film's soundtrack. The cast also recorded a music video for the song.

Zebrahead covered the song on their 2009 album Panty Raid. That same year, it was covered by Vamps, appearing as the b-side for their 2009 single "I Gotta Kick Start Now". Lyrics from the song are referenced in the 2014 single "Double Bubble Trouble" by M.I.A.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

1. Jones, Daisy (27 September 2017). "Shampoo Are So Much More than a 90s One-Hit Wonder". Vice. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020.
2. ^ "Shampoo: Trouble". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
3. ^ Borzillo, Carrie (5 August 1995). "Popular Uprisings: Pop/Punk Princesses". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 31. p. 18. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
4. "Albums and Tracks of the Year". NME. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
5. Demalon, Tom. "Shampoo: We Are Shampoo". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
6. Stone, Doug. "Jawbreaker [Original Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
7. Bernstein, Jonathan (June 1995). "Pop Life". Spin: 120. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
8. Flick, Larry (27 May 1995). "Shampoo: Trouble". Billboard: 59. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
9. Sullivan, Caroline (29 July 1994). "Music: Rock/pop". The Guardian.
10. Campbell, Chuck (25 August 1995). "Spirit Of '73 Mixes Politics, Pleasure". Knoxville News Sentinel.
11. Masterton, James (7 August 1994). "Week Ending August 13th 1994". Chart Watch UK. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
12. Parkes, Taylor (16 July 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 34. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
13. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 31. 30 July 1994. p. 5. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
14. Tilli, Robbert (3 September 1994). "Shampoo Is Looking For A Hairy Situation" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 36. p. 9. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
15. Jones, Alan (9 July 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 16. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
16. Patterson, Sylvia (16 July 1994). "Singles". NME. p. 33. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
17. Stanton, Pete (6 July 1994). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 45. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
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19. Blackrock (Motion picture). 1996. Event occurs at 14:13. Note: Song's use is confirmed in the credits at 1:25:09
20. Long, Chris (2007). "Various Artists St Trinian's: The Soundtrack Review". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
21. Montgomery, Hugh (10 November 2013). "Album review: MIA, Matangi (XL)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
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23. Trouble (Japanese mini-CD single liner notes). Shampoo. EMI Records, Food Records. 1994. TODP-2477.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
24. Trouble (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Shampoo. Food Records. 1994. FOOD 51.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
25. Trouble (UK cassette single sleeve). Shampoo. Food Records. 1994. TCFOOD 51, 7243 8 81499 4 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
26. Trouble (Australian cassette single sleeve). Shampoo. Food Records. 1994. 8814994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
27. Trouble (Dutch CD single liner notes). Shampoo. Food Records. 1994. 7243 8 81725 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
28. Trouble (US CD single liner notes). Shampoo. Fox Records, I.R.S. Records, Atlantic Records. 1994. 2-87145.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
29. Trouble (US cassette single sleeve). Shampoo. Fox Records, I.R.S. Records, Atlantic Records. 1994. 4-87145.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
30. Trouble (UK CD single liner notes). Shampoo. Food Records, Fox Records. 1995. CDFOODS 66, 7243 8 82284 2 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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35. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
36. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Trouble". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
37. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 38, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
38. "Shampoo %5BUK%5D – Trouble" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
39. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
40. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
41. "Top 100 Singles 1994". Music Week. 14 January 1995. p. 9.
42. "Trouble". Amazon. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
43. "トラブル | シャンプー" [Trouble | Shampoo] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
44. "New Music for May". Radio & Records. No. 1092. 28 April 1995. p. 70.
45. "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1094. 12 May 1995. pp. 23, 29. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
46. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 July 1994. p. 31.

• 1994 singles
• 1994 songs
• 20th Century Fox Records singles
• Atlantic Records singles
• Food Records singles
• I.R.S. Records singles
• Shampoo (duo) songs