Cocktail Slippers

Cocktail Slippers
Cocktail Slippers
Cocktail Slippers
Background information
OriginOslo, Norway
Genresgarage rock, rock and roll, power pop[1]
Years active2001–present
Labels
Wicked Cool Records
MembersHope (vocals)
Rocket Queen (guitar)
Vega (guitar)
Sugar (bass)
SMASH (drums)
Past membersMiss A Okay (drums)
Squirrel (guitar)
Bella Donna (drums)
Piper (keyboard)
Aurora De Morales (bass)
Tammy Lee Sticks (drums)
Modesty Blaze (vocals/keyboard)
Websitethecocktailslippers.com

Cocktail Slippers is a five-piece, all-female, garage rock/ power pop band from Oslo, Norway.

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.

The band's main musical influences are 70's rock, like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, as well as 90's Scandinavian rock.[4]

Background

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.

In 2012, they participated in the national finals of the Eurovision song contest,[13] and performed alongside artists like Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Iggy & The Stooges at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park, London.

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

Timeline

Discography

Albums

  • 2001 - Rock It!, MTG Records, Norway (CD)
  • 2004 - Mastermind, MTG Records, Norway (CD)
  • 2007 - Mastermind, Wicked Cool Records, US (CD + digital download) – re-release with a new cover photo
  • 2009 - Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, Wicked Cool Records, US (CD + digital download)
  • 2009 - Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, Wicked Cool Records, US (vinyl w/2 bonus tracks: "Go Get It!" and "Good Luck Charm")
  • 2009 - Rock It!, Wicked Cool Records, US (CD + digital download) re-release
  • 2014 - People Talk, Wicked Cool Records, US (Vinyl, CD + digital download)
  • 2021 - Shout It Out Loud!, Wicked Cool Records, US (Vinyl, CD + digital download)

EP, singles

  • 2003 - Housewives From Hell, Attitude Records, Finland (limited 12" vinyl)
  • 2004 - "Last Christmas"/"Kids In America", Flipside Records, Norway (limited CD single)
  • 2009 - "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre", Wicked Cool Records, US (7" vinyl)
  • 2009 - "Last Christmas", Wicked Cool Records, US (digital download) re-release
  • 2012 - "Keeps on Dancing", Wicked Cool Records, US (digital download)
  • 2012 - "Soul Salvation of Love", Wicked Cool Records, US (digital download)
  • 2018 - "Excuse Me", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2020 - "Night Train", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2020 - "Like A Song Stuck In My Head", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2020 - "City On Fire", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2021 - "She Devil"/"Too Good To Be True", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2021 - "Be The One", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2021 - "I'll Be Here For You", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2023 - "Enda Mere Julepønk i Norge", Fucking North Pole Records (vinyl + digital download)
  • 2023 - "Good Love", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2023 - "123", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2024 - "I Still Dream You", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)
  • 2024: «The Renegade Sessions», Wicked Cool Records (7" single for exclusive sale at gigs)
  • 2024: Talking About Love, Wicked Cool Records – EP
  • 2025 - "Back Where You Belong", Wicked Cool Records, US (single + digital download)

Appears on

  • 2007 - Coolest Songs Of The World Vol. 2, Wicked Cool Records, US (compilation CD)
  • 2008 - Christmas A Go-Go, Wicked Cool Records, US (compilation CD + digital download)
  • 2010 - It's Christmas, Wicked Cool Records, US (digital download)
  • 2015 - Deaf Before Compromise... A Volumen Brutale tribute to Backstreet Girls, Voices of Wonder, Norway (vinyl + digital download)

References

  1. ^ https://musikk.deichman.no/2021/11/12/cocktail-slippers-sprudlende-rock/
  2. ^ "HARD ROCK CALLING :: Line Up". Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  3. ^ "Confirmation of line-up for Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival". Rockandrollreport.com. 2004-07-27. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  4. ^ "Cocktail Slippers: Sprudlende rock". Deichman musikk (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  5. ^ "The Barbarellas". Discogs. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  6. ^ BREEN, MARTA (2002-04-16). "Cocktail Slippers". Dagbladet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  7. ^ a b "AOL Radio Stations | Free Internet Radio | AOL Radio". Spinner.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  8. ^ "Cocktail Slippers – "We don´t have any template for making songs (actually we don´t have templates for anything in the band, which is quite nice!)" – Interview". Moosic Entertainment. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  9. ^ Johannessen, NTB-Gitte (2021-09-20). "Cocktail Slippers feirer de første 20 årene – uten å bry seg om hva naboen eller rockepolitiet synes". banett.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  10. ^ Fricke, David (2009-06-04). "Fricke's Picks: Norwegian Devil Dolls". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  11. ^ "Noorse rockheldinnen". 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Lilyhammer" The Flamingo (TV Episode 2012) ⭐ 7.7 | Comedy, Crime, Drama. Retrieved 2025-12-10 – via m.imdb.com.
  13. ^ Hagen, Knut-Øyvind (2011-12-20). "Cocktail Slippers". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  14. ^ "Cocktail Slippers – På med fjær og løshår". NORWAY ROCK MAGAZINE (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  15. ^ a b styletalkmagazine (2025-06-26). "Not pussyfooting around: Cocktail Slippers are armed with Glitter, Grit, and Zero Apologies". Styletalkmagazine. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  16. ^ "Cocktail Slippers @ Herr Nilsen, Oslo". NORWAY ROCK MAGAZINE (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(The)_Cocktail_Slippers_(band)